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Khartoum (Sudanow)-The Social customs that were practiced by the Sudanese who live along the Nile or near itover the past century, rolled up some change due to variables of time and vicissitudes age and variability. some are still practiced even today in some parts of the riverain Sudan ,as brand Professor Abdullah Tayeb said, who collected and wrote many of these habits in Articles in the magazine (Sudan notes and records), a magazine concerned with documenting the life and history of Sudan.

Professor Abdullah Tayeb show in these articles, which he wrote it in 1955 -1956-1964-1998 years, the customs of the people of Sudan in the Nile valley from Woman's pregnancyup to marriage .

The Professor Abdullah Tayeb Institute for the Arabic language, University of Khartoum, recently published this set of articles after being translated by Mohamed Osman Makki.

D. Siddiq Omar Siddiq Director of the Institute, the importance of this articles and its place in the studying of Sudan Folklore motivated us to translate it in to Arabic.

He goes on saying it is One of the venerable knowledge which accounted for, as a multitude of research, was (Sudanese Folktale) which he wrote in Arabic, then he translated it into English with his own pen, not mentioning his other encyclopedic works, such as what he wrote in a research connected to the Sudanese colloquial Arabic Language to the Academy of Arabic Language in Cairo, and the scattering works of interest, in the numerous articles in magazine and lectures.

Abdullah Tayeb said himself ," Even as I now write this paper ,most of us are aware of the rapid change that are daily transforming Sudanese life from that of a medieval community deeply rooted in tradition, to that of an Afro-Arab nation newly born under the impact of western civilization-Many styles and modes of life-as I knew it in my boyhood-have completely disappeared, Many are in the process of fading away, And some, very few indeed, can still be described in the distant villages and among the more conventional homes. It is in the interest of students of sociology, anthropology and history to make a record of all these, before the final break-up of the old patterns takes place and new fashions and ways of living and behavior prevail.

And we will publish them on (SUDANOW) pages in this thread, and we'll start onset also began by Abdullah Tayyib himself, a customs relating to pregnancy and pre-and post-natal and related nifaas. then evolve with it in human life at the stage of early childhood, games, boyhood, education, work and marriage.

On the last issue we spoke about the customs, From Birth to Puberty Birth and Early Infancy, here we will starts with:

the child

the child was laid naked on rags. neither mother nor any of her relatives or friends would have prepared

any clothing before its arrival. nor would it be supplied with nay for a long time before it actually began to walk and run about. it would seem to have been believed that the nakedness of the child would help to protect from the evil eye having placed the child on the child on the rags . the women would then make the sign of the cross with antimony on its forehead and cheeks Christians were believed to be immune forehead and cheeks. Christians were believed to be immune from the evil and the sign of the cross would give child through born a measure of immunity in the region of the sign of the cross is still made on the forehead and the balms of the new -born child with water and unmistakable relic. of Christianity.

a string would then be tied round the child waist. this it was believed would help it good figure in the future,

for otherwise its belly would bulge. and that would seriously affect the normal development of its posterior bards. the string round the waist might or not have beads on it. the eyes of the child would be blackened

with antimony and some or the grease and sandalwood bower would be smeared on its skin be rubbed with oil. and thus its jartig would be complete.

the sacrifice.

the husband would provide a sheep or goat be killed immediately .even while the jarig was in progress

as an act of thanksgiving this still observed and is called the huhhalah some of the townee fathers. whoever.

make use of this occasion when then is of meat for carousing especially when it happens to be on a Friday or a holiday a good portion of the meat huhhaha usually a quarter- would be given to the midwife together

with dates, grain and scented grease, as a fee nowadays, however midwives insist on hard cash and cigarettes in addition to their traditional rights.

bones from the huhhahah would be tied to the top corners of (kujrah) and later a bundle of them would be hung from the ceiling. thus would serve as a visible testimony that the huhhahah sacrifice had been made and would further serve to drive away the evil spirit and protect the new- born child.

