“Dongola” is the first Nubian novel ever translated in English. It was originally published in Arabic in 1993 as “Dunqula Riwaya Nubiya” It received the University of Arkansas Press Award for Arabic Literature in Translation in 1997.
“Dongola” — in addition to other literary works written by Nubian writers — has been attracting increasing attention. Nubian literature, as opposed to Nubian history, is very recent. The first literary work to be written by a Nubian was a book of poetry entitled “Zhilal Al-Nakhil” (In the Shade of the Palms) by the late poet Muhammad Abdel Rahim Idriss, printed in Arabic and published in 1948. For the next 25 years, nothing was published. Then in 1964, two important publications created an awareness of Nubian literature. Muhammad Khalil Qassem published the remarkable “Shamandoura” (The River Gorge) and a group of Nubian poets published a collection of poems entitled “Sirb Al-Balshoun” (Flock of Pelicans). The year 1989 was also a turning point in the short history of Nubian literature. A number of titles were released, among them a collection of stories by Ibrahim Fahmy called “Al-Qamr Bouba” (The Medallion) and “Nights of Musk” by Hagag Hassan Oddoul which was given the Egyptian State Initiative Award for 1990. This surge of Nubian literary works was in fact the basis for the coining of the term “Nubian literature” which dates from the year 1990.
In his foreword to “Dongola,” Idris Ali writes that he is conveying to us “with the sting of truth, some of his sorrows and those of his people.” The feelings he expresses echo painfully those of Hagag Hassan Oddoul who explains that after the forced migration of his people in 1964, a splinter was “planted in each Nubian’s heart, stirring pangs of yearning for that natural environment that was an essential part of their being, both as individuals and as a community... a sense of depression at having been thrown into an artificial environment that neither accepted them nor was accepted by them.”
In his novel, Idris Ali deals with the often difficult relationships between Egyptians and Nubians. The Nubian hero, Awad Shalali, is always revived by memories of a once independent Nubian empire. The sordid reality of his life, however, and that of his people reminds him inevitably of its root cause — the completion of the high dam which turned his native land into a water storage area for the whole country. His mother, Hushia, remembers “every detail of the catastrophe: The river that rose up, swallowing the houses and the small strip of land that had survived the first elevation, and flooding the greater part of their agricultural land. This time it encompassed the mountain and poured like a nightmare over the hearts of the south... They sat and counted the compensation money and sighed. Those who despaired emigrated north. The strong and the steadfast were determined to stay.”
Shalali overcomes a miserable childhood when he often slept on an empty stomach and becomes a respected teacher but his education ends up by marginalizing him even more. Craving an independent Nubia, dreaming of food distributed equally and justice for all, he can no longer accept the squalid poverty and resignation of his people. When he is seen defending those principles with so much passion and sincerity, he is shamefully betrayed by his comrades and ends up in prison for ten years.
While the first two parts of the novel deal with the hero’s life, the last part concentrates on the fate of the Nubian women (symbolized by his mother, Hushia and his wife, Halima) still living in the south of Egypt with the weight of traditions and ignorance. Awad Shalali ends up by agreeing to marry for his mother’s sake. His bride will end up serving his old mother while he is away working. This arranged marriage made at the expense of the bride’s happiness ends in a predictable disaster. Halima is totally unaware of the true motives for the marriage and she naively waits for a husband who will never come back: “The first month of that third year passed, and still there was no news. Halima changed; she was like a mad woman. Neither day nor night brought her comfort. She lived for the whistle of the passing train, the sound of car horns, and even the buzz of an airplane. Any knock at the door made her jump up and rush to it. She rejoiced at the sound of any voice calling out. She waited and waited, but the waiting was destructive and would wear out even the strongest nerves.”
“Dongola” has the merit of turning the reader’s attention to the Nubian question. The old generation of resettled Egyptian Nubians still feels a wrenching nostalgia for the loss of their lands. If a return to those lands is utterly impossible, it is satisfying to witness a growing interest in the preservation of the unique Nubian culture. The existence of a Nubian literary movement not only contributes to reviving the Nubian culture but also expresses the passionate feelings of a nation still attached to its ancestral roots and its glorious past.
