Jenda: A Journal of Culture and African Women Studies (2002)
ISSN: 1530-5686
FAMINE, WOMEN CREATIVE ACTS, AND GENDER DYNAMICS IN MANAWASHAI, DARFUR, WESTERN SUDAN
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Jenda: A Journal of Culture and African Women Studies (2002) ISSN: 1530-5686 FAMINE, WOMEN CREATIVE ACTS, AND GENDER DYNAMICS IN MANAWASHAI, DARFUR, WESTERN SUDAN |
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Baqie Badawi Muhammad
In studying “Muslim communities” the gender question has become a recurrent theme among scholars from different backgrounds. Misconceptions about Islam and gender have been and continue to be the most vocalized topic because researchers have often based their studies on “uncritical models” (see Hale, 1996:35). As Lila Abu-Lughod has argued, Islam represents only one aspect of the complexity of a given culture, not all culture is explained by Islam (1992:23). In fact, culture is far too complex to be interpreted, or evaluated by any one of its components. Knowing that what people actually practice in so-called “Muslim communities” is in reality a form of popular religion that comprises elements deeply rooted in culture, then researchers should consider the particularity of a given culture that might shape and govern gender relationships. In this article I discuss gender relationship from within its regional, economic, and social perspectives in a community where all its members are Muslims.
The study focuses on the community of Manawashai, an old town that is located in the southern area of Darfur, western, Sudan. The people of Manawashai are ethnically diverse, and yet they are all Muslims. The hardship time of the1984-85 famine looms large among other factors as a shaper and contributor to a unique relationship between the sexes in the area. Famine engendered more dynamic and cooperative relationships. This study will detail, highlight and analyze these factors that shaped the gender relationship in Darfur in general and Manawashai in particular with special reference to women’s creative role during the famine time. (This article is based on Ph.D. dissertation research that was carried out in Darfur, western Sudan, during two periods of times, in the 1980s and 1990s).
It might be said in general that women in Darfur, western Sudan, are hard workers, and are distinct from the rest of Sudanese women in terms of production skills and manners. These women take on both domestic and productive roles, working inside and outside the home, distinguishing themselves from other Muslim women in Sudan. They have shared most of the jobs designated elsewhere as men’s work. Despite common notions concerning Muslim women and seclusion (Ismail and Makki, 1990:9-10; Cloudsley, 1983:36; Bryceson, 1995:15; Bernal, 1992:7, El Bakri, 1989:175-185), and Badran, 1995:4-5), women in Darfur work as farmers, as butchers, and even as construction workers. They assert themselves vigorously in the social, economic and political arenas.
Through the sociopolitical institution of al-Hakkama, women in Darfur enjoy a powerful position. Through songs, al-Hakkama has the right to criticize or compliment anyone, including the chief (see Connick, 1973:785-800). Women singers in Darfur express themselves freely concerning the current social and political situation. Some of the songs that I collected during my 1994 field work in Darfur expressed explicitly the women’s point of view concerning the current political situation in Sudan and the influence of outside factors, such as the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank, which are reshaping and directing decision-making in the country. Women in general are aware of international political policies because these policies directly affect their lives. The negative impact of imposed political policies is reflected in sudden increases in the prices of commodities such as sugar, grain, and oil. In this manner women have been acquainted with international political jargon. While women singers are not decision-makers at the governmental level through their songs they are fashioning a mode of resistance. They urge people to take responsibility for their own freedom by paying off their debts to international institutions. Such a feminine and assertive critical voice is inherited from powerful female ancestors. It comes from the self-awareness and social emancipation that categorizes women as socially and politically active.
The institution of al- Hakkama stems from a long-standing tradition granting a powerful position to female agency. Throughout history women in Darfur have played significant roles in political and social life. Muslim travelers were astonished by the freedom accorded to the royal women in particular and to women in general within the Darfur sultanate (O’Fahey, 1980:33). It is significant to point out that in early Muslim history women did enjoy their social freedom and practice their rights within the framework of Islam. Women of the family of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) such as Khadijah (pbuh), the wife of Prophet Muhammad and the first convert to Islam, was a business woman in long distance trade. Prophet Muhammad himself worked for her (Badran, 1995:64). According to Islamic doctrine:
Woman was not created in order to remain within the household’s sphere, never to emerge. Woman’s involvement in work outside the home is not restricted to what is directly necessary for household management, childbearing, cooking, kneading bread, and other occupations of the same sort (cited in Badran, 1995:65).
