On the ninth day of February 1944 AD. I had the happy opportunity to attend the coronation ceremony of a new king in Fazogli on the eastern bank of the Blue Nile on the Ethiopian border, the main and traditional headquarters of one of the small states in the Funj Kingdom.
It was a huge crowd of tribesmen who brought their artistic teams carrying different types of wooden wind instruments varying in size from foot-long flutes to huge seven-foot instruments assembled in several units with bamboo ropes, with the back of this type of huge musical instrument anchored to the surface of the ground. There were also musical instruments - xylophones - assembled from several pieces, usually of ebony wood, with sides that were two feet long. They were attached to the right shoulder and were struck to rhythm with a horn held by the player's right hand. The player's left hand was free to hold the flute, so that the player could play both instruments at the same time. There was violent dancing and representation of battles in which spears and shields were brandished, and in addition to this, the three copper drums of Mecca were made, respectively, from bull skin, cow skin, and calf skin (the daluka, the drum, and the nouba). The brass made from calf skin is called cursing.
At approximately eleven o'clock in the morning, the distinguished guests gathered in the courtyard of the house in a huge thatched Karnak with covered sides. Among the distinguished guests was Mek Hassan Adlan - head of the local administration department of the Funj and a descendant of the Sultans of Sennar. Among them are also Mac Nayel Hamdan and Mac Qili. They were the only two "crowned kings" in attendance. The kukur (coronation chair) is placed covered with an embroidered cloth. The state sword was placed on a table next to a crown covered with another piece of cloth.
These three important things were brought by Mek Hassan Adlan from Sinja. The kukur was previously manufactured in 1918 by Sheikh Hajo, a cleric, who lives near Sennar. This cake was manufactured as a replacement for the original cake that was lost during the Mahdiya period. As for the sword, it is the original ancient sword, while the crown was newly made for the occasion. The crown, which is known as the “cap,” is a hat made of bright green embroidered fabric. It is convex in shape with a sharp, pointed top with sides that hang over the ears. All three symbols - the kukur, the sword, and the hat - were taken after the celebration by King Hassan Adlan to preserve them for use in the coronation of Qabil. A new striped silk kaftan and a dark blue cloak were also placed on the table.
After ensuring that all these preparations are complete, the “soldier” goes to bring the new machine to the ceremony location. The status and function of this “soldier” are hereditary and in all cases he must be from another tribe. Fazughli's "soldier" was from Mahas, while Mek's "soldier" Hassan Adlan was from Nuba. The soldier has several jobs and duties, the most important of which is maintaining traditions and customs.
The soldier led the new soldier, Hamida Rajab Badero, to the celebration site and took off the caftan he was wearing. Then King Hassan Adlan came forward and dressed the new king in a new caftan and a new abaya, and placed the crown on the head of the new king and handed him the sword. King Nile played the role of assistant to King Adlan in presenting the things to King Hassan Adlan before the latter dressed them and delivered them to the new king Hamida.
Then the soldier carried the cake decorated with embroidered cloth and placed it under a huge Heglig tree. He led Hassan, the new king, Hamida, and seated him on the coronation chair. After that, King Hassan and King Nayel each tied his garment around his waist as an expression of respect to King Hamida, and each of them took the hand of King Hamida in his hands and called him with a scythe. With this step, King Hamida was officially included and accepted among the chosen few who bear this title.
This form of welcome was repeated by the soldier and also by Mayor Nimr Khamis - the mayor of Al-Toumat, one of the three pillars that make up Mekiya Fazughli. They both came forward to greet us, barefoot and bareheaded. From that moment on in the celebration, Mayor Nimr took charge of the ceremony, and his first role was to receive the sword from the new king, Hamida, and withdraw it.
After that, a number of jurists of Arab origin came forward and recited Al-Fatihah. This was followed by a short sermon from the principal of the primary school, which was appropriate, but it seemed extraneous to the traditional ceremony and led to a delay in the formal aspect of the traditional welcome to the notables of the Mek tribe, the “Arabib,” who each came forward wearing his robe, barefoot, and with his head uncovered, repeating the method of welcoming the Mangel (the new Mek).
Then Mayor Nimr unsheathed the sword and brandished it over the head of the new king, Hamida, and Mayor Adam Abu Naama - the president of what remained of the eastern state of Fazughli - unsheathed his own sword to honor the new king. This unexpected event was frowned upon by experts in organizing the celebration and was considered a defect in the ceremony.