it is very probable that custom survives from an old pagan practice when the gods could forget about, or fail to notice, the sacrifices that were offered, and had to be reminded and challenged with evidence.

ritual visiting

a flow of visitors would follow after jartig had been completed. visitors would greet the nafasa and the

father with: praise be to cod for the safety (of the mother and child) and may cod bless it.

on a pproaching the mother to look at the child , every woman is expected to say: blessed be the will of cod..

the average Muslim, according to traditional belief. possesses the evil eye- that is to say, the power to inflict harm through glancing admiringly at object- in a mild form. there are a number of formulas to guard a guard against this such as( salat- at nabi) and ajaba am the first and last together being most commonly used by women

unbelievers, such as Christians, also possess the evil eye, but in more potent form. when admiring anything belonging to a Muslim, they have to say, ma sha ahhah or salat alnabi. and this will act as a counter-measure. lt they fail to say fail to say to say fail to say this, they are reminded of it by all present

There are however, some people whose power to do Harm by the evil eye is great the( ma sha ahah) and sala at nah) alone would not be sufficient protection them every village has one or two of these objectionable people Nigerians , cross-eyed, one –eyed, one or repulsive- looking-men and the ones most suspected of this malicious power an evil-eyed, female is called (sahharah) or wizard.

When a witch enters the house to greet the nafasa and look at the baby, a tense atmosphere .she would say in a loud voice

This is the coohness of my

May a poker be driven into the

Eye of the jealous one

These utterances would prove to the nafasa and her relations hat the visitor had on malicious intent. But the this.

In order to make assurance double sure. They would repeat with the witch.

May a poker be driven into the

Eye of the jealous one

Some of the women would even command the witch to repeat the required formula saying : guli aslat-nabi (say the blessing of the prophet).

The more apprehensive of the women would murmur.

Say, god is one

0,nagar

0, prophet noah

0, reager of the tabcet

The prophet khidr has visited us

This morning

The mother of the (nafasa) or one of her nearest elder relations would make a point of her witch in a discourteous manner. For example, she might greet her from a sitting position and stretch a feeble this would vexatiess embrace. This would vex the witch. And the feeling of vexation would blunt the sharp edge of her evil glances.

When a wizard entered the house, he would say: amsha ahhah loudly and sententiously .murmurs of:

God is bigger,

O, nagar,

The eye of envy

Let it be poked with a poker

Would be heard from some of the women. The

Mother of the( nafasa) might greet him rudely by shaking his hand instead of kissing it- which is the polite way for a woman greet to a man att this would cause him to lose his temper and shout angrily

At the women and rebuke them for their lack of manners. Such self- righteous indignation

Would dissipate the power of evil inherent in his eyes.

On the departure of a witch or wizard, incense of sweet Gum and alum would be burned in a (mubkhar) (thurible) exorcise his or her spirit. Dust from the footmarks made by the wizard or the witch would be burned with the incense.

Incantations would be uttered, and malicious gossip about the objectionable person was sure to follow.

Lf the child, some time later ( say a week or two weeks) became ill the evil eye was suspected of being the cause. The child would be covered with a sheet of cloth and a ( mubkhar)

With an incense of sweet gum and alum would be burned under the sheet. The sheet the fumes of the incense, inhaled by the child, would exorcise the evil eye the sign of the cross would be made on the forehead and the palms. The witch or the witch or the wizard, it was believed, had entered into the child and could only thus be chased out of it the alum and the gum, when finally burnt, to look like the person suspected of having inflicted harm on the child. While The alum was burning :

O, evil, causer of harm,

O, unbelieving one,

O, Nazarene

I drive you with a driving force

The driving force of Fatima, daughter of the (Prophet,

Not that of a rustic woman ,

May the muddy water

And the potent pepper

Be in the eye of whoever

Has glanced with malicious endeavor,

Be it male or female

The (prophet censed his she-camel with incense

And the evil cord magic was broken

And be overtook his companions

The eye of the guest

Is as keen as a scimitar,

The eye of joviality

Is charged with mortality;

