Bisharin tribe
The Bisharin are a people that comprises a number of ancient tribes. They are mostly Sufi Muslim, though many are Christians. Bishari are one of the major divisions of Beja nomadic ethnic group. They inhabit the eastern part of the Nubian Desert in Sudan and southern Egypt, living in the Atbai between the Nile River and the Red Sea, north of the Amarar and south of the Ababda. The population is about 42,000. Most of the tribe move within the territory of Sudan, where they have political representation in the Beja Congress. "Bisharin" is also the name of their spoken dialect.
The Bisharin tend animals, including camels, sheep, goats, buffalo and cattle. Qamhat Bishari from Aswan region traded agricultural commodities with other Bejawi people since ancient times. There is a breed of chicken named after the Bejawi peopled called Bigawi, which was carried to Fayoum in ancient times. This important African breed is better known as the Fayoumi. For those along the Nile River, farming is a way of life; they grow cotton, sugar cane, corn, dura, wheat, sesame, fruits and vegetables and raise poultry.
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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Bishārīn. |