Rizeigat
Encyclopedia
The Rizeigat, or Rizigat, or Rezeigat (Standard Arabic Rizayqat) are a Muslim
and Arabic tribe of the nomadic Bedouin
Baggara
(Standard Arabic Baqqara) people in Sudan
's Darfur
region. The Rizeigat belong to the greater Baggara
Arabs fraternity of Darfur
and Kordofan and speak Sudanese Arabic
. Numbering over one million, the Baggara
are the second largest people group in Western Sudan, extending into Eastern Chad. They are primarily nomadic cattle herders and their journeys are dependent upon the seasons of the year. They are a branch of the Juhayna group. They are divided into the Abbala (camel-herding) Rizeigat, who live in northern Darfur and Chad, and the Baggara
(cattle-herders) who inhabit south-east Darfur. In turn they are divided into several large clans, notably the Mahamid, Mahariya and Nawaiba. The Mahamid, led by Sheikh Musa Hilal, have been deeply implicated in the Darfur conflict.
The Rizeigat are the largest and most powerful of the Arab people in Darfur. Most live in southeast Darfur. The Rizeigat are composed of three main divisions which are each further subdivided. The Northern Rizeigat herd camels and the Southern Rizeigat herd cattle. Page text.
The ecological differences between the north and south of Sudan allowed for two different types of nomadism to evolve: camel herders in the north and cattle herders in the south7. The people who made up the precursors to the Janjaweed mainly come from the Baggara (cattle herders) who speak Arabic and are Muslim. They live in the west of Sudan, mainly south of Jebel Marra and both north and south of Kordofan. A subsection of the Baggara, the Northern Rizaygat, are one of the largest groups who make up the Janjaweed.
The Rizeigat backed the Sudanese government during the conflict with the SPLA. They formed frontline units as well as Murahleen, mounted raiders that attacked southern villages to loot valuables and slaves.
During the Second Sudanese Civil War
thousands of Dinka women and children were abducted and subsequently enslaved by members of the Messiria
and Rizeigat tribes. An unknown number of children from the Nuba tribe were similarly abducted and enslaved.
In the recent Darfur conflict
the Baggara
Rizeigat have refused to join the government troops under Janjaweed
militias to exterminate rebels. Their leader, Saeed Madibo
cites the governnment's lack of development in Rizeigat areas, despite the tribe's history of support in recent southern conflicts. He also states that his tribe was not allowed to be part of the southern peace process.
. Most live in southeast Darfur. Like most nomads, their identity and livelihoods are linked through their animals. They are Bedouin pastoralists who became a part of the Janjaweed
. The term janjaweed
the term tends to be synonymous with the term ‘nomad
’.
’, ‘nomad
’, ‘pastoralist’, or ‘Janjaweed
’” has forced all groups, minorities, and victims alike into one category: culprit. Being the ‘bad guy’ has excluded the nomads, both those who are and are not a part of the Janjaweed
, from the humanitarian community. This process has been so obvious that the nomads do not just feel “excluded by the international peace process” but are also able to actively perceive the ways they are being discriminated against. This fuels further alienation, given that they understand they have been ignored by the humanitarian community on a calculated level. The nomads, ignored most of the time by the humanitarians, are trying to make the international community understand how they were vulnerable to climate change, economic failings, neglect, and famine before the conflict like their non-Arab counterparts. However, the international community, despite all the evidence presented to the contrary, continues to treat the nomads as if they are not vulnerable. The government of sudan, equally guilty of turning a blind eye, is also failing to represent the nomads concerns.
Misrepresentation has had different effects. Those involved with the Janjaweed
have been “demonized, blamed for the war and the human rights abuses”. This misrepresentation has not just occurred through the international communities view of the conflict but also through the government of sudan. The government of sudan was quick to point its finger when it became accused of human rights violations and did not stop short of turning the Janjaweed and it affiliates into scapegoats just in case any war tribunals were to come about. Being misrepresented creates feelings of resentment within the nomad groups and leads to more tension between communities (settled and pastoral), further inciting the conflict.
. The deception the Janjaweed
are becoming aware of takes the form of almost every category thus discussed. Their loss of identity and livelihoods through militarization has left members of the Janjaweed even further marginalized. Being a part of the Janjaweed
and engaging in its egregious human rights violations has left the constituents of the Janjaweed on the wrong side of government policy and international aid.
