Table Of ContentAnders Hjort af Ornäs
Gudrun Dahl
~-PONSIBLE
the Atmaan Beja of
North-eastern Sudan
RESPONSIBLE
MAN
the Atmaan Beja of
North-eastern Sudan
Anders~jortafOrnäs
GuilrunDahl
NORDISKA
AFRIKAINSTITUTET
j~!:ll -09- 1 6
UPPSALA
Publishedby
StockholmStudies inSocialAnthropology, SSSA
incooperationwith
Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Uppsala
1991
Cover:ThetopofawoodenBejacomb,usedbymento embellishtheirAfro
stylehair.Thefigureintheuppersectionisa man'shead. Themiddle
sectionshowsanumberofutensilsusedinthe coffeeceremony:fan, stove
andsetofjabanapotandcups.Totherightoftherineinthebottomsection
isa pack-sackfor a camel.
DrawingsbyGudrunDahl
Typesetting:KerstinEdlund,UppsalaUniversity,Uppsala
ISBN91-7146-905-2
©AndersHjortafOrnäs,GudrunDahl, 1991
PrintedinSwedenby
Reklam& Katalagtryck, Uppsalauniversitet, 1991
Contents
Preface viii
Sometermsusedin thetext ix
1. TheAtmaanAmar'arandtheircountry
Theareaanditsinhabitants l
Anoutlineofthestudy 8
2. FromtheRedSeatotheNileValley: Anhistorical
backgroundtotheBeja'sresourcesituation 13
TheoriginsofBejaeconomy 15
Desertroutes,harboursandearlytrade 20
TheBejaandtheHadariba 22
Bejagroupsinthe19thcentury 29
Egyptianrule 31
HarboursandroutesduringtheTurko-Egyptianera 33
OsmanDignaandtheBeja:slavetradereligionandwars 35
TheBritishimpactontheAtmaanandotherBeja 38
Conc!usion 41
3. Territory,resourcecontroiandsolidarityamongtheAtmaan 45
Thelineagesystem,afolkmodelofhistoricaliinks 49
Diwabideologyandlivestockproperty 55
Physicalandsocialterritory 57
Urbanresourcesanddiwabstructure 62
Territoriality,kinshipandneighbourhood 64
4. The responsibleman 69
Keymalevirtues 70
Honourasacol1ectiveresource 75
Leadershipandarbitration 82
Managementofhonourinamixedculturalenvironment 84
Reflectionsdnhospitality,al1ianceandhierarchy 88
v
5. Gender roles,marriageand brother-sisterrelations 91 _
Insideandoutside 91
Brotherhoodandmarriage 92
Genderandwork 98
Womanhoodandmarriage 102
Thelimitedsignificanceofmarriage 107
6. Gettinggrain 109
Farmlandandthequestionofownership 112
Thecu1tivationprocess 117
Thelocalgraintradeversustheworldmarket 122
7. Familyherds 127
Thecame1inloca1life 128
Thecame1population 132
Threepattemsofcame1pastoralism 134
Aririitcame1pastoralisminAulib 134
Matiaatcame1pastoralisminthekhors 136
Shallageeacame1pastoralismonthecoast 137
Smallstockherding 139
Shepherding:productionandvu1nerability 142
Changeandconstraints 146
8. The dwindIingresource base 151
ThemodernhistoryofdroughtinBejalands 152
TheSanasitaperiod1888-89 154
Environmentalhazardsduringthepost-Sanashaperiod 156
AsummaryofgeneraltrendsinlandcontroibytheBeja 162
Thescopeoflocalobservation 164
Treesandpoverty 168
Talkingaboutdisaster 172
GodandtheBeja'snewneighbours 173
Unificationanddivision 175
Appendix: Early Heja history 177
Bejacountry<UldNubiainancienttimes 177
TheBejainEar1yArabtimes 180
HibIiography 185
vi
Maps
1. North-eastemSudan 6
2. TheBejaandotherCushiticgroups 16
3. TheRedSeainc1assicaltimes,andsomeplacesmentionedinthetext 19
4. CaravanroutesofsignificancefortheBeja 24
5. ThecoreareaofAtmaantraditionalrightsandsettlements 47
6. CatehmentareasinRedSeaProvince 113
7. Naturalvegetationinnorth-eastemSudan 114
Figures
1. Amar'argroupsandsubdivisions 48
2. GenealogiesoftheAtmaanrecordedin1935and1980 51
vii
Preface
This study is based on fieldwork carried out during different periods.
The authors spentfive monthseachinRed SeaProvince in 1980.Hjort
af Ornäs returned for a two-month period later that year. Dahl spent
two months there in 1986/87. Inview ofthe methodological problems
involved in studying the Beja, we would have preferred to have spent
more time in the field than has for personal reasons been possible for
us. As aconsequence, the presentvolumeis as muchbuilton reviewing
the availablewrittensources onthe Bejaas onfield data, and itis more
exploratory in nature than conc1usive. Nevertheless, we hope that the
present volume will contribute to identifying interesting fields for
further research among the Beja.
