Oral Traditions and Folk Tales in the Mahas
A particular concern
of the Mahas Survey project is to learn more
of the history of the region, particularly through the last few centuries.
While there a very few historical documents which relate to
the region, oral traditions and folk histories provide a valuable alternative
source.
While there exist
several published collections of ‘folktales’ from
Nubia
and other parts of the
Sudan
(for a few examples
), relatively little work has been undertaken on collecting oral traditions
for historical purposes.
In the
Mahas region, the project is actively recording such traditions
and we are learning much about the region and the varied histories of its
many localities, especially during the 19th century.
There are clearly still rich bodies of traditions in existence
concerning events of the Mahdiyya, the famine
of ‘Year 6’ the troubled times of the Turkiyya
(which saw a
revolt in the
Mahas
led by ‘
Melek
Bakhit
’, in 1833
), the kings of Kokka, and individuals such
as the
‘bandit’ Ali
Barsi
.
-- We will begin posting some of these stories on these pages in the
near future --
Folktale collections:
Ahmed, Jamal Mohamed 1985.
Stories of Serra East.
Khartoum
UP.
Al-
Shahi, A. & Moore, F. 1978.
Wisdom from the
Nile.
Oxford
.
For oral
traditions in Kordofan see
Ewald
, J. 1985. ‘Experience and Speculation: History and Founding Stories
in the Kingdom of Taqali
, 1780-1935’. International
Journal of African Historical
Studies 18: 265-87.
For oral
traditions in
Darfur
see:
McGregor, A. 2001.
Darfur
(
Sudan
) in the Age of Stone Architecture c.AD1000-1750. (BARS1006)
. Oxford
Archaeopress.