People of the Nile Valley south of Aswan, at the first cataract extending into the northern Sudan.
Nubia is the land of ancient kingdoms, such as Kush and Meroe, and Christian kingdoms before Islam that rivaled, were controlled by, or entered into peace treaties with Egypt. Nab is the ancient Egyptian word for gold, and Nubia was the source of gold for the region. Nubians have been active in trade and politics along the Nile since ancient times. They are renowned boatmen of the Nile River, and were enslavers of people farther south during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as well as victims of slavery. Although culturally and linguistically distinct, Nubians' complex history reflects contact with many peoples, including Africans farther south along the Nile, Arabs who conquered North Africa, and Europeans, especially the Greeks who in their early encounter described them as "Aethiopian," or "the people of the burnt faces."
Nubians and their subgroups have a long history linked to the rise of Nile Valley agriculture, states, and urbanism. Nubians straddle the borders of contemporary Egypt and Sudan. Although they speak Arabic, the Nubian language of Rotana and various dialects, such as Kenuz, Sukot, Fadija, Halfawi, and Donglowai, have been retained. Estimates of the number of Nubian speakers range from two hundred thousand to one million; one-quarter live in Egypt and the rest in Sudan. Nubian is generally considered an Eastern Sudanic language, a branch of Nilo-Saharan.
The social status of Nubians varies markedly. In Egypt they are generally identified as Sa'eedi (from the south) and are unskilled laborers, or often doormen, and are considered honest but simple. In Sudan, Arabized Nubians of the north were favored by the British colonialists and are concentrated among the elites. They have held state power since independence in 1956. When the Aswan High Dam was constructed in the 1960s, much of Nubia was flooded, destroying archaeological sites and displacing most Egyptian Nubians, resulting either in their resettlement - in some cases at sites far removed from their historical villages along the Nile - or by moving their homes to higher elevations.
Bibliography
Jennings, Anne. Nubians of West Aswan. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1995.
"Nubia." In Historical Dictionary of the Sudan, edited by Richard A. Lobban, Robert Kramer, and Carolyn FluehrLobban. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2002.
— ALEYA ROUCHDY
UPDATED BY CAROLYN FLUEHR-LOBBAN
