As Egypt and Sudan gained independence in the 1950s, they grew to become deeply nationalistic states – particularly Egypt, where Gamal-Abdel Nasser’s populist fervor had captivated the Arab world. This political period witnessed an increase in the marginalization of Nubians as the strengthening of the independent nation-state required them to assimilate and sacrifice for the ‘greater good.’ Before their resettlement in 1964, Egyptian Nubians had lived with an ‘illusion of independence’ as their territories had remained isolated from the wider population. Each district had a local Nubian chief official responsible for reporting to the government and executing their orders.37 Similarly in Sudan, ‘The Nubians had clung to their narrow strip of fertile land along the banks of the Nile…they were separated from the rest of mankind… their Nile remained their sole life-giver.”38 The descriptions of Nubian life in both Sudan and Egypt during the time leading up to the construction of the dam are reminiscent of an isolated utopia. Their way of life was sacred to them, as their ceremonies and traditions remained the core of their social and cultural lives. However, each heightening of the Aswan low dam in 1913 and 1933 resulted in damage to the crop and agricultural area, which increased the migration of men into the city in search of income.39 This meant that men would often be away for extended periods of time, which put a dent in the traditional way of life. The strengthening of the independent state would only bring more disruption as the fabric of Nubian cultural identity would Therefore, it is unsurprising that the exclusion of slowly begin to unravel. the Nubians from the framework of Egyptian nationalist As the post-independent Egyptian state posiideology resulted in the reinforcement and strengthening tioned itself as the leader of the free Arab world it reof Egyptian internal identity. As noted, the Nubians had quested the unfaltering loyalty of its citizens as dedicatdistinct inter-tribal affiliations which relegated them into sub-categories. However, during the years leading up to ed and passionate nationalists. As DiMeo states, “Few the Aswan High Dam, the root of their shared common modern states experienced this combination of populist enthusiasm and systematic imposition of nationalism identity grew to be “based on political and economic grievances from the Egyptian government.”35 They grew more fully than Gamal Abdel-Nasser’s Egypt.”40 Although the political period witnessed the rapid industrito take even more solace in the protection which their villages and land gave them. In contrast, the harsh envi- alization and emancipation of Egypt, it was also characterized by the development of a specific national comronment of the city led migrants to seek the comfort and companionship of one another. Working-class Nu- munity. This effectively united modern Egyptians but bians remained within their social groups in the city and isolated the Nubians, whose darker skin and lack of mastery of the Arab language was ill-suited for the Panestablished unofficial ‘clubs’ where they would often gather, which eventually came to include, “recreational Arab nationalist structure being crafted. facilities, lessons in Arabic, and job recruitment.”36 In The ‘otherness’ of the Egyptian Nubians did this way, they continued to be isolated even amongst not mean they were exempt from being asked to sacrisuburban populations as their failure to integrate into fice for the ‘greater good’ of the nation. After all, it was the Egyptian ‘national’ image – as their fellow Nubians President Nasser who first used the term Nubian offiin Sudan had done – regulated and cemented their cially as he drew attention ‘to the great patriotic sacri‘outsider’ status. fice of the Nubians’ who would soon have to lose their service jobs.30 Fernea describes how, “to most baladi [meaning of the country] Egyptians, Nubians were not ‘baladi’ enough, they lacked the necessary qualities of Egyptian-ness.”31 Nubians were often ridiculed for their tribal dialects as Egyptians claimed they spoke ‘barbari’, pointing to their imperfect recitation of Arabic words and Islamic prayers.32 Egyptian Nubians’ inability to speak perfect colloquial Egyptian Arabic and recite Islamic prayer flawlessly also represented their inability to conform to the Egyptian nationalist identity. As David DiMeo discusses, “the presence of a distinctive Nubian language within the borders of Egypt disturbed this straightforward definition of Egypt as an Arabicspeaking nation. Egyptian nationalists could thus find more to bind them linguistically to fellow Arabs in Morocco or Yemen than with some of the people within their own borders.”33 This formal separation was also expressed within the political sphere: Maja explains how “because Egyptian nationalist leaders tended to view minorities as being incompatible with nation-building, census data thus effectively erased indigenous and minority presence, and it is therefore almost impossible to estimate the current number of Nubians in Egypt.”34 Thus, discrimination against Nubians was evident within multiple arenas, and implemented most strongly after a nationalist vision arose. Nationalism suggests the existence of a perfect ‘national subject’ and by adopting certain defining features that will reinforce this idea, nationalism simultaneously rejects the wide array of identities that exist within the state.
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