Baggara
Encyclopedia
The Baggāra Arabs are a set of communities inhabiting the portion of Africa's Sahel
between Lake Chad
and southern Kordofan, numbering over one million. They have a common language which is one of the regional colloquial Arabic languages
. They also have a common traditional mode of subsistence, nomadic cattle herding, although nowadays many lead a settled existence. Nevertheless, collectively they do not all necessarily consider themselves one people, i.e., a single ethnic group. The term "baggara culture" was introduced in 1994 by Braukämper. The political use of term "baggara" to denote a particular set of tribes is limited to Sudan. The bulk of so called "baggara Arabs" live in Chad
. The rest live, or seasonally migrate to, southwest Sudan
(specifically the southern portions of Darfur
and Kordofan), Cameroon
, Nigeria
, and slivers of the Central African Republic
, South Sudan
, and Niger
. Those who are still nomads migrate seasonally between grazing lands in the wet season and river areas in the dry season.
Their common language is known to academics by various names, such as Chadian Arabic
, taken from the regions where the language is spoken. For much of the 20th century, this language was known to academics as "Shuwa Arabic", but "Shuwa" is a geographically and socially parochial term that has fallen into disuse among linguists specializing in the language, who instead refer to it as "Nigerian Arabic" or "Chadian Arabic" depending on the origin of the native speakers being consulted for a given academic project. The term "Shuwa" is peculiar to the region of Borno State
in the tip of northeastern Nigeria, where it is used by the majority non-Arabic speakers to describe the Arabic speakers among them.
and the Sahel, Baggara tribes have origin myths claiming ancestry from specific Arab tribes who migrated directly from the Arabian peninsula or from other parts of north Africa
.
Baggara tribes in Sudan
include the Rizeigat
, Ta’isha
, Beni Halba
, and Habbaniya
in Darfur
, and the Messiria
Zurug, Messiria Humur, Hawazma
, and Awlad Himayd
in Kordofan, and the Beni Selam on the White Nile
. The Misseiria of Jebel Mun speak the Nilo-Saharan language
of their traditional neighbors, Tama
(Tama as spoken by this tribe is also called Miisiirii).
The small community of "Baggara Arabs" in the southeastern corner of Niger is known as Diffa Arabs
for the Diffa Region. They occupy the shore of Lake Chad
and migrated from Nigeria since World War II. Most of the Diffa Arabs claim descent from the Mahamid
clan of Sudan and Chad.
The Baggara of Darfur and Kordofan were the backbone of the Mahdist
revolt against Turko-Egyptian rule in Sudan in the 1880s. The Mahdi's second-in-command, the Khalifa Abdallahi ibn Muhammad
, was himself a Baggara of the Ta'aisha tribe. During the Mahdist period (1883-98) tens of thousands of Baggara migrated to Omdurman and central Sudan where they provided many of the troops for the Mahdist armies. After their defeat at the Battle of Karari in 1898, the remnants returned home to Darfur and Kordofan. Under the British system of indirect rule, each of the major Baggara tribes was ruled by its own paramount chief (nazir). Most of them were loyal members of the Umma Party, headed since the 1960s by Sadiq el Mahdi.
The main Baggara tribes of Darfur
were awarded "hawakir" (land grants) by the Fur Sultans in the 1750s. As a result, the four largest Baggara tribes of Darfur—the Rizeigat
, Habbaniya, Beni Halba
and Ta’isha
--have been only marginally involved in the Darfur conflict
. However, the Baggara have been deeply involved in other conflicts in both Sudan and Chad. Starting in 1985, the Government of Sudan armed many of the local tribes among them the Rizeigat
of south Darfur and the Missiriya and Hawazma
of neighboring Kordofan as militia to fight a proxy war against the Sudan People's Liberation Army
in their areas. They formed frontline units as well as Murahleen, mounted raiders that attacked southern villages to loot valuables and slaves.
The Baggara people (and subgroups) were armed by the Sudanese government to participate in the counterinsurgency against the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army. The first attacks against villages by the Baggara were staged in the Nuba Mountains. The Sudanese government promoted attacks by promising the Baggara people no interference so they could seize animals and land. They formed the precursors to the Janjaweed
- a famous para-military.
