1st Period: Sudinians

Country: Sudan
History:

1991BC-1962BC Amenemhet I (Amenemhat I) founded Egypt's 12th Dynasty of Egypt and ruled for some 30 years.

1700BC Nubia, known as the Kingdom of Kush in the Bible. By this time the Nubians have established sizable cities with a class society of workers, farmers, priests, soldiers bureaucrats and an aristocracy with technological and cultural skills on a level with other advanced civilizations of their day.
750BC-719BC Piye (Piankhy) ruled Kush (Nubia). In 722 he extended his rule to Egypt. Kashta, ruler of Kush, had begun a campaign against Egypt. With the help of his son, Piankhy, he was successful and Piankhy became pharaoh of Egypt. The Nubian King Piye conquered the weakened and disunited Egypt and became the first of several Nubian Pharaohs who ruled a unified Egyptian and Nubian state for the next century.

722BC Piye (Piankhy) marched north from Nubia and began his conquest of Egypt where he founded the 25th Dynasty. He consolidated his rule over Egypt and Kush and became the 1st king of the 25th Dynasty. It has been suggested that he revived pyramid building for royals in Egypt, a tradition that had gone extinct for over eight centuries.

690BC-664BC The Nubian Pharaoh Taharqa, brother of Shebitku, ruled over the upper Nile Nubian-Egyptian state. He is mentioned in the Bible as a pyramid builder. A sculpture of the Kushite king was discovered in the basement of "God's House Tower," an archeological museum, in England in 2000.
663BC The Kingdom of Kush was driven out of Egypt but flourished in the Sudan until the 4th century CE.
(NG, May 1985, p.607)

593BC The Nubians were defeated by a resurgent Egyptian dynasty after which they moved their capital from Napata to Meroe.

270BC The Nubian royals opted for burial at Meroe about this time and pyramids were built there for some 700 years.
23-24 AD Strabo (b.~63-64BC), Greek geographer and historian, died about this time. He had traveled to Egypt and Kush, met members of the Noba tribe, and decided to call their country Nubia. Strabo is mostly famous for his 17-volume work Geographica, which presented a descriptive history of people and places from different regions of the world known to his era.
350 AD In Sudan the last pyramid in the Egyptian tradition was built at Meroe about this time.

1820 up to time of independence: Sudan was under foreign rule including Turkey, Egypt, and Enlgand


Independence

1955: Revolt and start of the civil war.1956: Sudan gains independence.

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1958: A military coup takes place in Sudan. The civilian government is removed.

1962: The civil war breaks out in the southern (mainly Christian/African) parts of Sudan.

October 1964: People of Sudan rebels. The military junta falls after a communist general strike. A national government is formed.

May 1969: New military coup placing Jaafar Numeiri at power.

1971: Leaders of the communist party are executed for attempting a coup against Numeiri.

1972: A peace agreement is signed in Addis Ababa. The southern Sudan achieves partly self-governance.

Ingredients for war: Oil and Sharia

1978: Large findings of oil are made in Bentiu, southern Sudan. The oil becomes an important factor in the strife between North and South.

1983: Numieri introduces the Islamic Sharia law to Sudan leading to a new breakout of the civil war in the Christian south. In the south the forces are led by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) under command by John Garang.

1985: President Numieri is removed from power in a military coup.

1986: A civilian government is made in an effort to restore peace after general elections.

1989: Al-Bashir and his Islamic Front (NIC) takes power in a military coup.

1995: The Sudanese government are accused of being part of an attempt on the life of Egyptian prime minister Mubarak. UN decides on sanctions against Sudan.

US attack on Sudan

1998: USA launches a missile attack on a chemical plant in Khartoum assumed to develop chemical weapons possibly in coorporation with the Al'Qaeeda terror network. Civilians are killed in the attack. The Sudanese government denies any link to terror and chemical weapons.

1998: A new constitution in Sudan.

1999: The president dissolves the national assembly and declares state of emergency.

1999: Sudan start an export of oil assisted by China, Canada, Sweden and other countries.

2001: An internal struggle in thegovernment, leads to the arrest of an ideological leader who were making peace attempts with the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA)

March 2001: Hunger and famine in Sudan affects 3 million people.

