DOCSLIB.ORG

Some Aspects of the Hamitic Problem in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Author(S): C

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Some Aspects of the Hamitic Problem in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Author(S): C Some Aspects of the Hamitic Problem in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Author(s): C. G. Seligmann Source: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 43 (Jul. - Dec., 1913), pp. 593-705 Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2843546 . Accessed: 28/06/2014 16:02 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 91.238.114.41 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 16:02:39 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 593 SOME ASPECTS OF THE HAMITIC PROBLEM IN THE ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN. BY C. G. SELIGMANN,M.D. [WITH PLATESXXV-XXXVIII.] PAGE PAGE Introduction ... 593 Cultural-continued Customs connected with Milk and Physical Cattle ... ... ... ... 654 Beja ... ... ... 595 The Placenta ... ... ... 658 Barabra 610 Otiose High Gods and the Cult of Nomad Arabs ... 625 the Dead ... ... ... 660 Nilotes and Half-Hamites ... 632 Divine Kings .. ... ... 664 Mutilation ... 639 Burial... ... ... .. 674 Face Scars ... ... ... 646 Appendix I.-Description of skulls Cultural and physical measurements ... 684 Social Organization ... 649 Appendix II. -Dr. Bowley's note on Totemism and Animal Cults ... 653 Dinka measurements ... ... 703 IN the followingpaper I have attemptedto weave to6gethera number of strands of evidencethat have only one featurein common,viz., theyapply to people whom we regardas Hamites,or at least as having Hamitic blood in theirveins. The firstportion of the paper dealing with the anatomical'evidence was, in an abbreviatedform, the stubjectof an Arris and Gale lectureat the Royal College of Surgeons during the spring of 1913. It was my intentionat firstto deal with the physicalside of the problemonly, but as I came to examinethe material collectedby Mrs. Seligmannand myselfduring two expeditionson behalf of the Sudan Governmentin the wintersof 1909-10 and 1911-12, the beliefunderlying much of my recentwork, that many of the customs and ideas which exist in the Sudan are not Negro,Arab or even Islamic as theyappear at firstsight, became strengthened,and I then decided to collect and publish as much as possible of the cultural evidencebearing upon the subject. In doing this I have made use in the firstplace of the materialrecorded in my own and Mrs. Seligmann'snotebooks, and have supplementedthis withan examinationof a considerablenumber of modern authors,of ancientEgyptian recordsand media3valArabic writers. Comparison of this materialleads me to believe that ainong the culture strata lying buried beneaththe present day culturesof North-Easternand Eastern Africa there are remainsof one whichpresents such substantialaffinities with that of ancientEgypt that therecan be no legitimateobjection to speaking of it as Hamitic. There is indeed some reason to believe that this stratumgoes back to the times of all undifferentiatedHamito-Semitic culture, but whetherthis be so or iiot the idea of an underlyingHamitic culture layer is not only entirelyconsistent with the physicalevidence but is supportedin a remarkableway by Westermann'srecent researcheson the Shilluk and otherNilotic languages. This content downloaded from 91.238.114.41 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 16:02:39 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 594 C. G. SELIGMANN.