From this we recognize that royal women in Darfur are not altogether exceptional in their social freedom. We must also recognize that the concept of royalty, reflected in elite culture, does not exist in opposition to popular culture. Being from a royal family does not necessitate total isolation from the customs of common folk. The reason for this is that historically there have been many points of contact between the two social categories. Intermarriages, for instance, have been frequent between the royalty and commoners (Nachtigal, 1971:331). In addition, Sudanese social classes in general have their peculiarities and are remarkably different from those in Europe and the West. It should thus be understood that when referring to royal women and common women in the same manner, we are recognizing their utilization of the same culture and tradition.
According to R.S. O’ Fahey Royal women were visible in the Darfur sultanate, “whether as mayarim (pl. mairm), young and marriageable, or as habboba (or in Fur, [the language of the Fur], obo both meaning “grandmother”), older and less shackled” (1980:33). The most powerful royal female titles were iiya kuuri “powerful mother,” borne by the sultan’s first wife; iiya baasi/”royal mother” for the sultan’s favorite sister; and habboba or Queen Mother. Among all these titles, the iiya baasi (the sultan’s sister) was politically more influential. Iiya baasi Zamzam was executed when she protested the killing of her brother, Sultan Abul Qasim by Sultan Tirab in a loud song of lamentation, “whereupon he had her executed too” (1980:33).
Zamzam, Umm al-Nasr, iiya baasi to Sultan Muhammad al-Husayn, in particular, is a unique example that represents royal women mentality and behavior; her personality enabled her to almost rule the whole country. Her behavior was described by outsiders as very much that of a man (O’Fahey, 1980:35). “In 1856 her brother, Sultan Husayn lost his sight, and thereafter Zamzam, Umm al-Nasr took over and moved around the country as an army commanderÂ…”Riding her horse like a man with her skirt hitched up, as the royal women customarily did; issuing charters in her own name; appointing qadis to judge in her name, Zamzam was a fearsome figure” (1980:35). She managed to capture all the lands from the defeated kings and control the region. When her brother, Sultan Husayn died, she was deeply affected by his death to the extent that she abstained from food that eventually led to her death. (see Nachtigal, 1971:316 and O’Fahey, 1980:33-35).
Although women in Darfur share most jobs designated for males, men have duties specified only for them, such as warfare. On the other hand, women are also responsible for specific duties, such as domestic ones. For a member of one sex to choose otherwise and change his or her position is to invite contempt or shame. The iiya baasi, Taja “used the woman’s power of scorn to steel her brother, Ali Dinar, to resist the British: “If you don’t fight, give me your trousers and take my kanfus [a type of woman’s underwear]. You are no man,” (O’Fahey, 1980:33). Ali Dinar favored his sister’s point of view and fought the British.
Such behavior represented by Taja’s method of urging her brother to fight the British is not restricted to Darfur only; women in northern Sudan also employed the same tactics when Sudan was threatened by outsiders. Mihara bit Abood (Mihara, the daughter of Abood, the Shaiqiyya Sheikh) was among those who put on men’s clothing and picked up a sword, forcing her people to confront the Turks (Fluehr-Lobban, Lobban, Jr., and Voll, 1992:140-41).
Another important factor in shaping the character of women in Darfur is religious upbringing. The Islamic religious upbringing, in particular, has had a great impact on women’s behavior and attitudes in western Sudan. Um Juma’ al Tayib from al-Fashir, a ninety-five-year-old woman, related:
In wartime, at the beginning of this century, we faced real hardship. People had very little food for survival. Our father was a religious person. He gathered us and told us, Islam asks individuals during wartime not to flee...if they fled they would die without a Shehada [Muslim statement testifying that there is no God except Allah, and Muhammad is His messenger].’ He explained by telling us, ‘Fleeing is desperation,’ and because the region is known for its immense wild desert those who flee will suffer hunger and thirst. In addition, they risk being attacked by starving animals. In this situation, the person will be hopeless and frightened, and he or she will forget to utter the Shehada. Consequently, the person will not to be prepared to face death calmly and with the chance to join the Creator. The ideal Muslim is described as one who faces death with serenity, tranquility, acceptance, and striving to meet God. Our father concluded his advice by asking us to stay home, eat and drink whatever we had, and prepare ourselves for meeting God with tranquility and delightful faces. If our days end at that time we will be killed with integrity. If not, we will survive with dignity.
