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What Life Is Like In Egypt's Nubian Society
Photographer Nour El Refai spent more than a year documenting life among Egypt's Nubian community, capturing daily rituals, art, meals, social gatherings and celebrations.
The Nubians are one of the oldest civilizations in the world, having lived alongside the Nile river in what is now southern Egypt and northern Sudan for thousands of years.
Today, most Nubians live on the fringes of society in Egypt. Nubian communities have been forced to leave their homes near the river to make way for reservoirs and dams several times in the past 100 years.
In the 1960s, more than 50,000 Nubians were forced to vacate their lands and offered a place in desert settlements near Kom Umbo during the construction of the famous Aswan High Dam. Some families moved to the settlements, while others sought refuge on islands north or in villages in Gharb Aswan.
With his project,which is part of the VSCO Artist Initiative, photographer El Refai aims to document the traditions these families still observe despite the dramatic changes their communities went through in past decades.
For more photos of life in the Nubian community, check out El Refai's photo journal at grid.vsco.co/journal/the-nubians.
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The groom's family transforms some rooms and a courtyard into a large makeshift kitchen, where they cook large amounts of food.
Nour El Refai / VSCO
Hajj Elias and his wife Fayza in front of their house in the immigration area near Kom Umbo. These houses were offered by the government to families whose entire village was submerged after the building of the Aswan High Dam in 1964. The new houses were built with no consideration to the hot weather or the Nubian culture and style, on a site that is very far from the Nile or any other water source. The Nubians who accepted the houses tried to customize them to their needs as much as they could.
Ricardo-Matiello
A man sleeping in the shade in Balana, near Kom Umbo. Temperatures reach over 45C in summer. It's not possible for street vendors to keep standing under the sun for long periods. They usually leave their goods on the street and find a nearby tree to rest underneath and stay in the shade.
A young boy carries a goat in the Saturday market at Sayala, known as Kalabsha market in Kom Umbo. People usually buy their food on a weekly basis since they have means to store it.
Hassan selling pottery in Balana, near Kom Umbo. The large pots are called "olla" and are used to store water and maintain its temperature during the heat.
Hajja Sameeha smokes shisha in her home in Nag' Besion, her daughter Mona and grandson Yaseen are sitting with her. These old Nubian houses in Gharb Aswan are characterised by a large, open courtyard in the center with more than four rooms opening to it.
Leftovers are served to the livestock. Women usually own livestock, which are treated with much care.
Mourad and his niece Sabrine on Seheil Island. Most Nubian men living on Seheil work in tourism. They bring tourists from Gharb Seheil, a touristic village with many hotels and lodges, and give them a tour of the island, showing them the archaeological artifacts like the Famine Stela, a Pharaonic inscription on a granite. They also welcome them to their homes to show them their pet crocodiles and their handmade artifacts.
Kids playing in the Nile at Kodi on Seheil Island.
A shy Nubian girl holds her grandmother's hand on Heisa Island. Nubians on Heisa Island are the only ones who didn't have to leave their island during the construction of the High Dam in 1964. Heisa island was partially submerged because of the dam, so many families left their homes and built new ones at a higher altitude. Nubians on Heisa Island, especially children, are less exposed to strangers and tourists. The Nubian language is stronger on the island and Arabic is not often used by the elders or the children. Kids start understanding and using Arabic when they reach the age of ten and start learning it at school. Because the school is located far from many of the islands' villages, children don't join it until they are able to walk the long distance.
A Nubian woman cleaning her carpet in the Nile while her child is having a swim. Cleanliness is a well-known quality of the Nubians, most probably because of living by the Nile where they can efficiently clean all their stuff with fresh water.
A girl is waiting for her finished henna to dry. Henna has been grown and used in Southern Egypt, and particularly in Nubia, since ancient times. It's a dye that is used on hands, feet, and different body parts. It may look like a tattoo, but it's not permanent; it fades away in a few weeks. There is a day dedicated to henna before any social event where all women gather and have their henna done by an artist. It's an event that is adored by young women as they get the chance to express themselves through the designs. For many of them, it's the most intimate art form.
A group of the groom's friends are invited to rest inside the house of a guest to the wedding. A week before his wedding in October, the groom Mohamed Noureldin, 27, and his friends started a hectic quest to invite the guests from all the Nubian villages across Aswan. It usually takes up to four days to invite all the guests; each day starts very early and ends at midnight.
An old Nubian woman on Seheil Island is moving her goats to leave room for the guests coming for a wedding taking place on the island.
Second prize in "places": Mont Saint Michel in Normandie, France
Wanaiifilms / Dronestagram