Weeding millets. During “beer-work parties” (Fur: “tawisa”, Arabic: “nafir”), an individual cultivator (man or woman) mobilizes neighbours (men and women) for work by serving them beer (Fur: “kira” Arabic: “merissa”) and sometimes some food. Refusal to accept an “invitation” is taken as an indication of an “unfriendly” relation.
Western foothills of Jebel Marra.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1969
Men drinking beer (Fur: “kira”) during a break in a beer-work party. The beer-work party is just as much a “party” occasion as it is a “work” operation.
Western foothills of Jebel Marra.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1969
A big beer-work party (Fur: “Bambani”) arranged by a man to honour his mother in law (Fur: “iya mare”, Arabic: “naseeba”) by inviting a large group of people and providing them with ample amounts of beer (Fur: “kira”) and entertainment for those who participate in the work. One man is blowing on a kudu horn while another one is drumming.
Western foothills of Jebel Marra. Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1969
A big beer-work party (Fur: “Bambani”) arranged by a man to honour his mother in law (Fur: “iya mare”, Arabic: “naseeba”) by inviting a large group of people and providing them with ample amounts of beer and entertainment for the participants in the work party.
Western foothills of Jebel Marra.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1969
Entertainment by musicians, like this man blowing on a kudu horn at a big beer-work party (Fur : “Bambani”) is an important element expressing the “party” aspect of a “work-party”.
Western foothills of Jebel Marra.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1969
A Fur woman grinding sorghum (Fur: “marga”, Arabic: “durra”) on a well-used grinder (Fur: “dida”- lower grinder, “manang” – upper grinder). Millet products are of special symbolic importance in Fur society. Millet flour mixed with water is in Fur language called “bora fatta” (meaning “milk white” – mother’s milk) and is used as a blessing on several ritual occasions (e.g. circumcision, rain rituals, war rituals, treatment of diseases, weddings).
Sarar village, Southern Darfur.
Photo: Randi Haaland, 1973
Fur women making porridge (Fur “nung”, Arabic “asida”). Millet products like porridge and beer constitute the staple food among the Fur. They are products that belonged to the domestic sphere and should not be transacted in the market. Subjecting them to sale in the market was categorized as shame (Fur: “ora”) like selling sex.
Kebe village, Western Darfur.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1965
Men drinking beer (Fur: “kira”) during a break in communal house building. Beer is a product that the wife makes for her husbands from millets taken from his granary. It is shameful to sell millet beer. In daily context, men and women generally consume it separately. Otherwise it is used as a major way of mobilizing neighbours for individual undertakings like house building and weeding.
Umu village, Jebel Marra, Western Darfur.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1969
Construction of houses is generally organized as communal work (Fur: “tawisa” , Arabic: “nafir”), where the host provides participants with local beer (Fur: “kira”, Arabic; “merissa”).
Jebel Marra, Western Darfur.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1966
Beer-work party (Fur: “tawisa”) organized in connection with house building. Note the circular stone base of the building and the wooden frame of the conical roof that will be covered by thatch.
Jebel Si area, Northern Darfur.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1969
A beer-work party is organized in connection with house building. The workers are constructing the wooden frame of the conical roof that will be covered by thatch. What is emphasized in the beer-work party is solidarity among equal neighbours, instead of the hierarchy implied by paid work.
Jebel Si area, Northern Darfur.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1969
House-building party. Note the clay container for storage of grain (Fur: “nonum”) inside the stonewalls of the house. Ample provision of beer (Fur: “kira”) is a dominant feature of such mutual help undertakings.
Jebel Si area, Northern Darfur.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1969
Beer-work party mobilized for thatching the roof of a new house.
Wadi Saleh area, Western Darfur.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1965
Drummers entertaining participants in a house-building party (Fur: “tawisa”). The festive character of communal works like house-building and agricultural tasks is further emphasized by lavish provision of beer (Fur: “kira”) and food. Provision of beer is not seen by the Fur as payment for work but as part of egalitarian relations between neighbours.
Village in Wadi Saleh area, Western Darfur.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1965
Beer plays a very important role in the life of the Fur, not only nutritionally but also symbolically. It is a major item in rituals that serve to indoctrinate ideas of solidarity among community members. To sell beer is considered an act similar to selling sex. Women who sell beer are thus considered like prostitutes (Fur: “azaba”). In this photo, Fur women from the village of Umu in Jebel Marra are engaging in such an “immoral” act (Fur: “ora”). Shameful sales used to take place at a distance from the central market space.
Umu village, Western Darfur.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1965
