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The Nara are an ethnic group inhabiting southwestern Eritrea. The society is divided into four subtribes, who are traditionally animist. They are mostly subsistence farmers. The Nara ethnonym means "Sky Heaven". They also used to call themselves the Barya.Cavalli-Sforza, L. Luca; Menozzi, Paolo; and Piazza Alberto The History and Geography of Human Genes Princeton, New Jersey: 1994 Princeton University Press "Ethiopians, Some of Their Neighbors, and North Africans" Page 173Woldemikael, Tekle M. "Language, education, and public policy in Eritrea." African Studies Review 46.1 (2003): 117-136. The Nara number around 108,000 individuals. They constitute around 1.5% of the population of Eritrea. They are typically agrarian and have settled primarily along the border with Sudan. They are located north of the Kunama, in the western parts of Barka Plains, the Nara constitute about 1.5% of the Eritrean population.
The earliest known reference to the Nara appears in a 4th-century inscription by King Ezana of Aksum (c. 330–360 CE), where they are mentioned as victims of the Noba, who had rebelled against Aksumite dominance. The Nara are also cited in later Aksumite inscriptions, including those of Haqqani Daniel. In the 10th century, the Arab geographer Ibn Hawqal described the Bariya(h) as cattle-herding peasants who removed their foreteeth and slit their ears. He placed them near Alwa (Alodia) in Nubia, close to modern-day Kassala and west of Barentu. Other medieval Arabic sources, such as Al-Maqrizi, also mention them as a non-Muslim people of Abyssinia. By the 15th century, Emperor Zara Yaqob referred to "the land of Barya" in an edict.
During the 16th century, the region inhabited by the Nara came under the influence of various regional powers, including the Funj Sultanate, which claimed them as tributaries. Egyptian forces occupied Sinnar in 1821, ending Funj rule over the region. Throughout the 19th century, the Nara found themselves caught in power struggles between the Ottoman-Egyptian administration, Ethiopian emperors, and local warlords. They suffered from slave raids and tax demands while also competing for land and resources with neighboring groups such as the Kunama people, Beni-Amer people pastoralists, and Abyssinian highlanders.
In the 1840s, nearly 1,000 Nara people were sold in Massawa following raids by Ethiopian forces under Dejazmach Wube Haile Maryam. In 1856, Nara warriors attacked and burned the Beni Amer village of Kufit after Egyptian forces abandoned their nearby garrison. In 1861, the Abyssinian governor of Tahtay Adiyabo, Walda Sadeq Marrak, destroyed the Nara settlement of Magalo, enslaving much of the population. During the Mahdist uprising in Sudan (1881–1898), the Nara were once again drawn into regional conflicts. In 1885, Ras Alula, governor of the Ethiopian-controlled Mereb Melash, clashed with Mahdist forces near Kufit, with Nara warriors initially avoiding the battle but later joining the Ethiopian side once victory was assured. However, in subsequent years, Ethiopian troops devastated Nara lands in retaliation for what they saw as insufficient support, killing off 2/3rds of their population.
With the arrival of Italian colonial rule in Eritrea (1890–1941), the Nara were administratively grouped with the Kunama people, with Barentu as their regional capital. Under Italian governance, they saw an end to the slave trade and some degree of formalized local administration. During the British administration of Eritrea (1941–1952), conflicts persisted between the Nara and other ethnic groups, including the Kunama. As Eritrea moved toward federation and eventual annexation by Ethiopia, the Nara aligned with the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), one of the key groups fighting for Eritrean independence. Following the Eritrean War of Independence (1961–1991), the Nara became part of Eritrea’s independent administration under the Gash-Barka province. The Nara participate in cultural and linguistic preservation efforts through Eritrea’s Ministry of Information, they are also known for serving as police officers in the country’s capital, Asmara.
The language is also known as Nara-Bana, meaning "Nara-Talk".
The Nara population is divided into four subtribes: the Higir, Mogareb, Koyta and Santora. They traditionally adhered to Animism beliefs. By the 15th century the Nara were introduced to Islam and after the occupation in the 19th century, most Nara adopted Islam. (1998). 9780810834378, Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810834378
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