Darfur Dances

CULTURE
Darfur Dances: Interviewing Elfadhil Khatir
Voices of Darfur talked with Elfadhil Khatir, a lecturer at El Fasher University, about the
traditional dances in Darfur, their various forms and their relation to the social lives of Darfuris.
By Ala Mayyahi
On 10 October 2013 in El Fasher, North Darfur, Mr. Elfadhil Khatir, a lecturer at the University of El Fasher, teaches traditional Darfuri dance to
his students. Mr. Khatir is one of a small group of Darfuri academics who conducts research on Darfur’s cultural performances to develop a
deeper understanding of their historical development and social impact. Photo by Hamid Abdulsalam, UNAMID.
Born in 1986 in Tarni, a small village
in North Darfur’s Tawila locality,
Mr. Elfadhil Khatir is one of a small
group of Darfuri academics conducting
research on Darfur’s cultural performances
to develop a deeper understanding
of their historical development and
social impact.
Mr. Khatir studied in the Darfur
school system before traveling to Khartoum,
where he narrowed his focus to
music and drama in Sudan University.
Shortly after graduating, Mr. Khatir,
whose Bachelor’s degree thesis focused
on the variety of rhythm and song types
in Darfur, received an offer of a teaching
position at the University of El Fasher in
the College of Education.
Voices of Darfur talked with the young
lecturer about the unique focus of his
scholarship and teaching, including the
traditional dances in Darfur, their various
forms and their relation to the social
lives of Darfuris.
Voices of Darfur: Would you tell us
about the traditional dances in Darfur
and when they first appeared here?
Khatir: Darfur’s traditional dances
are an ancient form of art. They are
part of the Darfuri legacy and tied
deeply to the lives of Darfuris. They
are all done by groups of people, and
they’re usually accompanied by rhythms
and songs that reflect emotions related
to different circumstances and events,
whether celebratory or tragic.
There are so many traditional dances
in Darfur. There is a certain dance for
each occasion. For example, there is a
dance for weddings, another for harvests,
a dance for war, one for circumcision,
and so on. Each tribe in Darfur has
its own traditional dances, which vary
from one tribe to another. The wide variety
of these dances is due to elements
including tradition, social environment
and even weather.
Historically, these dances have appeared
since the first people existed
in this area. So we can say that the
traditional dances we see today among
Darfur’s tribes are rooted in the rhythmic
body movements that were done
in ancient times.
26 VOICES OF DARFUR • NOVEMBER 2013