Rashaida

The origin of the Rashaida traces back to the Arab tribe of Banu Abs, from the Hejaz and the Najd, in Arabia. Around 1846, whole families crossed the Red Sea fleeing internal disputes between clans, seeking refuge on the African coast. They first settled along the coastal strip between present day Sudan and Eritrea, and have since kept ties to both sides of the border, moving with the seasons and the availability of pasture for their herds.

Even after generations living in Africa, the Rashaida preserved the Arabic dialect and customs brought from the peninsula, resisting cultural blending with neighboring peoples and maintaining a separate identity, proud of their origins.

Traditionally nomadic, the Rashaida live in tents made of goat hair and move in search of water and pasture for their herds of goats, sheep, and camels. Camel breeding holds a special place: even though largely illiterate, herders keep the lineage of each animal in memory across seven or eight generations, knowledge passed down orally from father to son.

Social life revolves around the extended family and the clan, which settles internal disputes and arranges marriages, usually between close relatives to preserve lineages and property. Many today combine herding with small trade in border towns, without letting go of their bond with desert life.

The Rashaida are Sunni Muslims, and Islamic faith is deeply intertwined with the people’s ethnic identity: to be Rashaida is, in practice, to be Muslim. Daily prayers, fasting, and other practices of Islam are part of everyday life, alongside tribal customs of their own that predate the arrival of Islam in the region, such as codes of honor and hospitality.

Living among other Muslim ethnic groups in Sudan and Eritrea, the Rashaida tend to stand out less for their religion and more for their Arab origin and Bedouin way of life, which they consider a sign of purity and continuity with their ancestors from Arabia.

The Rashaida speak an Arabic dialect of Hejazi origin, along with Sudanese Arabic, and some of them also speak Tigre, a language common in Eritrea. Initiatives already exist to translate the Bible into Hejazi Arabic, with portions of the New Testament and audio material available, but the complete Bible in this specific dialect is not yet ready. Since the people have a high illiteracy rate, orality and audio resources tend to be the most natural way for the Scriptures to reach families.

Among the Rashaida, being Arab and being Muslim are the same thing in the eyes of the community, which makes any approach of the gospel a direct threat to the clan’s identity. Constant nomadism makes any continuity of relationship even harder, since families and groups move frequently between Sudan and Eritrea in search of pasture and water, making contact with anyone who already knows Christ rare and fleeting.

Political instability and conflicts in the Sudan region directly affect families who depend on free movement between pastures to survive, and lasting peace is still a concrete need for the people. Also lacking day to day is the care that comes from community: among a people who until recently had no known followers of Christ, the few who now believe face isolation and need support to stand firm in the faith and grow in knowledge of the Scriptures.

During the border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, between 1998 and 2000, many Rashaida had their first contact with people who knew Christ, and that period marked the emergence of the first followers of Jesus from this people. They are still few, but their existence is already, in itself, a significant change after generations without a single known believer among the Rashaida.