Over Nuba Mountains
By Yazeed Kamaldien
Freelance Writer -- South Africa
Almost eight tribes of the Niemang had gathered at the Nitil Mountain in Dilling town to celebrate the harvest festival, known as Sibir, of the Nuba people living in western Sudan.
This festival, held annually round about November, dates back to a time before the idea of a monotheistic God spread through the Nuba Mountains.
With God presently firmly adopted and feared, the modern-day Nuba includes Muslims and Christians dancing side-by-side during the Sibir.
A shortly-after-sunrise bus ride from the Sudanese capital Khartoum headed to Dilling town, I made sure I had a seat. I was prepared to have my mind mixed-up like a freshly blended orange/mango/guava juice from a makeshift sidewalk stall in Khartoum. I fed my imagination with the celebrations that make people of other cultures share one dance. And I really wanted to join them! It took almost all of the daylight by road, including one interchange in a town called Al Obeid, to arrive in this wide open world.Communal Festival
As a communal acknowledgement, samples of harvested crops from various tribes are the main display at the Sibir.
People dress up in colorful costumes made of cheap materials including sweet wrappers and cold-drink bottle tops. Women wear elaborate hats, some made of trash – a sign of poverty – while African touches include beads.
At the Sibir, the Nuba tribes used to kick up a substantial amount of dust with their traditional 'kiran' dancing. A circle of shaking bodies and beating drums sets the tone for the kiran. Men dance opposite women in this circle. Dust clouds rise as serious foot stomping inside the circle continues. Wrestling is another tradition at the Sibir. It is another way of showing off the tribe's prowess where the crowd gathers around an arena to watch wrestlers from various Nuba villages test their opponents. However the wrestlers of today are very different to the images of Nuba wrestlers documented in south Sudan some decades ago.
It was only until about three years ago that the Sibir was sometimes limited to just a day. It could at times have been cancelled as a result of a bad harvest.
Mostly activity in the Nuba mountains was affected by the twenty-one year north-south civil war in Sudan that ended about three years ago with the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement.Security-wise
The scene of village life might seem relaxed at first glance. But security is Big Brother-like in this part of Sudan.
When I arrived in Dilling I was not taken to the house of my humble host. I had to announce my arrival with the local police station. I was asked a few questions and told to meet the police station commander the following morning. I managed to disguise my shock with a smile when I met the commander. He greeted me by saying my full name, telling my passport number and where I live in Khartoum. This information was of course passed on to him by the minions who questioned me the previous day. I had to assure the commander that I was just another dumb tourist type wanting to learn more about Sudan and its diversity. I pulled that off while strange medical-related thoughts about how a lack of privacy could lead to constipation came to mind.
Armed and uniformed soldiers from the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLA/M) patrolled most of the area where the Sibir was taking place.
At the Sibir, United Nations blue berets were also present, making home videos and looking downright pretentious while trying on the decorative hats of the different tribes. The United Nations has been based in the Nuba mountains for years, as in the south, supposedly trying to rebuild communities tormented by war.
Building a Country
Embattled Sudan is about gaining access to development and, ultimately, translating that into resources for the poor and the marginalized. It is about building a country that opposing forces have been unable to realize. This process, however, has been clouded by bloodshed in the remote villages where poverty breeds disease. Dilling town has a bit of a commercial hub as it is one of the bigger Nuba villages; it even has a cinema. It's en route to other parts of Sudan and passing through traffic presents business. But Dilling doesn't have running water in homes and sanitation is non-existent. Resentment towards Khartoum is directly related to this shoving aside of responsibility. Under the observant Sudanese sky, there are more tormenting matters than creepy-crawly goggas to deal with. And zillions of twinkling stars play silent witness…
Yazeed Kamaldien is a freelance journalist and photographer from South Africa. His work spans across print, broadcast, and online media outlets. He has worked in Egypt, Jordan and
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