The celebration reaches its climax when a member of the Mek family comes forward carrying a package wrapped in a piece of cloth and begins to open it, takes out a horn and begins to blow, making sounds. This horn is taken from an ibex and has been preserved and passed down for a long time - the horn is wrapped in human skin - and it has been preserved from a time when it was customary to wrap such an horn in human skin after tribal battles (from the skin of a member of the enemy tribes). The only other remaining horn encased in human skin is preserved from Makili - the latter actually made of wood. The others, including the Qarn al-Mak Hasan Adlan, were lost.
After blowing the horn, the drummer, who has the same position as the horn player, came forward and began making slow, continuous beats on the signal drum (dingir) to announce to the public that the king was healthy and had been crowned. Continuous rhythm means good news, while bad news is announced in three intermittent beats that are repeated constantly and regularly. In the past, villages used to repeat these rhythms to neighboring villages, and thus the news spread quickly to all villages and was telegraphed to all sides. The writer does not know if this is what happened at this coronation celebration. The rhythms of the drums aroused joy and approval among the crowds, accompanied by playing instruments and singing, and those carrying firearms emptied their contents into the air.
During this, some of Mayor Adam's men untied a piece of white cloth from the soldier's waist and stood holding its ends extended over the king's head to protect him from the sun's rays - because the sun should not fall on the king before the "purification and purification" ceremony was completed. While some formed their interlocking forearms into the shape of bundles, they sat the king down and carried him to his home. The cake was carried and Mayor Nimr remained, carrying the sword.
[Here ended the recording of my personal observations, and then I recorded what was said to me after that].
The occupants, Hassan Adlan and Nayel, went to the house and made Mac Hamida sit on the couch. The soldier was authorized to accompany and serve him, and the soldier had to remain silent during that time. Inside the house there was an old woman from the Omda Adam community with a young girl from the Mek Hamida community, about ten years old - certainly not yet of marriageable age - in addition to the presence of the soldier. He ordered the soldier to guard the door and put soldiers outside it, and the old woman wiped the pain with ointment mixed with flour. It is said that the ointment is aged (dulka), but I did not have any information about it or the type of roots. Scanning was a massage process. Then the soldier left the place and was replaced by one of his men to serve food. He did not allow the women to approach the house.
Meanwhile, sacrifices were slaughtered outside the house, and marissa (a fermented drink made from corn) was served to all the tribesmen. After sunset, the mother and the girl were transferred to a new private house prepared for the occasion, in which they would reside for a week, after which the mother would decide whether the girl would be his wife or divorce her forever.
A week after the coronation, the tribes gather again and the mak is led to the shore of the river and purified there by entering the water up to its neck. This is followed by the sounding of the horn, the beating of drums, and the sacrifices and rituals are once again presented to the public.
There are four points that must be noted:
* Seclusion with a girl who has not yet reached marriageable age in the Mecca’s house between the period of his coronation and purification in the river is considered an innovation, because the ancient tradition was to be secluded with a virgin of marriageable age.
* The period of seclusion became only one week compared to the period of a full year in the ancient tradition.
* There was a serious departure from the tradition that prevents the mucus from coming out during the period of solitude to daylight, and this was not adhered to. Such a departure from this rule could nullify all coronation ceremonies, and this might require forced abdication or even death. In this case, Mak Hamida’s exit was justified due to a defect in dividing the meat and marissa among the audience due to the inaction of those in charge of the party, which necessitated his exit to correct the error and ensure the honor of his guests. The Judicial Council, consisting of the king Nayel, the soldier, Mayor Nimr and others, accepted the validity of the excuse and acquitted the king Hamida of wrongdoing, and decided to punish those in charge of the hospitality by forcing them to offer sacrifices from their own money.
* Official employees serving the king, including the man who supervises guarding the king in his privacy, have the right to take possession of the king’s old clothes at the coronation after he has replaced them with new ones.
Finally, the author of the article says: “At the end of this ceremony, I returned to contemplating and thinking about the strength of traditions and their survival through the Mahdism, dual rule, and modern times, and also contemplating the similarity in many details of coronation ceremonies in Britain.”
* Brother Dr. Awad Hassan, while he was an associate professor at the University of the Western Mountain, Zintan, Libyan Jamahiriya, translated this article for the son, Professor Othman Hassan Othman, to benefit from it in his thesis “The Mind of Return in the Age of Funj: A Reading from the Reality of the Book of Tabaqat Wad Dhaif Allah.” Arkamani has allowed itself to publish this translation for the benefit of everyone without referring to the translator, so we ask for his permission. The Mind of Return in the Funj Era: A Reading from the Reality of the Book of Tabaqat by Wad Dhaif Allah
Theoretical trends in anthropology