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Social Life of old Nubia
The Nubians traditionally are farmers who work land with the
help of their families. Everyone has a job to do, especially in
times of planting or harvest. In the fields flooded by the Nile,
the villagers plant quick-growing crops like beans, corn,
sorghum, and vegetables. Young people work with the elders, with
the youth digging holes for the elder to drop seeds in. This is
how knowledge of traditional farming is passed from the older to
the younger generations. Animals like cows, donkeys, and camels
work along with the people in preparing the land, plowing, and
harvesting the crops. They also carry people and their crops
between the village and the field. Nubians have practiced this
style of agriculture for thousands of years.
Just above the level of flooding, there are groves of date
palms. Dates are a cash crop as well as a staple of the diet in
the village. The palm trees provide wood for house rafters and
palm fronds for covering roofs. Palm fronds are also woven into
baskets and used to make cooking fires. In the past these groves
were irrigated by kolay, a traditional wooden water wheel
powered by harnessed cattle, or by a shadoof, a wooden water
scoop operated by one person. At present, diesel pumps lift
water from the Nile to these groves and the fields. Even farther
from the Nile, people have established new fields, irrigated by
underground water lifted by diesel pumps. Crops are now being
grown in an area that earlier generations considered a barren
desert.A simple wooden sailboat is used to ferry people,
animals, and goods across the Nile to villages on the other side
Village life is maintained through cooperation and
socialization. The survival of the village and the people in it
depends on their sharing and helping each other. Everyone is
related in some way, so the whole village is like a big family.
Neighbors often share their meals and look after each other. If
children are away from their homes when the sun sets, they can
spend the night in their friend's house. If children behave
badly outside of their homes, any adult will discipline them and
tell their parents about the misbehavior. Family life is strong,
and most people have large families. Old people usually live
with their children and grandchildren. When they can, old people
help by doing light tasks and by supervising and advising
younger people. They watch the children while the parents work,
and they teach the children about the past and their heritage.
Marriages are arranged by the parents of the bride and groom.
Because choosing a wife or a husband is an important matter that
will affect the whole family, it is too serious for younger
people to decide alone. Cousins often marry; that is why most
people in the village are related in some way. A wedding
celebration lasts over a week, with older women supervising the
activities. Everyone joins in preparing food and decorating the
bride and groom's houses. They decorate the hands and feet of
the bride and groom with henna and put oils and perfumes on
their skin. They also prepare special necklaces and bracelets
from silk threads and gold. The day after the marriage contract
is signed, the whole village walks to the bride's house with the
groom, singing, dancing and clapping. The couple goes to the
marriage room, which was specially decorated and prepared for
them. The next day, everyone walks to the Nile with the bride
and groom, who wash their hands and feet in the river, while the
cheering crowd tries to splash them by throwing rocks in the
river. This tradition is a very important ancient symbol.
Afterwards, everyone celebrates by singing and dancing to the
beat of drums till morning
Many different kinds of events bring the village together
regularly. Everyone works together at the time of planting and
harvest. They all join in preparing the celebrations and in
celebrating when there is a wedding, a birth, a circumcision, or
a religious holiday. When someone has an accident or is ill,
everyone tries to help. The whole village mourns when anyone
dies.
All day, from sunrise to sunset, the doors of the houses are
always open. People start the day by visiting each other and
drinking coffee and talking together. Throughout the day, people
go back and forth, visiting, helping each other do their work,
drinking tea, or sharing food. No one is ever alone. Even
persons who are very old or very sick always have relatives or
friends sitting with them. Because of this, the village is a
very clean, safe, and pleasant place.
The first thing that a visitor to a Nubian village notices is
the graceful and lovely style of the housing. Every house in the
village is surrounded by high walls that enclose a large
courtyard. A visitor enters through a tall, majestic gateway
which is usually decorated with colorful designs and symbols.
The spacious courtyard has an earth floor where children play
and adults sit on colorful mats woven from palm leaves. They sit
there to relax, socialize, and drink coffee. During the hot
summer nights, the entire family sleeps under the stars in the
fresh air of the courtyard.
The houses have thick walls made of mud . These walls keep the
house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The flat roofs
are made of thatch, layers of palm leaves tied together. Between
the walls and the ceiling, there is a space all around, which
lets the breeze into the house. Birds also enter the house
through this gap. People like to have birds flying and nesting
in their homes. A typical house includes a big kitchen with
plenty of room for a lot of women to cook and visit together.
The house also has a living room for guests, bedrooms, and a
large storage room.
The courtyard also contains an outdoor living room for summer,
and an outdoor kitchen for baking bread and cooking over a fire
of palm fronds. Next to the summer living room, in a shady spot,
stand the clay pots containing drinking water, usually from the
Nile. Against the wall, there are large clay pots that are used
for storing grain and dates. In a corner, there is a dome-shaped
birdhouse, in which pigeons build their nests. People keep
pigeons for pets and for food. Nearby are a chicken coop and a
pen for milk-goats. In one corner of the courtyard, away from
everything else, is a small outhouse.