During the Second Sudanese Civil War
thousands of Dinka women and children were abducted and subsequently enslaved by members of the Missiriya and Rezeigat tribes. An unknown number of children from the Nuba tribe were similarly abducted and enslaved. In Darfur, a Beni Halba militia force was organized by the government to defeat an SPLA force led by Daud Bolad
in 1990-91. However, by the mid-1990s the various Baggara groups had mostly negotiated local truces with the SPLA forces. The leaders of the major Baggara tribes declared that they had no interest in joining the fighting.
Sahel
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....
between Lake Chad
Lake Chad
Lake Chad is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in Africa, whose size has varied over the centuries. According to the Global Resource Information Database of the United Nations Environment Programme, it shrank as much as 95% from about 1963 to 1998; yet it also states that "the 2007 ...
and southern Kordofan, numbering over one million. They have a common language which is one of the regional colloquial Arabic languages
Varieties of Arabic
The Arabic language is a Semitic language characterized by a wide number of linguistic varieties within its five regional forms. The largest divisions occur between the spoken languages of different regions. The Arabic of North Africa, for example, is often incomprehensible to an Arabic speaker...
. They also have a common traditional mode of subsistence, nomadic cattle herding, although nowadays many lead a settled existence. Nevertheless, collectively they do not all necessarily consider themselves one people, i.e., a single ethnic group. The term "baggara culture" was introduced in 1994 by Braukämper. The political use of term "baggara" to denote a particular set of tribes is limited to Sudan. The bulk of so called "baggara Arabs" live in Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
. The rest live, or seasonally migrate to, southwest Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
(specifically the southern portions of Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
and Kordofan), Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, and slivers of the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
, South Sudan
South Sudan
South Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...
, and Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
. Those who are still nomads migrate seasonally between grazing lands in the wet season and river areas in the dry season.
Their common language is known to academics by various names, such as Chadian Arabic
Chadian Arabic
Chadian Arabic is one of the regional colloquial Arabic languages. "Shuwa Arabic" properly refers only to its Nigerian dialects, and even then, it is a term not used by the speakers themselves...
, taken from the regions where the language is spoken. For much of the 20th century, this language was known to academics as "Shuwa Arabic", but "Shuwa" is a geographically and socially parochial term that has fallen into disuse among linguists specializing in the language, who instead refer to it as "Nigerian Arabic" or "Chadian Arabic" depending on the origin of the native speakers being consulted for a given academic project. The term "Shuwa" is peculiar to the region of Borno State
Borno State
Borno State is a state in north-eastern Nigeria. Its capital is Maiduguri. The state was formed in 1976 from the split of the North-Eastern State...
in the tip of northeastern Nigeria, where it is used by the majority non-Arabic speakers to describe the Arabic speakers among them.
Origins and divisions
The origin of the Baggara is undetermined. According to a 1994 research paper, the group arose in Chad from 1635 onwards through the fusion of an Arabic speaking population with a Fulani population. DNA tests indicate they have a common lineage with Chadic and Fulani speakers. Like other Arabic speaking tribes in the SaharaSahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
and the Sahel, Baggara tribes have origin myths claiming ancestry from specific Arab tribes who migrated directly from the Arabian peninsula or from other parts of north Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
.
Baggara tribes in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
include the Rizeigat
Rizeigat
The Rizeigat, or Rizigat, or Rezeigat are a Muslim and Arabic tribe of the nomadic Bedouin Baggara people in Sudan's Darfur region. The Rizeigat belong to the greater Baggara Arabs fraternity of Darfur and Kordofan and speak Sudanese Arabic...
, Ta’isha
Ta’isha
Ta’isha is one of the Baqqara tribes, these nomads originated from the Guhayna group, a clan of Bedouin Arabs who came across the Sinai Peninsula from Arabia. They eventually moved into the Nile region of Upper Egypt and then into Sudan in the beginning of the 16 century around 1504. They settled...
, Beni Halba
Beni Halba
The Beni Halba is an Arab group located in the western Sudanese region of Darfur. The Beni Halba is one of the major Darfuri Baggara groups, along with the Habbaniya, Rizeigat and Ta’isha, and was granted a large hakura in southern Darfur by the sultans of independent Dar Fur...
