The Sudan Handbook

246 thE sudan handbook

their masters. Slaves, liberated slaves, and the urban poor pursued their

leisure activities in the streets and the anadi (local bars). These sites

created unmonitored social spaces for these communities to live out the

heritage of their home areas.

Khartoum was destroyed by the Khalifa Abdallahi, the Mahdi’s

successor, and Omdurman became the capital of the Mahdist state

(1885–1898). Many of Khartoum’s residents moved to the new capital. The

Khalifa’s policy of bringing his kinsmen and supporters from Kordofan

and Darfur, led to a high concentration of people from these regions in

the city. Following the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of the Mahdist state,

Khartoum was revived and became the headquarters of the new regime.

Together with Omdurman and Khartoum North it became the political

and the economic hub of the country once again. In the three towns of

Greater Khartoum a vibrant urban popular culture and new styles of

singing emerged, setting the standard for the rest of the country.

One of the regular social activities in Khartoum and Omdurman in

the early years of the twentieth century was called zafa, a festival that

was held twice a year to celebrate eid al-fitr (at the end of Ramadan) and

the mawlid al-Nabi, the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. The zafa became

a popular occasion in which various segments of the urban population

participated. It involved a parade that included leaders of the various

Sufi orders, government officials, senior police and army officers, and

other dignitaries. Each Sufi order carried its own banner and chanted

religious songs.

Military Bands and Brass Instruments

The first introduction of Middle Eastern and Western instruments in the

Sudan was by soldiers who served in the military bands of the Egyptian

army. One of most significant institutions of Turco-Egyptian rule was

military slavery. During the first two decades of Turkish rule, thousands

of Sudanese from the non-Muslim communities in southern and the

western Sudan and the Blue Nile region were drafted into Muhammad

The Sudan Handbook, edited by John Ryle, Justin Willis, Suliman Baldo and Jok Madut Jok. © 2011 Rift Valley Institute and contributors Ali’s army. Military bands were an integral part of the Turco-Egyptian

(www.riftvalley.net).