Rashaida in Sudan


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

The colorful Rashaida came to Eritrea from Saudi Arabia about 200 years ago. Living in the desert along the coastline of the Red Sea, their homeland extends from Massawa, Eritrea, to Port Sudan, Sudan.

Rashaida are primarily nomadic. The men are excellent traders, using their camels and Toyota pickup trucks to distribute goods imported from Middle Eastern countries—a lucrative endeavor. A portion of their wealth resulted from renting their camels to freedom fighters during Eritrea's 30-year war of independence.

Rashaida women always wear beautiful veils over their faces. This practice begins when they are children so that no man besides their husband will ever see their face. Once when visiting a Rashaida family, I noticed a mother kiss her young daughter - the veil separating her lips from the child's cheek.

The Rashaida live in isolated communities, preferring not to live with people of other tribes. However, occasionally Rashaida can be found living in Tigre villages or Rashaida men will marry Tigre women.

A gentle approach to the Rashaida initiates a warm, hospitable response. A field trip with 20 Tigrinya students afforded me this experience. On the way to a Rashaida village, our bus got stuck in the sand. We dug and pushed, and an hour later the driver had the vehicle back on a solid surface. By this time our water was depleted, and we were exhausted.

A Rashaida trader in his pickup truck approached, stopped and recognized our need. He offered water and a visit to his village. Nine students climbed in the back of his truck and were driven to meet his four wives. The rest of us went to a nearby family's yard and drank tea with them. It was a meaningful display of Rashaida openness to strangers.

Islam is at the core of Rashaida culture. Due to their mobile lifestyle, a family prayer house is central to their worship. Until recently, no known Christians were numbered among them. However, the situation changed as hundreds of Rashaida youth were drafted into the Eritrean army during the 1998-2000 Eritrea/Ethiopia border war. The daily confrontation with danger and sharing a bunker with born-again believers gave many an opportunity to hear the gospel for the first time. In July 2000, there were seven known discipled believers among the Rashaida soldiers.


Prayer Points

Scripture Prayers for the Rashaida in Sudan.


Profile Source:   Link Up Africa  

Additional Info
Global Prayer Digest: 2013-01-15
Link Up Africa
People Name General Rashaida
People Name in Country Rashaida
Pronunciation ruh-shah-EE-dah
Alternate Names Rashad
Population this Country 135,000
Population all Countries 189,000
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 3
People ID 14523
ROP3 Code 108307
Country Sudan
Region Africa, East and Southern
Continent Africa
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 10  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Primarily north   Source:  Ethnologue 2010
Country Sudan
Region Africa, East and Southern
Continent Africa
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 10  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Primarily north.   Source:  Ethnologue 2010
Primary Religion: Islam
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.00 %
Ethnic Religions
6.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
94.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Photo Source Vít Hassan - Flickr  Creative Commons 
Map Source Bryan Nicholson / cartoMission  
Profile Source Link Up Africa 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.