Daju people

The Daju People are a group of seven distinct ethnicities speaking related languages (see Daju languages) living on both sides of the Chad-Sudan border and in the Nuba Mountains. Separated by distance and speaking different languages, at present, they generally have little cultural affinity to each other.

The traditional area identified with the Daju are the Daju Hills in the southern portion of the Marrah Mountains located in the Darfur province of Sudan. As the Marrah Mountains are the only area in Darfur that has a temperate climate and thus could support large populations, a Daju state arose perhaps as early as the 12th century. Very little is known of this kingdom except for a list of kings and several mentions in Egyptian texts. The Daju appear to be the dominant group in Darfur from earliest times vying for control with their northern Marrah Mountain rivals, the agricultural Fur people.

The Daju had migrated originally from the Nile valley in the aftermath of the invasion of Kingdom of Meroe by Izana, king of Axum about the midth of fourth century A.D. Accounts refer their origins to Shendi, which means in their own language "ewe." First they migrated to Kordofan in western Sudan and re-established their kingdom around Jebel Qadir in the Nuba Mountains. After several generations, they annexed the land now called Dar Fur and beyond. Historians attribute this later expansion to the war between the Daju kingdom and the Kingdom of Dongola in 1200 AD which led King Ahmed al-Daj to relocate his headquarters to Meri in Jebel Marra massif. Meanwhile, Semia, one of Daju capitals, was completely destroyed by the Amir from Dongola.

The Daju empire is said to have spread its control as far east as Kurdufan, west of the Nuba Mountains and as far west as Chad. The Egyptian historian Al-Maqrizi, writing about 1400, described "Taju" as being a fairly powerful kingdom lying between Kanem and the Nile kingdoms. The Daju people are said to have settled in a long belt stretching from South Kurdufan westward through Darfur and into Chad.

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