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 ARIS
- The 4,000 year feud between The Sudan and Egypt still has a
promising future. The exhibition currently running at the Institut du
Monde Arabe in Paris until 31 August 1997, "KUSH, Kingdoms on the
Nile", highlights some of the rivalries and grievances which have
been smouldering since the twilight of time.
An important part of the exhibition, given over to the "Image
of the Nubian in Egypt", presents the Egyptians as a bunch of
primary racists making few concessions (for example, the Nubian wife
of Mentuhotep II) and deliberately overlooks the existence of high
dignitaries and black princes during the Old Kingdom, such as
Niankhpepi whose remarkably preserved statue is on view in the Cairo
Museum, or Maherpra whose book of the dead is one of the finest known
examples dating from the New Kingdom.
The height of paradox is reached in scenographer Philippe
Kauffmann's staging of the exhibition which groups purely Egyptian or
Egyptian-inspired exhibits in the well-lit highly documented central
gallery, while typically Sudanese exhibits are relegated to
anti-chambers or annexes. One is equally baffled by the use of the
crack Egyptian unit from the bas-relief of Deir-el-Bahari to
illustrate the official poster for the exhibition, rather than their
pendant corps of Nubian
archers. Whatever the aesthetic or commercial motivations of
such choices, they are clearly in contradiction with the main theme of
the exhibition and simply perpetuate the stifling of Sudanese culture
by "big brother" Egypt.
Don't, however, let this deter you. The sheer beauty and
rarity of the objects themselves, which bear witness to this
first-known, yet so unknown, civilisation of Black Africa, the Kingdom
of Kush, make this a must. Two hundred items are on loan from the
National Museum in Khartoum; given the volatile situation in the
Sudan, it is quite possible that they will not be on view again in the
West for some time.
 A
people who will tread everything underfoot
"Woe to the
land of shadowing wings which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia; Go,
you swift messengers, to a nation who will be plundered and
unrooted...to a people who will be dishonoured and trodden down...".
Thus spoke the prophet Isaiah (Chap.18 - 1 sqq), referring to a people
who left neighbouring nations dumbstruck, despite the fact that
invaders of all kinds were almost part of everyday life. Out of the
confines of Africa, driven by an irresistible force, having traversed
the thousands of miles bordering the Nile, a new power emerged in the
Middle-Eastern arena towards 730 B.C. These tall, proud, dark-skinned
warriors with wide shoulders and of athletic gait had come to claim
their share of the Kingdom of Egypt, promised to them by their
infallible god, Amon of Napata. Their distant land "beyond the
rivers", according to the prophet, bears different names: to the
ancient Egyptians, it was the Land of the Bow (ta-sety), most likely
referring to their talents as bowmen for which they were appreciated
by the pharaohs. For the Hebrews, it was Kush. For the Greeks, and
later the Romans, it was to be Ethiopia, a general term encompassing
the whole of Black Africa. We call it Nubia, from the Egyptian word
nebou, designating the gold that was mined there. Lying to the
north of today's Sudan between the 2nd and the 6th cataracts on the
Nile, the land of Nubia was first the scene of a particularly
inventive neolithic period. It was later to know three successive
kingdoms, each with its own capital: the Kingdom of Kerma (2300 - 1500
B.C.), that of Napata (1000 - 300 B.C.) and finally that of Meroë
(300 B.C. - 33 A.D.).
The Sudanese Neolithic era
The study of
prehistoric sites in the Sudan is just beginning. Recent finds,
exhibited in the first hall, point to a civilisation of some
refinement capable of producing vases and club heads of incredible
finesse in their execution, as well as stylised feminine
representations of a high aesthetic level. For the most part, these
items have been found in neolithic tombs at Kadero and El-Kadada near
Khartoum, and at Kadruka, close to the 2nd cataract.
Herdsmen in the shadow of Egypt
The terms "groups
A and C", invented by the American archaeologist George Reisner,
describe the different civilisations which flourished between 3000 and
1500 B.C. in lower Nubia, close to the Egyptian border. Subject to
periods of expansion and contraction linked to climatic changes or
invasions from Egypt, these cultures were those of tribes of herdsmen
who during the time of the Old Kingdom in Egypt traded gold, ebony,
ivory and skins for finished Egyptian goods. The tombs of group C
reveal a people practising rich burial rites; the deceased was often
laid on a bed, accompanied by animal sacrifices and human
or animal representations.
