The origins and culture of blacksmiths in Kuku society of the Sudan, 1797-1955
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2172869 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Scopas Poggo, Scopas S Poggo (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2006 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 169-186 |
| Publication date | 2006-12-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of African Cultural Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1369-6815 • E-ISSN: 1469-9346 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13696810601104734 |
| OpenAlex | W1980416186 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 2 |
The Kuku are a large ethnic group in the southern region of the Sudan. They belong to a cultural and linguistic group called the Eastern Nilotes. The Kuku are one of the last waves of the Eastern Nilotic group that occupied the territory now known as Kajo-Kaji. This land was originally inhabited by a Sudanic group of people called Moru-Madi. When the Kuku people crossed the River Nile from the east, they absorbed some of the clans of this group. Over time, the Kuku people interacted with the Bari people to the north, the Madi and Lugbara to the south, and the Kakwa to the west. This inter-mixing resulted in the creation of unique Kuku traditional values, norms, beliefs, and customs. * Before I present a comprehensive discussion on the origins and culture of blacksmiths in Kuku society, my readers should know something about me. I was born and raised in Kuku society in the 1960s and am fluent and proficient in the Kuku language. I am the first Kuku intellectual to receive a Ph.D. degree in History (Department of History, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1999). In light of my personal and family background, I undertook a research project in 2002 investigating the oral history and culture of the Kuku people. From this project, I have in my possession 105 cassette tapes of untranscribed information, which I am in the process of translating. One of the products of this research is this paper. The lifestyle of the early Kuku migrants was simple. The Kuku people collected wild fruits and vegetables, and also practiced a little agriculture. Before the advent of iron in ancient times, the Kuku people used pointed sticks for cultivation. This meant that food production was on a small scale, and the population was relatively small. However, the discovery of iron in the Kuku society revolutionized agriculture, marriage, and warfare. This also led to the consolidation of the Kuku political, economic, and social institutions. The Kuku blacksmiths occupied a paradoxical position in the society: they were respected and despised. They were highly revered for their technical skills, but were despised because they deviated from the Kuku values and norms. They worked and danced naked; they never bathed, and ate their food without washing their hands; they drank strong liquor, and smoked marijuana in long pipes; they sang songs that ridiculed women, and were also renowned for their being promiscuous; and they never owned farms, livestock, or proper houses. The status of the blacksmith in tribal societies poses one of the most puzzling problems of anthropology. By a strange paradox, this noted craftsman, whose bold and meritorious services are indispensable to his community, has been relegated to a position outside the place of society (Makarius Citation1968: 25, quoted by McNaughton 1988: xiii). Notes * Before I present a comprehensive discussion on the origins and culture of blacksmiths in Kuku society, my readers should know something about me. I was born and raised in Kuku society in the 1960s and am fluent and proficient in the Kuku language. I am the first Kuku intellectual to receive a Ph.D. degree in History (Department of History, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1999). In light of my personal and family background, I undertook a research project in 2002 investigating the oral history and culture of the Kuku people. From this project, I have in my possession 105 cassette tapes of untranscribed information, which I am in the process of translating. One of the products of this research is this paper. 1#References to interviews are prefaced *; for details see end of paper. 2A case in point was a Kuku man called Wojolo, who was a professional drum maker in Dajur village, Kajo-Kaji, where the author of this paper lived in the 1980s. Wojolo's father inherited this profession from previous generations. Wojolo had used iron tools to carve out the trunk of a large palm tree and make a drum four feet long by one-and-a-half feet wide (Tomor 1984). 3It should be noted that the informants generally seemed critical of the behaviour of blacksmiths since none of them came from blacksmith families; instead, they spoke from a certain cultural position in opposition to the blacksmiths. 4It should be noted that this information was given to me by the limited group of informants who had seen the blacksmiths at their jobs. 5It should be noted that these views were presented by my informants and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of any particular part of Kuku society
Clan · Ethnic group · Ethnology · Linguistics · Media studies · Possession (linguistics · Sociology · African history and culture analysis · African history and culture studies · Anthropology · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · History
| Citations per year | 0.55 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2015 - 2024 (10) |
| Highly cited | No |