Um Juma’ concluded her account by saying, “My family and I survived the hazard of war by following our father’s religious advice. Now I am an aging great-grandmother.”
The notion of facing death with dignity and integrity during hardship is a well-formed concept in Darfurian women’s folksongs. In the early 20th century during wartime, many songs were made by women to encourage men to face death with integrity and courage. One of these songs was sung for a hero named Abdel Rahman Gergandi, and the song goes:
Abdel Rahman ya sudasie
Ya nugartie wa nihasie
In jarate layya gassie
Minal habout namla rasie
Translation:
Oh Abdel Rahman, the “Sudasie”
You are my drum and joy.
If you flee the war and do not face the enemy,
It would be difficult for me.
I will cover my head with ash, a sign of misery and sadness.
These examples, no doubt, paved the road for women in Darfur and shaped their distinctive character. We can conclude that both spirituality and historical factors shaped the character of women in Darfur and prepared them to face challenges with courage and integrity.
In the past, during the rainy season (July to October), women in rural areas in Darfur cultivated their land to secure food. Most families who lived on fertile land (southern Darfur) owned khamsa mukhamasat (five feddans/1 feddan = 1.038 acre) to be cultivated yearly. They grew different kinds of grain and vegetables, such as okra, tomatoes, sorghum, and millet. Women also processed dairy products. In the dry season, women usually worked on traditional crafts such as pottery, leatherwork, and basketweaving. In a region where sources of water are scarce, women were and continue to be responsible for the water supply. In some occasions they had to travel long distances to bring water. Similarly for firewood, women have to cut the trees to collect the wood. This kind of lifestyle was characteristic for rural women in Darfur.
When the drought hit the area in the 1970s, the cultivated land gradually started losing its fertility, which continued each year until the soil became completely barren in most parts of Darfur, except for some places in the south. At the height of the famine (1984-85), the rain failed, and as a result people had a poor harvest. Because of the drought—and most importantly because of other circumstances that led to substantive changes in the production systems in rural areas in the region—”cultivation and agro-pastoralism or pastoralism, which used to produce enough to feed the population,” were no longer available options” (Abdel Ghaffar, 1994:206). Consequently, some people started migrating to big cities and towns, escaping the famine and hoping for a better life. Women sold their jewelry and livestock. I have seen women who migrated to urban areas exchange their jewelry for much-needed cash. In contrast, women who stayed home remained resolute, equipping themselves—creatively—with traditional ideas and technological devices vigorously rooted in culture. We should also recognize that those who escaped the drought were mostly the nomads who used to occupy the northern area of Darfur.
Throughout history, hardship and famine have characterized the Darfur region. During the height of famine (1984-85), in some places in Darfur women played a significant role in easing the situation and comforting their people. They dedicated themselves entirely to maintaining their families’ well being and have continued doing so up to the present. Unlike men who were forced to migrate to neighboring countries and other places in Sudan seeking a better life (International Labour Office, Geneva, 1985:180), most women in Darfur, especially in the southern area, stayed home and confronted the challenges of famine. Their faith in God made them strong enough to face the hardship and cope with the situation.
