Rizeigat tribe

The Rizeigat, or Rizigat, or Rezeigat (Standard Arabic Rizayqat) are a Muslim and Arabic tribe of the nomadic Bedouin Baggara (Standard Arabic Baqqara) people in Sudan's Darfur region. The Rizeigat belong to the greater Baggara Arabs fraternity of Darfur and Kordofan and speak Chadic Arabic. Numbering over one million, the Baggara are the second largest people group in Western Sudan, extending into Eastern Chad. They are primarily nomadic cattle herders and their journeys are dependent upon the seasons of the year. They are a branch of the Juhayna group. They are divided into the Abbala (camel-herding) Rizeigat, who live in northern Darfur and Chad, and the Baggara (cattle-herders) who inhabit south-east Darfur. In turn they are divided into several large clans, notably the Mahamid, Mahariya and Nawaiba. The Mahamid, led by Sheikh Musa Hilal, have been deeply implicated in the Darfur conflict.

The Rizeigat are the largest and most powerful of the Arab people in Darfur. Most live in southeast Darfur. The Rizeigat are composed of three main divisions which are each further subdivided. The Northern Rizeigat herd camels and the Southern Rizeigat herd cattle. Page text.