A veiled Rashaida woman in Eritrea dances in celebration of her friend’s marriage. Photograph by Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher.

A veiled Rashaida woman in Eritrea dances in celebration of her friend’s marriage. Photograph by Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher.

Numbering well over 400.000 people in Eritrea and Sudan, the Rashaida or Bani Rashid are a Bedouin Arab tribe who migrated from Hejaz in western Saudi Arabia in the mid-19th century, fleeing local warfare. They are a largely nomadic people making a living as camel breeders. Rashaida women in particular are known for their elaborately embroidered veils which cover their faces at all times in the presence of men.