Sudan Retold

Malaz Sami: Creation Story of the Nuer

The story in this chapter focuses on the morality of humans and is based on an old Nuer myth from South Sudan. It shows how the people on Earth lost their connection to heaven through their immoral behavior. The gods pulled up the rope which connected the two worlds, cutting themselves off from the humans on Earth.

Hazim Alhassan: The New Pharaoh

The New Pharaoh series illustrates the effects of two kinds of colonialism in the country: Sudan’s colonial history with Egypt and Great Britain, as well as today’s globalization, which the artist understands as a modern type of colonialism. New Pharaoh describes the cultural, social, and economic effects of these hegemonies.

Migdad Aldikhari: The Stone Age

The story in this chapter focuses on the morality of humans and is based on an old Nuer myth from South Sudan. It shows how the people on Earth lost their connection to heaven through their immoral behavior. The gods pulled up the rope which connected the two worlds, cutting themselves off from the humans on Earth.

Sara M. Alamin Badawi: Candik, the Superheroine

Candik is a fictional Nubian character, a comic book superheroine. Candik was inspired by the Kandake, the mighty queens of Meroe. A skilled warrior, Candik is trained in the arts of war and is particularly proficient in hand-to-hand combat. Candik was chosen by the gods to rescue and protect her village from evil. She is the daughter of a wise woman named Tiriz, who was killed by Slai, a wicked man who thinks he deserves rule over the land of Nubia. Slai’s father was the God of Evil and knew that Tiriz was a woman who would bear a heroic child, the one who would protect Nubia from danger. He knew that killing a heroic person would mean the end of his life, but he made the sacrifice and gave his only son Slai the legacy of ruling Nubia. Tiriz died protecting Candik’s life.

Dar Al Naim: The City of Faras in the Christian Era

The reconstruction of the city of Faras talks about Sudan’s Christian Era. All the work created for this series is original and created using a mixed-media technique including hand-made originals, hand-printing stamps, ink, collage, and pen.

instagram.com/daralnaimart

Khalid Abdalraman: Faces of Sennar

Six personalities lived in the first forty years of the reign of the Blue Sultanate (1503–1821). This monarchy was the first to bring together all the ethnicities and races that currently exist in Sudan under one rule as described in the “Book of Classes” by Wed Daifallah, the earliest known book in Arabic on the history of Sudan.

Malaz AbdAllah Osman & Mawadda Kamil: Chinese Gordon

Charles George Gordon (1833–1885) also known as Chinese Gordon was a British Army officer and administrator. He first served in the army in China and then went on to serve in Sudan as General Governor of Sudan. Since the details of his death are uncertain, many stories are in circulation. The circumstances were romanticized in the painting “General Gordon’s Last Stand” by George William Joy. In these silent illustrations, the artists portray the moments before his death from his point of view and continue the scene after he was stabbed.

Aala Sharfi, Abeer Saleh, Qutouf Yahia & Safwa Mohammad: Sikka — A History of Return

This chapter talks about the railway system in Sudan and its cultural significance. The Sudanese railway system with its trains and stations and tangible history has touched and transformed the lives of the Sudanese people in many ways. “Sikka” is a fictional exchange between Adil and Widad, a Sudanese couple in the 1980s, superimposed on a timeline of the construction of the Sudanese railway system.

Alaa Satir: Hello

More than 500 languages originating from four different linguistic families are spoken in Sudan. Considering that the entire world has only 17 linguistic families, Sudan is considered the most linguistically diverse country in the world. This artwork is a scene from modern day Khartoum that captures the diversity of people from different communities saying the word “hello” in their own language.

Wael Ali Al Sanosi: Mujahid Al-Faqih Abdullah Al-Suheini

Fallata is the name of a community that lives in Western Sudan. The story in this chapter tells of one man’s revolution in 1921, during the period of English colonialism.

