Beja

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Beja

 

Bedawi, a people inhabiting the northeastern region of the Republic of Sudan and the northwestern and western areas of Ethiopia. They number over 1 million (1967 estimate). They are divided into the tribes of the Bisharin, Hadendowa (speaking the Bedawi language of the Cushitic branch of the Semito-Hamitic language family), and the Beni Amer (speaking the Tigre language of the Semitic group). A significant portion of the Beja also know Arabic. Their religion is the Sunni sect of Islam. The Beja are pastoral nomads (camel, goat, and sheep raising) but have taken up agriculture in regions suitable for farming. Some of the Beja (primarily the Hadendowa) work on cotton plantations.

REFERENCE

Paul, A. A History of the Beja Tribes of the Sudan. Cambridge, 1954.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.