Balaw

Balaw (or Belew) is an Arabic speaking nomadic tribe of Beja and Bedouin ancestry inhabiting the area of western and southern Eritrea.

The origin of the Balaw is thought to be somewhere along the Suakin area of eastern Sudan. During the second wave of the Beja migrations into Eritrea, the Balaw (Belew) people, a then predominantly Christian group of mixed Beja and Bedouin ancestry, entered the country between the 12th and 15th centuries CE. Some groups continued down the coast up until Zeila where they influenced the political and social configurations and attained positions of political preeminence.