Beja video data on the Internet: Local and Global Dimensions of Identity

Abstract

Introduction. The article considers the processes of identity manifestation and construction of the Beja people on the Internet.

Materials and methods. The study was carried out as part of an interdisciplinary research of the history, anthropology, geology, and ethnography of the Atbay region in northeastern Sudan, initiated by Lomonosov Moscow State University. The authors emphasize the importance of the online space for the identity manifestation of stateless cultures. The analysis of online sources is preceded by a consideration of the historical conditions and special traits of Beja self-perception. Comments from YouTube video hosting users on videos dedicated to the history and culture of the Beja people are involved as sources for the study.

Results and discussion. As a result of their analysis, four main patterns of Beja identity are determined: supra-ethnic cooperation with the “Arab world”; the association of Beja with the "pancushitic" community; and "ethnic identity" limited by the boundaries of the Beja community itself. The authors conclude that the Beja identity on the Internet is constructed in two dimensions: "global" and "local". The "global" level is represented by mainly the African diaspora, the "local" one – by Internet resources that are used by residents of the East African region. The findings made in the online study are compared with the ethnographic materials collected by the authors in Atbay region among the Beja Bishariin, physical anthropology data and historical evidence. Some excerpts from an interview with Mr. Onur, who comes from the Beja Ertega tribe (acted as Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan to the Russian Federation until 2022) are also included in analysis.

Conclusion. As a result of comparing all types of data, the authors conclude that the Beja identity exhibits a high degree of lability. It is suggested that the reasons for such lability may be related to the historical conditions of the Beja ethnogenesis on the periphery of ancient civilizations and to the significant heterogeneity of the historical population of the Eastern Desert in all the historical periods under consideration. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

References

Belorussova S.Yu. Silakryashen: virtual'naya zhizn' nepriznannogo naroda [Power of Kryashens: the virtual life of the unrecognized people]. Sibirskiye istoricheskiye issledovaniya [Siberian Historical Research], 2019, 2, pp. 41-63.

Belorussova S.Yu. Kiberetnografiya: metodologiya i tekhnologiya [Cyberethnography: methodology and technology]. Etnografiya [Ethnography], 2021, 3 (13), pp. 123-145.

Bondarenko D. Ottenki chernogo. Kul'turno-antropologicheskie aspekty vzaimovosprijatija i vzaimootnoshenij afrikano-amerikancev i migrantov iz stran subsaharskoj Afriki v SShA [The shades of black. Cultural-Anthropological Aspects of Mutual Perceptions and Relations between. African Americans and African Migrants in the USA] Moscow: FLD, 2016.

Bukharin M.D., Krol A.A. Berenika Vsezlataya: Al'Allaki Derakheyb: arkheologicheskaya real'nost' v kontekste istoricheskoy geografii [Berenice the All-Golden: AlAllaki Deraheib: Archaeological Reality in the Context of Historical Geography]. Vestnik drevney istorii [Bulletin of Ancient History], 2020, 80 (1), pp. 171–191.

Golovnov A. V. Kiberskorost' [Cyberspeed]. Etnografiya [Ethnography], 2020, 3 (9), pp. 6-32.

Golovnov A.V., Belorussova S.Yu., Kisser T.S. Virtual'naja jetnichnost' i kiberjetnografija [Virtual ethnicity and cyberethnography]. Saint-Petersburg: MAE RAN, 2021. 280 p.

Elfimov A.L. Polilokal'naya etnografiya vchera i segodnya: razgovor s Dzhordzhem Markusom [Multisite anthropology yesterday and today: a conversation with George Marcus]. Etnograficheskoye obozreniye [Ethnographic Review.], 2020, 6, pp. 106-126.

Kandinov M. N., Krol A. A. Stroitel'nyye materialy v srednevekovoy arkhitekture arkheologicheskogo pamyatnika Derakheyb (Sudan) [Building materials in the medieval architecture of the archaeological site Deraheib (Sudan)]. Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin [Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya XXIII. Antropologiya] 2021, 3, pp. 109-119. DOI: 10.32521/2074-8132.2021.3.109-119.

Kisser T.S. Virtual'naya identichnost' rossiyskikh nemtsev [Virtual identity of Russian Germans]. Sibirskiye istoricheskiye issledovaniya [Siberian Historical Research], 2019, 2, pp. 64-84.

Krol A. A. Marshruty khadzha iz Yegipta v Al-Khidzhāz cherez Vostochnuyu pustynyu i port Ayzab v IX-XV vv. [Routes of the Hajj from Egypt to Al-Hijāz through the Eastern Desert and the port of Aizab in the 9th-15th centuries]. Vostok (Oriens) [The East (Oriens)], 2018, 3, pp. 21-30.

Krol A. A., Berezina N. YA., Zaytsev YU. P., Reshetnikova N. A. Sezon 2018 goda Nubiyskoy arkheologoantropologicheskoy ekspeditsii NII i Muzeya antropologii MGU imeni M.V. Lomonosova na pamyatnike Derakheyb (Respublika Sudan) [Season 2018 of the Nubian archaeological and anthropological expedition of Lomonosov State University...]. Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin [Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya XXIII. Antropologiya], 2019, № 2, pp. 134–144. DOI: 10.32521/2074-8132.

