193 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
193 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Houses of Egyptian Nubia: West Aswan - Then and Now"
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authors: ["annejennings.md"]
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abstract: Most of the Nubians in Sudan and Egypt were relocated when the Egyptian High Dam was constructed in 1964, but not all of them were. Several Nuban villages sitting north of the High Dam were in no danger of inundation, and were not evacuated. The houses which the Nubians built and continue to build in these villages, distinctive and beautiful, continue to be cherished by their owners. Here I present photographs of the houses in the village of West Aswan, where I lived for 3 ½ years, showing traditional as well as more modern styles, to demonstrate that the extraordinary Nubian culture, ancient as it is, has not disappeared despite great change.
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keywords: ["Nubia", "Egyptian Nubia", "Nubian village", "West Aswan", "Houses", "Architecture", "High Dam", "Tourism"]
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---
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Egyptian Nubia is that area of Nubia which extends from the First
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Cataract, near the town of Aswan, to the Sudanese border. The people in
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this area call themselves Kenuz and speak the language which they call
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Kenuzi or Matoki.[^1] Traditionally, their economy involved a
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combination of subsistence farming, animal husbandry, and date
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production on a narrow strip of land next to the Nile. The erection of
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the first dam in 1903, and subsequent elevations in 1913 and 1933,
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crippled their agricultural system. Because of the difficulties of
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farming the land, Nubian men had sought employment outside of Nubia for
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centuries, returning to their homeland only periodically. Those who
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remained in the villages -- mostly women, children, and old men -- were
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dependent upon remittances from these migrants.
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Most of the Kenuz were relocated when their homeland was flooded because
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of the elevation of the Aswan Dam in 1964. At the time of relocation,
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approximately 70,000 Egyptian Nubians (both male and female), were
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living outside of Nubia.[^2] Many Nubians returned to their homeland
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when the relocation began, and approximately 50,000 were resettled in
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the thirty-three villages built to accommodate them near the town of Kom
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Ombo, thirty miles north of Aswan. This was named New Nubia.
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Not all the Nubians moved from the Aswan area, however. Several
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villages, situated north of the High Dam, were in no danger of
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inundation and so were not evacuated. In this photographic essay, I wish
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to show my photographs of some of the homes that the people who
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inhabited the hamlet (*neja*) of Gubba, in the village of West Aswan,
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were living in during the time I lived there. My first field trip was in
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1981, and the house that I lived in, as well as most others of the
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village, was built of clay/mud bricks that had been dried in the sun,
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and then plastered over with more clay to make a smooth surface for
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painting. This photo shows the houses in one of the *nejas* of West
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Aswan, with its mudbrick walls and barrel vault roofs. These roofs allow
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the air to circulate freely within the homes, keeping the inhabitants
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cool.
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**~~Figure 1. The houses in one of the *nejas* in West Aswan, with their barrel-vault roofs. (Jennings, 1981).~~**
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**~~Figure 2. Within the *neja* of Gubba, doors open up into the square (*melaga*). (Jennings, 1981).~~**
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Within the *neja* of Gubba, houses have been built in such a way that
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every nine or ten of them surrounds a large open area (*melaga*). Doors
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open onto this square, which may have as its focal point a large tree,
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or a small kiosk selling canned milk and candy, or a water spigot.
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**~~Figure 3. Many walls display a representation of Al Buraq, the mythical being who, according to legend, carried Mohammed to heaven on her back. (Jennings, 1981).~~**
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Walls that are made of mud brick absorb the heat of the sun throughout the day. In the winter, this is delightful, but during the summer months the out-of-doors is more comfortable. Both men and women congregate upon the mastabas - benches of smoothly-plastered clay that are built along the fronts of the outside walls - in the evenings, to share tasks and good conversation, and to catch the evening breezes that seem to freshen just in time.
