a shoRt histoRy of sudanEsE PoPulaR musiC 247army, and many of these soldiers were trained in brass instruments. The
best known bands were al-Musiqa al-Bahariyya (Naval Band), Musiqa
al-Balky (Police Band) and Beringi and Kingi Musiqa. Following the British
conquest of Egypt in 1882, the old Egyptian army was disbanded and a
new one was established, which included six Sudanese units. Before the
occupation, Sudanese military bands were trained by an Italian instructor
named Boba Bey. After the British re-conquest, Boba was replaced by a
British instructor, and two schools of music were established in Cairo.
In 1897 the British established the first purely Sudanese bands. Two
infantry staff bands were sent from Wadi Halfa and Suakin to Cairo to
receive instruction. The British felt that the members of these units were
too old, and so discharged them; thirty-eight young Sudanese boys were
sent from the Sudan to Cairo instead. These boys formed what came to
be known as the Sudanese Frontier Band. They were trained in brass
instruments, and within one year they were able to play several of these.
Sudanese bands continued to receive training in Cairo until 1912 when a
school of music was established in Omdurman.
Sudanese units of the Egyptian army played a major role in the Anglo-
Egyptian campaign against the Mahdist State in the late 1890s. After
the establishment of British rule in the Sudan these units remained an
integral part of the Egyptian army until the 1924 uprising, which led to
the evacuation of the Egyptian army from the Sudan and the disband-
ment of the units. The British continued the recruitment policies of
their predecessors by targeting particular ethnic groups from non-Arab
and non-Muslim and non-Arab communities in the south and the west,
resulting in a concentration of people from the same ethnic group in
each unit. Each unit performed a march based on musical tunes or songs
from its home area. This led to the emergence, for example, of a Shilluk
March, a Banda March, a Binga March, a Baggara March, and so forth.
This interaction between local and European musical traditions had
major effects on Sudanese music. Sudanese members of military bands
can be regarded as the first professional musicians, taking the lead in the
process of modernization and indigenization.The Sudan Handbook, edited by John Ryle, Justin Willis, Suliman Baldo and Jok Madut Jok. © 2011 Rift Valley Institute and contributors After their discharge from the army, former soldiers were settled
(www.riftvalley.net).