-SOme Aspectsof the In view of the wide area fromwhich the facts recordedin this paper have been gathered,I have been led to consult a nuLmberof friendsand colleagues, to whomI am greatlyindebted for ungrudgingassistance. Foremostamong them I would number Miss M. A. Murray and ProfessorT. W. Arnold, both of whom have given me informationof the greatest value. Mr. C. M. Doughty has given me the benefitof his unique experienceof Arabia. To ProfessorWestermarck, as also to Major A. J. Tremearne,I am indebted for informationconcerning the Berbers and West African Arabs,whlich, although not quoted here, has been of considerableassistance. On the physicalside I have been guided by the methods elaborated by ProfessorElliot Smith, and applied by him and his assistants, Drs. D. E. Derry and F. Wood Jones,to the anatomicalmaterial excavated by the ArchwologicalSurvey of Nubia. I am furtherindebted to all these gentlemenfor advice on special points, while the comparativematerial in the Reportsof the Survey has been of constant assistance. ProfessorWaterston has courteously placed at my disposal his manuscriptrecord of the measurementsof Nilotes taken by the late Dr. Pirrie on the expeditionwhich cost him his life, and some of the measurementsprinted in this paper will serve as a supplementto those published by ProfessorWaterston in his account of Pirrie'swork.' I have also made use of a numberof measurementstaken by otherinvestigators and would speciallyrefer to the workof Drs. A. Mochi and C. S. Myers. On the linguisticside I am greatlyindebted to Mr. S. H. Ray; but forhis help and advice I shouldscarcely have venturedto use linguisticevidence as freelyas I have done,though he must not be held responsible for what I have written. Dr. B. Malinowskihas greatlyassisted me by the skill and care with which he has followedup a number of obscure references. I hope and believe that I have acknowledgedin the text my indebtednessto all other authoritiesupon whom I have drawn. But above all I would acknowledgethe assistanceI have received frommy wife, both by herconstant help in thefield while the observationswhich form the basis of this paper were being made and fromthe use of her notesand journal. To introducemy subject I cannotdo betterthan referto anymap whichshows the distributionof languages in Africa at the presentday.2 It will be seen that Hamiticlanuogages are spokenby peoples spread overperhaps one-fifth of Africa,and omittingHottentot, which contains a Hamitic element,Bernhard Struck has been able to classifythem into forty-seven stock languages and seventy-onedialects. The area inhabitedby people regardedas Hamitic is even larger,including, as it does, many tribes superficiallysemiticized under the influenceof Islam, for beforethe Arab expansionHamitic languagesmust have been spoken over by far the greater part of the northernhalf of the continent. I "Report upon the Physical Charactersof Some of the Nilotic Negroid Tribes," Third Reportof the WellcomeResearch Laboratories (1908). 2 Such,for instance, as that given by Meinhofin Die moderneSprachforschung in,Afrika. Berlin,1910. This content downloaded from 91.238.114.41 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 16:02:39 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Hamitic Problemin the Anglo-EgyptianSudan. 595 Consideringthese factsit mightseem reasonableto expect thatno insuperable difficultyshould exist in tracingthe migrationsand definingthe home of the stock which has given rise to so manypeoples spread over so vast an area, but, in fact, the very reverse is the case, the cradle-land of the Hamites, thoughgenerally consideredto be Arabia, is unknown.' It cannot be said that a uniformphysical type exists; little is known of the migrationsof this widelycivilizing people, so little indeed,that anthropologistshave as yet scarcelysought to definethem. Yet lest it should be thoughtthat the Hamites are but a rude and insignificantfolk, concerning whom there is little to be discovered,let me once morerepeat what many othershave said, namely,that even nlow,after years of controversy,we. have no directknowledge of the home of the Aryansand that thereis everyreason to believe we shall never knowthe physicalcharacters of the primitive" Aryan" race. I do liot proposeto deal with such high matters,and shall be contentif I can throw some added light on the Hamites of the Anglo-EgyptianSudan and show that the least modifiedof these are physically identical with the predynastic Egyptians. I shall also indicate that just as the Zulu-Kaffirscontain a strong Hamitic element,so the Nilotic Negroids of the Sudan containa varying,and in some tribesconsiderable, amount of Hamitic blood. I shall also tryto demonstrate that among the Hamites of the Anglo-EgyptianSudan and those tribesof mixed Negro