This is Pretty Intense

As I’ve written many times in this blog, the Sudanese people are generally very friendly and hospitable. However, I was recently introduced to a fairly brutal side of the culture. On our way to and from school every day we drive past a prison. It’s quite a site as there are tanks positioned by the walls and pickup trucks with machine guns mounted in the bed. And there are always a number of armed guards patrolling the area as well. Last Thursday, as we drove past the prison on our way home, there were a lot more guards than normal and some of them were dressed in full riot gear. We weren’t quite sure what was going on and I didn’t think too much about it at the time. Come to find out, six men were hung that afternoon and a crowd gathered to witness the event. These men allegedly killed six policemen in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Khartoum about 2 year ago. Apparently the police came to forcibly move some of the refugees and a riot broke out. In the confusion, six policemen were killed and several people were apprehended under suspicion of murder. Controversy surrounded the trial of these men as many outsiders claimed they admitted to the murders after being tortured. The UN, Amnesty International and several other organizations strongly condemned the executions based on the confessions being made while being tortured. I can only imagine that if I was being tortured I would be likely to admit to just about anything to make it stop. Anyways, the government went ahead with the executions last Thursday and many people came out to watch. It wasn’t exactly a public execution as the hangings occurred inside the prison walls. However, you can see the top of the gallows from the street and apparently you could see the men as they walked to the top of the gallows and were then pushed off, but you couldn’t see the bodies as they hung. We got all of this information today from one of our Sudanese co-workers and it was really quite shocking. I am a strong opponent of the death penalty in general and it is especially troubling when these allegations of torture are involved. While I love the Sudanese people in general, there are some real issues with the government that some of you are probably aware of. I will try to write more about my impressions of the political situation in Sudan but this gives you a glimpse of some of the problems. Anyways, it was especially troubling to know that many people came out to watch these men take their final steps and it certainly clouded my perhaps idealistic vision of the Sudanese. Sorry to write such a disturbing post but no worries, I’m still safe and thoroughly enjoying my experience!

Sudanese Wedding

I apologize again for such long intervals in between entries. It sounds like there are a few folks out there who enjoy reading this blog and I will try to do better about writing more regularly. Anyways, I believe I promised a description of the Sudanese wedding I attended in Dongola and I think you will find it quite an interesting story. First of all, kind of like in the States, wedding celebrations last for two or three days here in Sudan. The first night is what they call a Henna party. If you’re not familiar with henna, it is a kind of ink that people use to make temporary tattoos. It is customary in Sudan for the bride and groom to get their hands and feet decorated with henna before the wedding. On the last night of Eid there was a Henna party at the house next door to Amar’s family. There was a huge tapestry draped against a wall and a couch where the henna tattooing took place. At the same time there was some very loud, traditional Sudanese music playing on a pretty impressive sound system and folks were dancing and having a good time. Like usual, people were fascinated by the white guy in their midst and they really went wild when I started dancing along to the music. This was also the first time I heard the unique and hair-raising way in which Sudanese women express their joy. Obviously weddings are happy occasions and the women express their delight by letting loose a series of high-pitched screams. There’s no way I can do it justice in written words but it’s something like, “Aye-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi!!!” The next time I see any of you in person just ask me about this and I will do my best to impersonate these yelps. Needless to say, this scared the hell out of me the first time I heard it and Amar and everyone else got a good laugh when they saw me almost jump out of my skin. Anyways, after the bride and groom had their hands and feet decorated the floor was open for anyone else who wanted it. It was interesting that while the women had some pretty elaborate decorations, the men would just color their palms and the soles of their feet without the designs. A couple of people encouraged me to get some henna but I respectfully declined. So that was the henna party.

The next night, my last night in Mashu, we went to an actual wedding celebration in a neighboring village that was really quite the experience. The party was held outside at a kind of community center. They had set up these massive tapestries in a giant square with a big opening on one side. When we got there, the square was already packed and a band was playing. The band was one guy on a keyboard, one guy on a beat machine, and a singer. Apparently the guy is like the local wedding singer and he was really getting into it. Allow me to digress and say a quick word about Sudanese music. While it is kind of catchy at first and definitely upbeat and lively, all of the songs seem to sound exactly the same and after a couple hours it gets pretty repetitive. I’m sure the Sudanese can hear the difference in the songs but to me it sounded like the same song for about 3 hours. Anyways, for such a small village this was quite the gathering. I’m not very good at estimating crowds but I would say there were at least 500 people there and probably more. One of the neat things about Sudanese weddings is that you don’t need an invitation to go. Everyone is welcome, which is really cool. Many aspects of Sudanese village life are sex-segregated and weddings are no different. The women sat on one side and the men sat on the other. It was also interesting that for the most part, the men danced with other men and vice versa. And if men and women danced together there wouldn’t be any physical contact. That is one aspect of the culture that is very different from America.

Things got really interesting when the bride and groom showed up. In Islam, the wedding ceremony is very simple and is generally performed away from the crowd gathered for the occasion. The couple would generally exchange vows in front of their immediate family and then make their way to the party. And this particular couple entered in style. First, a group of 4 or 5 girls walked in shooting fireworks into the air. The bride and groom then drove up in a car with the immediate family walking behind the car. One guy had a shotgun and he proceeded to shoot a couple rounds in the air. Another guy, apparently not wanting to let Mr. Shotgun celebrate by himself, pulled out a handgun and joined in the festivities. I have to admit I was a little nervous when they started dancing while simultaneously waving their respective guns in the air but thankfully there were no incidents. The rest of the night was spent like most American weddings, with people dancing and socializing. There was one other interesting custom that is worth noting. Every so often, a member of the wedding party (either the groom or a family member, never the bride) would walk around the exterior of the dance floor and as he passed, the people would stand and snap their fingers in the air. Apparently this is another way that Sudanese people express happiness and it almost looked like the wave as the groom made his way around and people would stand to snap their fingers.

This wedding celebration was quite an interesting experience and it was a great ending to my time in Mashu. Wedding ceremonies are an important part of every culture and it was interesting to see how a different culture celebrates this sacred event in the life of a community. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to attend another wedding while I’m here in Sudan but if not, I will always remember the party in Mashu!