Sudanese Society

Sudan is an ancient African nation; early Stone Age or Paleolithic sites suggest dates as early as 250,000 BCE. The states of Nobatia, Mukuria, and Alwa adopted Christianity for centuries until they converted to Islam in 1315. Today, Sudanese society is multi-ethnic and multi-religious.

The medieval Funj Muslim kingdoms of the Blue Nile might well be descendants of the Shulluk of southern Sudan; the Ingessana and Nuba of central Sudan might well have been the same northern Nubians who had ruled both Egypt and Sudan in ancient times; the other Nilotic Dinka,Nuer, and Anwak groups might well have been the same Ethiopian Sudanese of Aksum and Nubia; and the western African groups might well be related to the populations of the other regions. As Davidson realized, in the continent of Africa, “all these regions really belong together, and what is particular to each of them is general to them all in their foundation and emergence.”

An agrarian society, Sudanese society is strongly influenced by familial, religious, and ethnic affiliations as well as ideological and political orientations. Strong systems of extended family relations comprise a series of closely interrelated nuclear families all over the country, with each nuclear unit going about its separate business.

The cultural diversity of the country is characterized by peaceful alliances and intermarriages as well as social disputes that sometimes are caused by the strict system of ethnic classification. Experiencing a long history of ethno-regional relations across the border with Egypt and the non-African nations, Nubia and its Riverain people have categorized themselves into distinct groups based on ahl al-balad, the owners of land, abidor ex-slaves who still have [Page 2140]obligations towards ex-masters, and the halab whose descendants belonged to Upper Egypt. In the other parts of the country,“conflicts between the agriculturalists and the nomads or among nomads, farmers and migrant laborers are but a few of the daily cases heard at the different courts. Cases of land dispute include harig (setting fire to fields), taadi (vegetable garden and field trespass with intent to cause damage), and juruf (disputes over land on the river banks).”

The winds of social change, however, have been blowing vigorously over the rural side of the country. “Although the muazzafeen [public service employees] still respect the indigenous authority of Aurs [descendants of ruling families] and the punuk [the indigenous court], they are committed, at the same time, to enforce the regulations of the Damazin administration. Very often conflicts occur when administrative decisions interfere with cultural and local ties.”

At the present time, however, the question of Sudanese center-regional relations, rural development, and national identification constitute major political issues. The increasing consciousness of the Sudanese non-Arab, non-Muslim population about African heritage and the issues of national identification and religious tolerance motivated the need for anthropological and sociological research on the historical role that the Sudanese African cultures played to shape the Muslim tradition of the country, and the vital recognition of the diversity of Sudan in all spheres of political, social, and religious life. The Sudanese ancient African religions of many animist groups in the south and the Nuba Mountains might have mutually influenced popular Sufi life, as well as Christianity, with mythical interpretations and rituals. Perhaps the cultural heritage of the Sudanese communities was largely reflective of the multi-ethnic and religious diversity of the country more than any strict adherence to the Arab-Islamic models of the orthodox shari'a. Up to the establishment of the ‘Abdallab Arab dynasties and the Funj Muslim kingdoms that succeeded the Nubian Christian kingdoms of Sudan, the spreading of Islam was rather nominal under the direct influence of the Bedouins and the traders, who were not highly knowledgeable of Islamic jurisprudence. The Sufi leaders, like Qulam-Allah ben ‘Ayid and Hamad Abu Dannana, later on increased the dissemination of shari'a in the country. When the Funj consolidated their rule, they encouraged many jurists to teach Islam as a different faith from the Sudanese indigenous habits or Christian customs.

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