and Hamitic origin,the Nilotes and their congenersinhabiting British and GermanEast Africaand the neighbourhoodof the Great Lakes, there exist certain non-Negroand non-Semiticcustonis which, though possiblynot characteristicof all Harniites,may be regardedas characteristicof a greatgroup of Hamitic peoples and thereforediagnostic of Hamitic influence. It is usual to recognize two main divisions of the Hamitic stock which, followinigSergi, may be called (i) The NorthernHamites (or Mediterraneanrace); (ii) The Eastern Hamites or Ethiopians. These two groups shade into each other, and in many parts a Negro adinixturehas taken place, nevertheless,culturally if not always physically,either division stalnds apart fromits fellow. In this paper I deal with the membersof the easterndivision only, and with some of the
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Sudan, Country Information
    Sudan, Country Information SUDAN ASSESSMENT April 2003 Country Information and Policy Unit I SCOPE OF DOCUMENT II GEOGRAPHY III HISTORY IV STATE STRUCTURES V HUMAN RIGHTS HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES HUMAN RIGHTS - SPECIFIC GROUPS ANNEX A - CHRONOLOGY ANNEX B - LIST OF MAIN POLITICAL PARTIES ANNEX C - GLOSSARY ANNEX D - THE POPULAR DEFENCE FORCES ACT 1989 ANNEX E - THE NATIONAL SERVICE ACT 1992 ANNEX F - LIST OF THE MAIN ETHNIC GROUPS OF SUDAN ANNEX G - REFERENCES TO SOURCE DOCUMENTS 1. SCOPE OF DOCUMENT 1.1 This assessment has been produced by the Country Information and Policy Unit, Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Home Office, from information obtained from a wide variety of recognised sources. The document does not contain any Home Office opinion or policy. 1.2 The assessment has been prepared for background purposes for those involved in the asylum/human rights determination process. The information it contains is not exhaustive. It concentrates on the issues most commonly raised in asylum/human rights claims made in the United Kingdom. 1.3 The assessment is sourced throughout. It is intended to be used by caseworkers as a signpost to the source material, which has been made available to them. The vast majority of the source material is readily available in the public domain. These sources have been checked for accuracy, and as far as can be ascertained, remained relevant and up-to-date at the time the document was issued. 1.4 It is intended to revise the assessment on a six-monthly basis while the country remains within the top 35 asylum-seeker producing countries in the United Kingdom.
    [Show full text]
  • Sudan Country Report
    SUDAN COUNTRY REPORT April 2004 Country Information & Policy Unit IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY DIRECTORATE HOME OFFICE, UNITED KINGDOM Sudan April 2004 CONTENTS 1. SCOPE OF DOCUMENT 1.1 - 1.7 2. GEOGRAPHY 2.1 - 2.3 3. ECONOMY 3.1 - 3.2 4. HISTORY 1989 - April 2004: The al-Bashir Regime 4.1 - 4.3 Events of 2002 - 2004 4.4 - 4.19 5. STATE STRUCTURES The Constitution 5.1 - 5.2 The Political System 5.3 - 5.5 Political Parties 5.6 - 5.7 The Judiciary 5.8 - 5.17 Military Service and the Popular Defence Force 5.18 - 5.26 Conscription 5.27 - 5.32 Exemptions, Pardons and Postponements 5.33 - 5.36 Internal Security 5.37 - 5.38 Legal Rights/Detention 5.39 - 5.43 Prisons and Prison Conditions 5.44 - 5.47 Medical Services 5.48 - 5.55 HIV/AIDS 5.56 - 5.60 Mental Health Care 5.61 - 5.62 The Education System 5.63 - 5.64 Sudanese Nationality Laws 5.65 - 5.68 6. HUMAN RIGHTS 6.A. HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES Overview 6.1 - 6.12 Freedom of Speech and the Media 6.13 - 6.17 Newspapers 6.18 - 6.21 Television, Radio and the Internet 6.22 - 6.24 Freedom of Religion 6.25 - 6.37 Forced Religious Conversion 6.38 - 6.39 Freedom of Assembly and Association 6.40 - 6.46 Meetings and Demonstrations 6.47 - 6.49 Employment Rights 6.50 - 6.52 Trade Unions 6.53 - 6.58 Wages and Conditions 6.59 - 6.62 People Trafficking 6.63 - 6.66 Slavery 6.67 - 6.71 Freedom of Movement 6.72 - 6.75 Passports 6.76 - 6.77 Exit Visas 6.78 - 6.81 Airport Security 6.82 - 6.83 Returning Sudanese Nationals 6.84 - 6.87 Arbitrary Interference with Privacy 6.88 - 6.91 6.B.
