Anthropology and Globalization of the Nuba People

Anthropology is the broad analysis of different facets of human culture in the past. This covers social and cultural anthropology, which is the study of a specific tribe's attitudes, traditions, and norms in a society; biological anthropology, which examines the different phases of human development; and linguistic anthropology, which is the study of how language influences a specific tribe's social life and behaviors. Globalization is the association and convergence of specific individuals on a local or international scale, which has a significant social, environmental, economic, and cultural influence. This research is going to embark on the anthropology of the Nuba people and how the interaction of the Nuba people with foreigners affected their cultural, social, economic, and political life and their implications. Indigenous Nuba were the original or native Nuba people before mingling with other tribes from outside (Tinsley, Rebecca).

History and background information on the Nuba people:

The Nuba people should not be confused with the Nubians. The Nuba are the people living at the foot of the Nuba Mountains in the Southern Kordofan. On the other hand, the Nubians are the people who currently live along the River Nile at the border, between Sudan and Egypt.

The main Tribes of the Nuba people include: Tumtum, Temin, Sabori, Tillo, Shatt, Affiti, Kaderu, Julud, Wali, Karko, Kajaja, Dair, Chioro, Moro, Heiban, Koalib, Tira, Miri, Acheron, Fungor, Kanga, Tima, Katla, Korongo, Rashad, Tagoi, Tumali, Tumma, and Moreb.

The Nuba is one of the ethnic groups in Sudan. They are the indigenous people who inhabited the Nuba Mountains of Southern Sudan. The Nuba though is composed of distinct people who speak different languages. The population estimate of the Nuba people as by 2003 was 1.07 million people (Ahmed, Mohammed Murakah Mohammed).

The Nuba occupy the foothills of the Nuba Mountains, whereby the unmarried men sleep in round mud huts, thatched with sorghum stalks. These huts were referred to as ‘Holua.’

A family compound referred to as a ‘shal’, consisting of two huts was rectangular shaped. The ‘shal’ was fenced by use of wooden posts interwoven with straw stalks. In front of the ‘shal’ was a large yard called a ‘tog’ whereby livestock like chicken, goats, and donkeys was kept. The soil of the Nuba was fertile. They grew maize, beans, sorghum, peanuts and other kinds of vegetables and pumpkins.

Among the Nuba people, one’s wealth was measured by the number of cattle one owned. The cows were kept in enclosures called ‘coh’ and calves in ‘cohnih.’ The staple food for the Nuba people is sorghum. The sorghum is boiled with water or milk to make ‘kal’ which is eaten with meat stew called ‘waj.’ They also depend on corn and butter as supplementary feeds.

The Nuba speak several distinct languages. There are over a thousand languages spoken by the Nuba. The people of the Nuba Mountains speak Kordofanian language, which makes a language group referred to as the Niger-Congo language family. Another big language family is the Nilo- Saharan language family. Many of these people also speak Sudanese Arabic, which is the official language of the Sudanese people.

The Nuba people are mainly farmers. They are also herders, who keep chicken, cattle, goats, and donkeys. The farmers grow sorghum, maize, vegetables, and red millet which grow well in arid to desert areas ("Sudan: Cluster Bombs In Nuba Mountains?").

The Nuba people engage in traditional wrestling. Young and strong men of one tribe engage fights in a fighting competition with other tribes so as to be able to bring victory and pride to their own tribes when they triumph during the contest. The Nuba paint their bodies with paints in different patterns. They also believe in the power and the importance of strength and beauty.

The main religion of the Nuba people is Islam, but some are Christians. Traditional shamanistic beliefs also exist among the people. Both the males and females practice the rites of passage, i.e. circumcision and female genital mutilation respectively. They also practice scarification as rite of passage from childhood to adulthood, which involves burning, scratching or making permanent modifications on the surface of their skins.

Nuba adult men wear ‘sarongs’ and in some situations, they wear a skull cap. The younger men remained naked and the children could wear only a string of beads. Older women and girls wear beads and a cloak tie over their shoulders. Women braid their hair in strands and align it with beads, while younger men could shave their heads and older men raised their beards.

The majority of the Nuba people who live in the east, western, and northern parts of the Nuba Mountains are of the Islamic religion. Some of those who live in the Southern parts are Christians. Some engage in traditional animistic/ idol worship religions. The Nuba worshipped in shrines, which were led, run, and guard by ritual specialists, priests, and clan elders.