Wael Al Sanosi:
facebook.com/wellyce/

Yasir Faiz & Sadig Gasim Mukhayer: White Flag League

Sudan gained its independence in 1956. In 2011, it split into two countries. But what if the great revolution against British colonialism that took place in 1924 had been successful and led to independence? The military and civilian elite who were responsible for the uprising were mostly prominent leaders from South Sudan. This story explores an alternative reality.

Sahar Abdel Karim Abdalla: The Second World War

The artworks are based on the childhood memories of the artist’s grandfather Ibrahim Abdalla Mohamed, born in Port Sudan in 1926 to a Muslim Indian mother (also born in Port Sudan) and a Christian Indian father who immigrated there in the early 1900s and embraced Islam. As a child already struggling with his sense of identity in a Sudan that was under British rule, matters were only made worse for everyone when the Second World War broke out and the Italians and British colonialists attacked each other in Sudan.

Sahar Abdalla:
behance.net/XtraSee

Salma Eghail & Amna Elhassan: Phone call with Haboba

Ein Telefongespräch mit Haboba, die aus ihrem Leben auf Aba Island während Numairis Aufstand in den frühen 1970-ern erzählt. Haboba beschreibt ihre Sicht auf die Dinge auf eine spontane und lustige Art und Weise.

Amna Elhassan:
facebook.com/AmnaArtwork/

Ibrahim ElSalahi: Khartoum School

Art is an integral part of Sudanese society, and has been for hundreds of years. Its influence can be seen when we look back in Sudan’s history, such as the Nubian temples and great Christian kingdoms. Over time art in Sudan has evolved to reflect the society and environment of the times.

Omer Eltigani: Aisha, the Fadadia

This piece was written in order to offer a wider understanding of the relationship Sudanese people have with their food and drink. Omer Eltigani tackles a few taboo subjects in succession to allow personal and/or public discourse about these taboos and the influence of politics on them. The role of women in Sudanese society has traditionally been of the housewife, yet here Aisha is a breadwinner and care taker – a role not often portrayed and a voice rarely heard.

Sarra Ibrahim Saeed: The Hakkama

The Hakkama is a woman in most Arabic communities in Sudan, especially the ones in the West. She improvises words with rhyme and basic melody; simply instant song-writing. She is well respected, appreciated, and praised for her talent. It is a talent that she can use both for and against everyone around her, and even the local authorities respect her role. Society listens to her and follows her lead, as she is known to be honest, trustworthy, and reliable.

Sammany Hajo: Briefcase

For musician Sammany Hajo, this project began as a personal challenge. It had been a long-standing wish of his to mix Sudanese music with some of the genres he enjoyed most like Hip-hop, Jazz, and reggae. In 2014, Hajo released his first Sudanese remix titled “Min Zaman” which received high praise and through which, he decided to produce the beat tape, “Briefcase.”

Mohamed Dardiri: Dr. John Garang de Mabior

Mohamed Dardiri gained insight into Dr. John Garang de Mobior and explored the dynamic and myriad life he led. This chapter portrays the artist’s vision of his subject. Mr. Dardiri was ecstatic and honoured to reflect on the dynamic contribution of one of his personal heroes. Prior to the dissemination of information in the age of the internet, during the chaos of the world’s longest civil war in Sudan, propaganda shaped public opinions and views in Khartoum.

Ahmed Aladdin Abushakeema: A Thousand Faces of Sudan

This chapter showcases a project created to portray a thousand different faces from Sudan. Through these portraits, Abushakeema tells the tale of a nation that is made up of various ethnicities and backgrounds.

instagram.com/abushakeema

Enas Ismail & Yasir S. Abuagla: Women

Enas Ismail and Yasir Abuagla explore beauty from a position of strength, and choose to center their work around older women from southern and western Sudan. Ismail decorates the women in art pieces and ornaments that she created from objects native to those regions, in order to provide a modern take on items present in and relative to Sudanese culture. The women’s make-up is inspired by culturally specific standards and ideals of beauty, but their beauty is depicted in their strength and demenaour. These photographs were taken by Yasir Abuagla.