May 2001: A Danish pilot flying for the International Red Cross is attacked and killed when delivering aid in southern Sudan. All flights in the area are temporarily stopped.

June 2001: Peace negotiations breaks down in Nairobi, Kenya.

August 2001: The Nile river floods leaving thousands homeless in Sudan.

September 2001: the UN lifts on sanctions against Sudan to support ongoing peace negotiations.

October 2001: Following the New York terror attacks, USA puts new sanctions on Sudan due to accusations of Sudan's involvment with iInternational terrorism.

During 2001: More than 14,550 slaves are freed after pressure from human rights groups.

New hope for peace?

January 2002: A ceasefire between government forces and the SPLM are finally agreed upon.

July 20th 2002: the government and SPLA signs a protocol to end the civil war.

July 27th 2002: President al-Bashir meets for the first time with SPLA leader John Garang. Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has arranged the meeting. The war in Sudan is also having huge impact on the northen Uganda.

July 31st 2002: Government attacks SPLA again.

October 2002: The ceasefire is confirmed again, but remains very uncertain. Pecae negations still continues during the next years.

February 2003: The 2 rebelgroups representing the African population in Darfur starts a rebellion against the government as protest against neglection and suppression.

December 2003: Progress is made in the peace negotiations. The negotiations are mainly focused on sharing the important oil-ressources.

Ethnic killings in Darfur

January 2004: Government army strikes down on uprising in Darfur region in the Western Sudan. More than 100,000 people seeks refuge in Chad.

March 2004: UN officers reports that systematic killings on villagers are taking place in Darfur. UN names Darfur as the worst humanitarian currently, but nothing happens. UN fails to take action as Western countries and media has close to no focus on the problems in Sudan. But even the African leaders refuse to take action on the problem.

May 26th 2004: A historic peace agreement is signed, but the situation in Darfur remains unchanged and extremely critical.

January 9th 2005 : In Nairobi the government and rebels signs the last parts of the peace treaty for Southern Sudan. All fighting in Africa's longest civil war is expected to end in January 2005, but the peace agreement still doesn't cover the Darfur region. More than 1.5 million people lost their homes since the conflict in Darfur broke out early 2003.

March 15th 2005: United Nations Security Council agrees to send 10,000 peace keeping soldiers to Southern Sudan. Again the descision does not cover the Darfur region.

2007: Violence and killings continues in the Darfur region. The conflict is in reality a genocide and is still considered the worst huminitarian disaster in the world. But not much is done about it. China has large oil interests in Africa and Sudan in particular. UN sanctions and security forces are needed, but China blocks for any real descissions in the UN security council. The rest of the world is not applying the necessary political pressure on the governments in Sudan and China.
Geography:

Sudan is the largest country in Africa. Climate=tropical in the south and arid desert in the North. Rainy season is from April to Oct. Terrain=flat featureless plains, mountains in east and west bordered by red sea in NE corner. Natural resources=silver, gold, mica, tungsten, copper, zinc, chromium ore, iron ore, petrolium. Natural hazards=dust storms. Bordering countries=Chad, Central African Republic, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda, and Democratic Republic of Congo. code=25

The Nile runs through Sudan. Land uses=arable land 5%, Permanent crops 0%, Permanent pastures 46%, Forest and woodlands 19%, Other 30%. Lowest point=red sea and 0 meters Highest point=Khartoum at 3187 meters. Code=25


Music:

Contemporary music in Sudan might be a potpourri of diverse traditions, but it has emerged as a unique blend, with a character all of its own. It is rooted in the madeeh (praising the Prophet Mohamed in song). The genre filled out into something quite irreverent in the 1930s and 1940s when Haqiba music, the madeeh's secular successor, caught on. Haqiba, a predominantly vocal art in which the musicians accompanying the lead singer use few instruments, spread like wildfire in the urban centres of Sudan. It was the music of weddings, family gatherings and wild impromptu parties. Haqiba drew inspiration from indigenous Sudanese and other African musical traditions in which backing singers clapped along rhythmically and the audience joined in both song and dance. The lead singer's incantations induced a trance-like experience in which spectators swayed along to the rhythm of the beat. (Courtesy)

The Haqiba style is actually an harmonic a cappella and vocal style with percussion coming from the tambourine-like riq and other instruments such as piano and qanun ( a stringed instrument). Later tonal instruments from the East and the West were introduced. Violin, accordion, tabla and banjo were used.