The Sudan political system was made up of a transitional government. The Sudanese president is both chief of state and head of government, who appoints a cabinet.

President Bashir sent the military to take over the government. This led to the outbreak of a lot of wars between the government’s army and the rebel citizens who protested for their rights and properties.



Moreover, political parties were banned by the military government.

The rich fertile soils of the Nuba people attracted the attention of outsiders.

In 1987, the Nuba people held an election whereby the Nuba Mountains forum won over the Sudan National Party and Umma Party. This is because the Nuba Mountain region had withdrawn their support on the Sudan National Party. This led to the outbreak of a violent war from the Popular Defense Force (PDP) with several Nuba Villages in retaliation for the drop in their support. This violence took place during the Second Civil War in the year 1999.

The war led to many people being killed especially children and women, and most the strong men taken as slaves.

The Sudanese human genocide erupted during the North-South civil war. The war reached south Kordofan in 1985. The war again worsened in the year 1989 when a military coup led by president Bashir introduced the National Islamic Front (NIF). He gave this denomination power over Khartoum. The NIF thereafter sought to transform the whole of Sudan into an Islamic state. They also introduced ‘sharia laws’ into the land. This led to the interruption of the social and religion of the native Nuba people. Anybody who resisted these reforms was killed.

Several techniques were used during the genocide. This includes mass killings and execution of individuals deemed as rebels.

The assassins were sponsored by the government. The people were subjected to harsh conditions like starvation which lead to deaths of many. Families were also separated which was meant to discourage marriage between the Nuba, which consequently cut off the future generations. Cultural practices of the Nuba were also prohibited and regarded as illegal and anybody who was caught practicing them was severely punished.

Unfortunately enough, none of the Sudanese perpetrators of genocide had been brought to book and held responsible for the crimes against humanity and justice were done.

Despite the hostility from the government, there has been unified war and resistance of the Nuba people against the oppressive government of Sudan. The consistency in resistance led to the genocide against the Nuba later falling apart. A lot of Nuba communities, in fact, supported the SPLA. Yousif Kuwa Mekki was the commander of the SPLA forces in the Nuba Mountains. He led the community during the staunch resistance. He was also a cultural activist in his community.

His efforts also led to social harmony. This led to the establishment of the social amenities like schools and hospitals. These efforts were meted by the indigenous people alone and were never supported by foreign agencies or persons.

The Nuba region has many people of different languages and backgrounds who were brought together for seeking of refuge as a result of continuous intimidation from the oppressive government and slave traders who treated the local people with hostility and killing many of them. Many of the Nuba people migrated Khartoum so as to flee the violence of the Civil War. There political integration among the distinct groups of the people who lived around the foot of the Nuba Mountains was very weak and unorganized. The Nuba villages are organized into clans and extended family groups held by clan elders.

Over the recent past, the Sudanese government has been handling her people with hostility due to an unstabilized political system and greed for wealth. Currently, several crises are happening in Nuba Mountains of southern Sudan.

This led to the southern Sudan seceding from Sudan on the 9 July 2011. There has been continued political unrest in states of eastern Sudan, the reasons being political marginalization and economic issues.



The government has been committing war crimes against the people, fighting for the exploitation of the oil resources in the areas of southern. The Sudan People’s Liberation Army has since been the military and has become the ruling party in South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerilla regime that was led by John Garang de Maboir. After his death, Salva Kiir became the new commander of the SPLA.

From 1987 to 2001, Nuba Mountains have been experiencing civil wars between the government and the SPLA.



However, a comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) was reached in the year 2004, which sought to resolve the differences between the two parties. This led to the secession of South Sudan. The Nuba were also mistreated and harassed by slave traders for many centuries. The slave raiders and traders were the Arabs.

The Sudanese Government executed a scorched earth policy on the Nuba people, under the reign of President Omar Al Bashir. The people suffered a lot under this regime.

The villages were set ablaze by bombs made in Russia called the Antonov bombers, whereby the Nuba were forced to flee into the deeper desert and in the mountains for safety. This led to mass starvation since the people hardly had something to eat or drink. Many people died in this tragedy. However, these disagreements ended after the signing of the CPA in 2004.

Again in 2011, a war ensued between the Nuba and Khartoum people which have continued even up to date. Khartoum has henceforth banned human aid organizations and journalists from entering the afflicted area. The Al Bashir’s government has been willingly blocking humanitarian aid from organizations and other public organizations to the Nuba civilians.



