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Going to take the moment to talk a little bit about the Mahas Sawarid/Sawarda, because why not?
A brief history of the Mahas Sawarda: https://twitter.com/HatimAlTai2/status/1348025743729594368
A brief history of the Mahas Sawarda: https://twitter.com/HatimAlTai2/status/1348025743729594368
I've discussed the Mahas migrations of the Funj Sultanate on here before: essentially, in the early 1500s a bunch of Mahas left Nubia to be sheikhs in areas along the Blue Nile, playing a pivotal role in the spread of Islam in Sudan. https://twitter.com/HatimAlTai2/status/1322680070029279232
In Holymen of the Blue Nile, Neil McHugh suggests that these migrations were encouraged by economic hardship in Nubia, with the fall of the Christian kingdoms of Nubia accelerating the economic issues that pushed many Mahas to migrate to modern central Sudan.
The Sawarid/Sawarda, as I've said before, are one of these Mahas groups, primarily residing in southern el-Gezira and northern Sennar. Talking to older Saridis, the main explanation given for immigration is not economics, but rather religion...
...according to oral tradition, Saridis left Nubia to be sheikhs and Qur'an teachers, and Holymen of the Blue Nile is filled with examples of migrant Mahasi sheikhs playing a significant role in the spread of Islam in Sudan.
So, why the name Sawarda? Most older Saridis I talk to claim that the Sawarid originate from the Nubian town of Sawarda (hence the name), the hometown of Sudanese and Nubian icon Muhammad Wardi, although I'm not sure Sawarda existed in the 1500s...
...I've also seen it suggested (albeit less frequently) that the Sawarid may have migrated from Badeen Island, which is north of Dongola.
The alternative explanation given for the name of the tribe is that the Sawarid descend from a man named Saarid, who was the son of...
The alternative explanation given for the name of the tribe is that the Sawarid descend from a man named Saarid, who was the son of...
...Aqeel ibn Abi Talib, although the nasab (genealogy) used to argue this is almost certainly fabricated: it goes all the way to Adam (as in, the first human ever), and it's only one page long!
Genealogy aside, despite (generally) claiming to be Mahas, the Sawarid are basically entirely Arabized: there is no living memory of having spoken the Nobiin language, and most Saridis I know talk about themselves as a separate entity from the Mahas of the north.
I've heard two stories as to how this Arabization took place: the first (which generally comes from elderly Saridis) is that, because they were sheikhs, the Sawarid focused on the Arabic language and eventually abandoned Nubian; younger Saridis point to...
...intermarriages with the Arabized groups of el-Gezira as being the reason for abandoning Nobiin.
Generally speaking, while Saridis will call themselves Mahasi, they rarely consider themselves Nubian, although I've noticed that those who have more contact with Nubians and exposure to the language tend to identify more closely with Nubian people.
It's also worth noting that Saridis have largely adopted the traditions of their neighbors: at one point, the people in my village even did butaan, one of the iconic Arabized Sudanese traditions, all while still calling themselves Saridi.
Overall the Sawarid stand as a great example of how *fluid* Sudanese tribal/ethnic boundaries actually are: they identify with an iconic Nubian tribe while not calling themselves Nubian, share a lot culturally with the Arab groups that neighbor them...
...but don't consider themselves a part of those tribes. While ethnic identities are rigid on paper, in reality the lines are quite blurry.
As for the font, I picked the name for 4 reasons:
1) I'm Saridi.
2) Sawarda is the home of one of the most iconic Nubians ever, Muhammad Wardi.
3) It's a modern Nubian font, so it should have the name of a modern Nubian town.
4) I like the way "Sawarda" sounds. Sue me!
1) I'm Saridi.
2) Sawarda is the home of one of the most iconic Nubians ever, Muhammad Wardi.
3) It's a modern Nubian font, so it should have the name of a modern Nubian town.
4) I like the way "Sawarda" sounds. Sue me!
