Discover the Wonderful Nubian Art
Fascinating Nubian Songs & Music, Nubian Language,Literature, Visual Arts, Nubian History, Events & Contacts
Welcome to share our love for Nubian Art
While we hear the whispering of the river Nile's trickling whims softening the rocks in its depths, cuddling the islands and beaches it embraces, the palm trees sway elegantly when caressed by gentle southern breezes, as if to give greetings to those who keenly care for them.
The colorful birds on the willow trees chirp happily, completeing the symplohy of the water with their purl, inspiring the Nubians to sing eternal melodies and songs that have cheered their lives for thousands of years.
Meanwhile, girls and women paint decorations on their homes in bright colors that express the civilization in which they have lived in since ancient times.
There, men sit on woven mats under the trees, playing Sija (Senet), the oldest game in the World that was played for at least 5500 years, and sing their everlasting songs of continuity and happiness, mixed with hand clapping in the rhythm of their happy hearts.
This is the charming atmosphere that plants artistic creativity and talent in the soul of every Nubian child since his or her birth. This is the environment - cherished and protected by its people since prehistoric times - that inspires Nubians to write and share lyrics, poems and stories, to compose ever new music and songs that are sung and enjoyed by young and old.
This is the environment that inspired girls and women to be creative in decorating their homes in a picturesque way. In this self-contained community, women sit together to craft attractive crafts and utensils made from palm fronds.
Nubian society rests on unshakable moral principles of honesty, sincerity, compassion and mercy, kindness, good treatment, generous hospitality, and mutual affection that created the atmosphere for art of unequaled splendor and wealth to evolve and draw the happiest World.
That's why the Nubian tradition of sharing everything - from food to knowledge to sorrow and joy - gives birth to more artists than any other community. This is why everything in Nubia is complete, creative and beautiful, Nubian customs, traditions, weddings, and happiness, even their food are all art, creativity, sharing and beauty, And that's why Nubian art is so attractive and fascinating.
It is said that in every Munian home you find at least one musician, singer, one poet or writer and a painter. Art reaches its scope and magnificence only when it is shared with delight by the audience, when it is characterized by the group and is done through the emotional participation of everyone.
Even the melodious Nubian language, the root language of the Nile Valley and of humanity, is a form of art, facilitating the rhymes and expression of poems and the creation of remarkable and admirable songs.
Although Nubian art, language and culture face enormous chanllenges, as a large number of Nubians were displaced and dispersed as large portions of their lands and villages were drowned after the erection of the Aswan and Meroe dams on the Nile, and the creation of Lake Nasser (Lake Nubia), Nubians struggle to keep their noble heritage and arts alive.
As more and more scientists recognize the important role of Nubia in the creation and spread of human civilization and art, as well as the transfer of vital knowledge like social structure, agiculture and irrigation, animal husbandry, technology, and sciences like astronomy, mathematics, physics and medicine, we would like to help Nubians preserve their rich culture and art, sharing it with the young generations living outside their motherland and with the World.
Stone tools found in the Nubian Nile Valley at Kaddanarti (North Sudan) let scientists believe that the region between the Egyptian city of Aswan and the capital of Sudan Khartoum was inhabited for at least 700,000 years, and that these first inhabitants gradually established the first human civilization and spread their knowledge to the Arab Peninsula, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
They gradually improved these Oldowanian stone tools, leading to an industry called the "Nubian Complex" like the tools dating 70,000 years ago found near Halfa and Qastal (in Aswan), which attested to the gradual development of ancient arts and crafts. It was followed by bone, wooden, ivory and shell tools and utensils and the manufacture of pottery since 13000 BC, remains of which were discovered at archaeological sites near ancient Halfa, that was submerged under Lake Nubia (also known as Lake Nasser) in 1964.
The oldest human settlement in the World, dating back up to 100'000 B.C. discovered by archaeologists close to the drowned city of Halfa, and rock paintings and carvings in the region of Abu Simbel with splendid representations of people and animals painted and carved 10'000 years ago, as well as the megalithic stone alignments to calculate the seasons in Napta Playa built 7'500 B.C. demonstrate the Nubian society's advanced developments and creativity.
This noble Nubian culture preceded the well-known Pharaohs of Egypt, and talented Nubian artists and sculptors were the ones who developed and laid the foundation for the Pharaonic Era, as demonstrated, among others, by findings in cemetries of the kings of Qustul predating the first pharaohs by hundreds of years, offering to the World an unparalleled and unmatched cultural, artistic, architectural and scientific heritage.
Drawing from roots firmly implanted in the rich soil of ancient history, art, culture, and heritage, today's Nubian artists are the blossoms. Not only does Nubian art stir the feelings of anyone listening to it; it also carried a message.The drawings on Nubian homes and artifacts attest to the deep love of Nubians for life, beauty and nature. Nubian poems and songs contain the depth of meanings that indicate wisdom and advice, reinforcing moral and ideal values that characterize Nubian society. Since ancient times, Nubians sang while on the move and when they arrived on the outskirts of another village, to indicate that they had come in peace and in good faith.