Despite what the government of sudan promised the Janjaweed
for their participation in the clearing of non-Arab villages, they have yet to truly receive the compensation for what they were promised - especially in the form of land grants. Not receiving land, or land rights, has left the nomads worse off than they were before making a deal with the government of sudan. After the initial counterinsurgency, intergroup relations collapsed and created vast feelings of resentment - therefore further destroying migration routes and civilized negotiations for land use.
Because of the Western hemispheres perception of the conflict - that is, in black and white - the Janjaweed
have found themselves excluded from aid they desperately need. This exclusion does not just stop at aid, it progresses into exclusion from peace agreements - agreements that rest, at least in part, in the hands of the ‘bad guys’.
Now that Western interest has died down and the spotlight is no longer glaringly on the government of sudan, the Janjaweed
are still sitting at the forefront of the conflict as scapegoats. On the condition that they stay there - justified or not - they will be in constant fear of revenge from their victims and this will not allow for any unilateral surrendering of arms. For as long as they continue to need arms to feel safe, the international community will be unwilling to let go of their prejudices and see the Janjaweed in a new light - that of being victims themselves who were deceived by their own government at a time when they were especially vulnerable.
and Chad
and then later by the government of Sudan. The drought and famine of 1983-5 put the Rizaygat, Misseriyya, and Humr (a subgroup of the Misseriyya) in an ideal position to be recruited by the government for a counterinsurgency against the Sudanese People's Liberation Army. They had lost a large portion of their animals, which constitute their identity and livelihoods, leaving them vulnerable to predation. This group was known as the murahaliin and they were not paid, but rather allowed to keep booty - which ranged from animals and possessions to anything in between.
The arming of the Arab pastoralists started after the fall of Numeiri under the transitional government of Major-General Siwar al-Dhabab. Allegedly, the nomads were given arms to protect themselves from the SPLA
and furthermore as a way for the government to indirectly deal with the nomads concerns regarding development and conflict. Considering the climate, both politically and ecologically, the nomads were weakened due to drought and poverty which allowed the government of Sudan to provide a solution in the form of weapons and self-asserting ideology.
After years of perceived discrimination by their African brothers, who dominated all forms of skilled work, many Arab nomads proved to be willing recruits. It is important to remember that all of Darfur suffered from neglect with respects to services, but the nomads were the most deprived because of how isolated they were. All these factors fed their feelings of enmity towards the non-Arab groups within Darfur.
The Sudanese government promoted attacks by promising no interference so they could seize animals and land from their non-Arab fellows within Darfur, allowing for their resettlement. They were “encouraged to kill as many people as they wanted and to make their destruction as permanent as possible”. In the beginning, the people who made up the Janjaweed were just opportunists for the government of Sudan, but as the conflict continued the Janjaweed
provided the government of Sudan cover from blame because of how the conflict appeared to be between nomads and farmers - allowing the government of Sudan to wash their hands of the situation they indirectly created by giving them weapons. As the Western hemisphere became more aware of the killings in Darfur, the government of Sudan denied any direct responsibility for what was happening by denying any links to the Janjaweed
- deceiving their closest allies.
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
and Arabic tribe of the nomadic Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
Baggara
Baggara
The Baggāra Arabs are a set of communities inhabiting the portion of Africa's Sahel between Lake Chad and southern Kordofan, numbering over one million. They have a common language which is one of the regional colloquial Arabic languages...
(Standard Arabic Baqqara) people in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
's Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
region. The Rizeigat belong to the greater Baggara
Baggara
The Baggāra Arabs are a set of communities inhabiting the portion of Africa's Sahel between Lake Chad and southern Kordofan, numbering over one million. They have a common language which is one of the regional colloquial Arabic languages...
Arabs fraternity of Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
and Kordofan and speak Sudanese Arabic
Sudanese Arabic
Sudanese Arabic is the variety of Arabic spoken throughout northern Sudan. It has much borrowed vocabulary from the local languages . This has resulted in a variety of Arabic that is unique to Sudan, reflecting the way in which the country has been influenced by both African and Arab cultures...
