Nara people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 108,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Eritrea | |
| Languages | |
| Nara | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Islam; Minority Christianity (Oriental Orthodoxy), Traditional faith |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Kunama, other Nilotic peoples |
The Nara are a Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting Eritrea. The society is divided into four subtribes, who traditionally were animist but now follow Islam. They are mostly subsistence farmers. The Nara speak the Nara language, which belongs to the Nilo-Saharan family.
According to the Eritrean government, the Nara are descendants of the first Nilo-Saharan settlers in Eritrea, who had migrated from the Upper Nile area and intermarried with local Pygmy populations.
Today, the Nara number around 108,000 individuals. They constitute around 1.5% of the population of Eritrea. They are typically agrarian and have settled primarily along the border with Sudan.
The Nara population is divided into four subtribes: the Higir, Mogareb, Koyta and Santora. They traditionally adhered to animist beliefs. After the Egyptian occupation in the 19th century, most Nara adopted Islam. A minority also follow Christianity.
The Nara ethnonym means "Sky Heaven". They also used to call themselves the Barya.
The Nara people speak the Nara language. It belongs to the Nilo-Saharan family, and is closely related to Kunama.
Through contact with neighboring Afroasiatic-speaking populations, many Nara are also bilingual in Tigre and/or Arabic. They traditionally had no writing system, with the few existing pieces of literature in Nara transcribed using either Tigre or Arabic.
The language is also known as Nara-Bana, meaning "Nara-Talk".
Social organisation of the Nara people is based on the clan and subclan, with people living in villages and hamlets. The lineage system is patrilineal, unlike that of the Kunama people. Land belongs to the clan and shared out among the families in the clan.
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Wikipedia