Dongolawi

Dongolawi, properly the natives of the province of Dongola, Nubia, but in recent times the term has been applied collectively to all the inhabitants of Nubia, and especially to the Nubo-Arab officials in the employment of the Egyptian Government in Eastern Soudan down to the time of the Mahdi's revolt. The Dongolawi proper comprise two distinct elements - the Barabras, a mixed Nubian people representing the ancient Ethiopians, and the Arab immigrants chiefly from Hejaz.

During the mediaeval times they were the dominant people in the middle Nile Valley till that region was reduced by the 1'unghi (Funj) Kings of Senaar. After the overthrow of the dynasty of the Shakieh Arabs the Do-.igola.wi again rose to power, and it was by their aid that the Mamelouk refugees from Egypt were able to drive out the Shakiehs. This event prepared the way for the conquest of Eastern Soudan by the Egyptians under Mehemet Ali in 1821.