, and Habbaniya
Habbaniya
The Habbaniya, or Habbania, are a Sunni Muslim tribe of the nomadic Bedouin Baggara people in the plains of Sudan's Darfur, North Kurdufan, and South Kurdufan provinces....
in Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
, and the Messiria
Messiria
The Messiria known also under the name of Misseriya Arabs are a branch of the Baggara Arabs tribes. Their language is the Sudanese Arabic. Numbering over one million, the Baggara are the second largest people group in Western Sudan, extending into Eastern Chad. They are primarily nomadic cattle...
Zurug, Messiria Humur, Hawazma
Hawazma
Hawazma, part of Sudan's Baggara tribe, are cattle herders who roam the area from the southern parts of North Kurdufan to the southern borders of South Kurdufan, a distance of about 300 kilometers...
, and Awlad Himayd
Awlad Himayd
Awlad Himayd is a group of people that are part of the greater Baggara Arabs fraternity of Kordofan and Darfur.-Description:They speak Sudanese Arabic. Awlad Himayd live in eastern parts of South Kordofan. They were nomadic people who shared routes with the Halafa, a branch of the Hawazma, and...
in Kordofan, and the Beni Selam on the White Nile
White Nile
The White Nile is a river of Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile from Egypt, the other being the Blue Nile. In the strict meaning, "White Nile" refers to the river formed at Lake No at the confluence of the Bahr al Jabal and Bahr el Ghazal rivers...
. The Misseiria of Jebel Mun speak the Nilo-Saharan language
Nilo-Saharan languages
The Nilo-Saharan languages are a proposed family of African languages spoken by some 50 million people, mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers , including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributaries of Nile meet...
of their traditional neighbors, Tama
Tama language
The Tama language is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken in western Sudan and eastern Chad. It is a member of the Taman language group of the Western branch of Nilo-Saharan.-External links:**...
(Tama as spoken by this tribe is also called Miisiirii).
The small community of "Baggara Arabs" in the southeastern corner of Niger is known as Diffa Arabs
Diffa Arabs
Diffa Arabs is the Nigerien name given to Arab nomadic tribespeople living in eastern Niger, mostly in the Diffa Region...
for the Diffa Region. They occupy the shore of Lake Chad
Lake Chad
Lake Chad is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in Africa, whose size has varied over the centuries. According to the Global Resource Information Database of the United Nations Environment Programme, it shrank as much as 95% from about 1963 to 1998; yet it also states that "the 2007 ...
and migrated from Nigeria since World War II. Most of the Diffa Arabs claim descent from the Mahamid
Mahamid
The Mahamid clan is a sub-category of the greater Sudanese-Arab Rizeigat tribe in Northern Darfur, and is being led by Sheikh Musa Hilal. The Mahamid are mostly known for supplying forces to the Janjaweed militias, who are --although not officially-- being backed by the federal Islamic government...
clan of Sudan and Chad.
History
Muhammad Ahmad
Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah was a religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, on June 29, 1881, proclaimed himself as the Mahdi or messianic redeemer of the Islamic faith...
revolt against Turko-Egyptian rule in Sudan in the 1880s. The Mahdi's second-in-command, the Khalifa Abdallahi ibn Muhammad
Abdallahi ibn Muhammad
Abdullah Ibn-Mohammed or Abdullah al-Taaisha, also known as "The Khalifa" was a Sudanese Ansar General and ruler.-Early years:Abdullah was born into the Ta'aisha Baqqara tribe in Darfur around 1846 and was trained and educated as a preacher and holy man.He became a follower of Mohammed Ahmed "the...
, was himself a Baggara of the Ta'aisha tribe. During the Mahdist period (1883-98) tens of thousands of Baggara migrated to Omdurman and central Sudan where they provided many of the troops for the Mahdist armies. After their defeat at the Battle of Karari in 1898, the remnants returned home to Darfur and Kordofan. Under the British system of indirect rule, each of the major Baggara tribes was ruled by its own paramount chief (nazir). Most of them were loyal members of the Umma Party, headed since the 1960s by Sadiq el Mahdi.
