A Folkloric Reading of Qassim’s "Al-Shamandūra" (The buoy) and Mokhtar’s "Jibāl al-Kuḥl" (Mountains of kohl)

A preliminary reading of a number of Nubian novels reveals a basic peculiarity, embodied in the close relation between these novels and the nature of the Nubian society, so much so that this genre of writing has become a mirror reflecting the traditions of this society with its habits, customs and beliefs.

Contemplating Muhammad Khalil Qassim’s novel, Al-Shamandūra (The buoy, 1968), the reader discerns techniques drawing inspiration from folklore with the purpose of approaching the intended social and political issues. This creates a form of intertextuality of the literary text and the actual life narrative of Nubian life, as the novel forms a narrative of the social customs related to life cycles: birth, celebrating the first week, children’s and adult’s play, marriage conventions and songs, in addition to rites concerning death and mourning. The novel registers as well the traits of the Nubian character and everyday life habits, social relations and conventional laws. Moreover, this novel involves elements of the River Nile folklore. This is also the case in Yehia Mokhtar’s Jibāl al-Kuḥl (Mountains of kohl, 2001)

This special aspect of the Nubian novel, techniques of drawing inspiration from folklore, drove me to attempt a study of this type, revealing its manifestations in the two novels studied. This study is based on cultural criticism as this could be the best approach to this type of study. The domain of Cultural Studies is credited with taking interest in the neglected and marginalized, and what is popular and delightful. Through a cultural analysis of the daily lives of the Nubians, the various social and religious practices, folk traditions, marriage and birth rituals, and folkloric practices, the culturally marginalized and possibly persecuted find full expression. Through a cultural reading, the texts open up spaces for the marginalized socially, spatially, temporally, and culturally.