    [Show full text]
  • Sudan Assessment
    SUDAN COUNTRY ASSESSMENT OCTOBER 2002 COUNTRY INFORMATION AND POLICY UNIT IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY DIRECTORATE HOME OFFICE UNITED KINGDOM Sudan Assessment - October 2002 CONTENTS I SCOPE OF DOCUMENT 1.1 - 1.4 II GEOGRAPHY 2.1 - 2.4 III HISTORY 3.1 - 3.16 IV STATE STRUCTURES The Constitution 4.1 The Political System 4.2 - 4.7 The Judiciary 4.8 - 4.16 Military Service and the Popular Defence Force 4.17- 4.28 Internal Security 4.29 Legal Rights/Detention 4.30 - 4.35 Prisons and Prison Conditions 4.36 Medical Services 4.37 - 4.42 The Education System 4.43 - 4.44 Sudanese Nationality Laws 4.45 - 4.48 V.A HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES Overview 5.1 - 5.5 Freedom of Speech and the Media 5.6 - 5.15 Freedom of Religion 5.16 - 5.24 Freedom of Assembly and Political Association 5.25 - 5.27 Employment Rights 5.28 - 5.32 People Trafficking 5.33 - 5.35 Freedom of Movement 5.36 - 5.44 Use of Torture and other Cruel or Degrading Punishment 5.45 - 5.47 Arbitrary Interference with Privacy 5.48 V.B HUMAN RIGHTS: SPECIFIC GROUPS Women 5.49 - 5.52 Children 5.53 - 5.56 Ethnic Groups 5.57 - 5.66 Treatment of Homosexuals 5.67 Human Rights Groups 5.68 - 5.71 Opposition Political Parties 5.72 - 5.84 The Sudan’s People Liberation Movement/Army 5.85 - 5.86 VI MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES Humanitarian Aid for Internally Displaced Persons 6.1 - 6.2 VII ANNEXES A CHRONOLOGY B LIST OF THE MAIN POLITICAL PARTIES C PROMINENT PEOPLE PAST AND PRESENT D GLOSSARY E THE POPULAR DEFENCE FORCES ACT 1989 F THE NATIONAL SERVICE ACT 1992 G LIST OF THE MAIN ETHNIC GROUPS OF SUDAN H REFERENCES TO SOURCE DOCUMENTS Sudan Assessment - October 2002 I SCOPE OF DOCUMENT 1.1 This assessment has been produced by the Country Information and Policy Unit, Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Home Office, from information obtained from a wide variety of recognised sources.
    [Show full text]
  • Handbook of the Sudan
    UC-NRLF SB 5b3 511 [All Bights E HANDBOOK THE S U D A N. PART I.—GEOGRAPHICAL. South of from Wadai to Aby Sudan, Omdurman ; uert nyanza. PART II.—HISTORICAL. Sketch of the History of the Sudan to date. OMPILED IN THE INTELLIGENCE DIVISION, WAR OFFICE, BY CAPTAIN COUNT GLEICREN, Grenadier Guards, D.A.A.G-. 18 9 8 LONDON: PRINTED FOR HER MAJESTY'S. STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANE, PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HER MAJESTY. And to be purcha directly or through any Bookseller, from EYRE&SPOTTISWO st Harding Street -tkeet, E.C.; [N MENZ1ES >treet, Edinburgh, and . West Nile Street, Glasgow; or HODGES. FIGGIS, & Co., Limited, 104, Grafton Street, Dublin. 5 ''lings IN MEMOR1AM BERNARD MOSES [All Bights Reserved. HANDBOOK . THE , . > OP . SUDAN. PART L—GEOGRAPHICAL. The Sudan, South of Omdurman; from Wadai to Abyssinia, and from Khartum to the Albert Nyanza. PART II.—HISTORICAL. Sketch of the History of the Sudan to date. COMPILED IN THE INTELLIGENCE DIVISION, WAR OFFICE, BY CAPTAIN COUNT^ GLEICHEN, Grenadier Guards, D.A.A.G. 1898 LONDON: PRINTED FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARBISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANE, PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HER MAJESTY. And to be purchased, either directly or through any Bookseller, from EYRE & SFOTT1SWOODE, East Harding Street, Fleet Street, E.C.; or JOHN MENZ1ES & Co., 12, Hanover Street, Edinburgh, and 90, West Nile Street, Glasgow; or HODGES, FIGGIS, & Co., Limited, 104, Grafton Street, Dublin. Price Two Shillings. ^7 BERNARD MOSES 10595 250 9 98—H & S (Wt. | 1767) INTRODUCTOKY NOTE.