The government was, for some time, quite secretive concerning the famine, and the policy-makers’ reports confirming that everything was under control only made the situation even worse. After much pressure from inside and outside Sudan, the government agreed to acknowledge the crisis and allow relief agencies from around the world to intervene. The Darfur region received a sizable number of relief agencies, and among those who have remained very active until the present is the Save the Children of Britain. Some organizations such as VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) of the U.S. and other American organizations left the country due to political conflicts following the military coup of 1989. A government female employee in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, stated that there was an elaborate project, conducted by the Ministry of Finance & Planning and VITA during the democratic period in Sudan 1985-89, to provide technical help to women to alleviate the situation. She was in charge of this project as a local official. Women in Juruf told me how they lost the help of the organization after VITA left. I visited an abandoned building in Juruf in which women used to work. It contained a number of sewing machines and some equipment needed to develop traditional crafts. The chief of the women’s union in Juruf told me that they are in desperate need of assistance to continue working in their workshop, but no one from the government responded. Even the female employee, who used to work with VITA as a local official, was no longer available to continue her efforts to help those ambitious, organized women. They sought to find anyone willing to provide them with equipment and raw materials. The British Save the Children organization, however, was working hard to provide people with their basic necessities, which varied from food to medicine to agricultural needs. In 1994, and when I was in Marshing (a village in southern Darfur); doing my fieldwork research, a number of young men asked me if I could provide them with seeds. They took me by surprise, and for a moment I was quite confused. Then I realized that because I was riding the Save the Children organization’s car they thought I was one of the organization’s team. Fortunately, when I told the Director, at the headquarters in Nyala, he assured me that the truck had already departed to distribute the seeds to the people in the rural area. The governmental efforts in helping people are relatively little; people depend mainly on the international relief organizations.
Grain was critical for life, and was scarce; the government sold it at subsidized prices for those who had access to cash (de Wall, 1989:205). Money was difficult to obtain for the majority in Darfur at that time. Deng and Minear argue, “...resources for helping the poor to develop, and thus reducing their vulnerability, were not easy to secure. The International Monetary Fund was fighting food subsidies. One might well ask how this paradoxical trend can be explained, and what option it offers for the future” (1992:79). The situation was complex, as explained by Deng and Minear:
The causes of famine are not limited to poverty and government failure to provide food when there is an acute shortage or to solicit relief from the international community. Both hunger and its roots in poverty can be attributed to a complex combination of political, economic, and environmental factors that have negative effects on productivity, distribution, and sustainability of life (1992:38).
Therefore, the only choice that left for poor people was to take responsibility and turn to their traditional crafts to initiate for opportunities in order to survive.
Food production and preparation have long been women’s responsibilities in this area of Sudan. Food preservation was among the many modes of creativity that Darfurian women have utilized to develop and maintain a means of endurance. In al-Fashir, Nyala, Manawashai, Juruf, and Marshing marketplaces, I found that the most impressive element was the preserved food. It is featured in the daily Darfurian cuisine. This is an indicative that the region was harsh in environment and the land low in productivity. Therefore, throughout history people relied on preservative methods to sustain their provisions.
Preserved foods include items such as dried meat, dried intestines, and dried fish. In addition to dried okra, tomato, red pepper, grain there were also fermented dairy products and drinks, fat, grass and leaves. These food are highly processed, meticulously preserved, and have their own indigenous names (see Dirar, 1995). Dairy products such as berkeb (yogurt) and butter are also included, in addition to many different kinds of fermented drinks, such as assaliya and merissa (Opaque beer). Although the people are Muslim, they drink merissa, since they perceive it as part of their diet; people usually drink it before it transforms to alcohol because alcoholic beverages are unlawful in Islam. People are aware of the fact that merissa in the morning is nonalcoholic but by the afternoon it is transformed to alcohol.
People in Darfur have a long history of resistance to the idea that categorizes merissa as unlawful. Um Juma’ told me a story that “Sultan Husayn (1838-73) was very strict in applying the Shari’a (Islamic law). He categorized merissa as unlawful and declared that the one who drinks it must be punished. With this ‘new law,’ people found themselves in a real dilemma. One man came up with an idea and wrote an anonymous letter to the Sultan explaining the importance of merissa in people’s lives, and how it was something to which they were attached and accustomed. He concluded that “it is ground by the hands of our maids and prepared by our sisters, and even the Meram Umbosa, the Sultan’s mother herself, usually drinks it late at night. Why does the Sultan prohibit it to our bellies?” The letter reached the Sultan, he discussed the whole matter with his closest men, and he came to the conclusion that he should not prohibit the drinking of merissa, because this is something between them and God; this is their faith. If he ruled against their will they might get it secretly. From that time, people continued drinking merissa until in 1983 another ruler (Gaffar Nemiri) implemented the Shari’a and declared all alcoholic beverages to be prohibited by law, merissa included. It was no longer a part of the diet for poor people in Darfur and other areas in Sudan. In any case, in famine times merissa and assaliya were considered luxury drinks because they were made of grain, which was very scarce; dairy products, such as berkeb, also fell into this category.
