View source for Fur people

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Short description|Ethnic group in Sudan and Chad}}{{Update|date=November 2025|reason=The fall of El Fasher and subsequent mass killings by the RSF that have ensued necessitate a serious improvement in the context and content of this article.}}{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Fur
| image            = 
| population       = about 502,000 in 1983,<ref>{{cite web |title=Fur A language of Sudan |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=fvr |work=Ethnologue: Languages of the World |publisher=SIL International |access-date=4 August 2012}}</ref> about 744,000 in 2004,<ref>{{cite web |title=A Closer Look: Sudan, The Peoples of Darfur |url=http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/sudan/closer-look-sudanbrthe-peoples-darfur |work=Cultural Survival |date=7 May 2010 |access-date=4 August 2012}}</ref> about 1,100,000 as of 2017<ref name="Fur">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/24/language/fvr/|title=Fur| publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=11 October 2023}}</ref>
| popplace         = [[Sudan]] 894,000, [[Chad]] 17,000, [[Central African Republic]] 14,500, [[Egypt]] 4,200<ref name="Eg">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/EG/|title=Languages of Egypt| publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=27 September 2023}}</ref>
| rels             = [[Sunni Islam]]
| langs            = '''Native'''<br>[[Fur language|Fur]]<br>'''Also'''<br>[[Arabic language|Arabic]]{{•}}[[French language|French]]
| related          = [[Amdang people|Amdang]], [[Masalit people|Masalit]], [[Tunjur people|Tunjur]], [[Zaghawa people|Zaghawa]], [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharans]]
}}

The '''Fur''' ([[Fur language|Fur]]: ''fòòrà'', {{langx|ar|فور}} ''Fūr'') are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting [[Darfur]] in the western [[Sudan]], where they are the largest ethnic group.<ref name=jg9307>Gettleman, Jeffrey, "Chaos in Darfur on rise as Arabs fight with Arabs", news article, ''[[The New York Times]]'', 3 September 2007, pp 1, A7</ref> They speak the [[Fur language]], which belongs to the [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan family]]. Muslim cattle herders and farmers, they have been displaced and attacked in ethnic conflicts. Darfur means home of the Fur.

==Overview==
[[File:Fur map.png|The Fur's traditional territory|thumb]]
[[File:Flag of Darfur.svg|right|thumb|Flag of the Fur national movement]]
[[Image:Darfur Linguistic Map.svg|thumb|right|Linguistic map of the non-Arab peoples of Darfur, showing the extent of the Fur language.]]
The Fur are the largest ethnic group in the Darfur region of western [[Sudan]]. They are also sometimes referred to by the names Fora, Fordunga, Furawi, Konjara, or Kungara. They are an active [[Agrarian society|agricultural people]] and may also herd cattle. Some Fur families who have accumulated a substantial cattle herd developed a more [[Nomad|nomadic lifestyle]] like that of their herding neighbors, the [[Baggara|Baqqara (Baggara) Arabs]]. Culturally, those cattle-herding Fur are now considered to be Baqqara. The Fur are nominally [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslims]] following the [[Maliki|Maliki school of Islamic law]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=AFRICA {{!}} 101 Last Tribes - Fur people |url=https://www.101lasttribes.com/tribes/fur.html |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=www.101lasttribes.com}}</ref>

They are a Western Sudanese people who practice [[sedentism|sedentary]] herding and agriculture, mainly the cultivation of [[millet]]. Their society is a traditional one governed by village elders. They speak [[Fur language|Fur]], a [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan language]], and are [[Muslim]]s, having adopted the religion following the region's conquest by the [[Kanem Empire|Kanem-Bornu Empire]] during the [[Middle Ages]]. Some of them have come to speak [[Arabic language|Arabic]] in recent years.<ref name=":0" />

The name of Darfur comes from the name of this ethnic group and means "the home of the Fur".<ref>https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/12/1144787</ref> 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]]).<ref name=":0" />
 
[[Abdul Wahid al Nur]], a leader among the Fur,<ref name="WhoAre">{{Citation |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7039360.stm |author=BBC staff |date=24 February 2009 |title=Who are Sudan's Darfur rebels? |work=BBC News}}</ref> established the [[Sudan Liberation Movement]] and Army. Another leader of the Fur, {{As of| 2007|lc=on}}, is Ahmed Abdelshafi (Toba).<ref name=jg9307/>

