At Afternoon Parties. Falconry… Equestrian Hunting Dancers

Sudan Events – Magda Hassan

Despite the current war conditions in Sudan, which is approaching the year, Sudanese life, with all its rituals, continues to overcome this difficult reality and steals joy from among the tears.

Habits

Many wedding events in the River Nile area preserve their customs and traditions, particularly in the Afternoon “Al-Asrawi” parties, which is a ceremony held in the afternoon and ends before the evening “Maghreb” call to prayer that preserves the popular ceremonial artistic heritage on marriage occasions.

This modern ceremony captivates the audience (invited and uninvited) because it includes equestrian songs that ignite enthusiasm for another ritual reserved for men (batan), which is flogging with a whip in the customs of some tribes, especially the Ja’aleen tribe.

Falconry “Saqyria”

Al-Asrawi contains the famous dance (the falcon), in which the dancer imitates the falcon. Sudanese heritage researcher Dr.Amir Al-Nour, said in an exclusive interview to Sudan Events, said that dancing in any human society is a movement imitation of animals and birds that have a relationship with the environment surrounding the group.

These animals and birds have deep meanings in the minds of peoples, which harmonize with them in movement and rhythm, with music as a harmonious control.

Status

Al-Nour pointed out that (the falconry) abounds in the celebrations of some tribes, the most important of which are the Batahin, and added: The amount of dealing with the movements and gestures of the chosen animal or bird, and its representation, determines its social and value-based status for the individual and the groups, particularly if these creatures are associated with a masculine trait, such as birds of prey and horses, or have feminine traits. Such as birds, geese, and some types of plants, for example.

Spread

The model of these dances is widespread even in the continent of Africa. In it, we find that many popular dances have a mimetic aesthetic. Many of them were with rituals and worship in ancient history.

It was transported to large parts of Africa and the world until it reached Greek civilization, from which theater appeared for the first time in history, influenced by those concerts.

Simulation

It is noteworthy that the dances carved into the murals and obelisks of the Nile Valley civilization are the same dances practiced by most of the tribes of Sudan… and still are.

According to Dr. Amir ,The Saqriya dance is one of the most ancient and beautiful Sudanese folk dances, and it contains a clear model for simulating and acting the “Hawks Falcon” in imitating the dance, rhythm, hunting condition, spreading its wings, and even the role of the prey.