    [Show full text]
  • The University of Hull Suakin and Its Fishermen
    THE UNIVERSITY OF HULL SUAKIN AND ITS FISHERMEN: A STUDY OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES AND ETHNIC GROUPINGS IN A SUDANESE PORT being a Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Hull by Eric George Kentley, B. A. February 1988 ,ý ft> 'ý' : n ý' ate Summary Summary of Thesis submitted for Ph. D. degree by E. C. Kentley on Suakin and its Fishermen: a study of economic activities and ethni_ groupings in a Sudanese port This study examines the role that ethnic identity plays in economic activities within the context of Suakin, with particular T reference to fishing. Chapter One defines the. context physically and. to some extent culturally. It begins with a discussion of the boats used by the fishermen, which suggests that in this respect at least Suakin is culturally more akin to the Middle East, or "dhow world", than to the interior of Sudan. The environment in which these boats operate and the appearance of the town is then described. This appearance and the presence of the current population is accounted for in Chapter Two, which relates the history of the town and its people. In Chapter Three, the concept of "ethnic grouping" is developed from earlier concepts in order to classify the present population. The concept is applied in Chapter Four, where there is also an examination of the activities, organisation and sizes of these groupings. Chapters Five and Six give a detailed account of the fishing industry in Suakin, including an assessment of a development project aimed at improving productivity and an elucidation of two "universal" methods of profit distribution by share allocation.
    [Show full text]
  • Royal Engineers Museum Prince Arthur Road, Gillingham, Kent
    Royal Engineers Museum Prince Arthur Road, Gillingham, Kent Contact details: 01634 822839 Website: https://www.re-museum.co.uk Baggage and Belonging Catalogue 2020 Museum Royal Engineers Museum Accession Number 5301.3.9 Categories Personal equipment Object name Ammunition pouch Description Leather ammunition pouch of Afghan origin, possibly taken during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, 1878-80, Afghanistan Physical description Pouch made of leather with curved front-flap, decorated with long tassels. Names associated Other associations Afghanistan Second Anglo-Afghan War © Royal Engineers Museum Baggage and Belonging Catalogue 2020 Museum Royal Engineers Museum Accession Number 7709.16.1 Categories Arms and armour Object name Knife Description Knife of Afghan origin, further provenance unconfirmed Physical description Long straight blade with a series of fullers at the top edge, slightly curved at the tip, with wood and leather-bound grip. Near the top the blade is pitted and damaged. Names associated Other associations Afghanistan Research image Baggage and Belonging Catalogue 2020 Museum Royal Engineers Museum Accession Number 1203.1.6 Categories Arms and armour Object name Shield Description Shield of Ethiopian origin, taken at the storming and looting of Maqdala, or purchased at the prize auction held at Delanta (20-21 April) by an unidentified individual during the Abyssinian Campaign, 1867-8, Ethiopia, East Africa. Later given as a reward of service to Field Marshal Robert Cornelius Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala Physical description Circular leather shield decorated with silver bosses and mounts. At the bottom of the shield is an inscribed rectangular silver plate that reads: 'Taken at Magdala 13 April 1868, Presented to Lord Napier of Magdala by Her Majesty's Government'.
    [Show full text]
  • Mapping Fictional Engagement with the Imperial Frontier Luisa Villa
    With Gordon, Kitchener and Others in the Sudan: Mapping Fictional Engagement with the Imperial Frontier Luisa Villa Abstract The protracted military engagement in the Sudan (1884–99) can be regarded as the most iconic among the “little wars” late-Victorian Britain fought on its imperial frontiers. Numberless historical studies have addressed its events, its protagonists, its politics, and aspects of its immense discursive fallout. In recent years, its impact on popular literature has been discussed, most notably, in connection with the “paranoid imaginary” underlying “Imperial Gothic” fictions, with fantasies of retaliatory invasions and reverse colonisation. On the other hand, as a fictional corpus, the adventure narratives inspired more directly by the military events and the concomitant political debate have not attracted attention. Having identified ten novels – written between 1885 and 1907, all at least partly set in the Sudan – I set out to outline the development of this strain of historical/military adventure over roughly two decades, highlighting its narrative strategies in articulating the changing perception of the conflict. In order to do so, I focus on the novelists’ selection, or evasion, of historical “facts,” the intertwining of the factual strain of adventure fiction with the conventions of the quest romance, and the uses of their often multiple protagonists. I also foreground aspects of divergence as well as of consonance between the children’s novels and those written for the general public, showing how they experimented with varying narrative takes on the same highly topical subject-matter. Key words adventure fiction; historical novel; juvenile literature; Sudan military campaigns; Omdurman; Khartoum; G.
