Mythologies of the Beja Tribes

The Beja tribe (Arabic: البجا, Beja: Oobja, Tigre: በጃ) are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Eastern Desert, inhabiting a coastal area from southeastern Egypt through eastern Sudan and into northwestern Eritrea. They are descended from peoples who have inhabited the area since 4000 BC or earlier, although they were Arabized by Arabs who settled in the region. They are nomadic and live primarily in the Eastern Desert. The Beja number around 1,900,000 to 2,759,000. Some of the Beja speak a Cushitic language called Beja and some speak Tigre, an Ethiopian Semitic language; most speak Arabic. In Eritrea and southeastern Sudan, many members of the Beni-Amer grouping speak Tigre. Originally, the Beja did not speak Arabic, but the migration of the numerous Arab tribes of Juhaynah, Mudar, Rabi'a, and many more to the Beja areas contributed to the Arabization and Islamization of them. The Arabs did not however fully settle in the Beja areas as they looked for better climate in other areas. The Beja have partially mixed with Arabs through intermarriages over the centuries, and by the 15th century were absorbed into Islam. The process of Arabization led to the Beja adopting the Arabic language, Arab clothing, and Arab kinship organization. While many secondary sources identify the Ababda as an Arabic-speaking Beja tribe because of their cultural links with the Bishari, this is a misconception; the Ababda do not consider themselves Beja, nor are they so considered by Beja people.

Beja, nomadic people grouped into tribes and occupying mountain country between the Red Sea and the Nile and Atbara rivers from the latitude of Aswān southeastward to the Eritrean Plateau—that is, from southeastern Egypt through Sudan and into Eritrea. Numbering about 1.9 million in the early 21st century, the Beja are descended from peoples who have lived in the area since 4000 BCE or earlier. Some of the Beja speak a Cushitic language they call To Bedawi, and some speak Tigre; many also speak Arabic. Many converted to Christianity in the 6th century, but most have been Muslim since the 13th. Most of the Beja prefer to live apart from their neighbours, and many are said to be indifferent to trade and modernization. Essentially pastoralists, the Beja move over vast distances with their flocks and herds of cattle and camels on whose produce—milk, butter, and meat—they subsist almost entirely. The Beja trace their ancestry through the father’s line, and their kinship organization resembles that of the Arabs. Authority is vested in the heads of kin groups. Men are permitted under Muslim law to have two or more wives, but only the rich do so. A man is expected to marry his father’s brother’s daughter, and livestock is presented to the bride’s family. Boys are circumcised, and girls are subjected to clitoridectomy. Formal groups based on age are absent.

The Beja people are an ethnic Cushitic people inhabiting Sudan, Egypt, and Eritrea. In recent history, they have lived primarily in the Eastern Desert. They number around 1,237,000 people. The majority of Beja people speak the Beja language as a mother tongue, which belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. In Eritrea and southeastern Sudan, many members of the Beni Amer grouping speak Tigre. While many secondary sources identify the Ababda as an Arabic-speaking Beja tribe due to their cultural links with the Bishaari, this is a misconception: The Ababda do not consider themselves Beja, nor are they so considered by other Beja peoples. The Beja have been named "Blemmyes" in Roman times, Bəga in Aksumite inscriptions in Ge'ez, and "Fuzzy-Wuzzy" by Rudyard Kipling. Kipling was specifically referring to the Hadendoa, who fought the British, supporting the "Mahdi," a Sudanese leader of a rebellion against the Turkish rule administered by the British. The Beja people are an ancient Cushitic people closely kin to the ancient Egyptians, who have lived in the desert between the Nile river and the Red Sea since at least 25000 BC. Various Beja groups have intermarried with Arab or southern (dark) Cushites over the centuries. All the dialects are mutually intelligible. Some speakers are bilingual in Arabic or Tigre (Ethnologue). There are perhaps 100,000 or more who are Beja socially and culturally, but who speak Tigre. They are sometimes aloof, withdrawn, aggressive and warlike. The Beja have a uniquely huge crown of fuzzy hair, first recorded in Egyptian rock paintings (circa B.C. 2000). Rudyard Kipling gave them the famous name "the Fuzzy Wuzzies." Kipling was specifically referring to the Hadendowa, who fought the British, supporting the "Mahdi," a Sudanese leader of a rebellion against the Turkish rule administered by the British. In this war the Bisharin and Amarar section of the Beja sided with the British, while the Hadendowa gained fame for defeating the British in two battles. The Hadendowa are thought to be the only traditional warriors who were able to break a British army "square" armed with modern weapons. In World War II the Hadendowa allied themselves with the British against the Italians who were supported by the Beni-Amer and other Tigre-speaking people.

The name Beja is applied to a grouping of Muslim peoples speaking dialects of a Cushitic language called Beja, and living in Sudan, Eritrea and Egypt. They are traditionally pastoral people whose territory covers some 110,000 square miles in the extreme northeast of Sudan. eferences in the Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Over the centuries, they had contact and some influence from Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Turks. A few Beja became Christians in the sixth century. The southern Beja were part of the Christian Kingdom of Axum centered in what is now southern Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. Although never completely conquered by a foreign power, the Beja in the 15th century were absorbed into Islam by marriages and trading contacts with nearby Arab tribes. In the seventeenth century they expanded farther south seeking better pastures and conquering other peoples along the way. By the 18th century, the Hadendowa Beja were the dominant people of eastern Sudan. There has never been an official census in Ethiopia/Eritrea, so figures are estimates from various field sources, notably published anthropologists. Uncertain data indicates there may be as many as 2,300,000 people total who speak the Beja language and identify themselves as Beja. The name Beja is form Arabic. The language name is Bedawiyet, also an Arabic name, related to the word Bedouin. A large number of the Beja speak Sudanese Arabic as a mother tongue. Our figures estimate Beja speakers at about 107,000 in Eritrea, about 60,000 in Egypt and 2,134,000 in Sudan. It appears there are approximately 99,000 Beni-Amer speakers of Tigre. The total number of all Beja people in Eritrea speaking Beja or Tigre appears to be about 206,000. Some estimates are higher than 500,000. All the Beja peoples, by our more conservative estimates, number 2,540,315.

