About the Origin of Some Sudanese Toponyms

Igor V. Gerasimov

doi:10.21638/spbu13.2024.304

Authors

Igor V. Gerasimov St. Petersburg State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu13.2024.304

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analyses of several Sudanese toponyms and historical information about their origin, which until recently was transmitted orally. The study of the folklore material has shown that the toponyms of the Sudan reflect the ancient past of the country. They also show the multinational and multilingual nature of the country. Among them there are toponyms of Nubian and even earlier origin, the meaning of which is not always understood by the locals. The dominant language of the Sudan is Arabic and many toponyms are of Arabic origin. However, among the geographical names there are many words of non-Arabic origin that came from the languages of the peoples of Sudan like Fors, Beja, Nubians, etc. At the turn of the 19th–20th centuries, toponyms of Turkish, Greek and English origin appeared, that is explained by the presence of Turkish and British government officials and army officers and soldiers on the Sudanese territory. The presented material reflects the diversity of the origins of toponyms in Sudan. Geographical names allow us to trace certain stages of the country’s history, starting from ancient times to the present day. Oral tradition has preserved and continues to preserve interesting historical data on the origin of settlements of different levels, hydronyms, etc., and poses new questions for researchers, allowing for a deeper understanding of the processes of migration, development, and exploration of new territories in the southern parts of the country by Sudanese from the north, the peculiarities of seasonal movements of nomadic tribes, and the economic system.

Keywords:

toponyms of the Sudan, towns of the Sudan, geographical names, history of the Sudan

Downloads

No metrics available.

References

Korostovtsev M. A. From the toponymy of modern Egypt. Toponimika vostoka. Issledovaniia i materialy. Ed. by E. M. Murzaev, V. A. Nikonov, V. V. Tsybulskiy. Moscow, Izdatel’stvo vostochnoi literatury Publ., 1962, pp. 99–102. (In Russian)

Toponymy of the East. Studies and materials. Ed. by E. M. Murzaev V. A. Nikonov, V. V. Tsybulskiy. Moscow, Izdatel’stvo vostochnoi literatury Publ., 1969. 240 p. (In Russian)

Kahif ‘Ali Hammuda Salih Manzil. Hawazma tribe and the innermost secret of the Sudanese essence. Khartoum, Sharikat matabia as-Sudan li-l-umla al-mahduda, 2004. 422 p. (In Arabic)

Ibn Daifallah Muhammad Nur. Book of ranks about Islamic ascetics, righteous men, scholars and poets in Sudan. Khartoum, Dar at-taalif wa at-tardzama wa an-nashr, 1974. 424 p. (In Arabic)

Nur ‘Usman Ahmad, Nur Qasim ‘Usman. Al-Kawwa: the history and men. Khartoum, Markaz Qasim li-l-ma’lumat, 2004. 448 p. (In Arabic)

Sabbar Abdel Halim. The Toponymy of an Endangered Nubian Language. Oxford, Nubian Language and Culture, 2018. 62 p.

’Amir at-Tijani. Arab Sudanese families on the White Nile. Khartoum, Dar al-fikr, ad-Dar as-sudaniyya, 1971. 134 p. (In Arabic)

Bell H. Exploring Nubian toponymy in its traditional environment. Nubian Archeology in the 21st Century. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Conference for Nubian Studies, Neuchâtel, September 1–6, 2014. Ed. by M. Honegger. Leuven; Paris; Bristol (CT), Peeter Publishers, 2018, рp. 731–737.

Ahmad Sabir Abdin. Nubian heritage in the Sudan vernacular (on the use of linguistic terms in circulation and dominant in geographical names, landmarks, agriculture and street language). Khartoum, 2013. 194 p. (In Arabic)

Al-Amin Izz al-Din. The village of Kutrandj and its scientific influence in the Sudan. Vol. 9. Al-Khartoum: Ma’had al-dirasat ‘al-Ifriqiyya wa-s-siyasiyya, 1975. 140 p. (In Arabic)

Al-Tayyib Muhammad al-Tayyib. The Memory of the village. Khartoum, Hayat al-Khurtum li-l-sahafa wa-l-nashr, 2010. 69 p. (In Arabic)

Gerasimov I. V. Greek periodicals in Sudan in the 20th century. St. Petersburg, Nestor-Istoriia Publ., 2019. 736 p. (In Russian)

Chaldeos A. Sudanese toponyms related to Greek entrepreneurial activity. Dotawo: A Journal of Nubian Studies, 2017, vol. 4, pp. 183–195.