Culture
Culture
The traditional beliefs of the Nubians were centered on the spirit
of the Nile. The Nile is believed to have life-sustaining power and to hold the power of life and death within it. The people believe that the river is endowed with angels, sheiks, and other powerful beings. The Kenuzi Nubians have an annual festival known as the "Saints Day Celebration," or moulid. This holiday reinforces the history of the Kenuzi. Gifts are presented at the ancestral shines in the fulfillment of a promise made the previous year. Colorful processions are held during this time of celebration. Dancing, singing, and feasting are also included in the festivities. The moulid is still celebrated in New Nubia each year. The First Dam Completed in 1902, its height was raised in subsequent building campaigns of 1907-12 and 1929-34. Even with these renovations, the first, or "Low," dam proved to have an inadequate reservoir area. In the event of extreme flooding, it would be necessary to open the sluices of the dam to relieve the water pressure against it, flooding the areas thought to be protected. A second dam was necessary at Aswan, and in the early 1950's, designs began to be drawn for what was to become the High Dam as Aswan.
Beliefs 
The Nubians were converted to Christianity during the sixth century. They remained so until the gradual process of Islamization began taking place from the fourteenth until the seventeenth centuries. Today, the Nubians are virtually all Muslims. However, their traditional animistic beliefs (belief that non-living objects have spirits) are still mingled
in with their Islamic practices.
At the turn of the century, agricultural production was being outstripped by the growth of the population in Egypt and the Sudan: the Nile had to be controlled if there was to be agricultural stability along its banks. Harnessing the power of the Nile would also yield the hydroelectric power necessary to industry. To the increasingly industrial societies of the region, the choice was clear. In 1899, construction of the first Aswan Dam was begun.
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