The Nubi, or Nubians, are now estimated to number 10,000. Nubia stretched from Aswan in Upper Egypt in the north at the Nile's first Cataract, to the Republic of Sudan in the south for some 300 kilometers, midway between the third and fourth cataract. Some argue that the name “Nubians” derives from a word in the Nubian language meaning slaves and others say that the ancient Egyptian word “nab” meant gold and that the Ancient Egyptians used the term to refer to the Nubian Valley because of the gold mines nearby. The Nubi originated in the Sudan and spread to various East African countries due to their involvement with the British army. Some also stayed when they escaped from slavers as they were being driven from their homes to the coast. They are mainly found in urban centers such as Nairobi, Eldama-Ravine, and Bumbo (Uganda).
Their language is appropriately referred to as Nubian (Creole) or Nubi. However, the term Kinubi commonly used for their language seems to indicate their bilingualism in Swahili and their association with Kenyan African society. It was formerly a soldier language, which split off from Sudanese Pidgin Arabic about 1900. The Nubian Creole Arabic is said to be no longer intelligible with Sudan Creole Arabic. An article in the Sunday Nation (written by a Nubi Catholic priest "Father Kizito") says the Nubi in Nairobi cannot understand Sudan Arabic Creole speakers. It is uncertain whether Kenyan Creole Arabic is intelligible with Ugandan Nubian Creole. Nubi speakers use Swahili for out-group communication and Nubi for in-group communication. They are typically bilingual. However, 30% can also speak English. Non-Nubi wives of Nubi men are expected to learn Nubi.
Oral traditions are important among all the Nubian groups. In such arts as painting and pottery making, each group developed unique forms and styles. The art forms in Nubia were divided into three categories: utilitarian, decorative and symbolic. The utilitarian arts include making plates, mats, fans, and jars from material available in the environment, such as straw and clay. Women practiced this art form. Bright colors distinguished the Nubian form from the Egyptian or Sudanese plates or jars. After resettlement, this art form disappeared because the utensils are available from the market. The decorative art included mainly bead necklaces and bracelets. Grooms and brides used these ornaments to decorate themselves. Now modern jewelry such as silver and gold has replaced these items. The symbolic art included wall and door decoration. Decoration was typical of Nubian houses. Icons of houses were made to protect houses from the evil eye. After resettlement, decorations were replaced by paintings.
Agriculture was and still is the basis of the Nubian economy. The Nubians in Egypt had two cultivation seasons, winter crops, called “shitwi” and summer crops called “sifti”. The Nubians depended on the rise and fall of the Nile water to irrigate winter crops. Peas, okra, beans and lentils were cash crops sold by the Sudanese Nubians. Today the Egyptian Nubians use their land to cultivate sugarcane as a cash crop sold at a government regulated price. Other crops such as fruits and vegetables were rare and were cultivated by the well to do landowners.
The Nubians are Muslims who believe in one God and his prophet Mohammed. Their ceremonies can be divided into three kinds: the rite de passage, the religious ceremonies and the agricultural rituals. The Otoro and Azande have their own local beliefs and practices, which are significant as a means of social control, and Islam and Christianity have very little influence. Among the Otoro, there is a widespread belief in Oracles, which are a divine communication delivered in response to a petitioner’s request also the seat of prophecy itself. Nubian traditions with regard to death follow Islamic teaching which is washing the dead body, dressing it and wrapping it in white cloth and buried appropriately before the first sun set.
The family in the Nubian culture was the primary agent of socialization. The mother and the other womenfolk did most of the child rearing. Today, the introduction of electricity, the school, radios and television provide additional socialization agencies. Cross cousin marriage is the preferred marriage type. Intermarriage among the various groups was and still is rare. A dowry is exchanged as a public declaration of marriage. Divorce is frowned upon by tradition and the marriage rules of the Nubians leave the divorced women hardly any opportunity for remarriage. The families negotiated divorce and the total refund of the bride wealth to the former husband would dissolve the marriage. Of course, today divorce is dissolved more formerly by the courts.
The history of the Nubi goes back to the late 1800s in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. In the last decades of the Ottoman Empire, the British administered "the Sudan" jointly with the Ottoman Turkish province of Egypt. A religious leader called the Mahdi led a rebellion against the British-Ottoman government. Sudanese who agreed to join the British forces were rewarded after the British victory with land in Kibera, now within Nairobi. They are still strongly associated with Kibera, though it is now a crowded slum area of people from virtually every tribe in Kenya. Some Nubi also settled in Uganda.
Some Nubi still live in Kibera. They work in both the private and public sectors. The women specialize in unique handicraft and hairdressing. This community faces a number of socio-economic and political problems that have reduced their self-esteem. The people live mainly in the slum areas where the electricity, water, and sanitary conditions are poor. Families have difficulty paying school fees and this leads to school dropout and involvement in drug use. This problem is made worse by the urban surroundings. The Nubi people also face a problem where their land is being bought by the rich. There does not appear to be a strong political identity for the Nubi in Kenya and they are not prominent in current politics. However, the Nubi have steadfastly maintained their Sunni Islam while living in Kenya for a century. In the Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi alone, there are eight mosques, all led by Nubis.
"The Nubi of Kenya." Caleb Project. http://www.calebproject.org/obj33.htm (August 1996)
"Kenya." Ethnologue. http://www.sil.org/ethnologue/countries/Keny.html (May 29, 1998)
Midleton, John & Rassam , Amal, Africa and the Middle East; Boston, Masachusetts. G.K. Hall&co. 1991, v9
Encyclopedia Britannica: Sudan. http://search.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=10842&sctu=6
Written By: Mazie Cooper and Adam Kane