The eye of envy

Let it be poked with a poker,

The eye of the slave

Let it be poked with a poker,

The eye of the slave

Is an imminent danger,

Is a sword that parent Is a sword that cuts;

The eye of the old

Let a stick be pushed therein;

The eye of the bride

(Penetrates inside;

The eye of the maid

Let it rust with dust;

The eye of the male

Put therein a sharp blade;

The eye of the girl

Goes to hell

It has flown and gone away;

And fallen

And burst open ,

By the firmament

And the constellations therein …etc

This incantation was the most commonly used throughout the Sudan, with local variations .

It might well be asked why the so-called witches and wizard visited "nifas" house where they were most definitely not welcomed. In the first place, it was assumed, the burning desire to hurt would make them go and see the new-born. Secondly, as they were not openly regarded as "evil", the were formally-if not sincerely –expected to observe the custom of congratulating a mother on the occasion of giving birth, and of asking to see the baby. The mother, her husband and their relative would

hip critically blame a person suspected of the evil eye, if he or she did not pay a visit on the first day, in spite of the face that they would have been relived if the visit had not paid.

The Food of the "Nafasa"

Shortly after the "jartig", the mother would be served with a special dish made from dry dates crushed and boiled into a thick broth and then mixed with clarified butter. It is a tasty meal and children would usually be given some of it. Even grown-ups would sometimes have a handful of it. This meal, no disappearing in Omdurman, is still made in the village.

The Amulet

The "Fekki" would be asked to write a small "hujab" for the baby. This was called the "hafizah" or protector. The "hafizah" is written on "Abu shubbak" paper and folded into a rectangular shaped and then bound in leather with strings to hang it from the baby's neck on to its chest and abdomen. When this custom was not observed, there would be continual nagging from relatives and visitors. The "fekki's" wife and women-folk would be the most critical.

Sometimes, however, the parents would delay the "hafiza" until the child was due for weaning. This would be considered as cheating by the "Fekki". And would point out that it was necessary to provide the child with two written amulets, a Hafiza" and a "hujab". The father would then say :

The father : Can't you make the hujab bigger and do

Without the Hafiza, o Our master?

The Fekki : are you a hypocrite? Are you an unbeliever?

Do you have doubs about the verses of

Allah?

The father : No, our master. The verses of Allah can bring

A man back from the dead.

The Fekki : Your faith, you folks, is on the wane

The father : Surely, my master, you saintly people can

Make the difficult become easy. Make it a big on and Ishall decrease your "bayad".

The Fekki : A curse upon you, hypocrites.

And he would write a big amulet which would be folder inside a leather cover with cylindrical shape and grumble that the child had been cheated of his "hafizah". The Rite of Naming or "Simayah".

This is an Islamic rite, still observed, and it occurs on the seventh day after birth . In Kasala, however, it is delayed until the fourteenth day.

]During This interval the relatives used to be consulted about the child's future name there would be some controversy over this between the families of the parents. The father preferred to call the first-born, if a boy , by his own father's name. The other preferred her own father's name. The father's point of view would prevail the end. But it the mother's relatives were numerous, and her personality a strong then the name chosen by the father would later be ousted by that of her own choice, or by a relative of the same sex. As a former the child had died recently, then the child would be won the name of the deceased. If a boy was born after his parents had lost a child, then he would be called "Awaa" (Consolation). If a girl was born after a boy had been died, then she was called "Atiyyah" (Gift) .

