Rubatab

The Rubatab people (Arabic: الرباطاب‎‎) constitute one of many Sunni Arab riverine tribes of Northern Sudan. They inhabit the region of the Fourth Cataract of the Nile. Similar to their neighbouring tribes, the mid-stream Manasir and the downstream Shaiqiyah (الشايقيّة), the Rubatab are an Arab tribe in the Northern Sudan, with an archaic Arabic mother tongue.

The Rubatab people that speak Arabic. Their accent is different from other tribes in Sudan, but the language is the same, including the alphabets. People from other tribes may have difficulty understanding them because of their distinct accent.

People in Rubatab show respect for each other, even when it comes to greeting one another. They usually shake hands and put the left hand on the other person’s shoulder (for men) saying “salaam aleikum” and the other answers by saying “wa aleikumu salaam”. Women show respect for each other by shaking hands, hugging or kissing each other on each cheek. People in the tribe have traditional Islamic names, like Mohammed and Ahmed.

The Rubatab people have a distinct dance style from other tribes. Weddings are the only occasions where men dance with women. The people generally prefer painting rather than crafting. Many people are farmers, and few are artists. A notable exception is Mohammed Sadiq, a famous comedian and actor.

The music is simple, the instruments are homemade. Women play drums and men play tambour. Men and women have their own distinct drums.

In local architecture, many one-story buildings are made with bricks and cement. Each home has two doors, one for men and one for women.

The dress style is similar to the northern Sudanese people. Women wear toub that are one piece of generally a brightly colored cloth wrapped around the entire body and covering the hair. Underneath women wear dresses which are worn without the toub indoors. Men wear jalabiya, a traditional white full-length, long-sleeved gown with white trousers underneath. Wealthy Rubatab women wear jewellery to show their riches. Also, there is heavy emphasis on beauty in the eyes and women emphasize their eyes with eyeliner.

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Wikipedia