The Nubians

As we visited Aswan, we learned a little history of one of its ancient cultures – the Nubians.  And this evening we were treated to a Nubian show on our last night on the Nefertiti.  Before I talk about the show, I’d like to give a very brief history of Nubia and its people.

The area that was known as Nubia lay along the Nile River on the southern border of Egypt and the northern border of Sudan.  Along with the ancient Egyptian civilization, this area was also one of the most advanced cultures in the world.  The term “Nubian” in the ancient Egyptian language meant “gold” and referred to the abundance of that metal and other precious metals found in the region of Nubia. 

During any particular time period of Egyptian history (including today) the Nubians were either an ally of or enemy against Egypt.  In 2300 BCE, the Egyptians, under Pharaoh Thutmose I, conquered Nubia and the people adopted many of the Egyptian customs.  Then in 747 BCE, the Nubians conquered the Egyptians and became known as the 25^th dynasty.  Pushed out of Egypt in 656 BCE by the Assyrians, the Nubians retreated back to their homeland and established the Kingdom of Kush.  Although they adopted a more African civilization, they continued to worship many of the Egyptian gods, called their leaders “pharaohs,” and built Egyptian-style pyramids.  In what is now Sudan (the homeland of the Kush empire) there are more pyramids than in Egypt.

The Nubian civilization continued to flourish, even when the Romans conquered Egypt (Aswan was as far south of the Roman empire extended).  During the 4^th Century AD, Christianity was adopted by the Nubians, but by the 15^th-16^th century, they had converted to Islam.  When, in 1956, Sudan formally seceded from Egypt, the Nubians found themselves divided between the two countries.  Although the loss of their history began in the early 20^th century (the Nubians differ ethnically, culturally, and linguistically from the Egyptians), it was the building of the Aswan High Dam and the flooding of their lands by Lake Nasser that was the real loss for the Nubians.  Where the historic Egyptian temples were moved to safer grounds before the flooding, whole Nubian villages were wiped out, displacing over 135,000 people.  While a few moved to northern Egypt, most were forcibly relocated about 30 miles north of Aswan.  Where once they had nature and lived off the land around the Nile River, they were now forced to adopt a desert-style living and adjust to the Egyptian way of life.  Not only did this cause great hardship for the Nubians, but it threatens their very culture.  Their children go to Egyptian run schools where neither Nubian history nor language is taught.  The children are taught Arabic instead of their native language.  As a result, knowledge of their history and culture must be passed down by their elders in the form of stories.  And it would appear that the new generation of Nubians prefer to assimilate into Egyptian culture rather than to continue with the culture of their past.

Now for the show.

The show consisted of three muscians playing a tamberine-like drum, and on one occasion, a man playing a small, 4-string violin-like instrument.  There were also several dancers in various native costumes.  Women do not participate in these shows.  The highlight was a dancer whose face was painted green and who wore a brightly colored custom – very similar to the costumes worn by natives of southern Africa.  And he blew a whistle throughout the dance.  There was no melody to the music – it was basically loud, harsh, and full of chants.  It was an interesting show and a fitting end to our Nile cruise.

Pictures from the Nubian Show

Musicians

Dancers

Dancers

The small violin-like instrument

Dancer

Green-faced Dancer

The Green Dancer