View source for Ja'alin tribe

{{Short description|Arab tribe in northern Sudan}}
{{Infobox tribe
| name = Ja'alin
| local name = {{Nobold|{{lang|ar|جعليون}}}}
| type = 
| image = 
| image_size = 
| caption = 
| ethnicity = [[Sudanese Arabs]]
| location = [[Nile]] river basin between [[Khartoum]] and [[Abu Hamad]] as well as [[Al Jazirah (state)|Gezira]] 
| demonym = Ja'ali
| branches = 
| population = 2,880,000{{cn|date=March 2025}}
| language = [[Sudanese Arabic]]<ref name="Joshua">{{Cite web|url=http://www.joshuaproject.net/people-profile.php?rog3=SU&peo3=11787 |title=Gaalin in Sudan |website=Joshua Project |access-date=28 September 2015}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=March 2025}}
| religion = [[Sunni Islam]]
}}

The '''Ja'alin''', '''Ja'aliya''', '''Ja'aliyin''' or '''Ja'al''' ({{langx|ar|جعليون}}) are an [[Arabs|Arab]]{{efn|<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nachtigal |first=Gustav |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M2yHuXD30osC&pg=PA354 |title=Sahara and Sudan: Kawar, Bornu, Kanem, Borku, Enned |date=1971 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-01789-4 |pages=354 |language=en |quote=but we also find among them people of Arab origin, e.g. the Ja'alin or Jaliya, and the Tshrata.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Keown-Boyd |first=Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lcyXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA275 |title=A Good Dusting: The Sudan Campaigns 1883-1899 |date=1986-11-24 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=978-0-436-23288-6 |pages=275 |language=en |quote= Abdurahman Wad-el-Nejumi, Commander-in-Chief of the Dervish Force which recently invaded Egypt, was by birth an Arab of the JAALIN tribe, a powerful and warlike race of arabs}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Gleichen |first=Lord Edward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a3UPAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA360 |title=The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan: A Compendium Prepared by Officers of the Sudan Government |date=1905 |publisher=H. M. Stationery Office |pages=360 |language=en |quote= Jaalin Tribe, Arab}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Newbold |first=Sir Douglas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lq-fAAAAMAAJ |title=The Making of the Modern Sudan: The Life and Letters of Sir Douglas Newbold ... |date=1974 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-8371-7233-0 |pages=481 |language=en |quote=The main Arab tribes are Shaigia and Jaalin, light-coloured.}}</ref>}} or [[Arabised]] [[Nubians|Nubian]]{{Efn|{{sfn|Adams|1977|pp=557-558: "Although claiming a purely Arab pedigree, they [the Ja'alin] are in fact made up overwhelmingly of Arabized Nubians, with only a small admixture of genuinely Arab blood"}}{{sfn|Holt|1970|p=329: "(...) most of the settled clans of the main Nile are regarded as descendants of a certain Ja'al, who is, furthermore, stated to have been an 'Abbasid. Disregarding this assertion (a typical genealogical sophistication), we may reasonably see in these Ja'aliyyun the descendants of the arabized Nubians of the late Middle Ages"}}{{sfn|Kramer|Lobban|Fluehr-Lobban|2013|p=223: "Despite their claim of an Arab pedigree, the Ja'aliyin may also be considered a southern group of Arabized Nubians"}}}} tribe in Sudan. They claim Arab descent.{{Efn|<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qvcRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA16 |title=The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland |date=1888 |publisher=Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland |pages=16 |language=en |quote=The Ja'alin claim descent from Abbas, the uncle of Muhammad, of the Koreish tribe, and they are undoubtedly of Arab origin}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Abdalla |first=Salma Mohamed Abdalmunim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ob5QDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA101 |title=Charity Drops: Water Provision and the Politics of the Zakat Chamber in Khartoum, Sudan |date=2017 |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |isbn=978-3-643-90928-2 |pages=101 |language=en |quote=the tribal story of the Gamuia [is] a tribe of Arab descent who claim to be one of the Jaalin confederations of Arabs.}}</ref>}} The Ja'alin formerly occupied the country on both banks of the [[Nile]] from [[Khartoum]] to [[Abu Hamad]];<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Jā'alin |volume=15 |page=103}} Citation: ''The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan'', edited by Count Gleichen (London, 1905)</ref> they constitute a large portion of the [[Sudanese Arabs]] and are one of the three prominent Sudanese Arab tribes in northern Sudan. Many [[Politics of Sudan|Sudanese politicians]] have come from the Ja'alin tribal coalition.<ref>{{cite book |title=Omar Al-Bashir and Africa's Longest War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_X-uCAAAQBAJ&dq=hosh+bannaga&pg=PP96 |publisher=United Kingdom: Pen & Sword Books|date=April 30, 2015|last=Moorcraft|first=Paul| isbn=9781473854963 }}</ref>