The Haqiba music type, marked the real beginning of modern Sudanese urban music. Singers such as Mohamed-Ahmed Saroar and Abdal Karim Abdalla Karoama, the singer and lyricist Khalil Farah, and the songwriter al-Abbadi were leading figures in its emergence. Two sisters from Kosti town were the first to play the tum-tum rhythm in the mid-1930s. The musician Ismail Abdalmuin and the singer Abd al-Mawla Zinqar further developed the tum-tum and incorporated it into the mainstream music.

The traditional music of Sudan is also based on the Dervish Sufi music. The Dervish groups are mystical sect that use music and dance to reach to a distorted state of consciousness. They mainly play drums and dance ritually wearing costumes, burning incense along with meditation, ecstasy and trance.

Sudan has rich and mosaic culture reflected by its folk music. Each region knows its original music. Yet the base remained the same. Not only the rhythm and the melodies do not differ much, but the instruments and the lyrics are in the same line. The tambour (link 29) (a lyre), and the drums are used in most of the regions. When the oud was imported from Arab Countries it replaced the tambour.

With the establishment of Omdurman Radio by the British Colonial Rule to propagate for their war against the Axis Power in North and East Africa, Sudanese pop music was institutionalized in the sense that it gets rudiments, ground rules and standards. Ibrahim Al-Kashif (link no.40 ) and Aisha Al-Fellatiya were from the first who performed on-air. The latter is known by a song in which she anticipated the victorious return of the Sudanese youth enrolled with the Allies against Mussolini soldiers who are deceived by Hitler. "Ya jau a'ideen" (to listen click link 30) – or they will be back- was not the only song with political tint. Early prolific pioneers such as Khalil Farah have played patriotic music reproving colonial domination, such as "A'zza fi Hawak " I love you A'zza. A'zza refers to Sudan.(link No.18).Al-Kashif is thought to have been the first to organise a band using modern instruments. He is also credited with introducing a style of song in which the refrain is different from the vocal, something that marks a major departure from the simple haqiba form.
Found from: http://www.angelfire.com/ma2/yoss/sudanmusic.html
Information provided by: 27
Religion

Islam made its deepest and longest lasting impact in Sudan through the activity of the Islamic religious brotherhoods or orders. These orders emerged in the Middle East in the twelfth century in connection with the development of Sufism, a mystical current reacting to the strongly legalistic orientation of orthodox Islam. The orders first came to Sudan in the sixteenth century and became significant in the eighteenth. Sufism seeks for its adherents a closer personal relationship with God through special spiritual disciplines. The exercises (dhikr) include reciting prayers and passages of the Quran and repeating the names, or attributes, of God while performing physical movements according to the formula established by the founder of the particular order. Singing and dancing may be introduced. The outcome of an exercise, which lasts much longer than the usual daily prayer, is often a state of ecstatic abandon.
Found From: http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/islam/countries/bl_SudanIslamMovements.htm
Information provided by: 27



FOOD
The Sudanese fry their coffee beans in a special pot over charcoal and then grind it with cloves and certain spices. They steep it in hot water and serve it lovingly in tiny coffee cups after straining it through a special tresh grass sieve.

Favorite meats are lamb and chicken. Rice is the staple starch. Breads are the Arabian Khubz, but the Sudanese also make Kisra, an omelette- like pancake which is part of the Sudanese dinner. Vegetables, fresh and cooked, are of infinite variety. The okra, which incidentally came to the United States from Africa, is an important ingredient in a Bamia- Bamia, an okra lamb stew. You must try Maschi, a triple tomato dish stuffed with beef, as it is such fun to make
As in most Arabic countries, fruits are peeled and cut in small slices for dessert, but the Sudanese also love sweets and every housewife knows how to make Creme Caramela

