Wikipedia

Ja'alin tribe

TheJa'alin,Ja'aliya,Ja'aliyinorJa'al(Arabic:جعليون) are a tribalconfederationand anArab[a]orArabisedNubian[b]tribe inSudan.The Ja'alin constitute a large portion of theSudanese Arabsand are one of the three prominentSudanese Arabtribes in northern Sudan - the others being theShaigiyaandDanagla.They trace their origin to Ibrahim Ja'al, anAbbasidnoble, whose clan originally hailed from theHejazin theArabian Peninsulaand married into the local Nubian population. Ja'al was a descendant ofal-Abbas,an uncle ofMuhammad.The Ja'alin formerly occupied the country on both banks of theNilefromKhartoumtoAbu Hamad.[14]According to a source, the tribe allegedly once spoke a now extinct dialect ofNubianas late as the nineteenth century.[15]ManySudanese politicianshave come from the Ja'alin tribal coalition.[16]

Ja'alin
جعليون
Warrior from the tribe of the Ja'alin
EthnicitySudanese Arabs
LocationNileriver basin betweenKhartoumandAbu Hamad
Population2,880,000[1]
Demonym(s)Ja'ali
LanguageSudanese Arabic[2]
ReligionSunni Islam

Origin

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The Ja'alin are ofAraborigin and trace their origins to Ibrahim Ja'al, anAbbasidnoble, whose clan originally hailed from theHejazin theArabian Peninsulaand married into the localNubianpopulation. Ja'al was a descendant ofal-Abbas,an uncle ofMuhammad.The Ja'alin trace their lineage toAbbas,uncle of Muhammad.[14]According to theRoyal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Irelandin 1888, the name Ja'alin does not seem to be derived from any founder of a tribe, but rather from the root Ja'al, an Arabic word meaning "to put" or "to stay", and in this sense it is those who settle.[17]Various researchers have suggested that the Ja'alin areArabizedNubians.[c]A few 19th-century travellers claimed thatNubianwas still spoken among them.[18]

History

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According to their own tradition, the Ja'alin emigrated to Sudan in the 12th century with theNile valley,but have settled in the Sudan before theShaigiya.Since the 16th century, they were formerly tributaries to theSultanate of Sennar.[17]

At theEgyptian invasion in 1820they were the most powerful of Arab tribes in the Nile valley. They submitted at first, but in 1822 rebelled and massacred the Egyptian garrison at Shendi with theMek Nimr,a Ja'ali King (mek) burning Ismail,Muhammad Ali Pasha's son and his cortege at a banquet. The revolt was mercilessly suppressed, and the Ja'alin were thence forward looked on with suspicion. They were almost the first of the northern tribes to join theMahdiin 1884, and it was their position to the north ofKhartoumwhich made communication withGeneral Gordonso difficult. The Ja'alin then became a semi-nomad agricultural people.[14]

TheAnglo-Egyptian re-conquest of the Sudanbegan in 1896. In July 1897 Ja'alin tribal leaders refused to allow theMahdistforces to occupy the Ja’alin town of Metemmeh, a strategic point on theNile,180 kilometres downstream ofOmdurman.They feared the occupation would be oppressive, threatening both lives and property. After theKhalifarefused an offer from their leaders for the Ja’alin themselves to protect this stretch of the Nile from advancing Anglo-Egyptian forces, the Ja'alin leaders requested protection fromGeneral Kitchener,commander of the Anglo-Egyptian army. In response, theMahdistforces attacked Metemmeh, killing several thousand Ja’alin, including women and children,[19]with the killings continuing in the following year.[20]As a consequence, Ja’alin tribesmen supported the Anglo-Egyptian forces on their advance on Omdurman in 1898, including supplying an irregular force of 2,500 cavalry,[21]which helped clear the east bank of the Nile of Mahdist fighters in the days before theBattle of Omdurman.[22]

Location

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This group of over 2.8 million people live in cities and large towns along the banks of the Nile River,[23]especially in the ancient town ofShendiwhich has historically served as their tribal capital. The area is very hot and dry, with an average yearly rainfall of about three inches. In the summer, which lasts from April through November, daytime temperatures can reach as high as 120 to 130 °F (49 to 54 °C).[citation needed]

Lifestyle

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Some Ja'alin still farm and raise livestock along the banks of the Nile River, but in the 21st century, they more commonly make up a large part of the Sudanese urban population, forming a large part of the merchant class. Although many have moved to cities, such as the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, they still maintain their tribal identity and solidarity. Famous for maintaining ties with their origins, they keep in contact with their original home and return for frequent visits, especially for marriages, funerals and Muslim festivals.[2]

Language

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The Ja'alin entirely speakSudanese Arabic.In 1889, the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain claimed that the Arabic spoken in Sudan was "a pure but archaic Arabic". The pronunciation of certain letters was likeHijazi,and notEgyptian,such as g being the pronunciation for the Arabic letter Qāf and J being the pronunciation for Jeem.[17]According to a source, the tribe allegedly once spoke a now extinct dialect ofNubianas late as the nineteenth century.[15]

Sub-groups

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Historically, a small group called theMeyrifabwas sometimes classed with the Ja'alin, but the Ja'alin themselves rejected this inclusion.[24]

