Culture of Sudan

By: Chris Machar

Introduction

For one year the author lived in the Kyriandongo refugee camp in Central Uganda and then relocated to Boma in the southern part of Sudan for a further year and a half. He spent time living with and learning the culture of the Murley, Acholi and Suri tribes. The observations presented are the opinion of the author and are to be taken as a guide only.

The country Sudan has over 200 different languages and cultures; to use the word Sudanese is as broad as saying European. The comments in this document will be generalizations and when appropriate I will use examples from the specific tribes I am familiar with.

I will not be making value judgments or solutions to the refugee problems in Australia but simply attempting to highlight the different world views that are present.

• Sudanese Cultural Values
• Conflict resolution
• The wide gap between Australian and African Cultures
• Time verses event orientation
• Individual verses group orientation
• Cultural stress
• Miss-interpretation of cultural signals
• Conclusion

 

Sudanese Cultural Values

In Sudanese society all of the major events of life, birth, adulthood, marriage, getting old and death are all marked by traditional practices and ceremonies. For each person in a tribal group there is a defined role to play within that society, each of these crisis points are marked as part of a group rather than the individual alone.

When a child is born there are traditions that must be observed, it is generally accepted in the group that if the traditions are not kept then misfortune will befall the individual, family or community. For the Acholi there is a time of isolation 3 days for a boy and 4 days for a girl where the mother and close friends will come to see the new baby inside the house, but the child will not be brought outside the house. The belief is that if a woman passing sees and envies in her heart it can curse the child. Also it is believed that the child will be a target for malicious witches. It is considered that the child is extremely vulnerable to magic and spirits at this early age.

With most tribes there will be a delay before the child is named, once the name is given he becomes a personality.

This naming process is very important to all tribes and can express the circumstances of birth, describe an historical event or the character of the child, the name can also be given in honour of a patriarch of the clan. The child can be given any number of names and may add or change names at pivotal points in its life. It is common also that the child is named after a midwife and that midwife is then responsible to help with the child's education.

For the Murley there are a number of names, one which will remain secret and only his family will know, others his parents will call him and another by his age set. The Dinka and Nuer tribes give a name that denotes the color marking of the bull they were given at their birth. This cow will be like another sibling for them and they will care for it their whole lives.

At this stage up till about the age of eight the child will live in the hut with the parents, both mother and father will have a close relationship with the child. His sisters or close relative may be given responsibility for the young infant while the mother continues to perform family duties. At this young age the child is not disciplined, this doesn't come till he can walk and is learning to talk.

From the age he or she can walk and is mobile the child will spend the majority of his day with his age mates, other children of the same generation, this is one of the most important bonds he will have and this group will be his greatest influence in decisions for the future. Traditionally this group would be relatives and from the same clan within the tribe. At age eight the relationship between the father and the child will change there will be a distancing between them. This is a sign of respect between them, the father is showing his respect by acknowledging his son's maturity and the son is showing his respect for his father's seniority and authority. This distancing can be seen in the different age strata of the village life. An old man will eat with other men of his age set the separation between the generations is a sign of respect.

The father is the holder of all wealth of the family, if anyone has a need they will go to the father. When the father dies the wealth and responsibility will pass to his oldest son. The son is now responsible for his father's wives and for all his fathers' children. The father and uncles are also responsible for the dowry payments for his son's and in this way will keep the sons under his authority.

At the age of twelve the children will move from the parent's house to their own house, often they will build this house with the guidance of a grandfather. The house will be on the family compound but the boy is responsible for it. They will not live alone but with a brother or cosine of the same gender. There are no lessons in how to build a house, it is expected that the child has helped others and observed and will learn as he builds. The gaining of knowledge is very much up to the child's own initiative. He will learn to hunt in the same way through imitation and play with other children.

Girls at this age will be helping the mother with fetching water, washing clothes, cooking and caring for children. They are given very little freedom, and are expected to stay around the family compound.

