Hawazma tribe
Through their nomadic movement, the Hawazma know the area, terrain, ethnic groups, local tribes, tribal cultures, ecosystems, climate, vegetation, existence of risks and diseases, and water resources better than any other inhabitants of the region.
All Baggara have similar physical facial features, costumes, dance, religion, food, and in general a common culture and way of life.
Most historians believe they belong to the Juhayna group; a clan of Bedouin Arabs which migrated from Saudi Arabia.
Hawazma traditional historians say they originally came from the Arabian Peninsula to Egypt then followed the River Nile until they settled on Jebel Awliyya part of Khartoum Province and as the grazing land became scarce and overcrowded they gradually moved to Western Sudan.
The six tribes that formed the Halafa subgroup of the Hawazma: the Bedaria, Takarir, Jellaba Howara, Zenara and Nuba.
Today the Hawazma in particular and Baggara in general bear little resemblance to Bedouin Arabs, due to their acclimatization and their inter-marriage with other African tribes.
Other Hawazma subtribes have preserved their Arabic features: light brown complexion, and thick eyebrows and lashes.
On the western parts of South Kordofan, no Hawazma live their, it is found our cousins: Messiria, Humr, Rezeigat, Ta'isha and Habbaniya.
Hawazma, like any other Baggara people, have graceful slim physical statues; their skins range from light brown to dark colors.
However, although they are referred to as Arabs; phenotypically, the Hawazma and other Baggara peoples are similar to other local indigenous populations.
Young men wear eye-catching colored flashy shirts, shorts, pants, beads, necklaces, and bracelets.
In the early days, they look to the school as a way to alienate their kids, to teach them moral delinquencies, to distract them from Baggara way of life: cattle herding and nomadic movement.
Baggara lack clean drinking water, health clinics, electricity, television, radio and other forms of media.
Facial scarring called Shoulokh, lips sticking, and braided hair are usual practices among women.
Women represent an important workforce; they milk cows, prepare meals, raise kids, market dairy products, build houses, and participate in crop cultivation.
Men are completely idle during dry seasons, play Dala (sort of cards played with sticks) and coordinate the meager activity during summer such as delivering grains to mills and bringing the daily family grocery from women's marketed-dairy-product money.
During this time rebels attacked the southern part of South Kordofan, especially Gardoud village, around Talodi city.
Religious leaders and Imams, were publicly executed, women were raped, houses were burned and cattle herds were raided.
People evacuated the cities, traders stopped their trades, and all other tribes and ethnic groups not from South Kordofan left the region.
Hawazma villages were systematically targeted by rebels, killing them as groups, individuals or evacuated them completely as happened in Um Sirdiba.
By the end of 1989, about 300,000 Baggara were either relocated to big cities or displaced and resettled on the northern border of South Kordofan.
For six years, Kuwa war machines (six battalions) were directed to systematic torturing of Baggara tribes, completely destroying their infrastructures and eliminating their educated youth; leaders; and the elite.
During the military regime of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, which came to power in June 1989, by revolting against elected Prime Minister Sadiq Al Mahdi government, South Kordofan entered a new phase of the civil war.
However, due to the desperation of Baggara, following the unspeakable atrocities by rebels, they sided with the military forces to protect themselves.
Soon, Yusuf Kuwa and rebels fighters realized the effect of Baggara on the war balance; basically attributed to their knowledge of the terrain and the intricacies of South Kordofan.
