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المسيرية | |
|---|---|
 The 'Baggara Belt', a distribution area of theBaggara Arabs, Messiria is located in its central part, in southern Sudan near the border withSouth Sudan. | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Sudan | 500,000–1,000,000 |
| Abyei | few in number |
| Languages | |
| Sudanese Arabic andChadian Arabic | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| OtherBaggara Arab tribes | |
TheMessiria (Arabic:المسيرية), also known asMisseriya Arabs, are a branch of theBaggara ethnic grouping ofArab tribes.[1] Their language is primarilySudanese Arabic, whileChadian Arabic is also spoken by a small number of them in Darfur. Their population estimate varies, perhaps between 500,000 and 1 million in western Sudan, extending into eastern Chad. They are primarilynomadic cattle herders and their journeys are dependent upon the seasons of the year. The use of the term Baggara carries negative connotations as slave raiders, so they prefer to be called instead Messiria.
The termdar means 'land'. The wordal orel orel corresponds to the definite article 'the' in English. The termDar el Misseriya means 'land of the Messiria'. According to Ian Cunnison (1966),[2] the Arab nomads of the Sudan and Chad are of two kinds, 'camelmen' (Abbala) and 'cattlemen' (Baggara).[3] the Term "Baggara" means simply 'cowman' but the Sudanese apply the word particularly to the nomadic cattlemen, who span the belt of savanna betweenLake Chad and theWhite Nile. This belt of territory has been the homeland of the Baggara Arabs for centuries. Ian Cunnison, referenced above said "history and environment together throw light on their distribution". In Sudan, while the Abbala live in the semi-desert part of the region: northernKordofan andDarfur, the Baggara, by contrast, live on their southern fringes; occupying the area roughly south of12 degrees north and extending well into flood basins of the White Nile to the south.
In general the Dar el Messiria or their zones can be divided into three areas:
The Messiria in the three different zones have been separated for so long that they have developed localized cultural and social differences. The Messiria in Kordofan know little if anything about the Messiria in Darfur and Chad, but they belong to the same tribe and they have similar tribal divisions and diversities.
In Kordofan, the Messiria occupies the area historically known asWest Kordofan, among their well known locations are:Abyei,Babanousa,Muglad,Lagawa, Meiram, and Lake Kailak.
The main divisions of Messiria in Kordofan areMessiria Zurug; literally the name means 'the dark ones' andMessiria Humr; means 'the red ones'. These names:Zurug andHumr do 'not' mean in any way that theZurug are darker in skin color thanHumr, but most likely theHumr are darker thanZurug ones. According to MacMichael (1967),[4] the two divisions have become so distinct that theHumr have ceased to rate themselves Messiria. However, in Sudan today, still they are called Messiria Humr and Messiria Zurug and still they acknowledge their common history and ancestry.
The Messiria Humr pastoralists migrate across the four regions of their homeland (Dar el Humr): Babanousa, Muglad, Goz, andBahr el Arab.[5]
Still there tribal divisions with each tribes.
The area known as Nitega (نتيقة) is the main distribution base of the Messiria in Darfur, among the landmarks in the area is Mount Karou (جبل كرو).
The Messiria mostly live around Kordofan and migrate south into theDinka territory. They are marginally represented in Darfur and there they live a semi-sedentary life. The Messiria was once a larger group, but fragmented into smaller groups over time.[6]
The location of Messiria in theKordofan is at the border zone betweenSudan andSouth Sudan, specially the southern Fringes of their nomadic zone. TheAbyei area is claimed by Messiria as well as by NgokDinka, to be theirs. While the Messiria are Baggara Arabs,Sunni Muslims and identified as 'northerners', on the other hand, NgokDinka are 'southerners' and identified asBlack Africans eitherChristians or animists. Henderson, MacMichael, and Ian Cunnison all attest the presence of Messiria in the eighteenth century. Similar history is also available for the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms on the same area. Being both nomads, the Messiria and Dinka coexisted for long time and shared the grazing resources. Those Messiria who have most contact with Ngok Dinka are the Messiria Humr. The Messiria Zurug share most of their land with theNuba tribes, along the western sides of the national highway connecting Deling toKadugli; the capital city of South Kordofan and extending toTalodi. On the eastern side of this national highway found theHawazma tribes sharing the land also with the Nuba tribes. The Nuba are indigenous people, inhabiting the area known asNuba Mountains ofSouthern Kordofan and mostlySunni Muslims, with a bit of Christians and animists. Both Nuba and Dinka are sided with Southern Rebels (SPLA/SPLM) during the civil war, while Messiria andHawazma sided with Sudanese government.
During the dry season the Misseriya migrate to the Kiir River in Abyei. They call the region the Bahr el Arab.[7]
Both branches of Messiria, the Humr and the Zurug, are involved in historical grazing disputes and isolated fights along their southern borders, either with Dinka,[3]Nuer, or Nuba over grazing and water resources. The traditional fighting was intensified during the first southern guerrilla's fighting, calledAnyanya,[3] in 1964 when a whole Messiria nomad camp around Lake Abyyad was massacred by Anyanya fighters, none were spared including children, elderly and brides; many Messiria were abducted and women were raped by the rebels. The Messiria retaliated with a sequence of attacks targeting southern villages and nomadic camps; they abducted children and raided cattle. At the time, the abductions and retaliations became the norm in the region, but, mostly children and cattle were retrieved by local authorities and the spirit and will of coexistence always prevailed.
Such targeting of Messiria nomads by Anyanya fighters lead to Messiria starting to accumulate weaponry to counterbalance the rebel fighters' force. Earlier incidents in the early eighteenth century duringBritish rule, had led to both Hawazma and Messiria taking up arms. In around 1908, the British armed the Nuba to fight against the expansion of the northern Arabs in the region. Weapons, known locally as Marmatoun and Ab’gikra, were as common among Nuba asAK-47 among Baggara Arabs today. All these indicate that the ingredients of ethnic war already exist in the region and the new SPLA war was just an ignition of an existing ethnic chasm in the area.
InAbyei, the Ngok Dinka and Messiria are engaged in territorial disputes.[8]
The Messiria are the first northern tribes and the first Baggara tribes to suffer from the 'southern war'.
The Sudanese government gave the Messiria Arab militia machine guns and ordered them to drive theNilotic peoples from theWestern Upper Nile oil region. They successfully took the Luk Nuer in Bentiu and easternJikany Nuer in 1984.[9][3]