From the mountains to the plains

by Leif O. Manger

This study of the Lafofa Nuba in the Sudan is the first comprehensive analysis of a matrilineal Nuba group. It thus fills a gap in the ethnography of the Nuba Mountains region. At the same time, it is an important contribution to the wider theme of integration of the Nuba into the wider Sudanese society. Through detailed analysis of local processes of interaction between Nuba and Arabic groups it gives new light to concepts such as Islamization and Arabization. The local processes affecting the economic and cultural survival of the Lafofa are presented in the context of the wider political history of the Nuba Mountains, and the position of the Nuba in the Sudanese society. It thus also addresses the fundamental question of how to compose a national identity in the Sudan in which not only Arabs and Muslims feel at home, but also non-Arabs and non-Muslims.