    [Show full text]
  • Some Aspects of the Hamitic Problem in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Author(S): C
    Some Aspects of the Hamitic Problem in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Author(s): C. G. Seligmann Source: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 43 (Jul. - Dec., 1913), pp. 593-705 Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2843546 . Accessed: 28/06/2014 16:02 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 91.238.114.41 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 16:02:39 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 593 SOME ASPECTS OF THE HAMITIC PROBLEM IN THE ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN. BY C. G. SELIGMANN,M.D. [WITH PLATESXXV-XXXVIII.] PAGE PAGE Introduction ... 593 Cultural-continued Customs connected with Milk and Physical Cattle ... ... ... ... 654 Beja ... ... ... 595 The Placenta ... ... ... 658 Barabra 610 Otiose High Gods and the Cult of Nomad Arabs ... 625 the Dead ... ... ... 660 Nilotes and Half-Hamites ..
    [Show full text]
  • “Chi Non Ha Una Parente Andinna?”. Donne E Possessione Come Archivio Storico Ed Esperienza Dell’Alterità Tra I Kunama D’Eritrea
    “Chi non ha una parente Andinna?”. Donne e possessione come archivio storico ed esperienza dell’alterità tra i Kunama d’Eritrea Gianni Dore - Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia SUMMARY The Kunama, a people from the Western Eritrean Lowlands, have been arousing both ethnographic and historical interests, especially from the second half of the nineteenth century onwards. The cultural features thought to be theirs – representatives of ‘Black Africa”, “aborigenes” of their own region, “matriarchal society”, “residues from totemism”, “animism”- resulted into explorers, colonial civil servants, settlers, geographers, ethnographers, and linguists being fascinated. Accordingly, a social category of possessed women, healers and diviners, named Andinne, has been given anthropological and iconographic attention. The essay’s assumption is that possession (binà) is a public idiom for the interpretation of Kunama historical experience. The social memory of political violence and subordination is a significant factor in possession among the different Kunama groups. All of these groups are parts of a continuum of societies exposed to different influences both from the sub-regions of the Tigray highlands (Wälqayt and Shire) and of the Sudanese States. Fragments of this long lasting experience are embedded in the mimesis of Andinne. Complexity of possession is emphasized. Andinne’s performances and discourses could be interpreted as a system of meaning, a measure of gender conflict, an emotional and aesthetic mise en scene of the collective experience,
    [Show full text]
  • Sudan Studies Was Originally Distributed in Hard Copy to Members of the Sudan Studies Society of the United Kingdom
    This edition of Sudan Studies was originally distributed in hard copy to members of the Sudan Studies Society of the United Kingdom. SSSUK now makes it freely available subject to licence and cordially invites readers to join the Society (see www.sssuk.org). SUDAN STUDIES: Number 26 (June 2001) Sudan Studies content by Sudan Studies editors and writers is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported Licence. SUDAN STUDIES Number 26 June 2001 ISSN – [0952-049X] CONTENTS Editorial 1 Obituary: ‘Sandy’ Sanderson - Peter Woodward 2 Papers from the Durham 2000 conference I: History, ethnography and language The First Turkiyya in the Sudan - John Alexander 5 Ja’afar Pasha Mazhar: a Worthy Governor-General John 0. Udal 16 Perceptions of the Ababda and Bisharin in the Atbai - Janet Starkey 25 An Orthography for Nobíín: a Contribution to the Debate – Muhammad Jalal Hashim 44 Notes and news 52 List of papers presented at Durham 2000 conference 58 Registered Charity No. 328272 This edition of Sudan Studies was originally distributed in hard copy to members of the Sudan Studies Society of the United Kingdom. SSSUK now makes it freely available subject to licence and cordially invites readers to join the Society (see www.sssuk.org). SUDAN STUDIES: Number 26 (June 2001) Sudan Studies content by Sudan Studies editors and writers is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported Licence. SUDAN STUDIES SOCIETY - UK The Sudan Studies Society - UK was founded in 1987 to encourage and promote Sudanese studies in the United Kingdom and abroad, at all levels and in all disciplines.
