Sudanese National ICH

A sanbuk is a type of wooden ship. It is a large wooden boat, or we can call it a traditional boat. It is characterized by a sharp, high, curved front connected to a sharp base that ends with a keel. It is used for fishing, transporting passengers, and transporting goods in trade between Sudan and the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and neighboring countries along the Red Sea, such as the Arab Republic of Egypt. This type of boat is used along the Red Sea coast in the city of Suakin. There are fishermen who practice the craft of fishing using sunbouk, and there are also a number of skilled craftsmen who practice the craft of building these wooden ships from buckthorn, heglig and acacia trees, and the paddles are used to move the boat in the water. In 1981 AD, this type of boat was developed using diesel engines to move it and has continued to be used until now. They are of different sizes, their power is measured in horsepower, and they are used according to the size of the boat, whether it is large or small.

We also find Nile boats that use a sail or without a sail on the rivers. This type has a long history dating back to the Neolithic period in Sudan, where we find that the oldest evidence of the existence of boats was discovered at the site of the Shahinab civilization, north of the city of Omdurman. Boats were used on the rivers for fishing, transporting goods, and crossing the river. In northern Sudan, in areas with islands, boats were used to cross the river between these islands.

Along the Nile River we find many craftsmen who practice the profession of building wooden boats of various shapes, and they mostly use acacia wood for its strength and resistance to the strong Nile current.

The shapes and sizes of boats vary and have many names, including large sailboats in northern Sudan and small boats without a sail, in which oars are used and employed in fishing and transporting goods. Among them are what is known as a wooden canoe, which is a boat carved from the trunk of a single tree. There is a type of boat called the tarar, made from the stems of the Nile tarar trees, carries one or two people and is used for hunting or carrying timber goods.

The Aborov area in the city of Omdurman is one of the oldest areas famous for building wooden boats and their sails of all shapes and sizes, but its workshops have become empty, complaining of the high costs of manufacturing. On the other hand, the “masters” are fighting for the survival of the profession, as the hulls of existing boats under construction demonstrate their ingenuity. And the uniqueness of the boat

In the areas of Jabal Awliya, Tuti, Wadnobawi and Wadrawa in the Gezira state, south of the Sudanese capital, craftsmen also excel in building boats with high professionalism.

As for the techniques used in building boats, the use of acacia wood, which is brought in the form of blocks, is trimmed and cut at the place where the boat is built on the river shore, and then the block of wood is raised over a large tree to cut the block with a hand saw into boards. This process is carried out by two people, one above the wood and the other below it. They exchange the process of pushing and pulling with a saw until the specified number of “curved and straight” wood boards is completed. Then the process of building the boat begins by attaching the boards with large nails, and the process ends with installing the sail for the boats.

The sail or cloth is made of strong steel and is provided with a wooden board at its edge. This board secures the cloth and at the same time the sail is draped over it.

One of the most famous areas in Sudan is famous for building Sanbuk; The dhow is the city of Suakin on the Red Sea coast

Building traditional boats is one of the traditional craft arts that is linked to areas of intangible cultural heritage, such as oral traditions and forms of oral expression, as we find them associated with fishermen who perform fishing songs. They also perform folk dances accompanying these songs using the rhythms of leather-bound drums, and we find them wearing traditional costumes that distinguish them from others. Among the groups, boats are also linked to customs and traditions, such as the sounding that is practiced when launching a new boat and the moment it is lowered into the water. Most members of society participate in this practice, because this process requires great physical effort to pull the boat from its place of construction on the beach or coast and lower it into the water. Also, the craftsmen on that day slaughter a ram as a sign of dignity to operate the boat, and this practice is one of the popular beliefs that falls within Under the field of practices and knowledge related to nature and the universe. This is in addition to the social relations between craftsmen, such as woodcutters, carpenters, boat building craftsmen, and fishermen.