Nuba peoples

Also known as: Jibal Nuba

Language family: More than 50 languages, mainly Kordofanian and other Nilo-Saharan branches

Not one people but around fifty distinct groups sharing the hill country of the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan, each with its own language and traditions — some patrilineal, some matrilineal. The name "Nuba" is unrelated to the Nile Nubians further north, though the small Hill Nubian communities of the same mountains are considered part of both worlds. Nuba communities are traditionally farmers and herders, known for wrestling and stick-fighting as central cultural practices, and for a mix of Islam, Christianity and traditional religion. The Nuba Mountains were a major front of Sudan's civil wars and have again seen heavy displacement during the conflict since 2023.