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The Bisharin (Bishārīn) are an ethnic group inhabiting Northeast Africa. They are one of the major divisions of the Beja nomadic population, the other being the ʿAbābdah. The Bisharin speak the Beja language, which belongs to the Afro-Asiatic family.
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Demographics
The Bisharin live in the eastern part of the Nubian Desert in Sudan and southern Egypt. They reside in the Atabai (also spelled Atbai) area between the Nile River and the Red Sea, north of the Amarar and south of the Ababda- basically between the Nubian desert and the Nile valley, an area of limestone, mountains, with sandstone plateaus.
The Bisharin population numbers around 42,000 individuals. Most of the tribe moves within the territory of Sudan, where members have political representation in the Beja Congress.
Language
The Bisharin speak the Beja language as a mother tongue but they also speak Egyptian Arabic. The Beja language is an Afro-Asiatic language, often grouped within the family's Cushitic branch.
In 1949, a member of the Bisharin tribe stated that when they meet a stranger, they immediately ask "'Are you b ggawij t (=Bi ar ) or belaeij t (Arab)?'" and continued "‘...We call our language b ggawija and it contains many elements of Arabic (belaeij t).'"
Economy
The Bisharin are traditionally nomadic people, working in husbandry of camels, sheep, and goats in the Southern part of the Eastern Desert. It's an area that is off the beaten path- largely unexplored. Of the tribes in the area, this tribe lives in the more remote areas. The Bishari and the Bishari Qamhat, believed to be ancient Bishari, have traded agricultural commodities with other people since ancient times.
Religion
The Bisharin are mostly Sufi Muslim.