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Class and kinship in Sudanese urban communities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2011

Richard A. Lobban Jr
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Extract

This article represents some of the results of three field research studies of urbanization in the Sudan. The research has focussed on two urban communities in the Khartoum area, those known as Tuti Island1 and Burn al Manas. The first study was conducted as doctoral research in 1970–72; a brief re-study took place in 1975, and most recently research was conducted in 1979–80. This ten-year period was a time during which major economic and demographic change occurred in the urban Sudan. A recent study in the capital city area of the Sudan by urban planners has concluded that ‘any sociologist or social anthropologist who approaches the problems of urbanization in Africa today has the privilege of witnessing a social transformation on a grand scale’ (MEFIT, 1974: I). I have already reported on some aspects of change in class structure, marriage, kinship and the family (Lobban, 1971, 1975, 1979), but these earlier articles have relied chiefly on earlier fieldwork. Among studies of culture change in general, and urbanization in particular, it is unfortunately uncommon to have data from replicated, longitudinal studies. In this respect this article may make an especially useful contribution.

Résumé

Dans cet article on traite certains aspects de revolution culturelle dans le contexte de l'urbanisation dans le Soudan. Les donnees sont tirées de travaux pratiques faits au cours de la décennie 1970-80, quand l'urbanisation soudanaise a été déclarée. En faisant mention des Mahas, groupe nubien important dans les ‘Trois Villes’ du Soudan, on examine et explique plusieurs hypotheses relatives à des thèmes généraux dans l'étude de l'urbanisation. Les Mahas n'ont pas tardé à jouer un rôle central dans la formation de la vie urbaine et de l'Islamisation du Soudan central. Les hypothèses traitent initialement des questions de continuité et d'évolution dans le contexte de la formation des classes sociales et de la stratification socio-économique. Correspondants aux changements dans la structure sociale urbaine sont des changements dans le mariage, dans les liens de parenté et dans la famille. Tout d'abord on concentre son attention sur la coutume unique du mariage korah et sur des systémes de manages de préférence et de lignages endogames qui sont différenciés en partie selon la classe sociale des époux. Des conclusions sont tirees qui ont rapport à des tendances plus répandues et à des adaptations à la vie urbaine en Afrique et dans des pays en voie de développement.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 52 , Issue 2 , April 1982 , pp. 51 - 76
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1982

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