The main Baggara tribes of Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
were awarded "hawakir" (land grants) by the Fur Sultans in the 1750s. As a result, the four largest Baggara tribes of Darfur—the Rizeigat
Rizeigat
The Rizeigat, or Rizigat, or Rezeigat are a Muslim and Arabic tribe of the nomadic Bedouin Baggara people in Sudan's Darfur region. The Rizeigat belong to the greater Baggara Arabs fraternity of Darfur and Kordofan and speak Sudanese Arabic...
, Habbaniya, Beni Halba
Beni Halba
The Beni Halba is an Arab group located in the western Sudanese region of Darfur. The Beni Halba is one of the major Darfuri Baggara groups, along with the Habbaniya, Rizeigat and Ta’isha, and was granted a large hakura in southern Darfur by the sultans of independent Dar Fur...
and Ta’isha
Ta’isha
Ta’isha is one of the Baqqara tribes, these nomads originated from the Guhayna group, a clan of Bedouin Arabs who came across the Sinai Peninsula from Arabia. They eventually moved into the Nile region of Upper Egypt and then into Sudan in the beginning of the 16 century around 1504. They settled...
--have been only marginally involved in the Darfur conflict
Darfur conflict
The Darfur Conflict was a guerrilla conflict or civil war centered on the Darfur region of Sudan. It began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and Justice and Equality Movement groups in Darfur took up arms, accusing the Sudanese government of oppressing non-Arab Sudanese in...
. However, the Baggara have been deeply involved in other conflicts in both Sudan and Chad. Starting in 1985, the Government of Sudan armed many of the local tribes among them the Rizeigat
Rizeigat
The Rizeigat, or Rizigat, or Rezeigat are a Muslim and Arabic tribe of the nomadic Bedouin Baggara people in Sudan's Darfur region. The Rizeigat belong to the greater Baggara Arabs fraternity of Darfur and Kordofan and speak Sudanese Arabic...
of south Darfur and the Missiriya and Hawazma
Hawazma
Hawazma, part of Sudan's Baggara tribe, are cattle herders who roam the area from the southern parts of North Kurdufan to the southern borders of South Kurdufan, a distance of about 300 kilometers...
of neighboring Kordofan as militia to fight a proxy war against the Sudan People's Liberation Army
Sudan People's Liberation Army
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement is a political party in South Sudan. It was initially founded as a rebel political movement with a military wing known as the Sudan People's Liberation Army estimated at 180,000 soldiers. The SPLM fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War against the Sudanese...
in their areas. They formed frontline units as well as Murahleen, mounted raiders that attacked southern villages to loot valuables and slaves.
The Baggara people (and subgroups) were armed by the Sudanese government to participate in the counterinsurgency against the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army. The first attacks against villages by the Baggara were staged in the Nuba Mountains. The Sudanese government promoted attacks by promising the Baggara people no interference so they could seize animals and land. They formed the precursors to the Janjaweed
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed is a blanket term used to describe mostly gunmen in Darfur, western Sudan, and now eastern Chad...
- a famous para-military.
During the Second Sudanese Civil War
Second Sudanese Civil War
The Second Sudanese Civil War started in 1983, although it was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originated in southern Sudan, the civil war spread to the Nuba mountains and Blue Nile by the end of the 1980s....
thousands of Dinka women and children were abducted and subsequently enslaved by members of the Missiriya and Rezeigat tribes. An unknown number of children from the Nuba tribe were similarly abducted and enslaved. In Darfur, a Beni Halba militia force was organized by the government to defeat an SPLA force led by Daud Bolad
Daud Bolad
Daud Yahya Ibrahim Bolad was a Sudanese politician and rebel leader. He came from the Fur people of the Darfur region of the country. In the early 1970s, Bolad was nominated by the Islamist National Islamic Front to be the president of the Khartoum University Students Union...
in 1990-91. However, by the mid-1990s the various Baggara groups had mostly negotiated local truces with the SPLA forces. The leaders of the major Baggara tribes declared that they had no interest in joining the fighting.
Further reading
- Braukämper, Ulrich. 1994. Notes on the origin of Baggara Arab culture with special reference to the Shuwa. In Jonathan Owens, ed., Arabs and Arabic in the Lake Chad Region. Rüdiger Köppe. Series SUGIA (Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika); 14.