Young boys are helping in the garden or are given responsibility for watering and feeding livestock.

If a child dies when he is young it is mourned but they say he was not yet contributing, but if a teenager dies it is mourned to a much greater degree because he/she was contributing to the household.

      

The boys will continue to develop their skills together with their age mates until they reach marriage age at about 18 to 21. The women are eligible for marriage as soon as they have developed breasts. Many people do not know their age but estimate by an event or who is older and who is younger. Because of this physical maturity and age set are the main markers of age.

In their late teens and early twenties the men will be the protectors of the village and the protectors of the cattle. The age set will party together; they will have their own internal leadership and will be the first ones to go out to fight enemies. They are encouraged to be brave and make a name for themselves to attract the attention of the most desirable women. The women in turn will be watching for who is the bravest and the best fighters. In many of the cultures there is a regulated sport such as stick fighting or wrestling at which the men can prove their skill.

Men who make trouble for the village at this age or are disobedient to their parents will find it more difficult to get a wife as the families of the girls will refuse someone of bad character who causes internal fighting and disrespect

At this transition from single to marriage each tribe has a different approach. It is common to marry in order of age, also common is the inheritance of the wives of dead brothers. It is also common to have more than one wife the more wives the greater the status because it is a demonstration of wealth and will bring many children.

With the Acholi there is a good way and a bad way to marry, the good way is to pay a system of dowry for a girl you liked and she had agreed to marriage. The Elders and relatives were the ones who worked out the details. When the dowry was paid it was divided among the relatives

This is important to note, because if the woman separated from the man he could demand his dowry back. So the whole of the girl's family had a vested interest in the marriage succeeding. If she was not happy she would return to the family household and the husband would come and the matter would be negotiated.

The bad way is for the girl to get pregnant, she will then be sent to the partners household and the dowry payment made. The wife is viewed as a child and it is the husband's responsibility to train her and discipline her, but when decisions are made they will sit together and talk about it. When she first comes to a household the husband will tell her what is expected of her so there is no ambiguity.

There is a stringent definition of what the man's responsibility is and what the woman's responsibility is. For example the Acholi men are responsible for building a hut but the women finish the floor and the walls. In Turkana culture the women make the huts and the men care for the cattle

Marriage and children are the most important stage of life, it is considered as very bad if a man dies without a wife and children. In the Murley tradition if a man dies without marrying, a hole is dug in the back of his hut and he is dragged through by the feet to show his shame.

 

When an individual has silver in their hair they move from an active provider role to an advisory role. Usually they will be provided food and housing by their children or relatives. The men meet with those in responsibility to advice and recall history and to give the final nod to any decision. The old women will become midwives and trainers for the younger wives; they will also be caring for relatives children and working in the gardens.

Conflict resolution

The whole area of how to resolve conflict is a complex issue and in Sudan there are two main approaches.

One is that if you have a problem with someone you come right to the point and state your problem after conveying greetings. The Dinka and Nuer will resolve problems in this direct manner. Often if the matter can't be resolved between individuals it or the issue is a serious one the case can be taken to a sub chief or even the chief of the village.

The local government in Uganda is set up this way with about five levels of local government each with recognized responsibilities and each one can refer the matter up the chain of authority. The decisions of these men is binding on all parties, the issue will often be discussed till both sides are happy with the final decision

       

The leader of a household will resolve conflict between wives and other women. The older men will often give advice and history as to what has been done in the past.

There are often two types of chief, one who decides all the conflicts and makes judgments, he is usually chosen by his village by general consent. The other is chosen by descent and is the holder of secret knowledge and traditions.

The other approach is by the east equatorians who will not resolve a conflict directly but will use a mediator.

Among the Latuho people, if a man is doing the wrong thing the women will make a song about a person doing such a thing and sing it when he walks past. This kind of indirect resolution makes it difficult to know when you have a problem with someone because they won't tell you.

Generally there is usually a group involved in resolving conflict but the chief has the final say. The discussion of the group will lead to the resolution and the decision of the chief usually reflects the group decision.

