Members of the Egyptian minority group catch and raise the reptiles as a source of income, but they also play an important role in the ancient Nubian culture
Deep in the Nubia, a region along the Nile in southern Egypt, a baby crocodile sits on Mamdouh Hassan’s shoulder to wow tourists.https://youtu.be/5A5y4KM_6i8
The reptiles are a source of income for Egypt’s Nubian minority, with visitors paying to marvel at the tamed creatures.
But beyond bringing in tourist dollars, crocodiles play an important role in the culture of the ethnic group with a history dating to Pharaonic times and its own unique language.
The Nubians traditionally lived along the banks of the Nile in southern Egypt with roots extending into northern Sudan.
In Gharb Soheil, a Nubian village near Aswan, mummified crocodile heads still adorn the doors of the tradition
al blue and white domed homes.
Crocodiles represent an important physical totem of blessings in Nubian belief.
In Gharb Soheil a stuffed crocodile on the door shows that the homeowner keeps the large reptiles as pets.
During the reign of president Gamal Abdel Nasser, the construction of the Aswan High Dam created a reservoir over traditional Nubian lands.
When Lake Nasser began filling in 1964, 44 Nubian villages were flooded.
While the Nile’s crocodiles benefited from the new habitat, Nasser never fulfilled his promise to adequat
ely compensate Nubians with new land.
Instead, about 50,000 Nubians were displaced to villages north of the dam, on the west bank of the Nile near Kom Ombo and Aswan — a narrow strip of land with limited space for agriculture.
Ever since, Nubians have demanded the return of their lands and have maintained their culture by modernizing their traditions. Keeping crocodiles became a way to supplement incomes and promote their heritage.
Visitors snap selfies with the lounging beasts, while the villagers regale the tourists with Nubian folk tales about the crocodiles.
For ancient Pharaohs, the crocodile-headed god Sobek embodied the fluid nature of the Nile and was prayed to for protection from the annual floods.
A temple is dedicated to Sobek in Kom Ombo, engraved with pictograms and hieroglyphics detailing the embalming of crocodiles.
To this day, Nubians maintain a tradition of crocodile taxidermy, one that remains true to a centuries-old technique.
“Although we know very well the value of crocodile leather, we do not sell it… we cherish it,” Hassan explained.
A dead crocodile is skinned from its gut and filled with straw or sawdust. Large crocodiles take about a month to mummify while a smaller one dries in a few days, Hassan said.
Abdel-Hakim Abdou, a curly-haired, 37-year-old cafe owner who recommends Hassan’s terrarium as a must-see tourist attraction, rhapsodized about the importance of crocodiles to Nubians.
“The Nile for the Nubian represents life… everything that roams in it we consider angels,” he said.
