Sesame enjoys rattling concern in Nuba Mountains… in earnestness and fun… essential for Nuba wrestlers
19 April, 2013
Kadogli, (Sudanow Info.) –Sesame constitutes one of the most important crops which receive rattling concern from many Sudanese agricultural tribes, namely the indigenous Nuba Mountains tribes, South Kordufan State of Western Sudan
All tribes in the Nuba Mountains areas participate in the cultivation of the sesame crop during the rainy season through what is known in Sudan as Nafeer (collective work) and harvest it in the same manner.
They also share the use of the crop in many a form, in earnestness and fun as well as in their joy and sadness, namely during their wrestling traditional festivities for which they are very famous all over the country and beyond. Sesame seeds and oil alike have countless used in the traditions of the Nuba Mountains people life patterns.
Abdalla Ibrahim Khamis, Head of the Statistics Department in South Kordufan State, speaking to sudanow.info.sd, said that sesame constitutes an essential component in many popular meals such as Um Tagalti, which is a kind of a traditional porridge mixed with crushed sesame seeds that is served with cooked pumpkin, in addition to Afous (crushed sesame seeds mixed with leaves of such trees as Baobab, which is scientifically known as Adansonia, and other local trees). Sesame grind is also mixed with dry traditionally baked bread known as Kisra and used as provisions by travelers.
During the process of extracting the oil from the sesame seeds, and before separating the oil, the relics are mixed with honey to make a very famous meal known as Um Jagoga.
After the completion of the oil extraction, the leftovers are used as animal fodder, namely diary animals. Sesame is also used in the treatment of many diseases, including measles, joint diseases, headache and rheumatism, he said, noting that girls also use sesame as a cosmetic cream for hair and body and sometimes in smoke bath which is similar to the steam bath or Sauna, an aphrodisiac of a sort.
The wrestlers meanwhile use sesame oil as body moisture and muscle performance enhancer. According to Khamis, the sesame crop is cultivated at wide areas in South Kordufan that are amounted to around 686000 square feddans annually, noting that the cultivated areas at the traditional sector are estimated at 246000 feddans and the mechanized sector 241000 feddans.
He added that the annual production is estimated at around 110,000 feddans according to 2012statistics, pointing out that the most important areas of sesame production in the state are Abu Jibaiha, Al-Surajia, Abu Nuwara, Al-Abbassiya, Al-Dalanj and Habila.
He said that during the harvest season, many rattling festivals take place, including, among others, wrestling and equestrian traditions. Wrestling has social, cultural, artistic and economic significances and meanings for the Nuba tribes where the wrestling season constitutes a festivity for trade and making profits and gains.
It is also a feast for the young people, during which they get to know each another and make friendships and even select their future spouses. In fact, wrestling is a feast for all the Nuba Mountains tribes and represents an opportunity for communication and marital interrelation. Additionally, wrestling constitutes a physical sport with its own physical, muscular and moral performance skills and above all else it represents a special occasion for the Nuba Mountains area.
Chairman of Farmers’ Union in South Kordufan State Qiraiq Kambal explained to sudanow.info.sd that wrestling for the Nuba tribes is a heritage, a symbol of heroism and chivalry and a sort of equestrian, and therefore the wrestler is trained in a certain way.
He said that the wrestling season is characterized by rituals, tales and festivals that pervade all the villages where the heroic wrestlers enter into closed camps for a period of up to two months.
This period is governed by strict regulations that everybody is keen to strictly abide by them and urges others not to breach, where the wrestlers are served special type of food consisting of crushed sesame and mixed with sugar or pure honey that they take on an empty stomach.
For breakfast the wrestlers have Asida (millet porridge) mixed with milk and grilled chicken for lunch. For dinner, they also have millet flour Asida with milk or yogurt besides dates. The wrestlers are prevented from eating citrus fruits, okra and fat besides smoking.
Instead, they abide themselves to having pancake, milk and honey. The people of the village or the rural community collaborate together to provide nutritional food for their wrestlers who represent their village in the wrestling competition where some provide dates, others chicken or milk, millet flour or sesame oil.
During the closed camp period, the wrestlers use great amount of sesame oil, namely in the evening, where they apply the sesame oil on their bodies as a body moisturizer. This period starts a month before the crops ripe, while during the second month, the wrestlers feed from the new harvest. They are totally not allowed to leave the camp and go to the village. All their needs are provided by the villagers.
