7 February

The colorful Nubian Villages in Egypt

If you’re searching for peace and cheerfulness, of course, Nubia villages in Egypt should be on the top of your list. You will enjoy visiting the colorful houses of the Nubian people and the charming views of the great Nile beside the mountains and islands.

At the south part of Aswan, the city of gold, you will find lots of small islands full of Nubian Villages. The Nubian people painted their houses with bright colors and meaningful patterns. In this blog you will know everything that happens inside these colorful villages. These very unique buildings host very unique traditions, languages, clothes, beliefs, culture, and history.

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Who are the Nubians

The ancient time of Nuba there were hierarchical societies starting from the lower base which is most of the Nbian population and they were dressed like the ancient Egyptian, then their priests that were dressed in the donned sacred leopard skins. Finally the top of the pyramid came their rulers who were wearing a headdress distinguished by a sole upright feather.

The current residents of Nubia are the original inhabitants of the central Nile Valley, they live alongside the narrow patches of fertile land which is shaping a letter “S” in northern Sudan and the southern tip of Egypt. The Nubian people have an unknown ancestry but their elders know how to speak four languages related to the Nilo-Saharan which is known as “Nubians”.

What’s a Nubian Village Like?

The Nubian Village from far away you will see it as a huge piece of art and when you get closer you will see these charming details.

The Nubian houses were built based on the Nubian architecture by using mud bricks which are a mixture of clay, water, hay, and sand. The materials they are using to build the Nubian houses are all natural materials that lead to many benefits like, reducing the house diseases, creating inexpensive houses, and the clay makes the houses less affected by the heat.

What is interesting about the Nubian houses is that it has a dome-shaped ceiling on the top of each house in order to distribute the sun’s heat throughout the house equally to not get suffered from the hot weather.

Beside the great architectural design for the houses, Nubians love to decorate their houses with beautiful shapes that represent their own culture like drawing boats, camels, and palms.

The History of Nubia

Nubia has a great history that exists from the pharaohs times and it’s believed that one of the famous gods in ancient Egypt “Osiris” is from Nubia. This great land went through lots of ups and downs until it became this cheerful city with deep history in the city of Gold, Aswan.

Nubia was one of the few places remaining on earth that was unspoiled by humanity. It was a harsh and barren land to be sure, but it was one to which the people had, and indeed have until today, a strong attachment.

Nubians had a strong attachment to their lands since the beginning of history, that’s why leaving their lands was a very harsh time for them. They started to leave their lands in the 20th century when they built the Aswan Dam as their land became progressively inundated.

Then in 1960, there was another tragedy during the building of the high dam because their entire land was lost. So they had to start a new life in a new land far from their original homes. It was a very difficult decision but for the sake of a more safe life they had to. About 50,000 of them were moved to Egypt to continue their life there and the second generation became Egyptians but still attached to their original ethnicity.

Nubian’s Traditions

Nubians are always stick to their old traditions in their daily life but the most interesting part is in the wedding ceremony

Nubians prefer to marry from their own people and the ceremony can last for 40 days including a long series of rituals. The groom has to present lots of gifts like clothes for the bride, hre mother, and her sisters. He delivers these gifts on a camel and is adorned with decorations such as colorful silk fabrics and jewelry. During the wedding day, the groom should be well-dressed and hold a sword and a whip.
In the Nubian society, they only judge a person’s wealth based on the land and waterwheels he owns plus his noble descent.

The regional identity of Nubian people

Nubians always refer to their own regional identity which appears very clear in their traditional clothes as the men wear their distinctive white robes and turbans. The Nubian women also have their own traditional clothes like the women of Upper Egypt wearing the traditional black top that get dressed over the colorful dresses.

About the Nile Crocodile in Nubia

The crocodiles in Nubia have a very important meaning. The Nubian fishermen hunt the crocodiles specially to stuff them with straw and hang them over their doorstep to be talismans to protect the house residents against the evil eye. They leave the crocodile mouth open and decorate its body with colorful beads. In the Nubian dialect, the crocodile is known as “Olom” to reflect a good luck charm. They even draw crocodiles everywhere and can keep one or two locked in a cage for tourists to take pictures with.

For the ancient Egyptians, the crocodile also was a very important symbol as the pharaohs used to worship the crocodile god Sobek which was located in the temple of Kom Ombo in Upper Egypt.

Nubian Language

Nubians are different in everything and especially in the language they use to communicate with each other. About 35 percent of the Nubian vocabulary are Faditcha and 20 percent are Kenuz. There are some connections with some African languages like the Fur and Darfur, also some languages are spoken in Kordofan, Chad, and Ethiopia.

After Christianity, Meroetic had declined and the old Nubian developed influenced by Coptic, Greek, and Latin and was able to be written in Coptic and Latin script.

The unique Culture of Nubian

The Nubian women are the main reason behind the existence of the Nubian culture until today. This is because they work so hard to show off their crafts and cook some traditional food to sell it to the public. They also still wear their traditional customs and their handmade Nubian jewelry. Through all these hard wok, the Nubian culture is surviving

Nubian women also keep telling their children about the ancient Nubian tales and stories so that it may be passed down through generations and survive. They teach them their traditional Nubian dances and songs and to only marry from their people

This is plus the language itself, they teach it to the kids from the very beginning to keep it alive for many years.

Nubia is a great place full of unique details only related to those people, you can’t find such beautiful details elsewhere in the whole world. Don’t miss experiencing all these cultural differences yourself and enjoy the charming views of the colorful Nubian villages with its kind and unique people. You will feel like standing on lands that’s separated from the outer world full of different customs, food, music, dances, language, and history.

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The colorful Nubian Villages in Egypt

You will read in this article

Feeling Lost ?

Who are the Nubians

What’s a Nubian Village Like?

The History of Nubia

Nubian’s Traditions

The regional identity of Nubian people

About the Nile Crocodile in Nubia

Nubian Language

The unique Culture of Nubian

Your Journey, Your Way

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