Tribe and religion in the Sudan

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to depict a process of ‘tribal’ reproduction and to describe the manifestation of this phenomenon in the current political system of Sudan. It focuses on ‘tribal’ structures, rather than other ‘traditional’ structures in Sudanese society. A ‘tribal’ logic pervades political practice in Sudan since the Turkish invasion in 1821, and politics in this country seems unworkable without the ‘tribal’ factor. Colonial rule with its peculiar politics, independence rule with its nation‐building ideology, and now Islamic fundamentalism with a universalist ideology, they all have preserved in one way or another the ‘tribal’ element as an essential component of the political system. A critical discourse of this system has to deconstruct this component. This article examines the shifts in the nature of the ‘tribal’ in the colonial and post‐colonial contexts, and shows how it has become involved in the present regime's strategy of mobilization. It also describes how this factor mediates relations of domination/subordination, both at the national level — north versus south ‐ and the local level. Finally, a case study of the Dar Hamid tribe is used to illustrate the manner in which the ‘tribal’ has dominated the ethnic politics of the present Sudanese regime. In contrast to the primordial approach to ethnicity, the role of elites in reviving and exploiting ‘tribalism’ is emphasized. The thesis of the article is that ‘tribalism’ in many instances hides behind a secular facade, and in others it appears in a religious guise. Scrutinizing its history therefore is necessary for understanding the current situation.