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**~~Figure 4. Some houses have paintings on their walls, indicating that the owner has made the pilgrimage to Mecca (Jennings, 1981).~~**
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**~~Figure 5. Most houses have benches of smoothly plastered clay (*mastabas*) that are built along the fronts of the outside walls. (Jennings, 1981).~~**
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**~~Figure 6. These *mastabas* are gathering places for men and women at the end of the working day. (Jennings, 1981).~~**
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**~~Figure 7. The wide courtyard of a traditional Nubian home, where celebrations and ceremonies are held. (Jennings, 2007).~~**
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The traditional Nubian home has an inner courtyard which is quite wide,
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with a large sandy floor. Traditional celebrations and ceremonies are
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held in these courtyards, so they must be quite large.
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**~~Figure 8. A tourist group being welcomed into the courtyard of a Nubian house. (Jennings, 2007).~~**
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The Nubians of West Aswan, as well as those living in surrounding
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villages such as West Saheil and Hessa, are quite dependent upon
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tourism. Foreign tourists are brought into the home (usually just the
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courtyard area), served tea, and allowed to wander around the area so
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that they can see what a traditional Nubian home looks like. It is hoped
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that they will also buy souvenirs.
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The women of the family may also contribute to the household income by
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drawing tattoos with henna.
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**~~Figure 9. Women of the family may also contribute to the household income by drawing tattoos on tourists with henna. (Jennings, 2007).~~**
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**~~Figure 10. A house of the older style (Jennings, 1997).~~**
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**~~Figure 11. A two-storey house made of bricks rather than mudbricks (Jennings, 1997).~~**
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In 1981, I rarely saw two-storey houses, but there were a couple, made
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of bricks rather than mudbricks. These walls were strong enough to
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support a second storey.
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When I returned to Gubba in 1986, I saw several new houses which
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departed from the plan of the more traditional homes. Newer houses were
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built of stone and concrete, although they were still plastered over
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with clay and painted. They were much more uncomfortable than the older
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houses, as stone tends to be hotter than adobe, and they were roofed
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with tin. Nevertheless, stone and concrete walls are stronger, and
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enabled the families to add a second storey to the home.
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By 2007, the newer houses had become larger and more comfortable, with
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tiled floors throughout the house, and with glassed-in windows and
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air-conditioning. They also have large kitchens with Western-style
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stoves and refrigerators, and bathrooms with toilets and showers.[^3]
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By that time, the villagers were making quite a bit of money from
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tourism, so many of their houses were geared towards welcoming tourists.
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This is such a home in Gubba.
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**~~Figure 12. This home is offered as a Bed & Breakfast for any tourist who wants to spend more time in Nubia. (Jennings, 2007).~~**
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Restaurants, such as the one in Figure 12, which has been constructed in an old
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Nubian house, as well as the one in Figure 13, have been built in West Aswan to
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increase tourism.
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**~~Figure 13. A cafe which has been reconstructed in an old Nubian house for the tourist trade (Jennings, 2007).~~**
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**~~Figure 14. A restaurant which was built in West Aswan to invite the tourist trade. (Jennings, 1997).~~**
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Other contributors to this volume have discussed the shock and
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disappointment that those who were relocated felt when they beheld their
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new homes. The houses of New Nubia appear to have been based upon an
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architect's assumption about the kinds of homes that the Nubians had
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lived in. It seems to me that the planners of New Nubia had never
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actually visited Aswan or any of the Nubian villages surrounding it, as
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evidenced by my photographs of their houses, but had assumed that the
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Nubians lived the same way other Egyptian farming people lived. Due to
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racism and indifference, the houses of New Nubia were built in a style
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that was completely unrelated to the houses of Old Nubia.
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**References**
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Fernea, Robert A. and John G Kennedy. *Initial Adaptations to
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Resettlement: A New Life for Egyptian Nubians*. Cairo: The American
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University in Cairo, 1966.
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Jennings, Anne. *Nubian Women of West Aswan: Negotiating Tradition and
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Change.* Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., 2009.
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Rouchdy, Aleya. "Languages in Contact: Arabic-Nubian". *Anthropological
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Linguistics 22*/8 (1980): pp. 334-44.
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[^1]: Rouchdy, "Languages in Contact."
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[^2]: Fernea and Kennedy, *Initial Adaptations to Resettlement*.
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[^3]: Jennings, *Nubian Women of West Aswan*.
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