Prof. Manu Ampim
1/21/08
 There
is much confusion about race and ethnicity in the
Sudan
, and thus I was very
surprised in my recent August 2007 visit to this country to find that the vast
majority of the Sudanese people are thoroughly Africoid in appearance, including people in the northern “Arab”
areas. My Sudan visit was to conduct a
research survey in the 4th Cataract area because in this region the
Merowe Dam will flood a 100-mile long zone in 2008 and thereby destroy
thousands of archaeological sites and displace 70,000 people in this northern
area of Sudan.* It is obvious that the phenotype (physical appearance) of the
vast majority of northern Sudanese is fundamentally African or Black, yet they
are often described by the Western media (and by those who repeat this information)
as “Arabs.” The ethnic and racial
identity in the
Sudan
is obscured by media-driven stereotypes of Sudanese “Arabs” in the north and
west against “black Africans” in the southern and western regions. The fact is that very few Sudanese would be
considered “Arab” in the
United States
or
Britain
,
and this was one of the most surprising findings of my research tour. I have traveled throughout neighboring
Egypt
for the past 18 years, and because of the
media hype I incorrectly assumed that much of the
Sudan
’s
population would be very similar to
Egypt
’s Arab population, particularly
in the northern region. For two weeks
while I was in the capital area of
Khartoum
(the
country’s most populated region) and the
Northern
State
and
Nile
State
I saw tens of thousands of people, but I did not see very many “Arab” people
that we hear so much about in the Western press. What I saw and recorded was
completely contrary to my expectations. The Sudanese population is overwhelmingly African, and it is plain to
see that even those northern groups that have an Afro-Arab mixture in their
family are predominantly African. The strict racialized models of the “Arab”
versus “African” dichotomy are false, yet these models are widely used in
popular interpretations, even by progressive writers.
The basic question is if the
Sudanese are overwhelmingly Africoid by any American or British standards, then how is it that many of the northern people
and the top government officials are often labeled as Arab? This brief essay will
address this question and also provide visual images to support my comments,
because the standard in primary research is that “documentation beats
conversation.”
ANCIENT
SUDAN
 The
Sudan
is the ancient land of the Kushite and Nubian civilizations, and the black
African builders of these civilizations are unmistakable. When the original Arabs arrived to the area in
the 7th century CE, they called it bilad al-Sudan – Arabic for “land of the Blacks.” The ancient Sudanese (Kushites and Nubians) had
Africoid facial features and their skin color ranged from jet-black to various shades
of dark-and-medium brown, and these racial characteristics are still the
reality of the Sudanese people today. The later Arab intermixture with these
indigenous black Sudanese has not substantially altered their appearance, and
thus the Afro-Arab groups in the northern and western
Sudan
are predominantly African and the vast majority would be considered as such in the
U.S.
and
Britain
, without any question.
However, the confusion comes in
because since
Sudan
’s
independence from British control in 1956 the northern so-called “Arabs” have
been the country’s ruling elite. These
“Arabized” northern groups are largely Muslim and they speak Arabic, which is
the national language of the
Sudan
. The British colonial policies favored a
narrow elite group from within “Arab” communities, and after independence Arabization was turned into an official
policy that sought to propagate the Arabic language and Arab identity
throughout the country. However, this Arabization did not simply development Arabness, but it also sharpened the
non-Arab and self-conscious African identity. Only in the past few years has an African identity emerged in the
western region such as
Darfur
, and thus this
Africanism has recently superseded the Arabic language, Islam, and the influence
of Arab culture as a determining factor in identity. This new African awareness has emerged as
resistance to the zealous effort to promote Arabization in the
Darfur
region.
AFRICAN IDENTITY
 The one issue that struck me this past August in my visit to
the Merowe area in the
Northern
State
is that despite the
influence of Arab culture the vast majority of the people are thoroughly Africoid in physical appearance. With the
U.S.
and British media hype about the “Arabs” in the north versus the “Africans” in
the southern and western
Sudan
,
I had expected to see in this northern region a large number of light-skinned
Arabs that are similar in appearance to those in neighboring
Egypt
. However,
only a tiny percentage of people fit this description or would even be
classified as “Arab” in Western countries. In discussing racial identity, many people often confuse phenotype (physical appearance) with cultural traits such as language or
religion. When a northern Sudanese refers
to someone as “Arab” they are speaking of their cultural orientation and not their phenotype. Thus, one is an
“Arab” if they have adopted some aspect of Arab culture (such as speaking the
Arabic language) or have claimed a (real or false) Arab ancestry, even while
their physical appearance remains thoroughly African. However, the
Western press uses the term “Arab” in reference to racial identity and thus causes confusion, as it never makes a
distinction between the Sudanese and Western definition of “Arab.” Likewise, in
the
U.S.
media we often hear similar confusing discussions about the “Jews” as if they
are an ethnic group, when the fact is that a “Jew” can be from any racial
group. A “Jew” is simply a practitioner
of the Judaism religion, regardless of their race.