Immigrants into the Nuba Mountains in fleeing of the hostile government impacted a lot on the social, cultural, economic, and political aspects of the Nuba people. This led to the diversification of languages as a result of the people interacting and many intermarrying.

Consequently, many traditional practices were abandoned as the people became more civilized. Trading activities also emerged between the local people and the Arabs, which led to human trafficking (slave trade).

The Nuba people have been acting as protesters against the oppressive government of Sudan. Their main reason for civil disobedience is due to the government cutting its support for the people around the Nuba Mountains and South Sudan. They were also demanding from their government basic rights such as freedom of speech and democratic rights, and also for the resignation of President Omar Al Bashir. This led to many protesters being killed by the government’s dictatorship. President Omar was thereafter persecuted to the International Criminal Court for committing crimes like killing people and oppression.

The Sudan second civil war lasted for two decades, whereby nearly two million people died. The government of Sudan has imposed a lot of limitations on the Nuba People and the people in the Darfur region. This included setting houses on fire and arresting individuals who were suspected as rebels to the government. The Sudanese government also banned international organizations and reporters from accessing the region; the region was a no-go zone for any humankind.

The civil war had a lot of impact on the local Nuba people. Most of the Nuba men were recruited into the SPLA fighting army to fight their own people to exploit more resources (Yannakakis, Yanna).





A lot of Nuba people were assimilated into the Arabian customs and cultural beliefs, a process called arabisation. The government stimulated people to adopt Arabic names and the Arab language. The Nuba culture and customs were consequently dropped slowly as they were considered to be more ancient.

Christian missionary was also introduced in the region, which was conducted by the Nuba clergymen. Christianity and Muslim religions became very strong. The traditional animistic beliefs were abandoned by the Nuba people.



The Sudanese government under president Nimeiri, pressurized people to abandon their traditional ways of living. For example, the Arab traders were told not to sell commodities to the Nuba people who were not dressed up. Nuba students in the Sudanese schools were given aids and grants to study Islam and go to their land and preach Islamism. However, the Nuba’s believe in traditional charms, wealth possessions, and rituals remained intact.

By 1970-‘s, economic development impacted a lot the Nuba communities. This led to many job opportunities for the people around the areas of Nuba Mountains.

It also led to the establishment of large agricultural schemes. However, the uneducated Nuba men received a lot of discrimination from the learned individuals.



Labor immigration had a lot of impact on the social and economic life of the Nuba people. Since young men were raided and taken as slaves to provide labor in the large agricultural schemes owned by the SPLA or the government. Nuba women, therefore, had to work on the farms. The large herds of livestock were also raided.





The Sudanese government grabbed big lands from the Nuba people which left them homeless.

The government cleared these lands for settlement and establishment of large agricultural schemes. The political system of Nuba was also adversely affected in that the inhabitants were denied the right and freedom of speech and democratic rights.



Many people were displaced from their original lands to large towns like Khartoum and South Kordofan. This led to overpopulation in these towns leading to overexploitation of resources.

The grains which were being produced by the Nuba in plenty reduced immensely due to adversely due to severe drought. People in the SPLA region were affected most compared to people in the government regions.

The SPLA soldiers raided cattle from the villages leaving the people rampaging into abject poverty. During the civil war, the Baggara traders looted and smuggled properties from the government regions to the SPLM territories.

As a result of civilization, for example in the dressing code, education, and religious practices, the Nuba people started discriminating against their own people. This was basically due to the different levels of education and economic development. Nuba chiefs and clan elders were also corrupted to work for the government during the war period.

Later, after the SPLA had liberated, the Nuba Mountains adopted and started practicing civil administration.

Leadership in Sudan was characterized by total abuse of power. An example is the Habila mechanized project whereby the lands were forcefully taken from the native owners, the Nuba were deprived of their own indigenous land.

These lands were given fully to the northern businessmen and merchants. The previous Nuba people who were owners of the lands were made to be laborers in their own lands under harsh conditions and mistreatment.

The human situation was improved when the United States emerged and resolved the issues. The CPA that was signed led to the power-sharing agreement between the government and the SPLM. This action led to the Nuba activists being criticized. The indigenous Nuba people were forced to move and inhabit the hilly parts of the region which were unfit for cultivation and livestock rearing.

