أرفعوا اياديكم عن أهلنا الحداحيد الشرفاء ...

Quote: May11 BLACKSMITHS: DAR ZAGHAWA OF THE SUDAN The Zaghawa occupy the northern part of the Darfur province in western Sudan, along the Sudanese-Chadian borders. The Zaghawa’s homeland is called Dar Zaghawa ("the Land of Zaghawa," Tubiana and Tubiana 1977, 1). In Dar Zaghawa, iron working, hunting, drumming, and pottery making are entrusted to a specific endogamous social group called the Hadaheed. Today, the Hadaheed identify themselves as Zaghawa, and there is much interaction between the two groups. Although in some places of eastern, northern, and western parts of the Sudan, iron working is regarded as an ordinary job, among the Dinka and the Bari of southern Sudan, Iron working is entrusted to a separate servile group (Whitehead 1953, 271). In Darfur province to the west, iron working is considered an inferior occupation, especially when the female members are involved in pottery making. In all parts of Africa blacksmiths are either regarded in extreme terms, either with respect or with contempt (McNutt 1991, 81). Within the Zaghawa society, the Hadaheed occupy an inferior social position. The Hadaheed are traditionally identified as practitioners of iron working, they also practice drumming, hunting, and pottery making. The very name Hadaheed (i. e., iron workers) indicates the prevalence of iron working over other trades. Among every section of the Zaghawa, there is a blacksmith chief, or "Sheikh." The Sheikh has to supply the ruler annually with iron tools, leather robes, water skins, and game meat, without recompense. The Hadaheed ascribed the causes of their social position to their present small number, and for their uncleanness, in the past (Dinar 1986, 42). The Zaghawa consider the Hadaheed to be dirty and illiterate drunkards and pagans. The Hadaheed’s defense strategy against such accusation is based upon Islamic principles. They claim that knowledge of iron working is a gift from God, and not a hereditary practice. In both Chad and Dar Zaghawa, the dominant group justified the servile status of blacksmith in relation to Islamic traditions (Palmer 1967, 74). Thus, blacksmiths were regarded as descendants of the Jews of Arabia, and were later cursed by Prophet Mohammed (Nachtigal 1971, 402). Thus, blacksmiths are accused of being "different" and hence vulnerable to hostile treatment. Such an attitude became fixed in tradition and was passed from one generation to another. For the Hadaheed, iron working is to a great extent a ritualized trade. Iron smelting was only carried out on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, when a ram or a goat is sacrificed (Dinar 1986, 48). During the smelting process, the blacksmiths dress in worn – out clothes, and sing for the whole period. This situation is comparable to other African traditions where blacksmiths were excluded at shelters, anoint themselves, and have certain offerings and ceremonies (Haaland 1985, 56). Such rituals extend further to the blacksmith tools: for example, hammers, anvils, tuyueres, and even the iron furnaces were personalized and portrayed as sexual organs (Marret 1985, 77). Such relationship between human procreation and parturition indicates that smelting was regarded as a symbol for generating cultural continuity (Lemelle 1992, 169). Hunting, like iron working, is ritualized (Herbert 1993, 165). Among the Hadaheed, hunting is not carried out on Wednesday or at the end of lunar months. In these trips, bathing and sexual intercourse are prohibited, so as to guarantee a successful hunt. Within the Zaghawa’s society the Hadaheed are also despised for being drummers, pottery makers, tanners, and butchers. The contempt for these trades is mainly due to their uncleanness, and thus exends to the person/s who perform them. Thus, the Hadaheed are despised not simply for practicing these trades, but instead for the beliefs held by the rest of Zaghawa society that are associated with them, which consequently affect the social status of the Hadaheed. One of the most obvious causes of prejudice is the fact that it creates advantages and material benefits for the dominant group (Cruz 1970, 16). In the past, within the barter system, the Hadaheed had to trade iron tools, game meat, and pottery vessels, all time – consuming and laborious tasks, in return for money, cloths, and grains from the Zaghawa. Due to their political and economic hegemony, the Zaghawa have manipulated the prejudice against the Hadaheed as a means of economic exploitation and political domination. Folklore plays a great role in denoting the social status of the blacksmith, which is a context within which the blacksmiths became a part of the group’s history, culture, and traditions. The interdependence between the rest of the Zaghawa and the Hadaheed guarantees a continuous supply of artisans and specialists, and hence provides a division of labor based upon traditional beliefs. Although more contemporary forms of iron making and food procurement are now prevalent, the social status of the Hadaheed in Dar Zaghawa remains unchanged.