Krol A.A. et al. Issledovaniya Nubiyskoy Arkheologo-antropologicheskoy ekspeditsii NII i Muzeya Antropologii MGU v tsentral'nom Atbaye (2017–2022) [Research of the Nubian Archaeological and Anthropological Expedition of Lomonosov State University in Central Atbay (2017–2022)]. In Vostokovednyye polevyye issledovaniya Materialy Vserossiyskoy nauchnoy konferentsii 2021–2022 gg. Izbrannyye doklady [Oriental Field Research... Selected reports] – Moscow, IV RAN, 2023, pp. 258–296.

Krol A.A., Tolmacheva Ye.G. «Severnaya krepost'» srednevekovogo goroda al'-Allaki na osnovanii pis'mennykh i arkheologicheskikh istochnikov IX–XII vv. [The "Northern fortress" of the medieval city of al-Allaki based on written and archaeological sources of the 9th-12th centuries]. Vostok (Oriens) [The East (Oriens)], 2023. in press.

Popov V.A. Neotraditsionalizm, neonatsionalizm i neokolonializm v Afrike: postkolonial'nyy diskurs [Neo-traditionalism, neo-nationalism and neo-colonialism in Africa: post-colonial discourse]. In Afrika: postkolonial'nyy diskurs: tezisy dokladov Vserossiyskoy konferentsii. Yaroslavl': Filigran' Publ [Africa: post-colonial discourse: abstracts of the All-Russian Conference], 2020, pp. 92–94.

Tutorskiy A.V. Razvitiye internet-resursov po etnograficheskoy / antropologicheskoy tematike v 2003-2013 gg. [Evelopment of Internet resources on ethnographic / anthropological topics in 2003-2013]. Istoricheskaya informatika [Historical informatics], 2013, 2, pp. 31-41.

Fedorchuk O.A et al. Kraniologicheskaya kharakteristika srednevekovogo naseleniya Severnogo Sudana (na primere materialov pamyatnika Derakheyb) [Craniological characteristics of the medieval population of Northern Sudan (on the example of materials from the Deraheib site)], Arkheologiya, etnografiya i antropologiya Yevrazii [Archeology, Ethnography and Anthropology of Eurasia], 2023. in press.

Khokhol'kova N.Ye. «Afrikantsy XXI veka»: reprezentatsiya transkul'turnoy identichnosti v virtual'nom prostranstve ["Africans of the 21st century": representation of transcultural identity in the virtual space.]. Etnografiya [Ethnography], 2020, 3 (9), pp. 90-102.

Khokhol'kova N.Ye. Afrikanskaya diaspora [African Diaspora]. Etnografiya [Ethnography], 2021. 3 (13), pp. 191–206.

 Abdel-Qadr M., Wendrich W. Z., Kosc Z., Barnard H. Giving a Voice to the Ababda. The history of the peoples of the Eastern Desert, 2012, pp. 398-415.

Babiker M., Pantuliano, S. Addressing chronic livelihoods vulnerability in Red Sea State, Sudan. A report prepared for OXFAM GB. London, 2006.

Bernal V. Eritrea on-line: Diaspora, cyberspace, and the public sphere. American Ethnologist, 2005, 32 (4), pp. 660-675.

Clark W.T. Manners, Customs and Beliefs of the Northern Beja. Sudan Notes and Records, 1938, 1 (21), pp. 1-29.

Diamandaki K. Virtual Ethnicity and Digital Diasporas: Identity Construction in Cyberspace. Global Media Journal, 2003, 2, pp. 3-14.

Dumoulin M. Les forums électroniques: délibératifs et démocratiques? Québec, 2002.

Gerth H. Zoroastrians on the Internet, a quiet social movement: Ethnography of a virtual community. UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones, 2009, 49. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/1363773.

Herzog, R. Kulturelle Kontinuität der Bedja vom Altertum bis zur Gegenwart. Ägypten – Dauer und Wande. Mainz am Rhein, 1985.

Hongur G. Soundscapes and borderscapes: Music as a counter‐mapping discourse in the Kurdish nationalist movement. Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, 2022, 1 (22), pp. 28-42.

Lebedev M., Reshetova I. Cutting graves in ancient ruins. The medieval cemetery at Abu Erteila (seasons 2012-2015). Medieninhaber und Herausgeber: Verein der Förderer der Sudanforschung, Redaktion: Michael H. Zach, Institut für Afrikawissenschaften der Universität, Wien: Österreich, 2017, pp. 165–191.

Lizska K. «We have come from the well of Ibhet»: ethnogenesis of the Medjay. Journal of Egyptian History, 2011, 4, pp. 149-171.

Marcus G. E. Multi-Sited Ethnography: Five or Six Things I Know about It Now. Multi-sited Ethnography: Problems and Possibilities in the Translocation of Research Methods. Ed. by S. Coleman, P. von Hellermann. New York: Routledge, 2012, pp. 16-34.

Sahlins M. What Kinship is – and is not. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013. 120 p.

Smith S.T. Wretched Kush. Ethnic identities and boundaries in Egypt Nubian Empire. London; NY, 2003.

Vanhove M. The Beja language today in Sudan: the state of the art in linguistics. Bergen, 2006.

Viveiros de Castro E. Cosmological Deixis and Amerindian Perspectivism. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 1998, 3 (4), pp. 469-488.

Young, J. Beja Local conflict, marginalisation, and the threat to regional security, 2007. URL: https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CPRDPAPERBEJA.PDF.