    [Show full text]
  • IV. Current Context to Human Rights Violations in Eritrea
    A/HRC/29/CRP.1 IV. Current context to human rights violations in Eritrea A. Ethnic and religious composition of Eritrea 128. Out of a total population estimated at 6.3 million people81, there are nine linguistically defined sub-nationalities, or ethnic groups in Eritrea: Tigrinya82 (55 per cent), Tigre (30 per cent), Saho (4 per cent), Kunama (2 per cent), Rashaida (2 per cent), Bilen (2 per cent), and others (Afar, Beja and Nara, 5 per cent). Afar 129. Traditionally pastoralists raising goats, sheep and cattle in the desert, the Afar people form an ethnic group spread across Ethiopia, northern Djibouti and southern Eritrea. Afar people speak the Afar language and the majority are Muslim. Beja 130. The Beja people inhabit Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt and the Sahara desert. In Eritrea they reside in the Gash-Barka, Northern Red Sea and Anseba regions. They speak the Beja language and are predominantly Sunni Muslim. The Beja contain smaller clans such as the Bisharin, Hedareb, Hadendowa (or Hadendoa), the Amarar (or Amar’ar), Beni-Amir, Hallenga and Hamra. Bilen 131. The Bilen people are concentrated in central Eritrea, in and around Keren and further south towards Asmara. Their mother tongue is the Bilen language, though many also speak Tigre and Tigrinya, and younger Bilen are said to use Arabic words and expressions in their everyday speech. They are both Christian and Muslim. Muslim adherents are mainly in rural areas and have often intermingled with the Tigre. Christian Bilen reside in urban areas and have often mixed with the Tigrinya. Kunama 132. The Kunama people are an ethnic group living in Eritrea and Ethiopia.
    [Show full text]
  • Islam in the Eastern Sudan'
    ISLAM IN THE EASTERN SUDAN' I BY the Eastern Sudan we mean the country between Lake Chad and the Red Sea. It embraces northern French Equatorial Africa as far as the Ubangi-Mbomu and the German-Belgian frontier, to the north Wadai with Tibesti and Borku, and the whole Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. The territory consists in its northern part of sparsely watered steppes, or indeed desert, while the smaller southern half has tropical vegetation. Exact statements regarding the density of the population are, for the most part, not yet obtainable. The estimates of earlier travellers are generally far too high, though it must be remembered that the inhabitants suffered terribly in the second half of last century through political disturbances and slave raids. The principal authorities on which the present article is based are the following :- Adolf Friedrich, Herzog von Mecklcnburg, Vom Kongo ;urn Niger und Nil. Leipzig, 1912. T. W. Arnold, The Preaching of Islam. London, 1896. €1. Barth, Reisen und Entdeckungen in Nord und Central Afrika. Gotha, 1857. Bulletin du Comitd de I'Afrique FranCaise. Paris, 1907-13. (Chiefly the articles by Prim and Modat.) H. Carbou, La Rdgion du Tchad et du Wadai. Paris, 1912. H. Duveyricr, La ConfrSrie Musulmane de Sidi Mohammed ben 'Ali es Senodsi. Pans, 1886. Count Gleichen, The Anglo-Egyptiair Sudan. London, 1905. Der Islam. Zeitschrift fur Geschichtc und Iiultur des islamischen Orients. Hergns- gegeben von C. Becker. Band I u. 3. Strassburg. G. Nachtigal, Sahara und Sudan. Berlin, 1879. M. v. Oppenheimcr, Rabeh und das Tschadseegebaet. Berlin, 1902. E. D. Schoenfeld, Erythrria und der iigyptische Sudan.
    [Show full text]