Beja people
His father was a Kurd and his mother hailed from the Hadendoa tribe of the Beja people. His birthplace is unknown; Suakin was said to be the town, where he was born. He was originally known as Osman Ali. He lived in Alexandria, Egypt, where he dealt in the selling of slaves. After the English forced him to quit his business, he took part in the revolt of Ahmed 'Urabi. After the failure of that movement at the Battle of Tel al-Kebir (13 September 1882), he attached himself to the cause of the Mahdi.