However, the young people of the village or the rural community make visits to their wrestlers at their camp to raise their moral and check on their needs and safety as well as to check on the growth of their bodies and muscles so that they become in full shape and readiness for the wrestling festival to achieve the aspired title.
Chairman of the Sudanese Wrestling Union Maj. Gen. Mahjoub Omar Kajo, for his part, said sesame constitutes an essential component in the diet of the wrestler and a common factor among the Nuba tribes as it represents a hundred percent natural food that is free of chemicals, pointing out that sesame, as a food, strengthens the muscles, moisturizes the body until it becomes of glistering grey colour and smooth which helps the wrestler to escape from the grip of his opponent and then defeats him.
Speaking to Sudanow, Kajo added that in addition to sesame, the wrestler eats millet, corn, beans, ghee, honey, all types of meat and poultry and whatever may help strengthen the body, reiterating that these types of food are natural and free of chemicals, the reason why people who take such food are naturally healthy.
He went on to say that sesame used to top the concerns of the wrestling champions as they used to believe that it helps them in the wrestling festivals, but after wrestling moved to Khartoum, sesame’s importance for the wrestlers somehow declined where they replace it with meat, dates and other different dishes of stronger nutritional effect on the bodies of the champions.
He said that the wrestling carnivals, celebrations and festivals usually begin in October and extend until mid-November, pointing out that after the wrestlers enter the wrestling arenas and catch the lights, the girls compete in performing praising songs for the heroes, while the wrestlers in turn decorate themselves with colorful and captivating shaped beads.
He further noted that the patterned and gemstone-decorated gifts are presented as expression of love, appreciation and gratitude to the winning wrestlers in the competition, adding that the contending wrestlers put on crowns of colored ostrich feathers and bashfully move around the wrestling arena to show their muscles in signals that destabilize their opponents in the other team where the naked chests of the wrestler bears tattoos and shapes that symbolize masculinity and strength, while the radiant faces of the fans reflect pride of the tribe.
Since the early morning thousands of fans gather and sit in a big circle around the wrestling arena to watch the wrestling competition which the Nuba Mountains is the only area in the world known for it.
In fact, the Nuba wrestling has become a symbol sport in the area where some wrestlers show in full wrestling suits and others with their chests exposed. When the wrestlers appear, the fans welcome them with warm cheers and rattling applauds where most of the excited crowds rush towards the wrestling arena to be closer to their star wrestlers who strut around the center of the ring.
The wrestlers are characterized with their lovely wrestling moves and styles that the fans adore and the winner receives applauds and gifts from the fans, men and women, while the loser is usually carried high by the crowds in appreciation of his efforts inside the ring to raise his moral.
Chairman of the National Wrestling Union- Omdurman branch, Ustaz Bashir Abu Anja, told Sudanow that the wrestling rituals and ceremonies differ from one tribe to another in terms of the wrestlers’ appearance and food provided for them to prepare for the competition.
Abu Anja, who belongs to Kargo tribe, said he was a wrestling champion since 1983 up to 1991, noting that he was one of the prominent wrestlers in South Kordufan State, namely at Laqawa area of Abu Zabad locality, west of Al-Dalanj town.
He said even after he moved to Khartoum, his tribe did not abandon him and kept on asking him to participate in their wrestling festivals, pointing out that he responded to his tribe’s demands and represented them in many competitions.
He said he won many titles and defeated 8 champions to bring pride for his tribe, noting that his sense with victory was very deep and great as it was emanating from the joy of the tribe.
Meanwhile, Abu Anja explained that the winner usually keeps his title until he loses it; pointing out that if the title holder is defeated in a next season, the coach, who usually chooses the wrestlers, hands the title over to the new winner.
However, he said sometimes some wrestlers present themselves to the coach to get the blessing for participation. Regarding the move of the Nuba wrestling to Khartoum, Abu Anja said that the move came as a result of the migrations of Nuba tribes due to the drought and desertification which hit the region besides the social unrests which were going on there at that time.
He stated that these tribes have migrated in large numbers and settled in Khartoum state where afterwards they decided to revive their traditions and heritage, pointing out that the first wrestling festivals were organized at Hamad-Alneel, Zagaluna and Al-Hila Al-Jadida areas in Omdurman where great numbers of these tribes live.
He went on to say that the wrestling festivals extended to cover Al-Haj Yousif area in Khartoum North and Jabel Awliya and Mayo areas in Khartoum.
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