Fur People

Fur People

The Fur (fòòrà in Fur, فور in Arabic) are an ethnic group from western Sudan, principally inhabiting the region of Darfur where they are the largest tribe.

They are a Western Sudanese people who practice sedentary herding and agriculture, mainly the cultivation of millet. Their society is a traditional one governed by village elders. They speak Fur, a Nilo-Saharan language, and are Muslims, having adopted the religion following the region's conquest by the Kanem-Bornu Empire during the Middle Ages. Some of them have come to speak Arabic in recent years.

The name of Darfur comes from the name of this tribe and means "the home of the Fur". Most of the well known governors of Darfur such as Deriage and Tegani Seisei are members of the Fur. The Fur established the historical Sultanate of Darfur which governed Darfur until 1916 (see History of Darfur).

Abdul Wahid al Nur, a leader among the Fur, established the Sudan Liberation Movement and Army. Another leader of the tribe, as of 2007, is Ahmed Abdelshafi (Toba).

The traditional heartland of the Fur is the mountainous region around Jebel Sî and Jebel Marra Wadi Salih and Zaligi; today, however, most of them live in the lower country west and southwest of that area, between 11-14 N and 23-26 E. Some Fur live across the border in Chad, many of them refugees.

The Furs' lifestyle has led to conflict with the nomadic Baggara, cattle-herders of the region, concerning access to water and grazing land, particularly in Darfur's central Jebel Marra mountains where the best agricultural land is to be found. This has been the source of ethnic tensions for many years, culminating in the Darfur conflict which began in 2003.

Many Fur villagers were massacred in the ethnic fighting as Mahria and Terjem tribes divided up land they conquered from the Fur, according to a September 3, 2007 New York Times account citing United Nations officials and Fur survivors.

The Fur are well known for their Muslim piety. They are also well known for being very proud of their Black African identity, the main reason behind the Fur's opposition to all governments that have been ruling Sudan since 1956 and led by central and northern Sudan Arab elites. Although they are well known for their Muslim piety, their Islam is very much mixed with their African traditions and customs. For many Fur African traditions are more important than the Islamic instructions. Approximately all new Fur intellectuals are secular and tend to support the idea of New Sudan that was created by John Garang De Mabiour, the founder of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army.