Nuba
|
Nuba man from the 'Nuba' Sudanese tribe |
Nuba is a collective term used for the peoples who inhabit the
Nuba Mountains, in
Kordofan province,
Sudan,
Africa. Although the term is used to describe them as if they were a single
tribe, in fact the Nuba are quite diverse, and are made up of different
ethnic and
linguistic groups. Estimates of the number of Nuba vary widely; the Sudanese government estimated that they numbered 1.1 million in 1993.
Leni Riefenstahl, better known for directing
Triumph of the Will and
Olympia, published a collection of her photographs of the people titled
The Last of the Nuba in 1976.
Between
1973 and
1994, the Sudanese government introduced programs to promote large-scale, privately owned agriculture to many regions including the Nuba Mountains. The efforts were redoubled as a result of
IMF structural adjustment programs instituted in
1978. Large-scale mechanized farms were introduced, which pushed small peasants into marginal land between semi-arid and lusher savanna areas. Sudanese governments during the period misperceived the Nuba as a unified ally of the
Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), which furthered the oppressive measures against the tribes. These measures were indiscriminately applied, even to groups having no connection to the SPLA, such as the numerous Nuba Muslims. An example of these measures is the refusal to grant leases for undeveloped land that had been marked for future large-scale agricultural uses to peasants who were starving during the drought between
1983 and
1985. By
1999, over 100,000 people had been forcibly displaced by the agriculture programs, many of whom moved to urban areas, and are forced to face the difficulties associated with that type of transition.
In the 1986 elections, the
Umma Party lost several seats to the
Nuba Mountains General Union and to the
Sudan National Party, due to the reduced level of support from the Nuba Mountains region. There is reason to believe that attacks by the government-supported militia, the
Popular Defense Force (PDF), on several Nuba villages were meant to be in retaliation for this drop in support, which was seen as signaling increased support of the SPLA. The PDF attacks were particularly violent in nature, and have been cited as examples of
crimes against humanity that took place during the
Second Sudanese Civil War (Salih 1999).
Dilling,
Heiban Nuba,
Kadaru,
Katla people,
Kanga,
Karko,
Keiga,
Keiga Jirru,
Koalib Nuba,
Krongo Nuba,
Logol,
Moro Nuba,
Nyimang,
Otoro Nuba,
Tagale,
Talodi,
Tira people*
The Nuba and their Homeland*
Nuba Languages*
Nuba Culture*
Sudan Emancipation & Preservation Network (SEPNet)*
The Nuba Mountains Homepage*[
1]
M.A. Mohamed Salih.
Environment and Liberation in Contemporary Africa. Dordrecht, Boston and London: Klower Academic Publishers (1999)
