Oil and Water in Sudan 213
forces required slave-soldiers for their my. These markets saw previously slen-
der ties of trade based on ivory and other commodities eclipsed by demand for
human captives.Cycle One: Nuer-Dinka violence
These developments instigated the first cycle in the ongoing north-south con-
flict, and began to undermine the symbiotic ethnic relations existing along
the north-south buffer zone in the process. The southerners initially gave as
well as they got - until modem European weapons tipped the balance against
them several decades later.37 Southerners supported the rise of the Mahdi,
and then assisted the British to depose him,
The relationship between the assimilated north and the south's diverse
isolated population subsequently crystallised along the lines of racialist ide-
ology justifying the plunder of southern resources, and initiated the predato-
ry trajectory hardening Sudanese identities into an Afro-Arab polarity
Ottoman agents also brought the legalistic code of the Shana, which
Sudanese Muslims found abstract and austere compared to their mystical and
syncretistic practices.38 Previously, the spread of different Sufi tariqa com-
plemented the sectarian quality of Islam and local society. The Sharia factor
exerted a levelling and homogenising effect that also solidified the founda-
tion of north-south conflict.
European contact brought additional changes in the region's infrastruc-
tural conditions. The colonial administration maintained a clear passage
along the Bahr al Jebel and White Nile, and steamer transport along rivers
throughout Nuer and Dinka lands, between administration centres at
Malakal, Wau, Meshra'er Req, Abwong, and others. Roads were built and
maintained across the clay plain. Nuer and Dinka began to participate to
some extent in external commercial markets by selling grain, hides, cattle and
other items to merchants. Some have even taken to the role of "keepers of
small bush stores".39
This observation actually underscores the limited impact of infrastructur-
al development. The real significance of the Nile transport improvements, the
rail line to Wau, and the south's rudimentary road network is that this infra-
structure facilitated access to the region's natural resources. Since the 1800s
the south has served mainly as a reservoir for labour distinguished by the
extremely low investment in human capital over time.
Markets are simple and localised, barter is more common than currency,
and the circulation of even the most basic commodities (such as clothing.
tools, medicine) is restricted to major The British administration
adopted a laizzez faire policy for the south; colonial missions provided most
of the services available, and even this was interrupted when Khartoum
banned missionaries after independence. Outside Juba and the scattered