The most important room in every house is not used every day. It
is the diwan, which is used for weddings and important guests.
This room is separate from the main house and has its own
courtyard and outhouse.
The houses are well suited to the climate and to the way that
people live. They are colorful and comfortable, and people keep
them neat and very clean. Walking through these Nubian villages
is like walking through an art gallery. The paint used to
decorate these houses is all locally produced from limestone,
which is abundant in the area. Painting is done by young
unmarried girls.
Most of the food that people eat in the village
comes from
their farms. They grow wheat and sorghum for their bread, as
well as vegetables, beans, dates, and fruits. Almost every
family raises chickens, ducks, and pigeons as well as goats,
sheep, and cattle for meat. In addition, chickens provide eggs,
while goats and cows provide milk for drinking and for making
butter and yogurt. Some items, such as sugar, tea, coffee,
spices, cooking oil, and rice are bought from small shops in the
village or nearby marketplaces.
Mealtime is a gathering time in the village. The doors are
always open, and relatives, neighbors, and guests are always
welcome. People love to share their cooking, so before every
mealtime you see children in the streets carrying food from
their mothers to other families, especially to old or sick
neighbors. They also carry food out to the farms, where people
in the fields stop their work and gather to eat. Often you even
see strangers, travelers, jumping off their donkeys to join
these farmers in their meals.
Girls and young women bake thin flat bread (kisrah) fresh for
every meal, while older women cook the other foods. The oldest
women sit in a comfortable spot and supervise the cooking. The
meals consist of bread made from whole wheat and sorghum, okra
or other vegetables, rice, and meat. All of the food is cooked
on a fire of palm fronds and sorghum or wheat stalks. The women
arrange the food on trays, which are carried out from the
kitchen by the teenage boys. The boys enjoy this task because it
gives them an opportunity to observe the girl who might be their
future wife.
Usually, men eat together and women eat together. Before the
meal, the younger children carry bowls of water around and help
the adults wash their hands. The group sits on the floor and
shares a common plate or tray of food, using the right hand to
eat. After the meal, the children bring water again for the
adults to wash their hands.
The people in Nubia are Muslims. Their religion is called Islam
and their holy book is the Quran. They believe that there is
only one God, Allah, and that Muhammad was the last messenger
from God. Religion is the core of people's social life in the
village. It is everywhere. It is life itself.
Five times a day, someone climbs to the top of the mosque to
call people to pray. On Friday at noon, the villagers go to the
mosque to pray together. After they pray, people visit their
relatives and friends and eat together. Each year, during the
month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. They do not
eat or drink anything during the daytime for the whole month.
During Ramadan, the days are very quiet. At sunset, people
gather outside their houses to eat and share their food with
neighbors and passers-by. At the end of Ramadan, there is a
special four-day holiday, called Eid al-Fitr. Everyone dresses
up in new clothes, visits relatives, exchanges gifts, and shares
in special holiday meals. They also go to the graveyard to visit
the graves of their relatives and ancestors.
Once in a lifetime, every Muslim is supposed to make the Hajj,
or pilgrimage, to Mecca--the Holy Place of the Muslims. For an
old person, it is a dream come true to make this trip. The whole
village gathers to say farewell to people who leave on the
pilgrimage. At pilgrimage time, there is a four-day holiday,
called Eid al-Adha. Every family butchers a sheep and shares the
meat with poor people. When people return from the pilgrimage,
often with gifts for their relatives and friends, everyone in
the village gathers to welcome them back. The villagers paint
"Congratulations" and "Welcome Back" signs on the gateways of
the houses, and greet the returned pilgrims with songs of
welcome.
While the parents are working, children are cared for by their
sisters and brothers, their grandparents, or other relatives. A
child's education often begins in the traditional Quranic
school, which is attached to the mosque. There, children learn
to read, write, and recite the Quran, the Holy Book of the
Muslims. When they are seven or eight years old, they go to the
public school in the village. Children who live nearby walk to
and from school every day.
The school week begins on Saturday and ends on Thursday. Friday
is the only day off. The children study religion, math, science,
reading, and social studies. Students respect the teachers very
much. When the teacher enters the classroom, the pupils stand
politely with their hands behind their backs to show their
respect. They also stand when they ask or answer questions.
The village has only an elementary school, with grades one
through six. For middle school and high school, the children go
to boarding school in the nearby town. They can come back to the
village and to their families only on Fridays and during
holidays. Parents take the education of their children
seriously, and they are proud when their children do well in
school.
Children learn many things outside of school. They learn from
watching older people as they work. They also learn from helping
their parents work in the fields or in the house. All the adults
in the village participate in teaching young people how to
behave and how to cooperate in the life and work of the
community. That is what people mean when they say, " It takes a
village to raise a child."
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