Northeast Africa
Karanga
Population: 113,000
Language: Karanga
Religious Identity: Muslim
The Karanga of Chad are a people group that descends from the larger Bantu people cluster. All in all, there is extremely little known about the Karanga of Chad, and much prayer and petition is needed to see these people come to a knowledge of the one true God made manifest in the person of Jesus.
Kuka
Population: 143,000
Language: Western Katu
Religious Identity: 100% Muslim
The Kuka are virtually 100% Muslim. They have been strongly influenced by the nearby Muslim Arab merchants, with whom they trade on a regular basis. Although some of their pre-Islamic practices are still observed, Muslim laws and traditions are strongly followed in conjunction with those practices.
Bederia
Population: 851,000
Language: Sudanese Arabic
Religious Identity: Sunni Muslim
The Bederia, also called the Bideryia, are one of the numerous Baggara tribes of northern Sudan that share many cultural characteristics and claim a common ancestry. All of them speak an Arabic dialect known as Baggari that can be understood by both Arabic and Sudanese Arabic speakers. Their name comes from the Arabic word bagar, which means “cow” and refers to the various Arab tribes in Sudan (and surrounding nations) who herd cattle. The Bederia tribes are virtually 100% Muslim.
Dar Hamid
Population: 681,000
Language: Sudanese Arabic
Religious Identity: Sunni Muslim
The Dar Hamid are a confederation of about nineteen tribes and some smaller sub-groups that share a common culture and are led by a single chief, or nazir. Like other nomadic Arab tribes, the Dar Hamid wander the desert with their herds, searching for vegetation that grows after the rare desert thunderstorms. They have a complex system of migration, in which different parts of the family move to different places during certain times of the year.
Guhayna
Population: 1,324,000
Language: Sudanese Arabic
Religious Identity: 100% Sunni Muslim
The Guhayna are one of three main groups of Arabs who live in the White Nile/Sudan area. The historical link between Arabs and the Muslim religion is still strong. There are few Sudanese Arab Christians and converts are not well-accepted. While there have been Christian workers in Sudan for many years, most concentrate on reaching the southern Sudanese and neglect the country’s Muslim majority.
Gawamaa
Population: 900,000
Language: Sudanese Arabic
Religious Identity: 100% Sunni Muslim
The Gawamaa people of Sudan are part of the Baggara people group, which numbers over one million and is the second largest people group in western Sudan. They are primarily nomadic cattle herders, and their journeys are dependent upon the seasons of the year. To many southern tribes of the Sudan, the Baggara were once known as “the raiders,” and they are still on the front lines of the civil war between the North and South.
Kimr
Population; 141,000
Language: Assangori
Religious Identity: Sunni Muslim
The Kimr are an agricultural people, relying on cattle breedinge and dry farming for their livelihood. They adhere to Islamic teachings and practice traditional Muslim ceremonies and festivals, but many also mix animism and witchcraft with their Islamic practices.
Nubian
Population; 900,000
Language: Kenuzi-dongola
Religious Identity: 99% Sunni Muslim
It is thought that the Nubian kingdom was established even before the Egyptian monarchies began to reign along the Nile. Nubians in both Sudan and Egypt have suffered a great deal and often been intentionally neglected. During Nubian religious and agricultural ceremonies, the people express themselves through singing, dancing and beating drums. Nubia gave way to Islam in the 16th century, and Nubians practice Islam intermingled with the form of animism that is predominant along the Nile.
Ittu
Population: 2,461,000
Language: Eastern Oromo
Religious Identity: Sunni Muslim
The Ittu are part of the larger Oromo people group. They are herdsmen with a warrior tradition; riding, spear throwing and fighting are strongly emphasized. Although warfare against enemies is honored, peace within the group is demanded. Oromo have a reputation for being easygoing and sociable, and they value hospitality and almsgiving, especially to relatives and friends. Many people still believe that objects such as trees, springs and rocks have spirits and that spirits called jinn may take possession of people.
Kafa
Population: 634,000
Language: Kaficho
Religious Identity: Muslim
The Kafa belong to the Omotic people cluster and live mainly in the country of Ethiopia.
Tigre
Population: 1,230,000
Language: Tigre
Religious Identity: 95% Sunni Muslim
The Tigre are traditionally nomadic shepherds who live in Eritrea and northeastern Sudan. They are distinguished from other regional peoples by the fact that they possess hereditary slaves. Although the Tigre profess to be Sunni Muslims, most of them practice folk Islam, which is a blend of Islam and ethnic beliefs. The Tigre also believe in an evil spirit named Zar, who possesses people and causes accidents, illnesses and sometimes death. The people depend on shamans (priests) to cure the sick, communicate with the spirits and control events. The shamans also exorcise demons and perform services by entering into a trance.
Afar
Population: 403,000
Language: Afar
Religious Identity: 99.9% Sunni Muslim
The Afar are a proud people, emphasizing a man’s strength and bravery. Prestige comes, as it always has, from killing one’s enemies. Most of the Afar are nomads who herd sheep, goats, cattle and camels. Early in their history, the Afar were heavily influenced by the Islamic religion, and Islam is still held in great esteem today.
Saho
Population: 205,000
Language: Saho
Religious Identity: Muslim
The Saho, sometimes called Soho, are an ethnic group living largely in the southern and northern Red Sea regions of Eritrea, though some also live in adjacent parts of Ethiopia.
The Saho who occupy the eastern foothills of the Akeleguzai and Semhar region of Eritrea are among the country’s longest-established peoples, with a known history of over three thousand years. Unfortunately, no attempt has been made by Saho scholars or others to document their very rich history and culture.
Nefusa Berber
Population: 257,000
Language: Nafusi
Religious Identity: 100% Kharijite Muslim
Little is known of Libya’s earliest inhabitants. However, experts generally agree that they were related to the Berbers who now inhabit the coastal Mediterranean countries to the west. The greater part of the country is arid and unproductive; however, over the years the Nefusa have become an agricultural economy, well adapted to their semi-arid environment. Although most Libyans are Sunni Muslims, the Nefusa belong to a tiny Islamic sect called Ibadaya. While the Ibadis observe many fundamental Islamic practices, some of their customs are quite unorthodox. For example, the village mosque does not face east toward Mecca.
Cyrenaican Arab
Population: 1,608,000
Language: Libyan Arabic
Religious Identity: Sunni Muslim
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya. There are no good roads in the province, and very little internal communication and trade. Not much is known about the daily lifestyle of the Cyrenaican Arabs.