^{If the father had died recently, then the name of the father would be given to the child.}

^{The name would be made public in the formal ceremony of the "Simhe-goat ayah" a fat ram or a sturdy he-goat would be killed on the occasion of naming a boy, a he-goat, a cow, or any old sheep ion the case of a girl. A good meal of "Kisrah" and meat would be prepared and the wole village would be invited. The dervishes would be called to spend a portion of the night in religious singing and dancing and to pray for the child.}

^{Most of the effendiyya are now content to kill the animal and to invite a small member of friends and acquaintances to an elaborate meal.}

^{The names which were commonly given to males centered round the tradional Mohammed and its derivatives such as Hamid, Mahmud and Ahmed; the names ofGod prefixed by "Abd" (slave), such as "abd Allah, "Umar, Uthman and Ali'; the names of the Prophet's sons and grandsons Hassan and Husayn, Tahir, Tayyib, Gasim, etc.; and the names of the famous heroes and saints such as Khalid, Abuzayd and Al-badawi.}

^{Then Names given to girls centered round the prophert's family, such as Khadija, fatmah, Amaina, Ruquuah, Ayshah, etc., and some other familiar names such as Hawa (Eve), Batul (Virign) and Maryam (Mary).}

^{For twins the names of Hassan and Husayn (for boys) and Umm al-hassan and Umm al-Husayn (for girl) were riogidly adhered to in the greater part of the riverain Sudan. Hassan and Husayn, the grandsons of the Prophet, were believed to be twins. Among the Rubatab of Mugrat and Artul, however, symmetrical names such as nasir and Mansur, Al safi and Safyyah, were often used instead of the traditional names Hassan and Husayn.}

^{The End of Confinement}

^{The period of confinement used to be (and still is ) forty days. The first two weeks prove sufficient for hraling of the incision caused at bith. But good from prescribed that the mother should not go ut of confinement until the longer period was over. If a neighbor was bereaved, a mother would not perform the ritual of consolation until she was out of confinement.}

^{The fortheth day was called the day of "Nufaya" or casting out of dirt. The "nafasa" and a number of her female relatives and friends would prpare some food. Then they would carry this and all the clothes of confinement and go to the river. There, the colthes would be washed and the mother and her child would bathe. Songs praising the Nile and its unseen inhabitants would be sung. Most mf them began in this way:}

^{O, running water}

^{O, daughters of the Hur.}

^{The food would be consumed and bits of it would be thrown into the river with invocations and chanting.}

^{The customs of visiting the Nile on the last day of confinement, called "al-Arba'in" is still practiced even among the most urbanized communities, Evidently the change of an outing to the Nile, yonder the pretext of ritual formality, cannot be allowed to slip by the townie women who are kept in strict purdah. The custom seems to have come down from an ancient Nubian rite. For we know that the Nubians of the ancient Sudan, like the Egyptians of old, worshipped the Nile and made offerings to it. it is possible, however, that this custom may have originated in an old form of Nubian baptism.}

^{The visit of the Nile usually occurred shortly before sunset. Perhaps the coolness of this part of the day was the reason for its choice. But it seems likely that a religious relationship between the Nile and setting sun could have been the cause.}

^{After this ritual, the mother ceased to be called a "nafas" , and was expected to resume the normal activities of domestic life.}

^{suckling and weaning}

^{A child was suckled for two lunar years before it was belief that it would delay the next pregnancy. The "Fekki" would visit the child and bless it by reading verses of the Qur'an over its head and spitting on it . Also he blessed the food by which it was going to be weaned usually honey or dates-in the same way.}

^{Nowadays, the spitting has become a symbolic gesture in the villages and has completely disappeared in the capital and the larger towns such as Atbara and Medani.}

^{With out being dedicated to saints. These disappeared when the boy became adolescent.}

^{The custom of dedicating the hair appears to have come down from an ancient pre-Islamic origin.}

^{There is evidence in old Arabian Poetry to the effect being still in possession of their original har"agigah". Asimilar term of abuse is to be found in the Sudanese epithet:}

^{"The plait being a visible symbol of infancy. Dhut-Nuwas, king of Sheba, is said to have had two plaits dangling form his head, as a boy). The Jews also seem to have known the custom of dedicating the hair-as in the story of Samson.}

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