Ingessana. The Religious Institutions of a People of the Sudan-Ethiopia Borderland

Abstract

Ingessana presents the results of field research carried out in the Ingessana Hills area of Sudan, between the White and the Blue Niles, among a people who maintain a proud tradition of cultural independence. The book examines the religious institutions of the Ingessana people, attempting to understand how their history and development has been affected by interaction with powerful neighbours, such as the Islamic Sudanese, Nilotics and Ethiopian groups. The Ingessana have always sought to define this engagement in their own terms and in such a way as to preserve their distinctive identity. The analysis shows how the Ingessana have created a unique religious tradition as part of a wider culture of resistance.