Arkamani: An Editorial Introduction

Arkamani, “a journal of anthropological archaeological research in Sudan,” stems from a firm conviction that serious thinking about the problem of building the Sudanese nation must begin with a retrograde retreat to the dawn of Cushitic cultures that preceded the arrival of Arab migrations to Sudan and the spread of the light of Islam, which leads to realizing the reality of “historical diversity” and the reality of “contemporary diversity,” two essential components. For Sudanese identity. Arkamani aims to give readers ownership of part of the historical facts that, due to a biased educational policy, have become among the many things that are kept silent about in Sudan.

Methodologically, Arkamani starts from the basis of ethnohistorical study based on archaeological and anthropological data, which does not search for information that was collected by chance, but rather for information that helps provide an answer to the questions raised by the study. That is, as the founding anthropologist Eva Nez-Pritchard says, “by the pressure of repeated situations.” Secondly, the ethnohistorical study, in its attempts to evaluate the answers, forces the researcher to place those answers within the framework of a theoretical structure. Pritchard had pointed out the fact that before making such answers “socially comprehensible,” they must be arranged in a way that contradicts the “synthetic arrangement” of the studied society. If the models are arranged, the researcher will be able to see them as a whole, or as a group of interconnected abstractions. After isolating these synthetic models in the studied society, he compares them with the models present in other societies, forming forms of symbols and determining their basic aspects and factors of difference between them.

But one of you might say that this is the kind of duty that most historians are called to perform, as long as they in turn put forward ideas and hypotheses as a basis for testing and interpretation. But we say that, even if this is true, there remains a difference in application. On the one hand, we find that the perceptions formed by the historian tend to be implicit and forced, as we will demonstrate in historians’ treatment of the history of our Kushite culture. On the other hand, the historian tends to avoid theoretical propositions as much as possible, because his sources usually provide him with a kind of disjointed narrative images to which the facts can be attributed. Therefore, he prefers treating incidents and personalities rather than treating the structure on which they are based, because the former is more clear in historical records than the materials usually used by scholars. Anthropology. Therefore, Baghi emphasized in his book “Culture and History” that if history is to become more than a quasi-mental activity, it must rely heavily on anthropology in its ideas and plans. We also find Pritchard affirming in turn that “history must choose between being social anthropology or being nothing.” This vision of history may be best applied by reconsidering the prevailing assumptions about the history of Sudan, which is what Arkamani aspires to penetrate.

With the launch of Arkamani, an electronic magazine that aims to introduce the ongoing archaeological and anthropological research in Sudan in order to form a common awareness of the components of Sudanese identity and its specificities, we must mention the merit of those men who have entrusted the archaeological anthropological work since the beginning of the last century with exploration, protection, excavation, and management of its projects. If it were not for their continuous effort and denial of a life of ease and comfort by preferring to live in the desert and isolated areas far from urbanization, which still represent the same hardship, the research project on heritage in Sudan would not have developed in a way that serves the entire human heritage.

We mention at this moment in gratitude those who left us descriptions, drawings and pictures of buildings and archaeological remains and documented for us the history of the cultural groups interacting on the land of Sudan with their valuable writings since before the last century.

A tribute to those who were behind the project to establish the Sudanese Antiquities Service since 1935, which is the institution that is credited with exploring, excavating, preserving and protecting heritage, which could not have been achieved without the dedication of a good group of archaeological site archaeologists in various parts of the country, workers and employees in protecting heritage throughout the entire national territory, and those scholars and administrators who continued to lead archaeological and anthropological research in Sudan... Erkell, Sheeny, and Verkuteh, Thabet Hassan Thabet and Najm al-Din Muhammad Sharif, who, in addition to their scientific works, left behind an effective administrative system that succeeded, despite the scarcity of material and human capabilities, in performing the role assigned to it with unparalleled effectiveness.

Commemorating the memory of all these men will not be complete without the contribution of the current generation of researchers interested in this field. If the operations of field exploration and excavation for antiquities and heritage have remained colored by the distinguished works and efforts of foreign missions that are friendly to circumstances that we know and do not apply to Sudan alone, then the pages of Arkamani remain open, along with the translation of foreign research, for everyone to contribute research, experience, guidance and opinion. It was intended to be a collective scientific platform that extends a helping hand to our students studying history and heritage and to all Sudanese and Arabs interested in issues of ancient history, archeology and anthropology. Commemorating all those men

There is no doubt that it will receive contributions from fellow Sudanese archaeologists and anthropologists, Abdul Rahim Muhammad Al-Amin, and Dr. Muhammad Hassan Pasha, Dr. Abbas Sayed Ahmed Zarrouk, Dr. Ali Othman, Dr. Youssef Mukhtar, Dr. Khader Abdel Karim, Dr. Khader Adam Issa, Dr. Ali Al-Tijani Al-Mahi, Dr. Anwar Abdel Maged, Dr. Mahmoud Al-Sheikh Al-Tayeb, Dr. Omar Al-Zaki, Dr. Zuhair Hassan Babiker, Dr. Jamal Muhammad Idris, Dr. Salah El-Din Mohamed Ahmed, Hassan Mohamed Ahmed Khalil, and Dr. On the part of the Master and many others, I hope you will excuse me if I neglect to mention some names.

Likewise, the effort I made to see this first issue of Arkamani represent the first building block in a collective project that will not be fully successful in achieving its objectives except through the joint effort of the aforementioned colleagues and others interested in issues of archaeological and anthropological research in Sudan.

Osama Abdel-Rahman Elnur

Former Director General of the General Administration of Antiquities and National Museums

This effort was made with the hope of achieving a specific and clear goal, which is limited to pushing Sudanese and Arab scientific research students studying ancient history, archeology, and anthropology to become acquainted with the latest findings of the work of archaeologists working in Sudan and what is proposed by the pens of researchers in this field. Hence

Please email us for the magazine

oelnur@arkamani.org

Or by e-mail to the editor

nurkamani@yahoo.com  or oelnnur@lycos.com