Notable tribe members

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
  2. ^[11][12][13]
  3. ^[11][12][13]
  1. ^"Sudan".RetrievedSeptember 18,2024.
  2. ^ab"Gaalin in Sudan".Joshua Project.Retrieved28 September2015.
  3. ^Ibbotson, Sophie; Lovell-Hoare, Max (2012-11-26).Sudan.Bradt Travel Guides. p. 28.ISBN978-1-84162-413-6.Arab tribes arrived in Sudan in three main waves, beginning in the 12th century with the Ja'alin.
  4. ^The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 1888. p. 16.The Ja'alin claim descent from Abbas, the uncle of Muhammad, of the Koreish tribe, and they are undoubtedly of Arab origin
  5. ^Abdalla, Salma Mohamed Abdalmunim (2017).Charity Drops: Water Provision and the Politics of the Zakat Chamber in Khartoum, Sudan.LIT Verlag Münster. p. 101.ISBN978-3-643-90928-2.the tribal story of the Gamuia [is] a tribe of Arab descent who claim to be one of the Jaalin confederations of Arabs.
  6. ^Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine by Blackwell Scientific Publications. 1914. p. 130.The boy was an Arab belonging to the Jaalin tribe
  7. ^Nachtigal, Gustav (1971).Sahara and Sudan: Kawar, Bornu, Kanem, Borku, Enned.University of California Press. p. 354.ISBN978-0-520-01789-4.but we also find among them people of Arab origin, e.g. the Ja'alin or Jaliya, and the Tshrata.
  8. ^Keown-Boyd, Henry (1986-11-24).A Good Dusting: The Sudan Campaigns 1883-1899.Pen and Sword. p. 275.ISBN978-0-436-23288-6.Abdurahman Wad-el-Nejumi, Commander-in-Chief of the Dervish Force which recently invaded Egypt, was by birth an Arab of the JAALIN tribe, a powerful and warlike race of arabs
  9. ^Gleichen, Lord Edward (1905).The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan: A Compendium Prepared by Officers of the Sudan Government.H. M. Stationery Office. p. 360.Jaalin Tribe, Arab
  10. ^Newbold, Sir Douglas (1974).The Making of the Modern Sudan: The Life and Letters of Sir Douglas Newbold...Greenwood Press. p. 481.ISBN978-0-8371-7233-0.The main Arab tribes are Shaigia and Jaalin, light-coloured.
  11. ^abAdams 1977,pp. 557-558: "Although claiming a purely Arab pedigree, they [the Ja'alin] are in fact made up overwhelmingly of Arabized Nubians, with only a small admixture of genuinely Arab blood".
  12. ^abHolt 1970,p. 329: "(...) most of the settled clans of the main Nile are regarded as descendants of a certain Ja'al, who is, furthermore, stated to have been an 'Abbasid. Disregarding this assertion (a typical genealogical sophistication), we may reasonably see in these Ja'aliyyun the descendants of the arabized Nubians of the late Middle Ages".
  13. ^abKramer, Lobban & Fluehr-Lobban 2013,p. 223: "Despite their claim of an Arab pedigree, the Ja'aliyin may also be considered a southern group of Arabized Nubians".
  14. ^abcOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Jā'alin".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 103.Citation:The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan,edited by Count Gleichen (London, 1905)
  15. ^abO'Fahey, R. S., Spaulding, Jay (1974):Kingdoms of the Sudan.Methuen Young Books.ISBN0416774504.pp.28-29
  16. ^Moorcraft, Paul (April 30, 2015).Omar Al-Bashir and Africa's Longest War.United Kingdom: Pen & Sword Books.ISBN9781473854963.
  17. ^abcWilson, Sir Charles W. (1888),"On the Tribes of the Nile Valley, North of Khartum",Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland,17:3–25,doi:10.2307/2841664,JSTOR2841664(see pages 16 and 17)
  18. ^Gerhards 2023,pp. 140–141.
  19. ^‘An Officer’ (1899).Sudan Campaign 1896-1899.Chapman & Hall London, Chapter VII.
  20. ^Philip Ziegler (1973).Omdurman.Collins. p. 55.
  21. ^Winston Churchill (1899).The River War volume 2.Longmans. pp. 57, 91–93.
  22. ^Philip Ziegler (1973).Omdurman.Collins. pp. 47 & 90.
  23. ^"Sudan".RetrievedSeptember 18,2024.
  24. ^The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 1888.

Literature

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  • Adams, William Y. (1977).Nubia. Corridor to Africa.Princeton University.ISBN0691093709.
  • Gerhards, Gabriel (2023)."Präarabische Sprachen der Ja'aliyin und Ababde in der europäischen Literatur des 19. Jahrhunderts".Der Antike Sudan(in German).34.Sudanarchäologische Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V: 135–152.
  • Holt, P. M. (1970). "The Nilotic Sudan". In P. M. Holt; Ann K. S. Lambton; Bernard Lewis (eds.).The Cambridge History of Islam.Vol. 2A. Cambridge University.
  • Ibrahim, Abdullahi Ali (1988). "Breaking the Pen of Harold Macmichael: The Ja'aliyyin Identity Revisited".The International Journal of African Historical Studies.21(2). African Studies Center: 217–231.doi:10.2307/219934.JSTOR219934.
  • Kramer, Robert S.; Lobban, Richard A. Jr.; Fluehr-Lobban, Carolyn (2013).Historical Dictionary of the Sudan.The Scarecrow.ISBN978-0810861800.
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