This also occurs at formal meetings, the chairman will meet with the individuals independently before a meeting and usually the decisions are made before they formerly meet together.

The wide gap between Australian and African Cultures

A useful way to look at how different the culture is when coming from Africa to Australia is to use a cross scale with time verses event orientation on one scale and individual verses group orientation on the other scale.

Time verses event orientation

In most of the global north countries including Australia we are time orientated, when we say we will be at a place at a certain time we are expected at that time and it causes stress when we don't arrive on time. Germany would be at one extreme and if you arrive more than 5 minutes late for a business appointment stress levels will start to rise. Australia would be 10 minutes before stress levels start rising. In much of rural Africa the important thing is that you arrive and two hours is not unheard of. This is reflected in how time is organized in the respective countries. If I wanted to visit with my MP I would ring first and make an appointment. In much of Africa you will go to their office and wait for when it is convenient for them to see you. This is still the case in Nairobi, Kenya and Kampala, Uganda.

Individual verses group orientation

We see this orientation in the family grouping, most Australians will live in a household comprising parents and children and maybe a grandparent. In most rural places in Africa it is common to find four generations living in the one compound. Family will often live in the same area. When decisions are made it is important that each person of mature age has the opportunity to have a say. Parents will often still control the actions of adult children.

In Australia an adult is not under the control of his parents though he can consider their wishes he is under no compulsion to comply with their wishes.

Cultural stress

One of the things that make us comfortable in our own culture is the predictability of interactions. When someone comes to my house and I don't know them I probably won't let them in, but if they are a friend they may just enter without knocking. This is part of our culture first that when we go to a house we should knock to let the owner know we are there. If I visit someone I don't know I will not just walk in, we can predict what the response of the owner will be because we share the same culture. When we change culture this element of predictability is lost. This inability to predict people's responses causes high stress levels. There are two ways to reduce this stress either we seek out people of our own culture who we can predict or we learn the new culture and as we are able to predict responses in the new culture our stress levels will drop.

      

Misinterpretation of Cultural signals

This is perhaps one of the greatest contributors to misunderstanding across cultures, and occurs when the visible signals of one culture are interpreted through a different culture. This brings confusion of the message that is being conveyed, a similar thing happens in Africa between people from the large cities and those from the rural village. In the city it is acceptable for women to wear jeans and it is seen as being modern but in the village it not acceptable and is seen as the clothing of prostitutes. So when a man from the village visits the city he sees the women wearing jeans and thinks they are all morally loose women. When the city woman visits the village she sees the women as backward because they wear only dresses.

 

When Africans come to Australia they will make judgments about what is acceptable by what they observe interpreted through their own culture. When we as Australians see the dress and actions of Africans we will interpret through our own culture so that neither will have a true understanding of the intended message.

For example in Africa people who drink alcohol will do so early in the morning and then go to work in their fields. In Australia it is acceptable to drink after work but not before.

Conclusion

The comments I have made are from my experience in a rural setting in Uganda and Sudan. Many changes occur when people move to the cities of Africa, they learn how to function in a cash economy and budget their money. But even those who have lived in an African city find a lot of difference in the attitudes they find in Australia.

The Africans that come to Australia are from very diverse cultures and experiences, some from the mud hut and village life that is present in the refugee camps others from cities in Nairobi, Uganda and Egypt. There is no blanket solution to the problems they will experience as they try to learn to function in Australian society.

The laws in Australia and the world view on discipline and roles are worlds apart; from a place where everyone knew what was expected of them to an attitude of you can do whatever you like. From a situation of civil control by close family and community leaders based on relationship, to a law that seems impersonal.

When we throw into this complex mix of changing culture the past experiences of war and the effects that has it is easier to understand the great shift refugees are making. Many of the men have served in the military and were removed at a young age and had not seen their family for many years. Many learned in this separation what it is to be free from the control of family and found it hard to return to their home area.

Attention:

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