Elit is a clan spread from western part of Eritrea to eastern part of Sudan. The mountain chain of ‘Jebel Elit’ west of Haicota is more than merely chain of mountains to the members of the clan. They consider it as their identity.

Though it is no more frequently practiced now, in the previous centuries, the members of this clan including those in Sudan went on pilgrimage to the mountains. It is told that Elit members sacrifice (kerama) on the mountain whenever hit by a disease or rain delay occurs.

But what is the secret of ‘Jebel Elit’ and its relation with the clan named after it?

No outside observer can imagine any wild animal lives on the ridged mountains let alone human beings. But there are fields on the top of the mountains suitable for residing and farming. The forefathers of the existing generation of the clan in Bultubya and Haicota used to have their own civilization in the area.

Elit clan members have their own way of greetings, hitting each other hard on the back with a stick. This is meant to prove the strength of the men and make them ready for critical times.

It is told that the forefathers of Elit were huge and had spear and spade made up of elephant’s skin and a large knife. Ancient pictures, grinding stones and pieces of pots are some of the evidences that can give an indication of the size of these people.

Observing the huge grinding stones and bearing in mind that the job was done by women, one can have an idea of what men could carry and do.

There are six mosques in the area. Ancient seats for judges and the grave yards are other existing evidences. There are also family graveyards in the caves.

These people resided on the mountains leaving the fertile land around it not because they liked living on the mountains, neither for hunting but to shield from being hunted. Their defense strategy is not only limited by shielding on the mountains but needed more security to live there.

The daily activity of an individual in the clan is taken with great care. Every man uses his spear for self defense and for a pre caution. While building his fence with wood, the man checks the strength of the fence throwing his spear into it. If the spear pierces the fence, he adds another round of fence. The process continues until he assures the fence’s strength and no enemy can attack at night.

Ibrahim Ali Shegeli, knowledgeable person in the clan said, “There were guards on the four corners of the mountains on daily shift flying white flags. Every member of the clan keeps his eyes on the four white flags to assure his safety.”

He said that any of the four guards changes the white flag with a red one whenever he observed a risk to their safety. Conscious of the situation, every member stands on guard. Children, women and the elderly are taken to a safe place. They leave no food or water for the enemy to find.

But who were the enemies?

There might be many enemies but, the clan and the mountain became famous after defeating the Mahdists by the end of 19th c.

Mr. Sultan Awad Hamd, one of the clan elders said, “The Mahdists invaded Eritrea up to Massawa but didn’t have the courage to climb ‘Jebel Elit’. The members of the clan destroyed the invaders with storming big stones. Few were left and the Mahadists never returned to Eritrea. Their victory is like that of Zulus, clans of South Africa, in every aspect.

Similarly some say that Hamd Idris Awate, in the beginning of his armed struggle climbed the mountains and took around 10 rifles from the clan.

Answering why the history of the clan is not known by many, Mr. Mohamed Alamin Shengeb, member of the Gash Barka regional parliament and the clan, said that no one can simply climb the mountains. Since it was a secret place for hiding from the enemy anyone who wants to visit the mountains need a permit from the sheiks or other influential people of the clan.

Mr. Ibrahim Ali Shegeli replied as that every researcher focuses on whether Elit is a dialect of Kunama or not rather than discussing the main history of the Elit.

According to an article on Eritrea Al Haddisa by Mohammed Abdel’halim in 2002, the relation between Kunama and Elit languages is like the Tigre and Tigrinya or between Saho and Afar which have many similarities.

What required is researchers should focus more on the cultural values of the clan rather than studying to which Eritrean ethnic group they belong or they don’t belong to. Because, due to the more focus some researchers put on to which these clan are more related to, they missed to discover their rich way of living and their cultural heritage.