Kieru, Eritrea, came into view, a welcomed sight at the end of a long, hot, dusty trip. It was Beja territory, and I was excited about meeting my first Beja (June 1995). Stepping out of the four-wheel drive Toyota Land Cruiser marked the beginning of a six-hour encounter with the Beja that opened my eyes to the need of Africa’s Forgotten Peoples.
The government official welcomed our group and agreed to give us a brief introduction to the life and culture of his people. He presented us to 10 village chiefs who had come to discuss Beja issues with him. Then he gave us a tour of a “men’s only” market where we were invited to drink coffee and take pictures of young men in full Beja attire.
The final stop was a Beja village where the women were gathered at the home of a woman who had just given birth. The festive occasion gave us a glimpse into the social structure of the society.
My heart was touched by the absence of any gospel witness among them: no churches, no schools, no clinics and no Christian relief program. In my 30 years of missionary work in various parts of Africa, I had never seen a major peoples group so isolated from the good news of the gospel.
In December 1999, I made a second visit to the Beja homeland and noticed many changes. The Beja language is called Bidhawyeet, pronounced “Bid-ha-wiet.” The Beja language is written with the Roman alphabet in Eritrea but uses Arabic characters in Sudan. The youth are very eager for education. The government is preparing a number of Beja textbooks and will soon launch Beja classes in four new elementary schools.
A Beja village two kilometers west of Teseney, Eritrea, received us for a brief visit. It is the first of several Beja villages along the north side of the Gash River Reservoir. About 5,000 Beja have left their nomadic lifestyle to become farmers and take advantage of irrigation opportunities. The village we visited (200 people) milked many cows and marketed it to residents in Teseney. Dairy cattle and camels both sell for about $250 each.
The only schools available to village children were in Teseney. The Beja see schooling as one of the main advantages of settling in one place. A Beja working in the administrator’s office said, “It is not good to just wander from place to place.”
The Beja consider the Tigre to be their relatives, with language the only difference between them. Tigre men marry Beja women. However, when a Beja man marries his first wife, she must be a close relative, such as a cousin. Beja claim to be following the example of the biblical Adam’s family in the observance of this cultural trait. Many of them take the names Adam and Eve.
The government has established new settlements near the Barka River, and approximately 50 percent of the nomadic Beja take advantage of the opportunity for schools, clinics and farming tools.
The move to settlements, the war with Ethiopia, and the drive for commerce and education have brought definite change to Beja culture and provides fertile soil for presenting the gospel. This becomes evident as youth say, “Islam is for the elderly.”
The Beja is the purest Islamic tribe in the Horn of Africa. A high school student is the only known Beja born-again believer in Eritrea. A family in Teseney and five families in four villages across the border in Sudan are “seekers” but have yet to make a public profession of faith in Jesus.
May God be gracious to these lovely Beja people who need to be introduced to Jesus, the Savior.