Tribal and sedentary elites: a bridge between two communities

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Book chapter

Title:	Tribal and sedentary elites: a bridge between two communities
Author:	Ahmed, Abdel Ghaffar M.
Book title:	The desert and the sown; nomads in the wider society
Year:	1973
Pages:	75-96
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Sudan
Subjects:	Rufa'a al-Hoi political elite nomads
Abstract:	The relationship between nomad-sedentary communities can best be understood if one focuses on its transactional aspects, whether in the field of politics or domestic economy, which are the subject of everyday interaction. With this in mind, and using the concept of elites, the author examines the relationshiops between one nomadic ethnic group, the Rufa'a al-Hoi, and the sedentary population on the banks of the Blue Nile in the Funj area of the southern part of the Gezira and sharing the same Rural Council (Abu Hugar). The tribal and sedentary elites play a very important role in nomad-sedentary interaction. In their position as middlemen, they manipulate communications and change the value of information in order to secure their own interests. In this way they keep the different ethnic groups apart by defining the situation for them, as well as by keeping the government from the scene. By doing this, they make their presence as a bridge a necessity. Notes.