Shaikia Arabizado

The Shaikia live on lands that were once part of the heart of the Christian Nubian kingdom of Makuria. From the meeting of local groups and Arab clans, in the closing centuries of that kingdom, a tribe emerged that adopted the Arabic language and genealogy. Under the Funj sultanate it was a subject people, but around 1690 it broke with the central power and became the only independent tribe in the region.

In 1820 they resisted the Turco-Egyptian invasion, were defeated at Korti, and were then used by the invaders against other tribes. During the Mahdist period they suffered harsh reprisals and were reduced to a few hundred families, but they recovered in the twentieth century.

Traditionally, the Shaikia make their living from farming along the banks of the Nile, and in other times they earned prestige as horsemen and soldiers. Life revolves around the extended family, in which the father is head of the household and, in his absence, the mother, an uncle or the grandfather takes charge of the group.

At weddings, brides are decorated with henna. Children play seega, a game of differently colored pebbles drawn out in the sand, similar to tic-tac-toe. It was once the custom to cut three horizontal lines into the faces of little ones, a practice that is now fading away. Many children attend khalwas, traditional schools where they learn classical Arabic and memorize the Quran before entering public school.

The Shaikia are Sunni Muslims. Faith is learned from childhood in the khalwas, where boys memorize the Quran. Their own origin tradition strengthens the bond with Islam, since it links the ancestor Shaig to Abbas, uncle of the Prophet Muhammad.

For most, being Shaikia and being Muslim are one and the same. Prayer, fasting and festivals mark the calendar, and the great moments of life, such as birth, marriage and mourning, are lived within this religious and communal frame. Speaking of Jesus to someone from this people therefore calls for patience and friendship, since faith is part of the heritage their ancestors left them.

The Shaikia speak Sudanese Arabic, a language of mostly oral tradition. Audio recordings exist in this language, and those who read can turn to the Scriptures in Standard Arabic, which school teaches. In practice, the challenge is less the lack of material and more getting it to those who have never sought it, in a format close to everyday speech and in a way that can be read or heard safely.

Among the Shaikia, faith is part of the tribe’s honor and of the heritage of their ancestors. Anyone who draws near to Jesus risks being seen as someone who breaks with the family and with the history of the people. In Sudan, following Christ from an Islamic background usually carries a high social and family cost, and the country’s small Christian community rarely reaches the villages of the northern Nile. Few workers get there, and political instability makes any lasting contact even harder.

Sudan is going through years of conflict, displacement and economic crisis, and families in the Nile region feel the weight of insecurity and scarcity. There is a need for peace, basic services, health care and dignified opportunities for young people and for displaced families.

On the spiritual side, they lack what many do not even know they lack: someone who shares the gospel with friendship and respect, in the language of the heart, and a community of faith that can welcome and walk alongside anyone who wants to know Jesus.