During the Middle Ages there were six Beja kingdoms that were established. These kingdoms stretched from the lowlands of Eritrea to Aswan in Egypt. The Beja kingdoms occupied much of the former territory of the Aksum empire. These kingdoms were first noted by the famous Arab historian Al-Yaqubi during the 9th century A.D. The names of the kingdoms were Nagash, Tankish, Belgin, Bazin, Jarin and Qita'a. These kingdoms bordered each other and the powerful Nubian Alodia kingdom. To the south of the Beja kingdoms was a Christian kingdom called Najashi. Gold, precious stones and emeralds were found in many of the kingdoms. Al-Yaqubi noted that Muslim Arabs visited the kingdoms for trading purposes. He also noted that Arabs worked in the mines of the kingdoms. The rise of the Beja tribes was one of the main reasons for the demise of the Aksumite empire in the 7th century. Raids and invasions by the Beja tribes weakened the state of the Aksum empire. Also due to the rise of Islam they lost control of their trading routes on the Red Sea coast. The Beja capitalized on this and managed to take over much of Aksum's territory. Towards the end of the 7th century A.D, a powerful Beja tribe called the Zanafaj acquired a unified structure and penetrated the Eritrean plateau through the valley of Gash-Barka and raided the Aksumites. Much of the Eritrean Highlands were overrun by Beja tribes and many of the dispersed Aksumites fled southwards. After the fall of Aksum the coastal regions were occupied by the Beja. The Beja kingdoms were subdivided by tribes and clans. These clans were noted by Al-Yaqubi to be the Hedareb, Suhab, Amarar, Kubir, Manasa, Ras'a, Arbari'a and Zanafaj. It is also noted that the Kunama were a part of the Bazin kingdom, due the fact that they are called Bazen by Abyssinians. The Beja tribes were on good terms with Muslim Arabs that worked and visited their kingdoms. At the time that Al-Yaqubi visited the kingdoms, the Bazin kingdom was at war with the Nubian kingdom of Alodia. The Beja kingdoms were warlike and powerful nations who were skilled at warfare. There was a Beja tribe that was described as a warrior clan. The name of the clan was Dar As-Sawa. The young men of this particular tribe were sent to military training school, where they were trained for war and combat. The inhabitants of the kingdoms that were located in Eritrea were agriculturalist and pastoralist. These kingdoms established some of the modern day cities. After 600 years, the former Beja kingdoms were replaced by the powerful Belew kingdom (also called Mezega/Bellou/Kelew) whom were also Beja (Balaw).

Beja (Bidhaawyeet or Tubdhaawi) is an Afroasiatic language of the Cushitic branch spoken on the western coast of the Red Sea by the Beja people. Its speakers inhabit parts of Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea. In 2022 there were 2,550,000 Beja speakers in Sudan, and 121,000 Beja speakers in Eritrea according to Ethnologue. As of 2023 there are an estimated 88,000 Beja speakers in Egypt. The total number of speakers in all three countries is 2,759,000. The name Beja, derived from Arabic: بجا, romanized: bijā, is most common in English-language literature. Native speakers use the term Bidhaawyeet (indefinite) or Tubdhaawi (definite). Beja is held by most linguists to be part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family, constituting the only member of the Northern Cushitic subgroup. As such, Beja contains a number of linguistic innovations that are unique to it, as is also the situation with the other subgroups of Cushitic (e.g. idiosyncratic features in Agaw or Central Cushitic). The characteristics of Beja that differ from those of other Cushitic languages are likewise generally acknowledged as normal branch variation. The relation of the Northern Cushitic branch of Cushitic to the other branches is unknown. Christopher Ehret proposes, based on the devoicing of Proto-Cushitic voiced velar fricatives, that Northern Cushitic is possibly more closely related to South Cushitic than to the other branches.

The Beja people are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting parts of northeastern Sudan and eastern Eritrea. The Beja people are a semi-nomadic and non-sedentary tribe, who are also referred to as the Bisharin, Bedouin, “Beja Nomads,” or “Bedouin Arabs of Sudan”. They mainly inhabit an area that is primarily located in Sudan and Egypt. Another segment of the Beja people (also spelled Bisharin) are found along the Red Sea coast of Sudan and southern Egypt. They are also present in eastern Sudan and Eritrea. The Beja are nomadic herders, and their society has traditionally been organized into independent kingdoms ruled by a king or sheikh. The Beja people’s early history is mostly unknown due to lack of written sources before the 16th century AD. However, according to oral tradition, they are descendants of nomadic people who were living east and north of Lake Tana at least as far back as 100 BC. They appeared in Egypt in either 844 or 817 BC as mercenaries for Ramses II (1279–1213 BC). The Beja were famous for their slave-raiding expeditions, which were conducted against the black tribes of the Sudan. As early as the 7th century, Arab writers describe the Beja as among the world’s best equestrians. The Beja’s history is closely tied with that of their neighbors on all sides, but mostly with those who share their language and their religion: the Cushitic-speaking Agaw and Saho tribes. During the process of settling in the Nile Valley and northeastern Africa in general, these tribes supplanted or assimilated earlier populations such as the Kerma Culture that had lived in the region since at least 3000 BC. They are also known to be fierce warriors, fighting with swords and spears.