Fermented foods in general play an important role in easing peoples’ lives during adversity. Hamid Dirar, in his book The Indigenous Fermented Foods of the Sudan: A Study in African Food and Nutrition, 1993, describes in detail the process of food preservation, its scientific factors, nutritional value, uses, functions, and meanings as perceived in Darfurian culture, and he addresses misconceptions about preserved indigenous food.
In addition to food preservation, women also collect and prepare wild food to make it edible. De Wall describes different kinds of wild food that constitute a normal part of the diet for some or all of the population, such as difra (wild grass), koreb (wild rice), abu asabe (wild finger millet), and lalob (fruit of hijlij). The most important of these are the wild grains, which are collected by pastoralists in the far north of Darfur. The second category is foods of distress, which include diresa (thorny grass seed), nabaq (fruit), hijlij (leaves and fruit), hab (watermelon seeds) umbass (groundnut meal residue) and mukheit (berries) (1989:134-35). Mukheit, a shrub tree with berries, was the wild food most used by the people of Darfur during the 1984-85 famine. When we were traveling from al-Fashir to Nyala, mukheit shrubs were scattered all over the desert and alongside the road. The bushes diminished as we headed south. It has been reported that, during 1984-85, mukheit was eaten by 94 percent of those in northern Darfur who had access to it (de Wall, 1989:134). In fact, people who lived far from the area where the mukheit trees where growing had to travel long distances to collect it.
Our car driver told me that the mukheit berries are bitter in taste; in fact, they are toxic. It was noticed that even the animals avoided eating them, but people in Darfur with their knowledge were able to process the mukheit and make it edible. The mukheit fruit is soaked in water for several days. After draining the bitter water, women add fresh water. They repeatedly add fresh water and drain it until the berries becomes tasteless, or in other words the poison is leached. Then the berries are ground and cooked as porridge. De Wall states that the mukheit is nutritious; one hundred grams of mukheit when cooked contain about 70 percent of the energy in the same amount of cooked millet or sorghum. Therefore, during the famine time, mukheit became the staple food and replaced the ‘aish (grains), which had became a luxury (1989:135).
The last category of wild foods (considered food only by desperate people in times of famine) includes roots, leaves, tree bark, fleas, and ground skins (de Wall, 1989:135). Women in Darfur managed to prepare all of these foods and make them edible because millet and sorghum, the main food for the population, were in short supply, and when they were found, their high prices made them not affordable to the majority. “During the famine there were also physical constraints on access to marketed grain. But the constraints were effectively overcome by migration to places where grains were available” (deWaal, 1989:132). The big concern that faced people was finding the means to buy grain. It became a responsibility of the women to come up with ideas to generate cash. The breakthrough for women in Darfur during the famine was to turn to traditional handicrafts; the spirit of tradition brought people together to develop and invent in accordance with circumstances.
Basketry was among many forms of flourishing folk art in Manawashai. Different patterns, shapes, and designs were invented and continue to help the sale of the products.
The most striking feature of Manawashai (an old town in southern Darfur) is the visibility of women artists with their artistic products in Manawashai’s market place. Manawshai’s market, which divides the town into two sections and is located at the heart of the town, celebrates the colorful artifacts created by women in their fight against famine. In fact, many stores and cafés are owned and run by women between the ages of thirty and seventy, from different ethnic groups but they are all Muslims, whose faith has brought them together.
Since the tradition of men migrating outside Manawashai, seeking a better life during periods of drought, was well established long ago in the region (see Hasoun, 1952), households headed by females are characteristic of the Manawashai community as well as other communities in Darfur (Ibrahim and Nolte, 1987:72). Haja Amna, a woman of a thirty-five years and a mother of five, is one of many wives whose husbands left searching for a better life in neighboring countries. As she told me, her husband left for Libya three years ago and no news has come from him. No one knows whether he arrived in Libya or perished in the desert. The road from Darfur to Libya is full of danger; those men truly risked their lives who chose to take the desert road. Unfortunately, it was the only choice, as it continues to be for those who cannot afford to travel by airplane. The situation is becoming even more difficult, especially after the economic and political sanctions launched against Libya in 1993 by the UN, which has put an end to flights to and from Libya. Many incidents have been reported of people killed by armed rubbers (the armed rubbery is a growing phenomenon in Darfur, and few who managed to escape its hazard) lost in the wilderness and dead from hunger and thirst.