. Numbering over one million, the Baggara
Baggara
The Baggāra Arabs are a set of communities inhabiting the portion of Africa's Sahel between Lake Chad and southern Kordofan, numbering over one million. They have a common language which is one of the regional colloquial Arabic languages...
are the second largest people group in Western Sudan, extending into Eastern Chad. They are primarily nomadic cattle herders and their journeys are dependent upon the seasons of the year. They are a branch of the Juhayna group. They are divided into the Abbala (camel-herding) Rizeigat, who live in northern Darfur and Chad, and the Baggara
Baggara
The Baggāra Arabs are a set of communities inhabiting the portion of Africa's Sahel between Lake Chad and southern Kordofan, numbering over one million. They have a common language which is one of the regional colloquial Arabic languages...
(cattle-herders) who inhabit south-east Darfur. In turn they are divided into several large clans, notably the Mahamid, Mahariya and Nawaiba. The Mahamid, led by Sheikh Musa Hilal, have been deeply implicated in the Darfur conflict.
The Rizeigat are the largest and most powerful of the Arab people in Darfur. Most live in southeast Darfur. The Rizeigat are composed of three main divisions which are each further subdivided. The Northern Rizeigat herd camels and the Southern Rizeigat herd cattle. Page text.
The ecological differences between the north and south of Sudan allowed for two different types of nomadism to evolve: camel herders in the north and cattle herders in the south7. The people who made up the precursors to the Janjaweed mainly come from the Baggara (cattle herders) who speak Arabic and are Muslim. They live in the west of Sudan, mainly south of Jebel Marra and both north and south of Kordofan. A subsection of the Baggara, the Northern Rizaygat, are one of the largest groups who make up the Janjaweed.
The Rizeigat backed the Sudanese government during the conflict with the SPLA. They formed frontline units as well as Murahleen, mounted raiders that attacked southern villages to loot valuables and slaves.
During the Second Sudanese Civil War
Second Sudanese Civil War
The Second Sudanese Civil War started in 1983, although it was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originated in southern Sudan, the civil war spread to the Nuba mountains and Blue Nile by the end of the 1980s....
thousands of Dinka women and children were abducted and subsequently enslaved by members of the Messiria
Messiria
The Messiria known also under the name of Misseriya Arabs are a branch of the Baggara Arabs tribes. Their language is the Sudanese Arabic. Numbering over one million, the Baggara are the second largest people group in Western Sudan, extending into Eastern Chad. They are primarily nomadic cattle...
and Rizeigat tribes. An unknown number of children from the Nuba tribe were similarly abducted and enslaved.
In the recent Darfur conflict
War in Darfur
The Darfur Conflict was a guerrilla conflict or civil war centered on the Darfur region of Sudan. It began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and Justice and Equality Movement groups in Darfur took up arms, accusing the Sudanese government of oppressing non-Arab Sudanese in...
the Baggara
Baggara
The Baggāra Arabs are a set of communities inhabiting the portion of Africa's Sahel between Lake Chad and southern Kordofan, numbering over one million. They have a common language which is one of the regional colloquial Arabic languages...
Rizeigat have refused to join the government troops under Janjaweed
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed is a blanket term used to describe mostly gunmen in Darfur, western Sudan, and now eastern Chad...
militias to exterminate rebels. Their leader, Saeed Madibo
Saeed Madibo
Saeed Madibo is the Nazir of the Baggara Rizeigat of South Darfur. His family has held this position since the 1870s and were recognized as paramount chiefs by the British following the conquest of Darfur in 1916....
cites the governnment's lack of development in Rizeigat areas, despite the tribe's history of support in recent southern conflicts. He also states that his tribe was not allowed to be part of the southern peace process.
Northern Rizeigat
The Northern Rizaygat are Arab nomads who herd camels. They are the largest and most powerful of the Arab people in DarfurDarfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
. Most live in southeast Darfur. Like most nomads, their identity and livelihoods are linked through their animals. They are Bedouin pastoralists who became a part of the Janjaweed
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed is a blanket term used to describe mostly gunmen in Darfur, western Sudan, and now eastern Chad...
. The term janjaweed
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed is a blanket term used to describe mostly gunmen in Darfur, western Sudan, and now eastern Chad...
the term tends to be synonymous with the term ‘nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
’.
