Nubians in Uganda ... Migration through ancient history, traditions and culture

The migration of the Nubians from their original homeland in southern Egypt and northern Sudan has occupied historians and researchers throughout the ages, and through those migrations, the Nubians invaded many countries, leaving their culture and their legacies as an indestructible history.

During the 19th century, Uganda witnessed political and religious conflicts, and colonialism tried to find a solution to these conflicts and disputes through diplomatic contacts and friendship, by using Sudanese soldiers (later Nubians) to push them into soldiering and fighting.

The Ugandan researcher in the history of the Nubians, Hassan Abdul Majid, Mtogoubia of Al Jazeera Net, indicates that the Nubians entered Uganda between 1830 and 1869, and their number is estimated at 25 thousand Nubians, 8200 of whom joined the Ugandan army.

Mutoubia attributes the reason for their emigration to Uganda to the exorbitant taxes imposed on them by the colonialists in Sudan at that point in the history of this country.

The researcher in Sudanese history, Abbas al-Hajj, monitors the Nubian migrations with their various names, and explains to Al-Jazeera Net that the migration of the Nubians took place during the era of the state of Kush.

Al-Hajj considered the migration of Nubians south to southern Sudan and Uganda as a starting point for the Nubians to the rest of the African and European countries.

He continued, "The land of Nubia is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, and the origin of mankind started from Sudan, noting that many customs and traditions in southern Sudan and Uganda are similar to the customs of the people of Sudan."

The homeland of the Nubians

The Bombo District, 32 kilometers north of the Ugandan capital Kampala, is a stronghold of the Nubians and their first settler.

The Nubian officers also settled upon their retirement in the Bombo area, and established a center for Islamic education and a large mosque, which contributed to the Nubian observance of their religious rituals.

Nubian Gallery in the Bombo region, north of the Ugandan capital Kampala (the island)

Over time, the area turned into a military barracks for the Ugandan army, and its population increased dramatically, with the population estimated in August at more than 26,000.

Nubian women in the Bombo region try to preserve their Nubian culture and customs, through their craftsmanship that reflects the ancient Nubian heritage, and they perform these works in their spare time, as well as make jewelry to adorn their bodies with engravings and drawings that embody the ancient Nubian art.

Their economic and social lives

The Nubians in Uganda practiced the cultivation of all kinds of crops, and most of them engaged in the Ugandan army, and others worked in the field of trade, and their economic life was not far from the Ugandan lifestyle, but they excelled in the uniqueness of their ancient Nubian culture and legacies in an attempt to highlight its Arab Islamic features.

The Ugandan researcher on the history of the Nubians, Mutoubia, continues that the Nubians enriched life in Uganda with their Sudanese Islamic culture in terms of clothing, customs and traditions, and they immortalized some Arab names as names of villages and places, and their culture spread in Ugandan society, describing the Nuba people as generous and brave.

Mutouqoubia referred to the Nubians ’contributions to spreading Islam, the Arabic language and Islamic culture in most regions of Uganda.

persecution

Hassan Abdul Majeed traces the conditions of the Nubians after the fall of former Ugandan President Idi Amin in 1979, who is affiliated with Islamic and Nubian groups in Uganda, and reveals to Al-Jazeera Net that Nubians in many areas have been marginalized, fierce attacks, and great persecution between beatings and torture;

From us that led to their fleeing to neighboring countries, and explains that persecution and torture included all Muslims, including the Nubians who were supported by Amin.

On the same level, Habib Sabt - a resident of the Bombo area - recalls memories of the fall of Amin's government, and tells Al-Jazeera Net, "The moment Amin fell, a bomb exploded in the area that led to massive destruction and left dead and wounded", and we fled to Kenya and South Sudan, and we returned later in the era of the Yuri government. Museveni.

Nubian soldiers with Sir Frederick Lugard during colonial rule in Uganda (communication sites)

Attention is drawn to the fact that the Bombo region is 99% Muslim, and has supported Idi Amin and supported him since he was an officer in the Ugandan army.

Nubian culture

Zeina Khalil, the owner of a Nubian heritage exhibition in Bombo, confirms that Nubian customs and traditions are still present and present today, and she says that despite the harsh immigration conditions, we still preserve our Nubian culture and heritage, especially in Nubian marriage rituals.

Zeina explains to Al-Jazeera Net that a Nubian marriage in Uganda takes a whole week, punctuated by a dance and some different Nubian cultural norms, and gifts are presented to brides in cultural baskets known as "ebibu", adding that "after the marriage ceremony, we do the marriage contract."

Many Nubians immigrated to Uganda more than a century ago, as a result of the merger of the various tribes coming from Sudan before the south seceded from it, and the Nubian ethnic groups present in Uganda are part of the long ethnic and historical presence of each of the modern countries, Egypt and Sudan.

They later became a component of indigenous Ugandan society, and its Kenobi language was constitutionally recognized as one of the local Ugandan languages.

The country of Nubia was the seat of one of the oldest civilizations in ancient Africa, and the home of many empires, including the Kingdom of Kush, which invaded Egypt in 727 BC during the reign of King Anakhy, and ruled Egypt as the 25th family until about 656 BC.