==Origin==
The Ja'alin describe themselves as being of [[Arabs|Arab]] origin and trace their origins to Ibrahim Ja'al, an [[Abbasid dynasty|Abbasid]] noble, whose clan originally hailed from the [[Hejaz]] in the [[Arabian Peninsula]] and married into the local [[Nubians|Nubian]] population. Ja'al was a descendant of [[Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib|al-Abbas]], an uncle of [[Muhammad]].<ref>{{cite journal |title='Nos ancêtres les Arabes...' Généalogies d'Afrique musulmane |first=Xavier |last=Luffin |journal=Civilisations |year=2006 |volume=53 |issue=1/2 |pages=177-209 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41229719}}</ref><ref name="EB1911"/> According to [[Charles William Wilson]] in 1888, the name Ja'alin does not seem to be derived from any founder of a tribe, but rather from the root Ja'al, an Arabic word meaning "to put" or "to stay", and in this sense it is those who settle.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|first=Sir Charles W.|last=Wilson|title=On the Tribes of the Nile Valley, North of Khartum |journal=Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland|volume=17 |year=1888 |pages=3&ndash;25|doi=10.2307/2841664|jstor=2841664|url=https://archive.org/details/journalofroyalan17royauoft}} (see pages 16 and 17)</ref> Various researchers have suggested that the Ja'alin are [[Arabization|Arabized]] [[Nubians]].{{Efn|{{sfn|Adams|1977|pp=557-558: "Although claiming a purely Arab pedigree, they [the Ja'alin] are in fact made up overwhelmingly of Arabized Nubians, with only a small admixture of genuinely Arab blood"}}{{sfn|Holt|1970|p=329: "(...) most of the settled clans of the main Nile are regarded as descendants of a certain Ja'al, who is, furthermore, stated to have been an 'Abbasid. Disregarding this assertion (a typical genealogical sophistication), we may reasonably see in these Ja'aliyyun the descendants of the arabized Nubians of the late Middle Ages"}}{{sfn|Kramer|Lobban|Fluehr-Lobban|2013|p=223: "Despite their claim of an Arab pedigree, the Ja'aliyin may also be considered a southern group of Arabized Nubians"}}}} A few 19th-century travellers claimed that [[Nubian language|Nubian]] was still spoken among them.{{sfn|Gerhards|2023|pp=140–141}}

==History==
According to their own tradition, the Ja'alin emigrated to Sudan in the 12th century with the [[Nile|Nile valley]], but have settled in the Sudan before the [[Shaigiya tribe|Shaigiya]]. Since the 16th century, they were formerly tributaries to the [[Funj Sultanate|Sultanate of Sennar]].<ref name=":0" />

At the [[Turco-Egyptian conquest of Sudan (1820–1824)|Egyptian invasion in 1820]] they were the most powerful of Arab tribes in the Nile valley. They submitted at first, but in 1822 rebelled and massacred the Egyptian garrison at Shendi with the [[Mek Nimr]], a Ja'ali King (''[[Makk|mek]]'') burning Ismail, [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali Pasha]]'s son and his cortege at a banquet. The revolt was mercilessly suppressed, and the Ja'alin were thence forward looked on with suspicion. They were almost the first of the northern tribes to join the [[Mahdi]] in 1884, and it was their position to the north of [[Khartoum]] which made communication with [[Charles George Gordon|General Gordon]] so difficult. The Ja'alin then became a semi-nomad agricultural people.<ref name="EB1911" />

The [[Anglo-Egyptian invasion of Sudan 1896–1899|Anglo-Egyptian re-conquest of the Sudan]] began in 1896. In July 1897 Ja'alin tribal leaders refused to allow the [[Mahdist Sudan|Mahdist]] forces to occupy the Ja’alin town of Metemmeh, a strategic point on the [[Nile]], 180 kilometres downstream of [[Omdurman]]. They feared the occupation would be oppressive, threatening both lives and property. After the [[Abdallahi ibn Muhammad|Khalifa]] refused an offer from their leaders for the Ja’alin themselves to protect this stretch of the Nile from advancing Anglo-Egyptian forces, the Ja'alin leaders requested protection from [[Earl Kitchener|General Kitchener]], commander of the Anglo-Egyptian army. In response, the [[Mahdist Sudan|Mahdist]] forces attacked Metemmeh, killing several thousand Ja’alin, including women and children,<ref>{{cite book |url= https://archive.org/stream/sudancampaign00offigoog/sudancampaign00offigoog_djvu.txt|author=‘An Officer’ |title= Sudan Campaign 1896-1899|publisher=Chapman & Hall London, Chapter VII|date= 1899}}</ref> with the killings continuing in the following year.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Philip Ziegler|title=Omdurman|pages=55|publisher=Collins|date=1973}}</ref>  As a consequence, Ja’alin tribesmen supported the Anglo-Egyptian forces on their advance on Omdurman in 1898, including supplying an irregular force of 2,500 cavalry,<ref>{{cite book |url= https://archive.org/stream/1899RiverWarVol2/1899%20River%20War%20Vol%202_djvu.txt|author=Winston Churchill|title= The River War volume 2|pages=57, 91–93|publisher=Longmans|date=1899}}</ref> which helped clear the east bank of the Nile of Mahdist fighters in the days before the [[Battle of Omdurman]].<ref>{{Cite book|author=Philip Ziegler|title=Omdurman|pages=47 & 90|publisher=Collins|date=1973}}</ref>

