Amarar (or Amenreer Wagerdac Amarer) is a

Cushitic The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken primarily in the Horn of Africa, with minorities speaking Cushitic languages to the north in Egypt and the Sudan, and to the south in Kenya and Tanzania. As o ...

nomadic tribe of the

Beja people The Beja people ( ar, البجا, Beja: Oobja, tig, በጃ) are an ethnic group native to the Eastern Desert, inhabiting a coastal area from southeastern Egypt through eastern Sudan and into northwestern Eritrea. They are descended from peop ...

inhabiting the mountainous country on the west side of the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

from Somalia Dhabad

Suakin Suakin or Sawakin ( ar, سواكن, Sawákin, Beja: ''Oosook'') is a port city in northeastern Sudan, on the west coast of the Red Sea. It was formerly the region's chief port, but is now secondary to Port Sudan, about north. Suakin used to b ...

northwards and

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

towards

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. Between them and the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

are the

Ababda The Ababda ( ar, العبابدة, al-ʿabābdah or ar, العبّادي, al-ʿabbādī) are an Arab or Beja tribe in eastern Egypt and Sudan. Historically, most were Bedouins living in the area between the Nile and the Red Sea, with some settl ...

and Bisharin Beja tribes and to their south dwell the Hadendoa Marehan (another Beja subgroup). The country of the Amarar is called the Atbai. Their headquarters are in the

Ariab Ariab (Arabic: أرياب) is a region of Sudan, located in the Nubian Desert. It is inhabited by the Beja people, and is home to the country's only commercial gold mine, run by French giant Areva. Gold mining has historically been crucially importa ...

district. The tribe is divided into four great families: (1) Weled Gwilei, (2) Weled Aliab, (3) Weled Kurbab Wagadab, and (4) the Amarar proper of the Ariab district. They claim to be of

Quraysh The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...

blood and to be the descendants of an invading Arab army. Possibly some small bands of Quraysh Arabs may have made an inroad and converted some of the Amarar to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. Further than this there is little to substantiate their claim. This cites: * ''Anglo-Egyptian Sudan'', edited by Count Gleichen (London, 1905) * Sir F. R. Wingate, ''Mahdism and the Egyptian Sudan'' (London, 1891) *

A. H. Keane Augustus Henry Keane (1833–1912) was an Irish Roman Catholic journalist and linguist, known for his ethnological writings. Early life He was born in Cork (city), Cork, Ireland.George Grant MacCurdy, James Mooney and A. B. Legía - Antonio Flor ...

, ''Ethnology of Egyptian Sudan'' (London, 1884). The Amarar are said to speak the purest form of the

Beja language Beja ( or ) is an Afroasiatic language of the Cushitic branch spoken on the western coast of the Red Sea by the Beja people. Its speakers number around one to two million individuals, and inhabit parts of Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea. Name The name ...

References

Beja Nomads Ethnic groups in Somalia Ethnic groups in Sudan Ethnic groups in Eritrea Tribes of Africa Beja people Beja {{Sudan-ethno-group-stub