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.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Many Fur villagers were massacred in the [[Ethnic conflict|ethnic fighting]] as {{Interlanguage link|Mahria tribe|lt=Mahria|ar|الماهرية}} and [[Terjem]] tribes divided up land they conquered from the Fur, according to a 3 September 2007 ''[[New York Times]]'' account citing United Nations officials and Fur survivors.<ref name=jg9307/>

==Language==
{{see also|Fur language}}
The Fur speak the [[Fur language]], which belongs to the [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan]] family. Arabic is also used as a lingua franca and in correspondence with the [[Languages of Sudan|Sudanese]] government. There is no written or symbolic script for the Fur language. They recently have been using Arabic or Latin characters to put the language in written form. Most Fur people speak Fur fluently as their mother tongue.

==Art==

===Handmade art===
Fur people make their own handmade art and utensils including ''talak'', used for cleaning pots (''talak'' looks like a sponge); ''birish'', a carpet for sitting; and ''gada'', a wood plate or bowl used for important occasions.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

===Music, stories and entertainment===
Among the Fur people, stories are told to keep children safe from the outside world. These stories are designed to keep children close to home. In some stories children are told that if they go out in the morning they will die from the heat of the sun, and in the night they are told if they go out an animal called ''nyama'' will eat them.<ref name=":0" />

Fur music is very popular in their culture. The main instruments are drums. The music is played with a heavy drumbeat that accompanies their celebrations. Some popular Fur musicians are; Abdalla Kioka, Marium Amo and Tour Baréé'ng Kwee.<ref name=":0" />

===Architecture===
A common type of architecture in homes and buildings is called mud architecture. They dig the clay from the ground, break it up, mix it with water, work thoroughly, and also mix other substances like straw. The clay will then pile up while still wet, pressed on to the scaffolds made out of wood, or cast in molds of various sizes into bricks. When the mud dries up in the molded shape, the process is complete. This technique is applied to most architecture in Western Sudan such as farmhouses, barns, outer walls, palaces, and even mosques. Mud is good at absorbing heat, which is advantageous for cold nights. Because of its low resistance to wind and rain, there is a need for frequent repairs. Mud architecture is fragile and being used less as cultural changes and foreign influences bring change.<ref>Haberland, Eike. "West African Mud Architecture: Research of the Frobenius-Institut." African Arts, vol. 15, no. 1, 1981, pp. 44–45. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3336004.</ref>

==Social behavior==

===Roles of men and women===

The men bear the family name. They work to bring money to the family and are responsible for all important decisions related to the family, such as finances and marriages. The women get water, prepare the food and ensure the cleanliness of the home.

===Food===

[[Millet]] is used to make [[asida]]. Parts of the [[Balanites aegyptiaca]] including leaves and fruit are prepared as food. Rats and animals bones are part of the diet of the Fur.<ref>https://www.sslh.online/en/posts/food-and-drink-of-the-fur</ref>

Sudan's Guhwah [[coffee]] is served from a ''[[jebena]]'', a special Sudanese pot. The coffee beans are roasted in this pot over charcoal, then ground with [[cloves]] and other spices. The grounds are [[steeping|steeped]] in hot water and the coffee is served in tiny cups after straining it through a [[grass]] [[sieve]].<ref name=":0" />

[[Tea]] is also very popular and served in small glasses without milk. Some beverages enjoyed in the non-Islamic areas are [[Aragi]], a clear, strong spirit made from dates; Merissa, a type of beer; and [[Tedj]], a wine prepared from dates or honey. 

Sudanese cuisine is as varied as its cultures, especially in the south, but it has certain unique characteristics. Millet porridge and fool medamas, a savory dish of mashed fava beans, are popular breakfast foods in the north. Lamb and chicken are often eaten, but pork is prohibited to Muslims.<ref name=":0" />

Wheat and dura sorghum are the staple starches. Breads include the Arabian [[khubz]] and [[kisra]], an omelet-like pancake which is part of the Sudanese dinner. [[Maschi]], a beef and tomato dish, is also typical. Fruits are peeled for dessert and a favorite treat is [[creme caramel]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

In the south, dinner is served on a low, bare table. There may be five or six dishes to dip into with large pieces of flatbread. These dishes are accompanied by a salad and shata, a red-hot spice mixture served in small dishes. After the meal, dessert is served, then tea. On special occasions incense may be lit. The ritual of hospitality is important in Sudan.<ref name=":0" />

