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The Beja people inhabit a general area between the Nile River and the Red Sea in Sudan, Eritrea and eastern Egypt known as the Eastern Desert. Most of them live in the Sudanese states of Red Sea around Port Sudan, River Nile, Al Qadarif and Kassala, as well as in Northern Red Sea, Gash-Barka, and Anseba Regions in Eritrea, and southeastern Egypt.
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.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Nov 8, 2023 · The Beja people are a distinct social and cultural ethnic group in Sudan and Egypt that have suffered from neglect and marginalisation. They constitute the most extensive non-Arab ethnic group from the Red Sea to the Nile.
- Beja / Bedawi / Beni Amer
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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 southeast...
300.000 Beja live in the extensive semi-desert plains between Kassala and the Red Sea around the borders of Eritrea and Sudan.
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 A...
They lead a tribal pastoral life, with those in the northern territories raising camels, and the southerners raising cattle. In contemporary era, many have adopted a farming lifestyle and become migrant wage labour providers. The Beja are said to be the descendants of Noah's grandson, Cush (son of Ham). They are a native African people who have occ...
The Bejas are divided into clans. These lineages include the Bisharin, Hedareb, Hadendowa (or Hadendoa), the Amarar (or Amar'ar), Beni-Amer, Hallenga , Habab , Belin and Hamran, some of whom are partly mixed with Bedouins in the east. Beja society was traditionally organized into independent kingdoms. According to Al-Yaqubi, there were six such Bej...
The Beja people began to be converted to Islam around 1450 and following, largely because of movement of Arab Muslims into their area. The two major influences were from Yemen and from Egypt and Sudan. The latter, the Jaaliyyin (Gaaliin) Arabs from northern Arabia via Egypt, were the strongest influence. The Beni-Amer gained their name and their Mu...
Many scholars believe the Beja to be derived from early Egyptians because of their language and physical features. They are the indigenous people of this area, and we first know of them in historical references in the Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Over the centuries, they had contact and some influence from Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Turks. A few ...
The Beja word for their language is To Bedawie (or To Bedawiat), and the people and language are also called Bedawiye, Bedauye and Beni-Amer (with other variations). Subgroupings of the Beja people do not coincide directly with the dialects of the language. The major subgroups are: Ababda, Amarar, Bisharin, Hadendoa, Beni-Amer Beja, Beni-Amer Tigre...
The Beja have been independent, with fairly autonomous clan. For instance, the Beni-Amer alone have over 40 sections. They have not always had amicable relations diverse Beja groups. They resisted military conquest by Egyptian pharaohs. Occasionally certain sections of the Beja have paid tribute to Egyptian rulers. In recent centuries they have bee...
Dec 20, 2017 · Nowadays, most Beja people live in the Sudanese states of Red Sea around Port Sudan, River Nile, or Kassala among others. More notable Beja communities can be found in the Anseba Regions of Eritrea as well as the southern parts of Egypt.
The Beja people are nomads who have occupied their homelands across the Sudan, Eritrea and Egypt for more than 4,000 years. Some scholars believe they are related to the ancient Egyptians. In the course of their history, they accepted Islam and are 99 per cent Muslim.
May 4, 2023 · Anthropologists believe that the Beja people are part of a broader ancient Egyptian ethnic group that has lived in the area east of the Nile River for the past 27,000 years.