The entry of the Baggara Arabs into the Nuba Mountains posed a lot of problems and limitations to the Nuba. The Nuba peoples were denied access to their own native ancestral land and all the resources. This is due to the fact that the Arabs had a superior military force. They, therefore, drove the people away from the plains and raiding some as slaves.

The fertile land was subdivided among the different subgroups of the Arabs. Mesiriya Zurg Arab subgroup occupied the land to the west of southern Kordofan.

Hazzawa was given the northern, eastern, and central land, and the Hamur Arab subgroup given the southwestern region.

Barter trade activities led to the cooperation between the two communities. The activities of marginalizing, humiliating, and oppressing the Nuba from their own resources was reinforced and institutionalized as legal during the era Turco- Egypt in 1821. The remaining Nuba land was sold by the Turkish to the Arabians. The local Arabians were later used by the British government to execute the rebels of the Sudan government.

In 1925, cotton production was introduced in the region of the Nuba Mountains. This led to further displacement of the people from their land. The cotton production was conducted by the British government.

The Nuba peoples were, therefore, unable to access and invest in their own lands. This was in line with the British colonial policy to supply their own cotton processing industries with plenty raw materials ready for processing into finished products.

The colonial policy impacted a lot to land economics and politics in the surrounding regions. It also led to the ownership of the Nuba land by the national government through the use of distorted and discriminative land ownership rights. The denial of land ownership rights to the indigenous Nuba people was worsened during the second civil war in the area.

The clay plains were largely mechanized. This led to the large-scale farming as a governmental project. In 1968, half of the grabbed land was allocated to the local Nuba people, one piece of land per individual.



The Nuba individuals in foreign countries pushed and launched the campaign to raise awareness of the tragedy facing the Nuba people. By 1990, several uniting forums were formed such as the

Nuba Vision of London, Rehabilitation, and Development Organization (NRRDO) in Nairobi, the Nuba Relief and the Nuba Solidarity Abroad.

These forums played a role in restoring stabili9ty in the Nuba regions. They persuaded the government to guarantee the affected individuals on the land they can farm on, graze their cattle, and a land where they can settle.

The government of Sudan implanted on the mechanization of agricultural practices. Machines were used in the large agricultural schemes instead of labor from the Nuba slaves. This led to increases yield production and efficiency in land preparation. However, the land tenure activities practiced led to the degradation of the land.

Later, President Al Bashir ordered the use of modern technologies for the agricultural practices around the Nuba Mountains, since the area had very rich fertile soils for agricultural activities. He facilitated the resume to work in the Kaduguli textile processing factory. This will lead to the creation of more job opportunities for the youth. He also enhanced and facilitated the Sudanese armed forces to restore peace and stability in the country. The government also implemented on the division of labor.

A number of diseases emerged as a result of increased contact and interaction with foreigners and being introduced to their nutritional diet. Some of the diseases the Nuba people faced include malaria, cholera, sleeping sickness, polio, diarrhea, and diseases from Guinea worm. These diseases led to lot deaths, especially children. The wars in the Sudan region made it impossible to immunize or treat the inhabitants. It was also impossible to conduct educational

Campaigns in the region to educate people on the ways of controlling and preventing the diseases afflicting them. This has enhanced the general welfare of the people but a lot needs to be done to ensure that there is an equitable distribution of the resources.































Works Cited

Tinsley, Rebecca. "The Nuba People: Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind." Genocide Studies International, vol 8, no. 1, 2014, pp. 75-85. Johns Hopkins University Press, doi:10.1353/gsp.2014.0000.

Ahmed, Mohammed Murakah Mohammed. "Description And Optimization Of Sedentary Production System (Jubraka) In Nuba Mountains, Western Sudan." Greener Journal Of Agricultural Sciences, vol 4, no. 4, 2014, pp. 130-135. Greener Journals, doi:10.15580/gjas.2014.4.012714070.

"Sudan: Cluster Bombs In Nuba Mountains?." Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social And Cultural Series, vol 52, no. 4, 2015, pp. 20547B-20547C. Wiley-Blackwell, doi:10.1111/j.1467-825x.2015.06369.x.

Yannakakis, Yanna. "Indigenous People And Legal Culture In Spanish America." History Compass, vol 11, no. 11, 2013, pp. 931-947. Wiley-Blackwell, doi:10.1111/hic3.12096.