The politics of writing tribal identities in the Sudan: the case of the colonial Nuba Policy

Abdelhay, Ashraf

doi:10.1080/01434630903515698

Cited by 44 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…During the colonial period, the British government designated the Nuba mountains a specific geographic zone, where people they viewed as black and pagan were to be converted to Christianity. In doing so, the colonial government defined this population in contrast to Arabs, describing them as ‘unpredictable’ and ‘primitive’ (Abdelhay 2010: 204–6). These attitudes were absorbed not only by the colonial administration but also by later governments, as well as by academics in the region.…”

Section: ‘Traditional’ Dances and University Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Shama will not dance’: University of Khartoum politics, 1964–69

Glade¹

2019

Africa

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In 1968, the Democratic Front organized a folkloric dance recital at the University of Khartoum as a prelude to the upcoming student union elections, a recital that was opposed by the Islamic Movement. This dispute culminated in a riot in which a student was killed, an event referred to as the ‘Ajako incident’, which is discussed as the first recorded instance of inter-student violence at the university. Drawing on newspaper accounts from the time, secondary sources and first-hand interviews with participants, this article explores the clashing political and moral ideologies at stake within the University of Khartoum, and their links and affective power in relation to Khartoum politics more widely. In the process, it argues that the student political sphere did not simply function as a mirror to the wider political environment, but rather as a mobilizing ground for ideologically based parties, allowing more radical youth groups to influence national dialogues and put pressure on national political actors.

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Section: ‘Traditional’ Dances and University Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Shama will not dance’: University of Khartoum politics, 1964–69

Glade¹

2019

Africa

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“…The Sudanese Arabs possessed a significant cultural and ideological capital related to the dominant role of the Arabic language and the privileged status it has in Islam (Breidlid, : 37). Gillan, cited in Abdelhay (: 206), draws a correlation between Arabization and its favorable structural conditions, including economics and education. Following Suleiman (), Abdelhay rightly points out that educational language policies in the Middle East have promoted a politically motivated view of Arabic as a sacred language and the legitimate linguistic habitus at the price of other practical varieties.…”

Section: The Sudan: a Historical Sociolinguistics Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The fact that the postcolonial regimes endorsed a monolingual policy of Arabization has directly led to resistance by various liberation movements in the Sudan (Abdelhay, :31).…”

Section: The Sudan: a Historical Sociolinguistics Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Much debate in contemporary scholarship on the Sudan has focused on the role of colonialism in instituting and constructing these political identities. The investigation of issues of hegemony, language ideology, identity conflict, power asymmetries, and social inequality that have beset the language policy in Sudan and contributed to this identity crisis have also been explored by Abdelhay (), Abdelhay, Makoni, and Makoni (), Breidlid (), Lesch (), and Sharkey (), among others. I am building from this existing body of work to add to the growing literature on the subject especially with regard to the Sudan.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Language Policy and Identity Conflict in Sudan

Zouhir

2015

Digest Mid East Studies

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The Sudan, as it stands today, has clearly and definitely failed to form a united country. It has been involved in an internecine civil war. The war has not merely been a war of resistance against economic marginalization of the south, but one of racial or ethnic resistance to the dominant discourse in the north which lays claim to being racially and culturally superior. The violent political conflict that led to the secession of southern Sudan and the ongoing conflicts in some parts of the Sudan are legacies of the past. These legacies cannot be understood unless the tensions are placed in historical, political, and educational perspectives. This article attempts to describe Sudanese language policy and show its complexity, arbitrariness, and fluctuation. It aims to engage with issues of hegemony, language ideology, identity conflict, power asymmetries, and social inequality in language policy in the Sudan. The Arabic language has acquired dominant status while other languages have been marginalized in the process. This article also considers the historical diffusion of Arab identity and analyzes the relevance of the latter for civil conflicts and the cessation of the South. Finally, it closes with a discussion of the present day situation in Sudan and provides some critical reflections.

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