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Five Women of Sennar

Culture and Change in Central Sudan, Second Edition

Susan M. Kenyon

In this second edition of the highly regarded original, five Muslim women and their families from the town of Sennar, Central Sudan, update their life stories. Halima, the hairdresser; Fatima, the market woman; Zachara, the midwife; Bitt al-Jamil, the faith healer; and Naiema, leader of tombura zar spirit possession, each look back on their lives, their families, and their work in accounts that now span more than twenty years. The women’s own voices provide insight into how ordinary individuals deal with the challenges of making a living, raising a family, and leading a good life in twentieth-century Sudan while Kenyon situates the narratives in the larger historical and ethnographic context. The ongoing strengths and stability of local community and family life, as well as the surprisingly independent views of the women themselves, are vividly illustrated against a background of rapid urbanization, economic constraints, and the introduction of Islamic law and an Islamist government.
 

$18.95 list, 237 pages

10-digit ISBN: 1-57766-313-6

13-digit ISBN: 978-1-57766-313-5

© 2004

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Culture and Society in Contemporary Sennar

2. Al-Mushata: Traditional Hairdresser

3. Sitt al-Kushuk: Market Woman

4. Al-Daiya: District Midwife

5. Servant of God: Faith-Healer and Seeress

6. Al-Umiya of Tombura Zar: Leader of a Spirit Possession/Healing Group

7. Al-Sudaniyin: Sudanese Women and Their World

Glossary of Sudanese Arabic Terms