I recall a very important
experience that I had in
Mannheim
,
Germany
in
October 2004. I was conducting a
week-long series of presentations in
London
, so
I decided to travel over to
Germany
for about a day and a half to see my Sudanese colleague, Sarwat. It just so happened that the day before I
arrived the Sudanese community in the
Mannheim
area received news that a Dinka brother had died under suspicious circumstances
at a local hospital facility. It was
shocking news for the Sudanese in Germany, and thus they all came together to
collect 2,500 Euros ($3700) to send his body back to Sudan for a proper
burial. We all gathered at the main
apartment to eat, fellowship, and raise money for the shipping fees. I met brothers from all over the
Sudan
, representing different ethnic groups,
religions, and ideas but they all agreed to support their fellow brother from
south
Sudan
.
Sarwat and I spent quite a lot of
time at the apartment and I estimate that there were about 40 or so men who
either stayed overnight or came through to make their financial
contribution. I witnessed the apartment owner making and
receiving phone calls throughout
Germany
regarding the
contributions. What was interesting
about the conversations is that no one, regardless of their ethnic affiliation,
or whether they were from the north, or some other area, had any concern about
sending money for a “Dinka,” who was from the south. They simply supported the
cause because he was Sudanese, period. Also, what made the experience memorable is that we had meals together
and several detailed conversations about ancient Sudanese civilizations, and
modern politics and conflict in the country. We all learned quite a bit from these discussions. The one thing that every Sudanese brother in
the room agreed to is that the Western media greatly distorts the ethnic
politics in the Sudan, and that most of the news stories are false but with each
of them the media injects a grain of truth to it, and then distorts the rest of
the story beyond recognition, including the “Arab” versus “African” wars. This was one of the most important insights
that I gained from the experience.
I also noted that all the
brothers were completely African in
physical appearance, other than two guys who would without question be considered
Arab in the
U.S.
However, I noticed that these two guys felt right at home in the apartment, as they
were there (like everyone else) to support the cause of sending the deceased
Dinka brother back home.
“ARAB” IDENTITY
 The precise meaning of the
term Arab is “nomad” or “Bedouin,”
and in a strict sense the term refers to nomadic people. Unfortunately, this term Arab is now used for nomadic people in the country even if their
physical appearance is clearly African.
Thus, many people in
America
and
Britain
call everyone in
the
Sudan
who is a Muslim, speaks Arabic, or who is nomadic an “Arab.” This is why the war in the Darfur region is
misunderstood by people in the West as a conflict between
Sudan
’s “Arab government” in
Khartoum
aiding the “Arab Janjaweed” against
the “black Africans.” However, the fact
is that most of the Sudanese top-ranking government officials are totally
African in appearance, and the Janjaweed are an Afro-Arab mixture that are
Muslim and live a nomadic Arab lifestyle. Thus, the Janjaweed are “Arab” in the sense that they are a nomadic group, and not so much by their
racial characteristics, which remain largely African. This practice of applying the sweeping term
“Arab” to describe the racial identity of all members of the Janjaweed and other Sudanese groups has little basis in
fact. When northern Sudanese use the
term “Arab” they are referring to the person’s orientation towards recognizing
their (real or imaginary) Arab ancestry, preferring to speak Arabic as their mother
language, and being interested mainly in Islamic history, customs, and laws,
and they are not referring to the person’s racial identity. There is a basic difference between cultural traits and racial identity, but these factors are often co-mingled and
confused by Western writers and reporters. The fact is that all parties
involved in the
Darfur
conflict -- whether
they are labeled “Arab” or “African” -- are equally Black, local, Muslim, and
they speak Arabic along with many local dialects. There is no discernible difference between most
of these fighting groups in
Darfur
in terms of
racial appearance or religion.
As noted above, when northern Sudanese
call someone in their country an “Arab” they mean their cultural behavior and ideas, but in the
U.S.
and other Western countries
the term “Arab” is used for racial identification. Thus, when the indigenous Sudanese and the average Western citizen use the
term “Arab” they have two completely distinct meanings. If one does not understand this fact then they
will be totally confused when they are faced with the reality that both the
“Arab” and “African” in
Sudan
look identical. Therefore, it is highly
misleading for Western writers and political commentators to continue referring
to an “Arab” and “African” conflict in the
Sudan
without clarifying these
terms. It should also be noted that most
Sudanese do not call themselves “African” or “Arab,” but they mainly identify
by region (such as “southerner” or “Darfuri”) or by one of the country’s many
ethnic groups.
To view the remainder of this document click here to purchase (includes bonus document)
*PART I of this report is on my
research findings at the archaeological sites and villages that will
soon be flooded.
See The Case of the Merowe Dam / Back to Essays Page
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