Our fieldwork was carried out mainly among the Atmaan, who
constitute the major part of the Atmaan-Amar'ar, with families
centered on Waheda (outside Port Sudan), Musmar and Ariaab. Our
own field data apply to them but, particularly in the chapters on
history and onrecentchanges inthe resourcebasis,we have had an eye
to the broader region ofthe northern Beja in general. It is difficultfor
us to judge the extent to which the people we have been dealing with
are more Arabicized than the Beja living at greater distances from the
main routes, but our impression is that various groups ofHadendowa,
Atmaan-Amar'ar and Bishariin have enough in common to be treated
as one singleculture.
The work has been financed by SAREC (the Swedish Agency for
Research Cooperationwith Developing Countries) and by the Swedish
Academy ofScience. Their contribution is gratefully appreciated, as is
also the assistance of many Beja friends. This has to be a collective
acknowledgement. Among individuals we wish to thank are Waffa
Osman and Ali Salah ofSudan CentralRecords Archives, Safia ofthe
Anthropology and Sociology Department, Peter Walker, Nicholas
Meadows, Penny Nestle and Suzanne Quinney. Thanks also to M A
Mohamed Salih for his comments on the early draft ofthis book. The
language editing was done by Tim Caudery and the maps were drawn
by Peter van Gylswyck. Typesetting, finally, was executed by Kerstin
Edlund.
Anders HjortafOrnäs and Gudrun Dahl
viii
Some Beja terms used in the text
Please note that this list is primarily prepared to help the reader with
tenns used in the text. This means not least that many tuBedawiet
words are listedhere with the masculine orfeminine prefix.
Ababda the mostnorthem ofthe Beja groups
adarharob red durra
'adlib Suaedafruticosa Forsk., abush
amab Tamarix aphyllaformakingwoodenpoles
angareb ropebed
aririit type ofcamel: fairmilk producers. Main advantage is
endurance
asl customarytitle to land
Atmaan aBeja group
ayb taboo
balat'harob durrawhichis identicalwith himeisi,Stapfvariety
balbal weeds
Bedawiet Beja
Beni Amer (Khasa) ethnic group withlinks to the Beja and theTigre,
butethnically distinctfrom both
billtub dukhn (Ar.); finger millet
Bishariin aBeja group
dameini to cover
dayb ground pits for durra
dekab a shelteroftimberfor givinghospitality andholdingcouncils
diwab majorclan group
dukhn (Ar.) finger millet
durareit honour (n)
feddan measure ofland area. l feddan = 1.038 acres
gangar durra cob
gefareeb Salsolabaryosmaabush,camelfodder
gudamantib development
gwadabb symbolic recognitionoflandownership; front legofanimal
hadara civilization
hadarenini tobehospitable
Hadendowa aBejagroup
halagen bride-wealth
ix
harob durra (Ar.); sorghurn
hedareb hospitablepeople
i'damar thepermanenthomeplace
i'mara rights; the rights obtainedinexchangefor thegwadabb
jabana Turkishcoffee
jawal 90kg sackofdurra
kantar l smallkantaris 44.928 kg. Forcotton, abig kantar is
141.523 kg.
kirrab a watercatchment
kurai the grazing territory to which aBeja c1aims customary rights
matiaat thefastest andmostslenderofthe Atmaancamels
mish'ariib camelherder
mugud a durra type
mushuk date residue from wine production
nandab shadetree
o'di smoke-bath
o'mkir the act ofconsulting an elderofone ofthe property-holding
diwab
o'slif customarylaw
o'tam durra porridge
omda lowerlevel"headmen"
qalla work ganginport
qole the distance aland-ownercanthrow his walking stick
rafig (Ar.), a sponsorto vouch for one's goodfaith
rattel 1rattel is approximately 0,45 kg (various sources indicate
7.25 rattel =3.5 kg; 100rattel =44.928 kg, and 1kg = 2.25 rattel)
safiia 1safiia=15.14litres
Sanasita 1888-89droughtdisaster
shallageea type ofcamel: the sturdiestand thebestmilkproducers
sheikh leaderinthekinship system butalso aQuranicteacher
shetariit (Ar. fetarita); seeharob
shuush Panicum turgidumperennialgrass; excellentcamelfodder
si/sila alinealchainofreligioussuccession
suganneit insult,provocation againstcollectivehonour
sulh property rights to land
sumatu individualreputation
t'angash (Ar. saluka) adiggingstick
t'anna sheep
tajjer compensationingoldormoney
x
ti'hibqualda seematiaat
ti'sagane Acaciaspirocarpa
ti'smaya namegiving
Tu'Durarey orsynonymously o'rya: honour
tubahala the (dry) periodlastingfromNovemberto March
TuBedawiye theBejalanguage
tuhoobi rainy period
wahalas the afterbirth
yategaab shepherd
yomiia a day's work inport
xi