==Economic base==

The Fur people have many types of families. [[Porundia]], nuclear families, are a very common type. They normally have 2 or more children. In a typical Fur family the parents of the groom and wife will be taken care of until they die.<ref name=":0" />

In a Fur marriage, the groom's father goes to the bride's father and asks for his son's permission to marry. The bride's father does not give an answer immediately, but then asks the village for its opinion. If everyone approves, the bride's father accepts. The whole village gathers for the announcement of the marriage, and preparations are made. Then the marriage starts in the groom's house. The [[Imam]] recites words from the [[Quran]]. The groom and bride hold hands during this time. After the wedding, the family and guests have lunch, then they start a lively dance called firalubia. Then the bride and groom are taken to the bride's house and given food during which everyone says congratulations (''mabrouk'' in Arabic).

==History==

The Fur people came from Central Africa, specifically the [[Central African Republic]] and [[Chad]] to the northwest of Sudan, where they settled in Darfur. They had 36 sultanates. The Fur were also one of the first people from other ethnic groups in the country who were picked to build the wall covering and mosque surrounding the [[Kaaba]]. Moreover, they managed to send conveys informs of aid every year to Makkah.<ref>Hamed, Omer Ali. Personal interview. 15 October 2009.{{full citation needed|date=May 2013}}</ref>

===Political situation===

Until 1916, the Fur were ruled by an independent sultanate and were oriented politically to peoples in Chad. Though the ruling dynasty before that time, as well as the common people, had long been Muslims, they have not been [[Arabization|Arabized]]. They are now incorporated into the Sudan political system. The Fur had been basically independent from the 17th century. After British reconquest in 1899, the British approved the re-establishment of the Fur Sultanate, assumed by [[Ali Dinar]] when the [[Mahdism|Mahdist]] [[Mahdist War|movement]] crumbled.

[[Mahdi]]st revolts continued to break out in Sudan until 1916. The fall of Darfur was decided when Ali Dinar declared loyalty to the [[Ottoman Empire]] in [[World War I]]. The British abolished the [[Fur Sultanate]] in 1916 after Dinar died in battle.

During World War I, Darfur made a bid for independence by allying with [[Turkey]] against the British. The British conquered Darfur in 1916, and since then it has been part of Sudan. Since the 1970s, the Darfur area has suffered some of the effects of the northern Arab war prosecuted in the south against Southern ethnic groups who wanted to secede from Sudan.

War and conflict have ravaged the Darfur region in recent decades. A civil war lasted about 20 years until the end of the 20th Century. Conflict in the region arose again in 2003, deriving from earlier disputes surrounding water and land use between the Fur and other sedentary agricultural populations and Arab nomadic groups who had historically inhabited the region.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-16 |title=Profile: Fur in Sudan |url=https://minorityrights.org/communities/fur/ |website=Minority Rights Group |language=en}}</ref> The [[Sudanese Armed Forces|Sudanese military]], in alliance with a proxy Arab nomadic [[militia]] known as the [[Janjaweed]], orchestrated a concerted, scorched earth campaign in Darfur against the Fur and other historically sedentary groups.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Darfur |url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/darfur |website=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |access-date=2 April 2025 |archive-date=18 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250318021534/https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/darfur |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> Forces would move from village to village, burning nearly everything in many places and carrying out a campaign of mass [[Rape during the Darfur genocide|sexual violence]] against civilians, including children.<ref>{{cite web |title=Janjaweed |url=https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/sudan/card02.html |website=PBS - Frontline |access-date=2 April 2025 |archive-date=2 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250402072046/https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/sudan/card02.html |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> This resulted in the deaths of upwards of 200,000 to 300,000 civilians from 2003-2005.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/africa/darfur0105/darfur0105.pdf |title=Targeting the Fur: Mass Killings in Darfur |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=21 January 2005 |access-date=9 February 2025}}</ref> The Darfur region has remained a bastion for forces of the [[Rapid Support Forces|RSF]], an outgrowth of earlier Janjaweed militias, amid the ongoing [[Sudanese civil war (2023–present)|Sudanese Civil War]], with violence against Fur inhabitants and other [[Masalit people|targeted and displaced groups]] increasing at a rapid, concentrated pace.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hussein |first=Mohamed A. |title=Animated maps show two years of war in Sudan |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2025/4/14/animated-maps-show-two-years-of-war-in-sudan |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> Many human rights observers have described the RSF's campaign in the region and in its siege of the [[North Darfur|North Darfurian]] capital of [[Al-Fashir]], as constituting crimes against humanity, and, at its greatest extremes, genocide.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ethnic Cleansing in West Darfur |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/05/09/sudan-ethnic-cleansing-west-darfur |website=Human Rights Watch|date=9 May 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=UN Security Council Demands End to Siege of El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/13/un-security-council-demands-end-to-siege-of-el-fasher-in-sudans-darfur |website=Al-Jazeera |access-date=2 April 2025 |archive-date=18 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250318205723/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/13/un-security-council-demands-end-to-siege-of-el-fasher-in-sudans-darfur |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Diamond |first=Mutasim Ali, Yonah |date=2025-04-28 |title=Sudanese Militias Are Committing Genocide in Darfur—Again |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/06/05/sudan-rsf-darfur-genocide-el-fasher/ |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Genetics==
Analysis of classic genetic markers and DNA polymorphisms by Tay and Saha (1988) found that the Fur are most closely related to the [[Hawazma tribe|Hawazma]] of Sudan. Both populations have gene frequencies intermediate between those of the [[Afroasiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]]-speaking [[Beja people|Beja]], [[Ja'alin tribe|Gaalin]] and [[Arabian peninsula|Gulf Arab]] populations and those of the local [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan]]-speaking [[Nuba peoples|Nuba]] and [[Nilotic peoples|Nilotes]].<ref>{{cite journal|author1=John S. H. Tay|author2=N. Saha|title=Genetic Heterogeneity Among the Negroid and Arab Tribes of the Sudan|journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology|date=1988|volume=76|issue=2|pages=211–215|doi=10.1002/ajpa.1330760209|pmid=3414791}}</ref>