Enas Ismail:
instagram.com/alfanjaryaart

Enas Satir & Husam Hilali: The Golden Kingdom

The story of Berenice is one of the Golden Kingdom, where the ancient pharaohs kept their gold. Berenice, a beautiful girl with golden eyes and dark thick hair, once lived in the kingdom. A jealous djinn fell in love with her and made the whole kingdom invisible to everyone who tried to find it. In 1989, things changed in Sudan and the djinn knew that he could no longer live with his princess under the changed circumstances, so he took Berenice to the bottom of the earth away from the kingdom. When the protection was lifted from the kingdom, two Italian archaeologists ‘discovered’ the kingdom, calling it Berenice.

Enas Satir:
facebook.com/satirdesigns

Enas Ismail: The Greeks

As George Dimitri was attempting to introduce his Greek culture into Sudan, he combined local Sudanese ingredients with Greek techniques and created Pasgianos. The fizzy drink popularly known and dearly loved by many Sudanese people.

Rayan H. Nasir: 100 years of Beauty

“100 years of Beauty” showcases both the natural beauty and the fashion sense of Sudanese women over the decades and how they were and continue to be affected by environmental, cultural, and political factors – including globalisation. Sudanese women are strong and unique, and this never fails to show in their appearance. Whether they choose to doll up or stay natural, they make looking traditional, and staying contemporary, seem effortless. Based on vintage family albums as well as documented photos from books and the internet, this chapter is inspired by the strength and beauty of our mothers, aunts, grandmothers, and great grandmothers.

Badri Ibrahim: The Greatest Party

On the 1st of January 1956, Sudan declared its independence from Anglo-Egyptian rule, which lasted for 58 years. A special ceremony was held, and the British and Egyptian flags were taken down. Next, Prime Minister Ismail Al-Azhari raised the new Sudanese flag amidst celebration. The story in this chapter is about the events that took place on the morning when the Sudanese flag was raised for the first time, as imagined and told by Abbas to his donkey. It was his first pick for a time-travel destination because it must have been the greatest party to ever take place in Sudan.

Mohamed Yahia & Yousuf Elameen Elkhair: The Beja-Swordmanship

The Beja communities are a group of ancient communities that live in eastern Sudan. Their distinctive heritage of bravery has been famous from ancient times until the modern wars of independence in Africa. In this chapter, the artists portray glimpses of the Beja bravery.

Mohamed Yahia:
facebook.com/alhaggay

Yousuf Elameen:
instagram.com/yakam_dudes

Mohamed Yahia & Yousuf Elameen Elkhair: The Elite Black Corps

This chapter tells the story of “The Elite Black Corps,” a group of Black soldiers from Sudan at the end of the 18th century. These men fought in Mexico for several years. They were well trained, fearless, always outnumbered – and always victorious.

Mohamed Yahia:
facebook.com/alhaggay

Yousuf Elameen:
instagram.com/yakam_dudes

Imprint

Concept: Khalid Albaih
Realisation: Khalid Albaih, Larissa-Diana Fuhrmann Texts, artworks, music: involved artists
Photography: Niels Larson for Hazim AlHassan, Girl on Bike
Editorial: Larissa-Diana Fuhrmann, Khalid Albaih, Holger Konrad, Amani Lazar, Locale: Qutouf Yahia, Rund AlArabi
Translations: Larissa-Diana Fuhrmann, Isis Hakim, Najwa Sabra, Ghazi Eltayeb, Günther Orth
Design Team: Locale: Aala Sharfi Artwork on page 30/238: AlMigdad Aldikhaiiry
Publishing House: Hirnkost KG
Sponsoring: Goethe-Institut Sudan

© 2019 Goethe-Institut

An Art Book about the Future and History of Sudan

Prologue

by Khalid Wad Albaih