Camels
Camels are at the center of status and identity. Ownership of camels is directly related to the power of the tribe and defines the nomads relationships to land, resources, and farmers. Owning camels has produced systems that allowed for a symbiotic relationship between the nomads and settled farmers. However, certain pressures have negatively affected this livelihood. These range from population growth and increases in farming (including associated economic and commercial agriculture) to climate change and restrictive legislations. This challenged their lifestyle and led to feeding competition between the nomads and farmers, which shepherds in inevitable conflict.Education
Power is closely linked to education and it fuels how they understand themselves, their status, and attaining power. The nomads are aware of their lack of education and therefore influence. This leads to a desire for education which pressures them to convert to a sedentary lifestyle with the idea of making education more accessible.Militarization
Provided a quick solution to immediate problems. Regardless of it’s instant gratifications, it causes the nomads to struggle with finding a balance between traditional and modern livelihoods. This process has led to lifestyles being eroded, giving way to the process of “sedentarization, conflict, and militarization.”Livelihood Erosion
Livelihood erosion is occurring by many means. These range from sedentarization and (further) militarization to social polarization and governance. Sedentarization is occurring as a result of choices being driven by the promise of development and pressures on livelihoods. Militarization is targeting the youth of the Northern Rizaygat, acting as a culture - therefore creating unity and organization; suggesting the youth think their “voice” is being heard. Social polarization was increased by the willingness of the Northern Rizaygat to support the government’s counterinsurgency. This support hurt intertribal relationships. Peace was hindered by the nomads being denied access to their migration pastures. Loss of markets hurt the Northern Rizaygat’s livelihoods and was locally fueled by the displacement of communities. Climate change is affecting the livelihoods, peace, and stability of Sudan, making the area more vulnerable. The conflict has heightened the environmental instability due to shifts in populations - putting a strain on natural resources. Governance has deprived the nomads of favourable pastoral policies. Within the leadership of the country, there are limited representatives of the Northern Rizaygat.Exclusion and Misrepresentation
Exclusion is widespread. Being considered an “‘ArabArab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
’, ‘nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
’, ‘pastoralist’, or ‘Janjaweed
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed is a blanket term used to describe mostly gunmen in Darfur, western Sudan, and now eastern Chad...
’” has forced all groups, minorities, and victims alike into one category: culprit. Being the ‘bad guy’ has excluded the nomads, both those who are and are not a part of the Janjaweed
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed is a blanket term used to describe mostly gunmen in Darfur, western Sudan, and now eastern Chad...
, from the humanitarian community. This process has been so obvious that the nomads do not just feel “excluded by the international peace process” but are also able to actively perceive the ways they are being discriminated against. This fuels further alienation, given that they understand they have been ignored by the humanitarian community on a calculated level. The nomads, ignored most of the time by the humanitarians, are trying to make the international community understand how they were vulnerable to climate change, economic failings, neglect, and famine before the conflict like their non-Arab counterparts. However, the international community, despite all the evidence presented to the contrary, continues to treat the nomads as if they are not vulnerable. The government of sudan, equally guilty of turning a blind eye, is also failing to represent the nomads concerns.
Misrepresentation has had different effects. Those involved with the Janjaweed
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed is a blanket term used to describe mostly gunmen in Darfur, western Sudan, and now eastern Chad...
have been “demonized, blamed for the war and the human rights abuses”. This misrepresentation has not just occurred through the international communities view of the conflict but also through the government of sudan. The government of sudan was quick to point its finger when it became accused of human rights violations and did not stop short of turning the Janjaweed and it affiliates into scapegoats just in case any war tribunals were to come about. Being misrepresented creates feelings of resentment within the nomad groups and leads to more tension between communities (settled and pastoral), further inciting the conflict.
Deception
The most recent development into the feelings of resentment and deception have only just started to surface. The government of sudan, afraid of being held responsible for any of its actions or inactions has found its perfect villain: the JanjaweedJanjaweed
The Janjaweed is a blanket term used to describe mostly gunmen in Darfur, western Sudan, and now eastern Chad...
. The deception the Janjaweed
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed is a blanket term used to describe mostly gunmen in Darfur, western Sudan, and now eastern Chad...
are becoming aware of takes the form of almost every category thus discussed. Their loss of identity and livelihoods through militarization has left members of the Janjaweed even further marginalized. Being a part of the Janjaweed
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed is a blanket term used to describe mostly gunmen in Darfur, western Sudan, and now eastern Chad...
and engaging in its egregious human rights violations has left the constituents of the Janjaweed on the wrong side of government policy and international aid.
