The Zaghawa people of Darfur
The Zaghawa inhabit (or a mass majority did but no longer live on their land) an area of semi-desert climate that is devoid of any natural resources or animal life except for the thick forested valleys that are on the fringe and make up the southern part of the region they inhabit. This has always caused a big conflict between other neighboring tribes due to limited resources. This could have something to do with the Zaghawans being traditionally cast as warriors and fighters...the need to protect the land that held all their resources and animals to maintain survival. The Zaghawas have historically been around in Africa since the ancient times of the Kanam which was ruled by the Zaghawa. They were also one of the first groups to embrace Islam in Sudan. (Sudan Vision Daily Culture: Zaghawa Language and History Professor Issam Abdulla Ali).
The roles that the women of the tribe play are similar to that of other Sudanese women. Traditionally they stay at home and raise babies, and the greatest achievement of their lives is usually to have a boy for the father to be proud of. Women contribute most of the work to the village. Men often have many wives which enables them to do less work. I thought it was interesting and worth pointing out that the women in Bashir's novel expressed frustration and disdain for the polygamy in their culture. It was interesting to see the women who existed within this unequal society actually show their dislike for the system in which they lived. Another degrading and subjugating practice of the Zaghawa specific to the women is the female circumcision that all the girls are required to undergo. Bashir describes her circumcision and how hard she attempted to fight back and escape, but was held down and forced to go through the procedure. This practice causes many problems for women, including short term problems such as infection and long term like issues with child birth often leading to death. There is also the psychological repercussions and the loss of sexual pleasure. This practice is just another example of the systemic control and violence the men in this society have over the women.
The Zaghawa of north Darfur are a mixture of Hamitic Tibo and Blacks with some ethnic relations to Libyans and Berbers Zaghawa. (Ali). They are described as indigenous and black throughout the mainstream media. It is important to think about how the Darfurian Arabs, whom the Zaghawa rebels are pitted against in this ethnic conflict are actually indigenous and black as well. Both groups of people have lived there for centuries; all are muslims and they were fighting over land, water, and riches before the ethnic conflict arose. Alex de Waal puts the crisis in a different perspective when he says, "As we dig through the layers of causation of this complicated war, we will come to see it as a deeply sad story about the struggles of resilient people, poor even by Sudanese standards, who have been pitted against each other by a forbidding environment, a long history of political neglect, and a ruthless national government." (Tragedy in Darfur, Alex de Waal ). Another complex relationship to explore is the fact that Zaghawan Chadian rebels are backed by the Sudanese government, while the Zaghawan Darfurian rebels are backed by the Chadian government, where there are Zaghawan leaders in place. The Zaghawan tribes have been split across borders and therefore are involved in all different aspects of the conflict The Justice and Equality Movement made up of Zaghawan rebels of Sudan work alongside the Chadian government who fights the Zaghawan Chadian rebel groups. These linkages are interesting to understand because you can see how interrelated all these groups are, and the similarities. Its hard to believe so much conflict ascribed to ethnic differences can arise between groups that obviously are different but also adhere to a lot of the same practices and religious beliefs. (Responding Today to threats of Genocide, an interview with Bridgette Conley-Zilkic and David Buchbinder ).
(Sudan Vision Daily, Topics concerning DARFUR.
The roles that the women of the tribe play are similar to that of other Sudanese women. Traditionally they stay at home and raise babies, and the greatest achievement of their lives is usually to have a boy for the father to be proud of. Women contribute most of the work to the village. Men often have many wives which enables them to do less work. I thought it was interesting and worth pointing out that the women in Bashir's novel expressed frustration and disdain for the polygamy in their culture. It was interesting to see the women who existed within this unequal society actually show their dislike for the system in which they lived. Another degrading and subjugating practice of the Zaghawa specific to the women is the female circumcision that all the girls are required to undergo. Bashir describes her circumcision and how hard she attempted to fight back and escape, but was held down and forced to go through the procedure. This practice causes many problems for women, including short term problems such as infection and long term like issues with child birth often leading to death. There is also the psychological repercussions and the loss of sexual pleasure. This practice is just another example of the systemic control and violence the men in this society have over the women.
The Zaghawa of north Darfur are a mixture of Hamitic Tibo and Blacks with some ethnic relations to Libyans and Berbers Zaghawa. (Ali). They are described as indigenous and black throughout the mainstream media. It is important to think about how the Darfurian Arabs, whom the Zaghawa rebels are pitted against in this ethnic conflict are actually indigenous and black as well. Both groups of people have lived there for centuries; all are muslims and they were fighting over land, water, and riches before the ethnic conflict arose. Alex de Waal puts the crisis in a different perspective when he says, "As we dig through the layers of causation of this complicated war, we will come to see it as a deeply sad story about the struggles of resilient people, poor even by Sudanese standards, who have been pitted against each other by a forbidding environment, a long history of political neglect, and a ruthless national government." (Tragedy in Darfur, Alex de Waal ). Another complex relationship to explore is the fact that Zaghawan Chadian rebels are backed by the Sudanese government, while the Zaghawan Darfurian rebels are backed by the Chadian government, where there are Zaghawan leaders in place. The Zaghawan tribes have been split across borders and therefore are involved in all different aspects of the conflict The Justice and Equality Movement made up of Zaghawan rebels of Sudan work alongside the Chadian government who fights the Zaghawan Chadian rebel groups. These linkages are interesting to understand because you can see how interrelated all these groups are, and the similarities. Its hard to believe so much conflict ascribed to ethnic differences can arise between groups that obviously are different but also adhere to a lot of the same practices and religious beliefs. (Responding Today to threats of Genocide, an interview with Bridgette Conley-Zilkic and David Buchbinder ).
(Sudan Vision Daily, Topics concerning DARFUR.
posted by Meredith at
10:40 PM
2 Comments:
I'm glad your brought light to this: "Its hard to believe so much conflict acribed to ethnic differences can arise between groups that obviously are different but also adhere to a lot of the same practices and religious beliefs." That is surely one of the most difficult elements to reconcile with. Perhaps that is why the difficulty with coalition building with feminists?
I agree that such linkages are fascinating things to consider and the similarities are, indeed, astounding. It sounds eerily reminiscent of the similarities between the Hutu and the Tutsi of Rwanda who, despite some very slight visual differences, had the same differences in class, religious beliefs, etc. It is amazing to think that something as innocuous as a difference in name, essentially, can cause such hatred.
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