The Ja'alin, Ja'aliya, Ja'aliyin or Ja'al ( ar, جعليون) are an
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
or
Arabised
Arabization or Arabisation ( ar, تعريب, ') describes both the process of growing Arab influence on non-Arab populations, causing a language shift by the latter's gradual adoption of the Arabic language and incorporation of Arab culture, aft ...
Nubian tribe in
Sudan. The Ja'alin constitute a large portion of the
Sudanese Arabs
Sudanese Arabs () are the inhabitants of Sudan who identify as Arabs and speak Arabic as their mother tongue. Part of them are descendants of Arabs who migrated to Sudan from the Arabian Peninsula, although the rest have been described as Arabiz ...
and are one of the three prominent
Sudanese Arab
Sudanese Arabs () are the inhabitants of Sudan who identify as Arabs and speak Arabic as their mother tongue. Part of them are descendants of Arabs who migrated to Sudan from the Arabian Peninsula, although the rest have been described as Arabiz ...
tribes in northern Sudan - the others being the
Shaigiya
The Shaigiya, Shaiqiya, Shawayga or Shaykia () are an Arab or Arabised Nubian tribe. They are part of the Sudanese Arabs and are also one of the three prominent Sudanese Arabs tribes in North Sudan, along with the Ja'alin and Danagla. The tr ...
and
Danagla The Danagla (, "People of Dongola") are a tribe in northern Sudan of partial Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Ar ...
. They trace their origin to Ibrahim Ja'al, an
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
noble, whose clan originally hailed from the
Hejaz in the
Arabian Peninsula and married into the local Nubian population. Ja'al was a descendant of
al-Abbas, an uncle of
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
. The Ja'alin formerly occupied the country on both banks of the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , 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 the longest ...
from
Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
to
Abu Hamad.
[ Citation: ''The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan'', edited by Count Gleichen (London, 1905)] According to a source, the tribe allegedly once spoke a now extinct dialect of
Nubian as late as the nineteenth century. Many
Sudanese politicians have come from the Ja'alin tribal coalition.
History
The Ja'alin trace their lineage to
Abbas, uncle of Muhammad.
[ Citation: ''The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan'', edited by Count Gleichen (London, 1905)] At the Egyptian invasion in 1811 they 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 the
Mek Nimr
El Mek Nimr, also known as Nimr Muhammad, (c. 1785 to 1846) was the last ''mek'' (king) of the Ja'alin tribe, who resided in Shendi, Sudan. After first having joined the Egyptian army during the Turkish rule in Sudan, he later defeated their t ...
, 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 the
Mahdi
The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad w ...
in 1884, and it was their position to the north of Khartoum which made communication with
General Gordon so difficult. The Ja'alin then became a semi-nomad agricultural people.
[
The Anglo-Egyptian re-conquest of the Sudan began in 1896. In July 1897 Ja'alin tribal leaders refused to allow the Mahdist forces to occupy the Ja’alin town of Metemmeh, a strategic point on the ]Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , 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 the longest ...
, 180 kilometres downstream of Omdurman. They feared the occupation would be oppressive, threatening both lives and property. After the Khalifa refused 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 from General Kitchener, commander of the Anglo-Egyptian army. In response, the Mahdist forces attacked Metemmeh, killing several thousand Ja’alin, including women and children, with the killings continuing in the following year. 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, which helped clear the east bank of the Nile of Mahdist fighters in the days before the Battle of Omdurman
The Battle of Omdurman was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief ( sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert Kitchener and a Sudanese army of the ...
.
Location
This group of over four million people live in cities and large towns along the banks of the Nile River, especially in the ancient town of Shendi which 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 .
Lifestyle
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.
Sub-groups
Historically, a small group called the Meyrifab was sometimes classed with the Ja'alin, but the Ja'alin themselves rejected this inclusion.
Notes
Literature
*
*
*
*
* (see pages 16 and 17)
See also
* Zubayrids
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ( ar, عبد الله ابن الزبير ابن العوام, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām; May 624 CE – October/November 692), was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the ...
{{authority control
Tribes of Sudan
Arabs in Sudan
Hashemite people
Hashemite people in Sudan
Sudanese people of Nubian descent