According to Fouad Ibrahim and Marianne Nolte,
In most cases, migrants have great difficulty in finding shelter and enough food to still their own hunger. Their stated goals of sending money to their families in the villages and saving up cash to initiate a small trade mission remain unfulfilled. On the other hand in many cases men reported they did not know if their families were dead or alive. In other words, men were able to escape from starvation in rural areas while women and children remained trapped there to die [or to fight for survival] (1987:73).
Haja Amna, with her great religious faith, continues to raise her children. She works inside and outside the house to secure her family’s well being, and she hopes that someday her husband will return home. Haja Amna runs a café buys and sells different products, and also she produces artifacts.
Women in Darfur are not only working hard to bring food to their families, but also striving vigorously to maintain a life of dignity. Haja Nasra, a seventy-year-old woman, had her donkey confiscated by the government to serve the security unit in the town, but she refused to have it used by the government while she was in need to its services. I was a witness when she came to the Sheikh, confronting him with the fact that he confiscated her donkey to serve the government security service. She was fearless, aggressive, and a powerful fighter. She presented herself as a woman who raises orphans, whose donkey was the only means by which she could bring water for her family. That a poor woman like Haja Nasra should provide the government with support seems puzzling, as the reverse ought to be the case. She stated that “if she were a member of the government, her donkey could serve the government, but since she is just a regular poor citizen, the government should provide her with a means of livelihood instead of taking the orphans’ donkey.” Haja Nasra pursued the issue until the Sheikh agreed to bring her donkey back.
This kind of confrontation is an example of the self-confidence and courage of the Darfurian woman. For Haja Nasra, it was a shame to keep silence; her dignity demanded that she raise her voice loudly and fight for her rights.
Haja Nasra loves her donkey very much. When a relief program from German Lower Saxony visited Darfur, Haja Nasra told me that she was dressed in white; even the shoes were white. She displayed herself with her jewelry, and she also embellished her donkey. The Germans took her picture while she was mounting the donkey. It is noteworthy to consider that Haja Nasra called herself poor, though she owned almost two pounds of gold jewelry. Women in this region, as in other places in Sudan, believe that regardless of your stage of poverty, you should have some jewelry to use during good times as ornaments, and most importantly to have them when the situation requires you to exchange them for necessities during hardship times. During famine time, most people turned to their wealth in the form of gold and livestock. The philosophy is that people might live on a very basic level, but must save something for difficult times. This is a traditional way of balancing a budget, and another creative way of fighting the intolerable environment and hardships.
In 1994, and after I arrived in Manawshai, I began to get in touch with people, especially women; we had a mass meeting and productive sessions. One day my assistant Nahid and I stopped at a house. A woman in her thirties welcomed and invited us. Her name was Kaltoum; she was nine months pregnant and almost due. Her two daughters, ten and twelve years old, who had just arrived from school, were inside the Qutiyya (a hut built out of straw with a conical shape). They were fully involved in baskets weaving, helping their mother; they were working hard, and taking full responsibility. We talked for a while with Kaltoum’s family and invited her to join our meeting on the coming day. The following day, I noticed that Kaltoum did not attend the meeting. I went to her house when the sun had nearly set. When I asked her why she didn’t show up, she responded that her daughters and she had gone to the farm to prepare the land for cultivation, because they heard the news that some rain hit the southern area. In fact, when we were on our way from Nyala to Manawashai, we witnessed a flood coming from the southwest. It was a good omen for the people in Juruf that coincided with our arrival. For this, they considered our coming, gadam khair (a pleasant coming). I saw Kaltoum’s condition and realized that she was purposefully continuing her duties to the last moment possible before delivering her new baby. Khaltoum is an example of a devoted mother who continues giving without thinking of reward as she mentioned “except from God.”
