Women clearing a hill slope for sowing millet (Fur: “sona”). Men and women have separate fields that they cultivate individually and store the yields in their separately owned granaries (Fur: “nonum”, Arabic: “Dabanga”).
Jebel Si area.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1969
A Fur farmer with his throwing stick (Fur: “dolfa”, Arabic: “sofrog”) and his spears (Fur: “Kor”, Arabic: “harba”) in front of his sweet potato (Fur: “bambai”, Arabic: “bambai”) field.
Note that the acasia albida (Fur: “kurul”, Arabic: “haraz”) trees shed the leaves in the rainy season.
Wadi Azum area, Western Darfur.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1965
A Fur farmer watering his field of melons (Fur: “burto”). The water is lifted from a shallow well (Fur: “ro”) by a “shadouf” (a water lifting device) and brought in a calabash (Fur: “kere”) to the field (Fur: “rei”).
Wadi Azum area, Western Darfur.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1966
In the western foothills of Jebel Marra small perennial streams allow for a limited amount of dry season irrigated cultivation. A woman harvesting a field of onions (Fur: “basala”, Arabic: “bassal”) that has been irrigated by the water channels in the foreground. In the background rise the western foothills of Jebel Marra.
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
A Fur woman is standing with her baby on the alluvial soils of wadi Aribo. Note the acacia albida trees (Fur: “kurul”, Arabic: “haraz”) in the background. The acacia albida trees are a characteristic feature of the lower wadis of Western Darfur. During the dry season the pods of the acacia albida provide nutritious food for the cattle of the Baggara Arab nomads who in this season camp on the harvested fields under the trees. The dung from the cattle serves to fertilize the fields of the Fur farmers who cultivate them in the rainy season. In the rainy season the acacia albida trees shed their leaves. This photo is from the dry season.
Wadi Aribo, near Zalingi, Western Darfur.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1966
The camp site of a Fur farmer who has succeeded in accumulating cash for investment in a sufficient number of cattle. Cattle thrive best when they are moved seasonally between different ecological zones. Successful Fur farmers therefore prefer to establish themselves as nomads like the Baggara Arabs when they have enough cows (Fur: “ko”). Note the tent made of straw mats (Fur and Arabic: “birish”) similar to those used by the Baggara nomads.
Lower Wadi Azum, Western Darfur.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1965
Selling agricultural crops provides cash income for local Fur farmers. Most selling takes place at the weekly souq (Arabic for “market”), but sometimes in the home of a cultivator. In this photo, a Fur is selling millet (Fur: “sona”) to an Arab trader.
In a village of the western foothills of Jebel Marra, Western Darfur.
Photo: Gunnar Haaland, 1965