· SHORBA - Puree of Lamb Khartoum
· MASCHI- Tomatoes Stuffed with Chopped Beef
· SALATA MA JIBNA- Salad with Oriental Cheese
· SALATET ZABADY BIL AJUR- Cucumber/Yogurt Salad
· SHORBET ADS- Lentil Soup
· FOOL MEDEMMAS- Fava Beans
· TAMAYYA (FALAFIL)- Green hamburgers
· MULLAAH BAMYAH- Okra/ Ladies Fingers Stew
· MOLOKHIYA- Green Leaf Vegetable
· KOFTAH- Ground Meat Balls
· SHATA- Hot Spice
· FISH PYRAMID WITH GREEN SAUCE
· CREME CARAMELA- Sudanese Custard
· CINNAMON TEA
http://www.sudan.net/society/recipe.html
Information provided by: 24

ARTS AND CRAFTS

Many crafts are available in Sudan's souks (markets). Strings of heavy beads often include antique trading beads made from coloured glass. The traditional wraps in bright, printed cotton, worn by women, are mostly imported. Many traders make their goods in the marketplace: old tin cans are cut and soldered into cooking pans and lamps; tailors make up the loose white gowns worn by men; and leather is punched and stitched into bags and saddles for donkeys and camels.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/kidsweb/world/sudan/sudpeop.htm
Information provided by: 24
Language is Arabic but there are many different forms spoken there. For example Juba Arabic is used in southern Sudan. English is widely accepted regarded as equally important as arabic.
Information provided by: 24

Sudan Artists:

Mohamed Omer Bushara is a political artist. He has also written some poetry nd art critism. He was exiled from his country and he is now living in Sadia Arabia. He impacted his country through his political artworks.
Information provided by: 27

Political and religious leaders:
Abd Allah was a political and religious leader who succed Muhamed as head of the religious movement and state within the Sudan.
Information provided by: 27
Poets
Abd AL-Karin Abd al-Aziz Muhammed al-Kabli is a poet and researcher in follore and culture. In doing this he helps to preserve important pieces of literary and musical heritage of Sudanese culture.
Information provided by: 27
Philosphers
Hassan al-Turabi was one Sudan's philisophical dictator. He believed that Sudan should become a pure society. In his quest to make Sudan should pure society he elected Umar al-Bashir as the new president of Sudan.
Information provided by: 27

Important People:
Politician=Pagan Amum. Secretary general for sudan's peoples liberation movement. This organization is trying to end conflic between north and south sudan. Recently jailed for attending a banned rally


Politician=Pagan Amum. Secretary general for sudan's peoples liberation movement. This organization is trying to end conflic between north and south sudan. Recently jailed for attending a banned rally.

Military leader=General Martin Luther Agwai. Leader of the united nations-Africa union. they are on a peace keeping mission in Darfur which is where a lot of genocide is happening.

Social activists=Abbas Gumma and people who attended the protest of the national assembly in Khartoum. Over 100 people including Abbas Gumma came to this banned protest. abbas Gumma was arrested for attending.
Information provided by: 25

Current Issues:

1. The on going civil war between north and south. It is the longest civil war conflict in the world.  It has been going on since 1955. The The main factors are religion and the conditions in the South. north (2/3 of sudan) is muslim and arabic speaking and the south is more indigenous with christian influences. The South is also very poor and not well looked after by the government.
2. Economic crisis. Caused by meltdown of global financial system civil war and political struggles for power. Information provided by: 25
3. According to the Sudan Tribune one cause for sudan's economic crisis was the meltdown of the global financial system. Once countries like U.S. and England went down hill so did Sudan's

Solution Letter:
Dear Mr. Ambassador,


We are students from WCS and we have been learning about your country of Sudan through a project that we have been working on. Throughout this project we have learned so many interesting things about your country. One of the things that we have taken a particular interest in is your economy, and some of the issues that you are having with it. We believe that becoming more independent of other countries and importing less. One of the high quality local items which we believe would help your situation is the textile industry. Because textiles are approximately twenty percent of what you are importing, it can be lessened because it is considered both a want and a need and could be made locally. If this were to happen, it would increase employment and lessen Sudan’s dependence on other countries. Thank you for considering our suggestions.

Sincerely,

25,26,27 & 28

(mail to Shari'a Ali Abdul Latif, P.O. Box 699, Khartoum)