==Location==
This group of over 2.8 million people live in cities and large towns along the banks of the Nile River,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/afrique/soudan.htm|title=Sudan|access-date=September 18, 2024}}</ref> especially in the ancient town of [[Shendi]] which has historically served as their tribal capital. The area is very hot and dry, with an average yearly rainfall of about three inches. In the summer, which lasts from April through November, daytime temperatures can reach as high as {{convert|120|to|130|F|C}}.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}

==Lifestyle==
Some Ja'alin still farm and raise livestock along the banks of the Nile River, but in the 21st century, they more commonly make up a large part of the Sudanese urban population, forming a large part of the merchant class. Although many have moved to cities, such as the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, they still maintain their tribal identity and solidarity. Famous for maintaining ties with their origins, they keep in contact with their original home and return for frequent visits, especially for marriages, funerals and Muslim festivals.<ref name="Joshua"/>

While a [[dowry]] is still common among the Ja'alin and other peoples in the region, but the giving of land and livestock as part of the dowry disappeared in the early 20th century, with the last recorded such dowry dating from 1917 and the last oral evidence from 1930.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Value of Virginity on Echo Island, 1860-1866 |first=Jay |last=Spaulding |journal=[[The International Journal of African Historical Studies]] |year=1992 |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=67-83 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/220145}}</ref>

== Language ==
The Ja'alin entirely speak [[Sudanese Arabic]]. In 1888, Wilson claimed that the Arabic spoken in Sudan was "a pure but archaic Arabic". The pronunciation of certain letters was like [[Hejazi Arabic|Hijazi]], and not [[Egyptian Arabic|Egyptian]], such as g being the pronunciation for the Arabic letter Qāf and J being the pronunciation for Jeem.<ref name=":0" /> According to a source, the tribe allegedly once spoke a now extinct dialect of [[Nubian languages|Nubian]] as late as the nineteenth century.<ref name="O'Fahey, R. S. 1974">O'Fahey, R. S., Spaulding, Jay (1974): ''Kingdoms of the Sudan''. Methuen Young Books. {{ISBN|0416774504}}. pp.28-29</ref>

== Sub-groups ==
Historically, a small group called the [[Meyrifab]] was sometimes classed with the Ja'alin, but the Ja'alin themselves rejected this inclusion.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6nIxAQAAMAAJ&dq=Meyrifab&pg=PA19|title=The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland|date=1888|publisher=Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland|language=en}}</ref>

==Notable tribe members==
* [[Omar al-Bashir]]
* [[Abdel Fattah al-Burhan]]

== See also ==
* [[Zubayrids]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Literature==
* {{cite book |last=Adams |first=William Y. |title=Nubia. Corridor to Africa |year=1977 |publisher=Princeton University |isbn=0691093709 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Gerhards |first=Gabriel |year=2023 |title=Präarabische Sprachen der Ja‘aliyin und Ababde in der europäischen Literatur des 19. Jahrhunderts |journal=Der Antike Sudan |volume=34 |pages=135–152 |publisher=Sudanarchäologische Gesellschaft zu Berlin e.V |url=https://www.academia.edu/110748602/Pr%C3%A4arabische_Sprachen_der_Ja_aliyin_und_Ababde_in_der_europ%C3%A4ischen_Literatur_des_19_Jahrhunderts |language=German}}
* {{cite book |last=Holt |first=P. M. |chapter=The Nilotic Sudan |title=The Cambridge History of Islam |volume=2A |editor=P. M. Holt |editor2=Ann K. S. Lambton |editor3=Bernard Lewis |year=1970 |publisher=Cambridge University }}
* {{cite journal |last=Ibrahim |first=Abdullahi Ali |title=Breaking the Pen of Harold Macmichael: The Ja'aliyyin Identity Revisited  |year=1988 |journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies |volume=21 |number=2 |pages=217–231 |publisher=African Studies Center |doi=10.2307/219934 |jstor=219934 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Kramer |first1=Robert S. |last2=Lobban |first2=Richard A. Jr.|last3=Fluehr-Lobban |first3=Carolyn |title=Historical Dictionary of the Sudan |year=2013 |publisher=The Scarecrow |isbn=978-0810861800 }}

{{Sudanese Arab Tribes |state=expanded}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Ja'alin tribe| ]]
[[Category:Tribes of Sudan]]
[[Category:Sudanese Arabs]]
[[Category:Hashemite people in Sudan]]
[[Category:Nubians in Sudan]]