According to Hassan et al. (2008), around 59.4% of Fur are carriers of the [[Haplogroup E-M215 (Y-DNA)|E1b1b]] paternal haplogroup. Of these, 68.4% bear the V32 subclade. Approximately 6.3% also belong to the haplogroup [[Haplogroup J (Y-DNA)|J1]]. This points to significant patrilineal gene flow from neighboring [[Afroasiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]]-speaking populations. The remaining Fur individuals are primarily carriers of the [[Haplogroup A-L1085|A3b2]] lineage (31.3%), which is instead common among [[Nilotic peoples|Nilotes]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Hassan, Hisham Y.|display-authors=etal|title=Y-chromosome variation among Sudanese: Restricted gene flow, concordance with language, geography, and history|journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology|date=November 2008|volume=137|issue=3|pages=316–323|doi=10.1002/ajpa.20876|url=http://ychrom.invint.net/upload/iblock/94d/Hassan%202008%20Y-Chromosome%20Variation%20Among%20Sudanese.pdf|access-date=25 September 2016|pmid=18618658|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923031520/http://ychrom.invint.net/upload/iblock/94d/Hassan%202008%20Y-Chromosome%20Variation%20Among%20Sudanese.pdf|archive-date=23 September 2016}}</ref>

Maternally, the Fur entirely belong to African-based derivatives of the [[Macro-haplogroup L (mtDNA)|macrohaplogroup L]] according to Hassan (2010). Of these mtDNA clades, the [[Haplogroup L0|L0a1]] (15.3%) and [[Haplogroup L1 (mtDNA)|L1c]] (11.5%) lineages are most frequent. This altogether suggests that the genetic introgression into the Fur's ancestral population was asymmetrical, occurring primarily through Afro-Asiatic-speaking males rather than females.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Mohamed|first1=Hisham Yousif Hassan|title=Genetic Patterns of Y-chromosome and Mitochondrial DNA Variation, with Implications to the Peopling of the Sudan|url=http://khartoumspace.uofk.edu/bitstream/handle/123456789/6376/Genetic%20Patterns%20of%20Y-chromosome%20and%20Mitochondrial.pdf?sequence=1|publisher=University of Khartoum|access-date=25 September 2016|archive-date=10 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110063820/http://khartoumspace.uofk.edu/handle/123456789/6376/restricted-resource?bitstreamId=11199|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Furs (negroes)|display=Furs, Fors or Furani |short=x}}

{{Ethnic groups in Chad}}
{{Ethnic groups in Sudan}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fur People}}
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Chad]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Sudan]]
[[Category:Darfur]]
[[Category:Society of Sudan]]
[[Category:African diaspora]]
[[Category:Muslim communities in Africa]]