An important collection of essays by the noted Sudanese anthropologist that highlights the country's critical role in the development of anthropology in Europe and Africa, and in studies of social change and rural development in rural Africa. While being critical of the discipline for its contribution to the colonial enterprise, the author also shows how its methods, its focus on the 'local', and its holistic approach hold great promise for social and economic development on the continent. Index, bib, notes, 192pp, THE NETHERLANDS. INTERNATIONAL BOOKS, 9057270447

Jean Baptiste Sevette was hired as a photographer by the Swiss mission to the Sudan from 1967 to 1982. Through this experience, personal as much as professional, he gained privileged access to the daily lives of many ethnic groups. This photographic testimony is undoubtedly one of the last to look at these Nilotic groups who have now been chased out of history. Having adapted to the hardship imposed by their environment and proudly self-sufficient, have been forced into a growing dependence on Khartoum. 54 photos, 144pp, ITALY. FIVE CONTINENTS EDITIONS.

The spirit possession cult 'zar tumbura' has a devoted following among Muslim descendants of slaves and other subalterns in the Sudan. This book explores the cult as part of a wider 'zar' complex for what it reveals about shifting ethnic identities in the modern Sudan. 448pp, USA. NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Amid Sudan's dark history, saturated with conflicts and tragic current events, lies a culture with deep roots, going back as far as 8000 BC. With several hundred ethnic groups and languages, Sudan is one of the world's most diverse countries. Learn how these cultures have blended and collided throughout the centuries, and examine how traditions and customs are kept alive today. Religious beliefs, social customs, arts, literature, and cuisine are among the topics discussed in this volume, which is ideal for school and undergraduate students. The chapters include: Land, People, and History; Religion and Worldview; Literature and Media; Art and Architecture/Housing; Cuisine and Traditional Dress; Gender Roles, Marriage, and Family; Social Customs and Lifestyle; and Music and Dance. A timeline of key events and bibliographical essay including print and non-print sources supplement the work. 224pp, USA. GREENWOOD.

A study of traditional law and culture in Africa. Index, apps, gloss, notes, 287pp. AFROWORLD PUBLISHING Co, 0948583045

1988 Paperback

The conventional perspective on Sudan's recent civil war (1983-2005) - one of the longest and most complex conflicts in Africa - emphasises ethnicity as the main cause. This study, on the contrary, identifies the land factor as a root cause that is central to understanding Sudan's local conflicts and large-scale wars. 272pp, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS.

In the decade-and-a-half since the first edition of this book was written, there have been dramatic changes both in the town of Aswan and among the devoutly Muslim Nubians of the village of West Aswan. Anne Jennings' revised and updated ethnography reflects those changes and also incorporates new material from archaeological/historical research and new literature on the impact of tourism, the work of Muslim women in the informal sector, and the interdependence of male and female domains. It captures the realities of everyday life for women in a devoutly Islamic society undergoing dramatic change. 171pp, USA. LYNNE RIENNER.

A classic work in social anthropology first published in 1940 looking at the political and economic lives of a predominantly pastoral people of Southern Sudan. Includes chapters on ecology, cattle, time and space, and the age-set system. Illustrated with b/w photographs taken by the author. Index, maps, 271pp, UK. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.

A highly praised study of a people familiar to many through Evans Pritchard's classic 1930s account. Hutchinson describes the way the Nuer have been affected by the effects of civil war and violence that have engulfed all levels of Sudanese society. B/w illus, apps, bib, index, 408pp, USA. CALIFORNIA U P,

Now in paperback. The author uses the concept of 'blood memories', the collective and personal recollections of traumatic events, to decipher the oral histories of the Dinka in particular. This presenta-tion of the pre-colonial history of south Sudan demonstrates how fierce wars, ethnic struggles and expansion shaped the history and the socio-political and military culture of the country. 424pp, USA. UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER PRESS.

The first English edition of a book published in France in 1955. George Rodger was a former Life Magazine photographer who co-founded the Magnum Agency in 1947. He later went to Africa, disillusioned by the war and looking for another way of living. One result was these celebrated photographs. 60 b/W photos, viii, 128pp. UK . PHAIDON PRESS LIMITED.

First published in 1937, this influential social anthropology was based on the author's ethnographic research in Southern Sudan during the late 1920s. Includes an extensive introduction by Eva Gillies examining its contemporary relevance and placing the work in its historical context. Index, app, xxxiii, 265pp, UK. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.