Rizeigat Tribe

Rizeigat Tribe

The Rizeigat, or Rizigat, or Rezeigat (Standard Arabic Rizayqat) are a Muslim and Arabic tribe of the nomadic Bedouin Baggara (Standard Arabic Baqqara) people in Sudan's Darfur region. The Rizeigat belong to the greater Baggara Arabs fraternity of Darfur and Kordofan and speak Chadic Arabic. Numbering over one million, the Baggara are the second largest people group in Western Sudan, extending into Eastern Chad. They are primarily nomadic cattle herders and their journeys are dependent upon the seasons of the year. They are a branch of the Juhayna group. They are divided into the Abbala (camel-herding) Rizeigat, who live in northern Darfur and Chad, and the Baggara (cattle-herders) who inhabit south-east Darfur. In turn they are divided into several large clans, notably the Mahamid, Mahariya and Nawaiba. The Mahamid, led by Sheikh Musa Hilal, have been deeply implicated in the Darfur conflict.

The Rizeigat are the largest and most powerful of the Arab people in Darfur. Most live in southeast Darfur. The Rizeigat are composed of three main divisions which are each further subdivided. The Northern Rizeigat herd camels and the Southern Rizeigat herd cattle. Page text.

The ecological differences between the north and south of Sudan allowed for two different types of nomadism to evolve: camel herders in the north and cattle herders in the south7. The people who made up the precursors to the Janjaweed mainly come from the Baggara (cattle herders) who speak Arabic and are Muslim. They live in the west of Sudan, mainly south of Jebel Marra and both north and south of Kordofan. A subsection of the Baggara, the Northern Rizaygat, are one of the largest groups who make up the Janjaweed.

The Rizeigat backed the Sudanese government during the conflict with the SPLA. They formed frontline units as well as Murahleen, mounted raiders that attacked southern villages to loot valuables and slaves. During the Second Sudanese Civil War thousands of Dinka women and children were abducted and subsequently enslaved by members of the Messiria and Rizeigat tribes. An unknown number of children from the Nuba tribe were similarly abducted and enslaved.

In the recent Darfur conflict the Baggara Rizeigat have refused to join the government troops under Janjaweed militias to exterminate rebels. Their leader, Saeed Madibo cites the government's lack of development in Rizeigat areas, despite the tribe's history of support in recent southern conflicts. He also states that his tribe was not allowed to be part of the southern peace process.