‘Asha Fadel al-Mula and her extended family are a unique story of a creative family whose members work hard to fight famine and destitution. The family consists of four generations. ‘Asha is in her late thirties, a married woman with children, and her biggest daughter, Intisar, is twenty years old. ‘Asha owns a café with her husband, selling and buying food and different kinds of handicrafts. With her creative role in basketmaking, ‘Asha is considered a genius in the Manawashai community. She is one of the few leading masters in Manawashai basketry. Her mother, Haja Fatima, is in her sixties, a charming woman full of energy. She told me that because she is short, she would keep looking young and healthy. She continues her humorous commentary by saying, “Being short is a virtue, as God compensates for the person’s shortness with a long, spirited life.” Her mother Haja Sukarah is ninety years old. I met with her at their home in Manawashai, and when I arrived, she was sitting on a mat made of sa’af (leaves of the doum palm tree) and working hard on a basket. She was not wearing eyeglasses, and it occurred to me to ask her how she could see the stitches. Haja Sukarah was the most humorous person I met in Manawashai. She responded to my question saying, “Girl, in the old days I was really good at it, but nowadays I search for the pain then I inject my ishfa (needle).” She described her work through a symbolic expression: the pain, the suffering, and the hardship are the reality that Haja Sukarah and her family were experiencing on a daily basis. Her creative act was a medicine by which she cures and heals all these ailments.
In Sudan, as other places in the world, elderly people are treated with dignity; a location in the family house is usually designated for them. There is a Sudanese saying “al ma ‘indu kabeer yashtari lehu kabeer,” the saying literally means, “if you can’t afford having an old person to live with you, you should buy one.” The hidden meaning is that elderly people are the most needed in the family, because of their wisdom, knowledge, and guidance. Haja Sukarah has a very neat hut, clean and well organized. Inside the hut is a bed with a mattress centered in the space and covered with a sheet with a pillow. Also there is a small jar full of water for drinking and another small jar for washing (usually used for washing for prayer), and a prayer mat made of sa’af. Her family wanted her to stay in bed, and they provided her with all her needs. But Haja Sukarah was too active to stay in bed. She told me, “My daughter, if I stayed in bed, my body will be broken, and consequently I will be dependent. I don’t want to depend on anybody, even my kids. Therefore, I have to work and move my body.” The work for Haja Sukarah is not only a body movement; it is a way of expressing her feelings, as I mentioned earlier, a confirmation of her existence by sharing with others. Haja Sukarah’s family is one among many families in Manawashai whose members were working hard, fighting famine, destitution, and hunger, regardless of the differences in their ages.
During the time of famine (1984-85), those who chose to stay home fought vigorously to avoid starvation. They employed different strategies to survive and to secure their families’ well being. History has shown that human beings are capable of inventing and developing solutions in response to difficult circumstances (Barnett, 1953:75). The only hope for the survival of the people of Manawashai, Darfur, western Sudan, from the time of famine to the present, was to utilize traditional art in order to develop an economic means to save the families from starvation. Women artists in Manawashai took the initiative by weaving into their baskets new patterns and designs to create saleable products that could bring about economic change. Even though the environment was once promising, the land had lost its fertility, and it was being transformed into an enormous desert that could support only limited human existence. As the economic crisis reached its climax in Sudan, women artists in Manawashai, working hard in basketry, came up with an ingenious solution for their difficulties.
The invention of beauty in desperate times is an affirmation of life, an act of self-actualization and empowerment (Pershing, 1993:329). To fight the aftermath of famine, women artists depicted patterns and symbols in their baskets to signify the cruelty of the times of hardship; it was a self-realization in conquering hunger, destitution, and an expression of a hope for a better life. Women artists of Manawashai not only become savers and nurturers, but also symbols of the hope for survival. They positioned themselves strategically within the socio-cultural structure of Manawashai society, thus gaining an authoritative voice – a voice of concern, a voice that could be heard, and a voice that could be relied upon.
As Manawashai’s sheikh put it, “It was our sisters who worked for our survival during famine time; without them we could have perished.” This statement does not belittle the role of men in Manawashai society; rather, it focuses on the individual creative act of women. It also shows that the relation between men and women is not contrastive, but situational and dynamic; it is interdependent and dialectical; power is based on the individual creative act. This way of perceiving power is distinctly African as opposed to traditionally Western. Westerners tend to perceive power as an element of control and domination that carries a political connotation and achieves practical ends. Max Weber states that “power is the probability that one actor in a relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance, regardless of the basis”(1947:152). In many African societies the individual mostly works toward fulfilling the collective will. The same, however, cannot be said of Western world. Currently, academic discourse is centered on the concept of difference and its relation to women (Yacom, 1993:124), whereas, in Manawasai, men and women complement each other; the notion of power is reflected in the individual creative act rather than in tensions between the sexes. Cooperation between genders is not confined to Sudan. In his article “The Ghanaian Rural Community,” George Dei shows the remarkable co-operation within the community. They manage to find solution to common problems, both within the household and community and on the farm (1988:73).