Despite what the government of sudan promised the Janjaweed
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed is a blanket term used to describe mostly gunmen in Darfur, western Sudan, and now eastern Chad...
for their participation in the clearing of non-Arab villages, they have yet to truly receive the compensation for what they were promised - especially in the form of land grants. Not receiving land, or land rights, has left the nomads worse off than they were before making a deal with the government of sudan. After the initial counterinsurgency, intergroup relations collapsed and created vast feelings of resentment - therefore further destroying migration routes and civilized negotiations for land use.
Because of the Western hemispheres perception of the conflict - that is, in black and white - the Janjaweed
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed is a blanket term used to describe mostly gunmen in Darfur, western Sudan, and now eastern Chad...
have found themselves excluded from aid they desperately need. This exclusion does not just stop at aid, it progresses into exclusion from peace agreements - agreements that rest, at least in part, in the hands of the ‘bad guys’.
Now that Western interest has died down and the spotlight is no longer glaringly on the government of sudan, the Janjaweed
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed is a blanket term used to describe mostly gunmen in Darfur, western Sudan, and now eastern Chad...
are still sitting at the forefront of the conflict as scapegoats. On the condition that they stay there - justified or not - they will be in constant fear of revenge from their victims and this will not allow for any unilateral surrendering of arms. For as long as they continue to need arms to feel safe, the international community will be unwilling to let go of their prejudices and see the Janjaweed in a new light - that of being victims themselves who were deceived by their own government at a time when they were especially vulnerable.
Southern Rizeigat
They live in the South of Darfur and herd cattle. This group was known as the murahaliin.Conflict
The Southern Rizaygat and Misseriyya were initially armed by LibyaLibya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
and Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
and then later by the government of Sudan. The drought and famine of 1983-5 put the Rizaygat, Misseriyya, and Humr (a subgroup of the Misseriyya) in an ideal position to be recruited by the government for a counterinsurgency against the Sudanese People's Liberation Army. They had lost a large portion of their animals, which constitute their identity and livelihoods, leaving them vulnerable to predation. This group was known as the murahaliin and they were not paid, but rather allowed to keep booty - which ranged from animals and possessions to anything in between.
The arming of the Arab pastoralists started after the fall of Numeiri under the transitional government of Major-General Siwar al-Dhabab. Allegedly, the nomads were given arms to protect themselves from the SPLA
SPLA
SPLA may refer to:* Sudan People's Liberation Army** SPLA-Nasir and SPLA-United, a Sudanese breakaway faction formed in 1991* Sahrawi Popular Army of Liberation – see Polisario Front...
and furthermore as a way for the government to indirectly deal with the nomads concerns regarding development and conflict. Considering the climate, both politically and ecologically, the nomads were weakened due to drought and poverty which allowed the government of Sudan to provide a solution in the form of weapons and self-asserting ideology.
After years of perceived discrimination by their African brothers, who dominated all forms of skilled work, many Arab nomads proved to be willing recruits. It is important to remember that all of Darfur suffered from neglect with respects to services, but the nomads were the most deprived because of how isolated they were. All these factors fed their feelings of enmity towards the non-Arab groups within Darfur.
The Sudanese government promoted attacks by promising no interference so they could seize animals and land from their non-Arab fellows within Darfur, allowing for their resettlement. They were “encouraged to kill as many people as they wanted and to make their destruction as permanent as possible”. In the beginning, the people who made up the Janjaweed were just opportunists for the government of Sudan, but as the conflict continued the Janjaweed
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed is a blanket term used to describe mostly gunmen in Darfur, western Sudan, and now eastern Chad...
provided the government of Sudan cover from blame because of how the conflict appeared to be between nomads and farmers - allowing the government of Sudan to wash their hands of the situation they indirectly created by giving them weapons. As the Western hemisphere became more aware of the killings in Darfur, the government of Sudan denied any direct responsibility for what was happening by denying any links to the Janjaweed
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed is a blanket term used to describe mostly gunmen in Darfur, western Sudan, and now eastern Chad...
- deceiving their closest allies.