Hamar

The Hamar descend from Arab tribes that settled in the Kordofan region of Sudan several centuries ago, forming part of the broad group of Arab pastoral peoples collectively known as Baggara, a word that refers precisely to cattle raising. Over time, they settled mainly in West Kordofan, sharing grazing routes and alliances with neighboring tribes.

Their history has always been marked by seasonal movement in search of water and pasture for the herds, a pattern of life that shaped both their social organization and their place in the region's political history. In recent years, the armed conflict affecting Sudan has been reshaping this reality, forcing entire families to leave their traditional routes.

Hamar life revolves around cattle: oxen, sheep, and goats sustain families, while camels serve for transport on the long journeys in search of water and pasture. Many still organize themselves in circular camps of tents, gathering between eight and twenty families that move together according to the season, though a growing number have settled in villages over time.

Kinship ties are at the center of social life: marriages usually take place within the group itself, and it is not uncommon for a man to have more than one wife. Family honor and the strength of the herds largely define each person’s place in the community.

The Hamar identify as Muslims, but for many this faith remains more a mark of ethnic identity than an internalized practice. Alongside Islam, older beliefs survive, tied to spirits said to inhabit trees, springs, and stones, and to forces of nature that still influence how some families understand sickness, protection, and luck.

This blend makes religion something lived day to day more than studied or debated: rituals, family customs, and the authority of elders weigh as much as any formal teaching in how faith is passed down from generation to generation.

Sudanese Arabic, the heart language of the Hamar, already has a complete New Testament, the fruit of a long translation effort completed in recent decades, and the Old Testament is on its way to completion as well. Even so, few Hamar have direct contact with this text: nomadic life and distance from urban centers make access to printed copies difficult. Audio recordings, mobile apps, and the Jesus film in their own language have today become the most viable paths for the Word to reach these families scattered across Kordofan.

To be Hamar is, in practice, to be Muslim: Arab and tribal identity is so tied to Islam that abandoning it is seen as abandoning the people itself. The nomadic way of life, with families moving between pastures throughout the year, makes it even harder for any new message to arrive, and the absence of churches in the region keeps them isolated from any living Christian witness. The war afflicting Sudan in recent years has worsened this isolation, displacing entire communities and making contact even rarer.

Years of armed conflict in Sudan have hit communities like the Hamar hard, bringing displacement, insecurity, and difficulty accessing food and water in a land already marked by drought. There is a concrete need for peace, for stability for families that depend on cattle to survive, and for paths that preserve their traditional way of life amid instability.

On the spiritual front, there is practically no Christian presence among the Hamar: what is lacking is people who live among them, speak their language, and share daily life in a way that lets the message of the gospel be understood within their own culture, rather than as something strange coming from outside.