Abstract

Sudan is the largest country in Africa, highly dif­ ferentiated internally both geographically and ecologically. It possesses a considerable diversity of ethnic and cultural expression. The country is known historically as Nubia, which may be identified as stretching from Aswan in the north to Sennar in the south, the latter being considered as the frontier of the 'Alwa Kingdom. It had a high degree of civilization prior to the advent of Christianity and had a quite individual expression of religious beliefs. By the time the process of Islamization was in full sway a regional resistance involving popular beliefs had to be overcome. The country as we know it was never part of an Islamic empire,, !twas not ruled by an islamic Caliphate. So we do not expect its cultural manifestations to be modelled after Egypt, Iraq or Iran. The process of Islamization in the Sudan was carried out to some extent by a number of Muslims who emigrated to the Sudan from the earliest Islamic period. But the major role was carried out by indigenous individuals and/or groups previously converted to Islam ,through the mediation, probably of the afore-mentioned emigrants.

Relative to the last point, Islam spread in the Sudan as both an ideology and an effective socio-economic system of life. The agents .. of the transmutation of the society are easily adduced historically, viz., individual preachers, the first Sudanese Muslims acting through trade and travel, and the Sufi orders. What emerged from this confluence of energies is the unique character of Sudanese Islam, which never seems to have

lost the sense of its pre-Christian and pre-Islamic roots. This, in turn, will be of interest as we study the architectural manifestations of the new dispension, most particularly the funerary bu ildings of the earliest religious leaders. All of the selected fifteen tomb structures are unpublished and beyond the present scope of governmental supervision. The historical and epigraphical sources are meagre, but with this study, if successful, the local authorities might be prompted to restore and maintain these vital expressions of Islam in the Sudan and the Sudanese element in Islam, as precious a domain as any shored up from the flux of pre-Islamic history in the area between Aswan and Sennar.

School

School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Date of Award

1-1-1986

Online Submission Date

1-1-1986

Document Type

Thesis

Extent

1 v. :

Library of Congress Subject Heading 1

Tombs

Library of Congress Subject Heading 2

Islamic architecture

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.

Call Number

Thesis 1986/682

Location

mgfth

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