Which tribes make up the nuba people

Another factor is that they are hard-working people, due to the demands of life in an environment like theirs, where everyone has to work hard to build his house, earn his living through cultivation and other activities such as making beds, cutting grass and trees. They are moreover characterized by their bravery, courage, patience, kindness and hospitality, which together with their strong physical structure makes them fit for all types of hard work; this obviously, had been the main reason which exposed them to slavery and abuse by others.

In order to understand Nuba way of life and culture, it is extremely important to know the structure of their society. Every Nuba tribe compromises several sub- groups or clans, which might either be Matrilineal following the line of the mother , or Patrilineal following the line of the father and the main laws governing each, regarding obligations, rights and taboos.

The first right for every individual is that of knowing his belonging to a certain clan and tribe. Incredibly, the Nuba people are made up of so many different groups of people with varying cultures that over different languages are spoken by those in the Nuba Mountains area, while many of the Nuba also speak Sudanese Arabic.

The Nuba people may not necessarily identify as Nuba. There are over 50 tribes represented among the Nuba people, and some identify as their tribe, such as the Miri. When they are away from the Nuba Mountains, they may then learn that others consider them to be Nuba. There were many Nuba casualties.

The majority of the Nuba living in the east, west and northern parts of the mountains are Muslims, while those who reside to the south are either Christians or part of a number of traditional animistic religions. The staple food of the Nuba people is sorghum. The sorghum is boiled with water or milk to make kal, which is then eaten with meat stew called waj. The Nuba also roast corn and eat it with homemade butter. Email address:. African History according to its culture, chieftaincy, politics, democracy and so forth.

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Intricate designs and patterns cover most of their bodies and they also carry various brands of cultural significance on their person. They are by far, one of the friendliest tribes, welcoming visitors into their homes and proudly showing off their culture which is mostly told through body modification in the form of piercings and tattoos.

Maasai women wear long, beaded earrings that weigh quite a bit, leading to them having huge holes in their earlobes. The white beads are made from shells, ivory or bone, while charcoal and clay is used for black or blue beads, etc.

The colours signify different things such as White for peace, Red for warrior, etc. The clothes that they wear depict the ancient cultural stories the tribe is a part of.

Red is an immensely favoured colour but circumcised boys are required to wear only black till a few months after. Other colours and patterns are observed too, but they mostly stick to darker shades.

The type of clothing they wear is called Matavuvale and the people have recently swapped wearing animal skin and hide for factory made cloth. They do not wear any tailored clothes and the maximum coverage comes from the colourful sheets they drape around themselves. One garment common to all factions of the tribe is the Kanga — a colourful, patterned garment worn by men and women. Instead, the term is used as a regional grouping for a people who share the same environment and stand out as distinct from the surrounding tribes.

There are many Nuba groups, each constituting a different ethnic group with its own language. In fact, nearly different dialects are spoken in the Nuba hills. This leaves one community unable to understand the next. Fortunately, many Nuba speak Arabic as a second language, which has enabled them to communicate with other groups. For many centuries, the Nuba Mountains served as a refuge for peoples fleeing oppressive governments and slave traders.

Perhaps this best explains why there is such a variety of Nuba groups and languages. What Are Their Lives Like? Because the Nuba tribes originally fled to the Mountains for refuge, they generally dislike and distrust outsiders. While most of the tribes still live in the Nuba Mountains, some individuals have migrated to the surrounding hills and plains since the late 's. Others have even moved to towns and cities, either permanently or seasonally, in search of jobs or schools for their children.

This gradual migration is the result of the British establishing law and order around the tribes, making them feel safe from outside influences.

The introduction of cotton as a cash crop has also encouraged some individuals to move southward. The Nuba are industrious farmers and their livelihood is based primarily on agriculture. Sorghum, the staple crop, can either be sold or made into beer. Millet, sesame, peanuts, and tobacco are grown for personal consumption. Though they dominate the landscape, the area covered by the hills themselves is less than a third of the total area of the Nuba Mountains; the remainder of the land is extensive clay plains, some forested, some farmed.

It is some of the most fertile land in Sudan-a fact that is both a blessing and a curse to the Nuba. While drought-induced famine is almost unknown in the Nuba Mountains, the fertile soils have also attracted the attention of outsiders. Nuba Population The total number of Nuba is not known. But by that stage there was already large-scale labour migration, so at least another five per cent must be added to the figure.

On the basis of subsequent censuses and population growth statistics, it can be estimated that by the time the war intensified in , the Nuba population was more than 1. Since then, the number in the Nuba Mountains has probably decreased, due to deaths, fewer births, and mass out-migration to Khartoum. There has also been massive population movement within the Nuba Mountains, with hundreds of thousands forcibly displaced to government towns and "peace camps", and a large number living as internal refugees in the areas secured by the SPLA.

Currently, the best estimate for the population under the administration of the SPLA is between , - , people; those under government control number about one million.

Most of the people in the Nuba Mountains belong to the myriad Nuba tribes. But the presence of other groups indigenous to the area must not be overlooked. Perhaps one quarter of the inhabitants of the region are Arabs, mainly pastoralists, traders and civil servants.

There are also non-Arab groups, principally the Daju an offshoot of a Darfur tribe, living south of Lagowa and Fellata communities spread throughout the area.