Outside, the mound was decorated with a circle of cattle skulls.
 The
Kingdom of Kerma: Egypt comes under threat
In parallel with
these cultures, and a good way south, a powerful kingdom whose capital
was Kerma was developing around the 3rd cataract. Its territorial
limits have yet to be properly defined. Known to us since 2500 B.C.,
it was to reach its height towards 1600 B.C., threatening Upper Egypt
whose weak kings of the XVIIth dynasty had a hard time maintaining
Egyptian sovereignty in the face of invasions by the Hyksos to the
north (XVth and XVIth dynasties) and the ambitious Nubian monarchs to
the south, who had invaded Egyptian bastions built during the Middle
Kingdom. With the reunification of Egypt and the return to military
expansion under the XVIIth dynasty, the Kingdom of Kerma was purely
and simply to disappear. Remaining vestiges are derived essentially
from the capital's buidings excavated by Reisner and from tombs in
which dignitaries were buried together with several members of their
entourage, sacrificed to accompany them to the other world.
Excavations have also brought to light extremely fine ceramics. Red
with a black rim, they constitute one of the artistic pinnacles in
African ceramics.
Egypt and Nubia: an often fraught relationship
Three sections of the exhibition are linked to relations between the
two neighbours. Naturally, it is the military aspect which is covered
in greatest depth. A victory stele of Sesostris III (circa 1820 B.C.)
outlines the havoc inflicted on Nubian populations and stigmatises
their so-called cowardice. A chain of forts had been created by the
pharoahs in lower Nubia, and several items of Egyptian manufacture
come from garrison burial grounds. The section devoted to "the
Image of the Nubian in Egyptian art", despite the reservations
made at the beginning of this article, contains a number of very fine
exhibits.
The reign of the Black Pharaohs
Towards 1000
B.C., taking advantage of Egyptian weakness linked to the troubles of
the 3rd intermediary period, a new power developed around Napata (4th
cataract). Under the leadership of King Alara, and subsequently of his
brother Kashta, the whole of Nubia was reorganised. Piye (747 - 716
B.C.) was the first Nubian king to conquer Egypt and to install a
Kushite dynasty: the XXVth or "Ethiopian" dynasty. From then
on, the "Black Pharaohs" who wore the double uraeus (royal
serpent fixed to the head-dress), symbol of their double royalty, were
to install in Egypt a period of peace, prosperity and artistic renewal
which reached its peak under
King Taharqa(690 - 664
B.C.). A vast ensemble of temples was built near Napata, in the Gebel
Barkal. But the Assyrian menace was to prove the downfall of the
Kushite dynasty and the last king, Tanuetamani, had to withdraw to
Napata (664 B.C.). The next four centuries saw a succession of kings
who ruled only over Nubia. They nonetheless hung on to their pharaonic
titles, worshipped the god Amon, used the Egyptian language and
hieroglyphics in their temples and on their monuments, and were buried
according to Egyptian rites in small tapered pyramids, surrounded
by Egyptian-style
funerary regalia.
The Kingdom of Meroë: a return to African sources
As from 275 B.C., the capital was moved south to Meroë (4th
cataract), by King Arkamani I who was buried there. The distancing
from Egypt, from both a geographical and temporal point of view, was a
means for the civilisation of Meroë to give free rein to its
African roots: Egyptian gave way gradually to Meroïtic, a
language we can read today, although not understand
it. Kings of Meroë
were frequently succeeded on the throne by queens, the "candaces",
strong-minded women quite capable of leading their troops into battle
against the Romans. Among them was Queen Amanishakheto
whose treasure of jewelry
takes up two complete halls in the exhibition. New statuary was
created and developed for funerary rites. Originally Egyptian in
inspiration, this was gradually to become a
typically African art form.
Towards the end of the 4th Century A.D., Meroïtic power was to
give way to the Christian sovereignty of Axoum, in Ethiopia;
nonetheless, objects such as the
Karanog bowlcontinued to
be produced, bearing witness to the persistence of Meroïtic
civilisation. The many sites which are yet to be excavated will
perhaps, one day, throw light on the mysterious ending to the
extraordinary saga of the Kings of Meroë, and the heritage they
left to Africa. |
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Art and Archaeology Exhibitions
