sudan retold en

Candik is a fictional Nubian character, a comic book superheroine. Candik was inspired by the Kandake, the mighty queens of Meroe. A skilled warrior, Candik is trained in the arts of war and is particularly proficient in hand-to-hand combat. Candik was chosen by the gods to rescue and protect her village from evil. She is the daughter of a wise woman named Tiriz, who was killed by Slai, a wicked man who thinks he deserves rule over the land of Nubia. Slai’s father was the God of Evil and knew that Tiriz was a woman who would bear a heroic child, the one who would protect Nubia from danger. He knew that killing a heroic person would mean the end of his life, but he made the sacrifice and gave his only son Slai the legacy of ruling Nubia. Tiriz died protecting Candik’s life.

Sudan gained its independence in 1956. In 2011, it split into two countries. But what if the great revolution against British colonialism that took place in 1924 had been successful and led to independence? The military and civilian elite who were responsible for the uprising were mostly prominent leaders from South Sudan. This story explores an alternative reality.

Art is an integral part of Sudanese society, and has been for hundreds of years. Its influence can be seen when we look back in Sudan’s history, such as the Nubian temples and great Christian kingdoms. Over time art in Sudan has evolved to reflect the society and environment of the times.

In this chapter is a project created to portray a thousand different faces from Sudan. Through these portraits, Abushakeema tells the tale of a nation that is made up of various ethnicities and backgrounds.

http://www.abushakeema.net/

On the 1st of January 1956, Sudan declared its independence from Anglo-Egyptian rule, which lasted for 58 years. A special ceremony was held, and the British and Egyptian flags were taken down. Next, Prime Minister Ismail Al-Azhari raised the new Sudanese flag amidst celebration. The story in this chapter is about the events that took place on the morning when the Sudanese flag was raised for the first time, as imagined and told by Abbas to his donkey. It was his first pick for a time-travel destination because it must have been the greatest party to ever take place in Sudan.

Concept: Khalid Albaih
Realisation: Khalid Albaih, Larissa-Diana Fuhrmann Texts, artworks, music: involved artists
Photography: Niels Larson for Hazim AlHassan, Girl on Bike Editorial: Larissa-Diana Fuhrmann, Khalid Albaih, Holger Konrad, Amani Lazar, Locale: Qutouf Yahia, Rund AlArabi
Translations: Larissa-Diana Fuhrmann, Isis Hakim, Najwa Sabra, Ghazi Eltayeb, Günther Orth
Design Team: Locale: Aala Sharfi Artwork on page 30/238: AlMigdad Aldikhaiiry
Publishing House: Hirnkost KG
Sponsoring: Goethe-Institut Sudan

© 2019 Goethe-Institut

Sudan – the name derives from the Arabic bilād as-sūdān ( بــادالســودان) “the lands of the Black [people]”. It refers to the land where the two Niles meet and 74 languages are spoken; where the queens of the Nubian civilization dating from around 2,000 BC ruled their matriarchies, beating back the Romans and building around 255 pyramids – double the number of pyramids in today’s Egypt. Thousands of years of trade and Hajj pilgrimage routes di-versified the people, their cultures, and traditions. It is the coun-try that fought against Turkish, Egyptian, and British colonisers, a country with impressive churches and mosques alike – a coun-try famous for having had three revolutions in the past 62 years. Malcolm X visited Sudan in 1959, followed by other influential people such as Louis Armstrong, Harry Belafonte, Jimmy Cliff, and Miriam Makeba. Nowadays most people outside the country’s borders are una-ware of Sudan’s rich past, multifarious present, and kaleidoscope of people. International media outlets mainly talk about the wars, famines, and political crises there, painting an incomplete pic-ture of the country which was the largest on the continent before it split in half just a few years ago.In June 2016, I was contacted by Khalid Albaih with a concept for a graphic novel he called Sudan Retold. He talked about the impor-tance of finding a way to retell or initiate stories about Sudan in collaboration with a generation of young artists in book form. The artists would narrate excerpts from their ancestral land’s history through photography, comics, poetry, story-telling, paint-ings, and more. Khalid’s idea was that the book would fill a gap and add pieces to the puzzle of Sudan’s image outside its borders.Through a call for applications, more than 30 artists and creative talents with all kinds of backgrounds, interests, and skills were selected to participate in the project. In a 3-day workshop in Jan-uary 2017, Khalid presented his vision and the artists immediate-ly voiced their ideas. Discussions were initiated. In the following weeks, the group members had time to develop their ideas and put them on paper. As news of the book travelled throughout the diaspora, more and more artists sent in contributions. After the initial concepts were developed and drafts were completed, an-other workshop – this time with the German comic artist Rein-hard Kleist – added input to the realisation of the first Sudanese graphic novel. The enthusiasm sparked among the artists’ circles produced 26 chapters that made it into the final selection for the book. The chapters give insight into Sudan from the perspective of young artists. They will enrich people’s knowledge of the coun-try and its people, raising awareness of the continent’s rich but concealed history.