Despite all this, modern history proved unfair to the great Nubian people. Within the framework of the efforts made to develop the Egyptian state and to generate electricity, the Aswan High Dam was built, and it led to a rise in the water level in Lake Nasser, one of the largest artificial lakes in the world, which triggered the loss of a large part of the lands of Nubia, with more than 12 million palm trees dumped, about 72 Nubian villages drowned, and about 100,000 Nubian families displaced and forced to give up their traditional way of life.
The majority was moved into the neighboring desert areas, away from the Nile, the Nubian holy shrine, which was the backbone of all aspects of life for the Nubians, and some Nubians spread into large cities inside and outside Egypt and Sudan. Nubians had to struggle to adapt to a completely different lifestyle from the lives they were used to, and they often had to do lowly rated and remunerated work and confront racism and humiliation.
But despite the displacement and the distance from their original villages, the Nubians adhere to their culture and traditions, and encourage the new generation to respect their heritage and contribute to the revival of the noble Nubian heritage, art and language, on their way to recover and discover their happy past, and return to gaining the respect and appreciation of the world they deserve.
Areas to Explore
Nubian Songs & Music
Singing is the life stream of the Nubians. Since antiquity Nubians have expressed their love for music, singing and dancing, as witness the many artistic representations of musicians, dancers and singers in processions and festivities painted and engraved into the walls of temples, columns and tombs. Inspired by the whisper of the Nile, the song of the birds, the gentle waving of the palm leaves and the millennia old sound of the waterwheel, creative Nubian singers, composers and poets delight the whole Nubian community with their vibrant songs which they love sharing with their audience. Some of the ancient music instruments are still used by Nubians to this day. Accompanied by the rhythms of the Def, the Nubian drum, Nubian artists express their deep feelings, joy or sadness and frustrations in elaborate songs bearing a message of wisdom, of encouragement and of peace.
The Nubian Language
As for the beginnings of human civilization, the Nubian language is also considered by linguists to be the root language spoken in the Nile Valley since the beginning of times. In its development from Proto-Nubian to Old Nubian, the Nubian language was the first gramatically structured and permanently spoken language, from which today's spoken Nubian with its two branches Nobiin (also called Fadiji or Mahasi) and Kenzi (Matokki) or Andaandi (Dongolawi) are derived. While Nubian was not always written, thanks to enormous efforts by Nubian and non-Nubian linguists, artists and researchers to revive this beautiful language, you can now find a rich collection of lessons, books and studies, as well as proverbs and stories so that you can learn Nubian by yourself.
Literature, poems, books and heritage
Like the other forms of Nubian art, the Nubian language has its roots in the ancient population of the Nile Valley spanning from Aswan in today's Egypt to Khartoum in Sudan. In fact, the Nubian language is a form of art, due to its melodious intonation that easily translates into poesy and songs. In antiquity Old Nubian was insccribed in temples and tablets, and Nobiin and Kenzi derived from it are spoken in Nubian villages along the Nile and in Southern Egypt. The language risked extinction due to the dispersion of Nubians after the construction of the Aswan Dam that drowned part of Nubian lands. Efforts from Nubian scholars brought the language back to a structured form written in the Nubian alphabet, derived from Greek and Coptic letters.
Nubian literature experienced a similar strengthened interest thanks to the novels of outstanding Nubian writers and the prolific love for poems among the Nubian people, many of which are expressed in marvelous Nubian songs.
Paintings, Film & Documentaries and Acting
Since the dawn of time, Nubians love artwork, and they express their feelings and love for the beautiful nature that surrounds their villages - the deep blue Nile river, the deep green palm trees and the yellowish mountains in paintings and decoration of all objects they produce, up to the sailing boats - the famous Feluccas - that allow them to travel on the Nile.
In our era, and after the displacement of many Nubians into towns and neighboring regions, Nubians also started expressing their artistic prowess in films, graphic design and videos, as they widely use the Internet to communicate and propagate their artistic culture. After historians finally started acknowledging the importance of Nubian history and heritage as a launching point for the World's civilizations, filmmakers raced to produce interesting documentaries about Nubia.
Events, News, Places, Contacts & Young Visitors
If you like Nubian art, history and heritage, if you enjoy Nubian songs and dance, why not come and explore Nubian culture in Nubia itself? We try to let you become more familiar with Nubian villages and towns, both in Egypt and in Sudan, and suggest you some Nubian guesthouses where you can take pleasure and find happiness during your holidays in the safest environment. Rest assured that you will enjoy a warm and friendly welcome wherever you go and meet kind and tolerant people always willing to help you.
To our young visitors we will alsways do our best efforts to suggest them fun and entertaining games, resources to learn the Nubian language and aboout Nubian heritage, and contact to cultural centers where they may find artistic activities, learn Arageed dance and participate in sport clubs.
History - From prehistory to first civilization to the Kingdom of Kush to modern Nubia
Nubian Art can not be explained without an insight into the astounding and incredibly rich Nubian history, as all aspects of the Nubians' art is influenced by their history and heritage. On the other hand, it is the artistic sensitivity inborn into every Nubian soul, their love for beauty, purity and perfection that enabled the Nubian people to create the most amazing early civilization of humankind.
Archaeologists discovered that the Nubian Nile Valley was inhabited since at least 700'000 years. These early humans gradually improved their tool making technology, spread it to the Arab Peninsula and to the Middle East, Asia and Europe, and developed their crafts and art until the establishment of the famous Era of the Pharaohs.
