Popular literature

Introduction to Folk and Modern Literature :

Sudan boasts a profound diversity in literature and the arts, encompassing poetry, prose, and music. Despite the country’s vast linguistic and cultural plurality, written literature is primarily expressed through Modern Standard Arabic and the Sudanese Arabic dialect.

Over the decades, a literary movement has flourished, rivaling its counterparts across the Arab world, particularly in the realms of poetry, short stories, literary criticism, and translation.

Several illustrious figures have gained international acclaim, most notably Tayeb Salih, who was recently hailed as the "Genius of the Arabic Novel" for his world-renowned masterpiece, Season of Migration to the North. Other prominent figures include Professor Abdallah El-Tayeb, author of the monumental five-volume reference A Guide to Understanding Arabic Poetry and Its Composition; the celebrated novelist Leila Aboulela; and pioneering poets such as Mohammed Miftah Al-Fituri and Tidjani Yusef Bashir, among many others who have shaped the Sudanese literary identity.

Music  :

Sudan possesses a unique musical identity based on the Pentatonic Scale, a tonal system shared with the music of China, Scotland, Mauritania, Ethiopia, and Somalia. The roots of modern Sudanese music trace back to the "Haqiba" style, which originated from religious praise chants (Madih) prevalent among Sufi orders since the medieval Sudanese kingdoms. Haqiba music blended with ancient African and Nubian musical heritage; initially relying on percussion and rhythmic clapping, it later integrated string instruments—most notably the Tambour or Rebab—alongside flutes and brass in the west, and drums in South Kordofan.

With the establishment of Omdurman Radio in 1940 by the British-Egyptian colonial administration—originally intended for wartime propaganda against Axis forces in North and East Africa—Sudanese music received official attention for the first time. Since then, it has made tremendous strides, keeping pace with global trends and drawing influence from genres such as Brazilian music (e.g., Sayed Khalifa’s Sudanese Mambo), Rock ‘n’ Roll, and light pop (e.g., Ibrahim Awad’s Ya Sabah Ya Zahi). The introduction of the electric guitar and brass instruments led to the formation of jazz bands, pioneered by artist Sharhabil Ahmed with his hit Al-Layl Al-Hadi (The Calm Night), while modern Sudanese youth have embraced Rap and Reggae.

The establishment of the Institute of Music and Theatre in 1969 (which evolved in 1998 into a constituent college of the Sudan University of Science and Technology) marked a qualitative leap toward a scientific and academic approach to music. This era saw the recruitment of music professors from various nations, including Italy and North Korea.

Furthermore, Khartoum hosts an International Music Festival every October, featuring participating bands from around the globe, including China, Mauritania, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.

 Cinema

The Sudanese film industry was initially limited to the production of short films and documentaries. Prominent figures in this sector include director Kamal Ibrahim and cinematographer Gadalla Gubara.

 The year 1970 witnessed the first Sudanese attempt to produce a feature-length film titled "Amal wa Ahlam" (Hopes and Dreams), directed by Ibrahim Mallassi and produced by Al-Rasheed Mahdi.

The second attempt was made by Anwar Hashim, a 1971 graduate of the Higher Institute of Cinema in Cairo, when he produced and directed the film "Shurooq" (Sunrise) in 1974.

Sudanese cinema draws upon folkloric tales (such as the film Tajouj, directed by Gadalla Gubara and the lead actor was  Salah bin Badya) or Sudanese works (such as The Wedding of Zein, starring Ali Mahdi, based on the story by the famous Sudanese author Tayeb Salih).

There are also co-productions with other countries, such as the film "Rehlat Oyoun" with Egypt in 198 ( which is a musical melodrama) and "The Wedding of Zein" with Kuwait.

Several Sudanese short films have won international awards, such as  Walaken al-ard tadoor  "But the Earth Rotates," directed by Suleiman Mohamed Ibrahim, which won the Gold Medal at the 11th Moscow International Film Festival in the documentary competition in 1970.

Other notable works include  Aldharih "The Tomb," directed by Al-Tayeb Mahdi, which won the Gold Medal at the Cairo Short Film Festival in 1970, and  Aljamal "The Camel," directed by Ibrahim Shaddad, which received the Critics' Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1986.

Theater:

 Theatrical activity began in schools and clubs as a means of education, awareness, and guidance since the beginning of the first millennium. Khalid Abu Al-Rous was a pioneer of the theatrical movement in Sudan, releasing the play "Tajouj" in 1934, which was based on a folkloric tale similar to the story of Layla and Majnun in Arabic literature or Romeo and Juliet in English literature.

 These works resonated with the audience, prompting the theater to move forward with steady steps. In 1958, the Sudanese National Theater was established in Omdurman, marking the emergence of a new generation of directors and actors, such as Al-Tahir Shabika, Al-Fadil Saeed, Yassin Abdel Qader, Al-Faki Abdel Rahman, Hamdanallah Abdel Qader, Belqis Awad, Fayza Amsib, and Tahia Zarroug.

Sudanese theater produced various works across different artistic schools, including the Classical-Romantic, Absurdist, Symbolist, and Realist schools. However, Realism held the upper hand due to its simplicity and its connection to the issues, behaviors, and customs of the Sudanese viewer. Plays such as "Ala Einak Ya Tajer" by Badr Al-Din Hashim, "Khutoubat Suhair" (Suhair’s Engagement) by director Hamdanallah Abdel Qader, and "Akl Aish" (Earning a Living) starring Al-Fadil Saeed, achieved remarkable success.

Plastic Arts (Fine Arts) :

Sudan has been home to the arts of painting, engraving, and sculpture since antiquity. To this day, the walls of the temples of the Nubian kingdoms in northern Sudan bear the traces of these works—a tradition that persisted through the eras of the Christian kingdoms.

 In the modern era, plastic arts have become intrinsically linked to national heritage, the local environment, social development in Sudan and global shifts in the field of art.

This distinct character led Jamaican professor and critic Denis Williams—of the British College of Fine Arts—to coin the term "The Khartoum School" in 1955 to describe Sudanese artistic works. Among the most prominent artists of this school are Ibrahim El-Salahi, Ahmed Shibrain, Hussein Shariffe, Shafiq Shawqi, and Siham Omar Abd-Elqader.

 In its early years, the Khartoum School did not adhere to a specific stylistic or aesthetic trend; rather, it encompassed various artistic movements, including Impressionism, Surrealism, Abstraction, Realism, and others.

 In recent decades, artistic movements committed to specific philosophical visions have emerged, such as the Crystalist School, pioneered by artist Muhammad Shaddad; the Plastic Garden Group, led by Alaeddin Al-Jazouli; and the Al-Wahid School, founded by Ahmed Abdel-Aal.

Art and Folk Heritage :

This heritage is manifested in handicrafts that emerged organically from within society, utilizing local materials such as gourds, leather, palm fronds, and wool.

 It is also found in folk dance arts such as the Al-Jarai, Al-Hasis, Al-Toya, and Ajila in North Kordofan, as well as the Kambala, Mardom, Hakama singing, Umm Adi, Al-Dawriya, Al-Kabsa, and Al-Bakhsa in South Kordofan.

Across the east, west, center, and north of the country, every tribe possesses its own renowned dances for various occasions, such as harvest, marriage, and circumcision rites