As I indicated earlier, women’s position in Darfur society is uniquely structured. Historical as well as cultural factors located women in a position that is highly unusual. They are independent with much responsibility. The roles that women chose for themselves have displayed their competence. Haja Amna, whose husband left Manawashi for Libya, was arguing that “a woman should take care of other responsibilities in addition to her role as a housewife, such as farming, weaving, selling, buying, and so forth. She should work inside and outside the house to add another income to help her family. With her contributions, she will reduce some of the difficulties for her husband, and by reducing his burden, she will create a healthy atmosphere for their life together.” Haja Amna added,
If I took care of small things, such as pencils, notebooks, and what my children need in school, I will give my husband peace of mind, but if I let my children and I ask him frequently for money for small things, no doubt he will leave us. I always ask my husband to take care of big things, and I take care of small things.
One of those present commented, “If you save money for a man he will marry another woman in addition to you.” Haja Amna responded, “I don’t care, the most important thing is my children. I am making all this effort to prepare them for a better future.” Haja Amna’s statement left me wondering: how many will actually sacrifice their lives to create happiness for others—even for a husband who might go and marry another woman? During my stay in Manawashai, I noticed that although polygamy is permissible but restricted in Islam, it was not a lifestyle of the Manawashai community; even the Sheikh of Manwashai had only one wife at the time we were there. He had children from a previous marriage; we attended his daughter’s marriage the first day we arrived at Manawashai. It might be said that people are no longer practicing polygamy because of hardship and scarcity of money. However, this statement does not negate the existence of other factors.
As a result of the famine, women in Manawashai have taken on more responsibilities. This left us a question: what kinds of work do men usually do to earn a living? As I mentioned earlier, pastoralism is the way of life for rural people in Darfur. Due to the drought, men were left with a very slim chance of continuing that way of life. Instead, and because of their mobility, men found their way out of the region, seeking a better life. Most of those who left were working in very marginal jobs. They were employed in different positions and were mostly supervised by women. ‘Asha, a cafe owner, usually hires men to bring the water for her café, and she also employs a male butcher to slaughter the sheep everyday needed for her meat supply. In addition, there are some young boys who run errands.
This is not all. Some men owned stores, and because of the scarcity of commodities, such as sugar, tea, and oil, their income was relatively small. There was only one male tailor in Manawashai. Since people were fighting for food, wearing new clothes was a luxury at that time. I interviewed the tailor and he stated, “I am satisfied by what Allah (God) would provide me.” The notion of acceptance is holding people together, helping them to face their destiny and fight for survival.
The most striking phenomenon in Darfur was the growing number of men who were working as dealers for women’s products. Fatima, a basket maker at al-Fashir market, told me that they depend enormously on men in marketing their product abroad, in Libya, Chad, and Central Africa. I heard the same statement from women in Manawashai, Nyala, and Marshing. Also there were some men who were selling and buying the raw materials that women used in their traditional art. Moreover, there were many stores run by men who were selling only traditional art, which was displayed in a very fashionable manner.
Thus, in conclusion, we can argue that women artists, in Manawashai in particular, and in Darfur in general, have created jobs for men. It is an alternative economy that carries the community during hardships when the government is far away from helping the people, and even those international organizations that provide help are no longer available due to political boycott. In addition, the relation between sexes is dynamically situated due to social and historical factors. In facing hardship in Manawashai, men and women are working vigorously to fight the unseen; their roles might vary, but they are harmoniously complementing each other.
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Copyright 2002 Africa Resource Center, Inc.
Citation Format
Muhammad, Baqie Badawi (2002). FAMINE, WOMEN CREATIVE ACTS, AND GENDER DYNAMICS IN MANAWASHAI, DARFUR, WESTERN SUDAN. Jenda: A Journal of Culture and African Women Studies: 2, 1.