Traditional Methods of Crafting Traditional Musical Instruments in Sudan: A Pillar of Identity

This study examines in a compassionate manner one of the most important issues of Sudanese cultural identity, specifically popular heritage and more specifically the manufacture of traditional Sudanese musical instruments. In other words, this paper examines the field of handicrafts as a permanent imprint of specific groups. Therefore, this study falls within the field of ethnomusicology (the science of people’s music). For further clarification, this study follows the descriptive-structuralist approach in approaches drawn from cultural anthropology and the structural analysis of handicrafts. This study is based on a basic hypothesis, which is that every society has its own local thought system (local thinking) that determines how to make these popular musical instruments. These are inherited systems that are closely linked to the means of earning a living and all popular rituals, practices, values, customs and traditions. This study concludes with results that are positive for the academic library and the UNESCO library in particular, as they contain models of handicrafts that can contribute to spreading human knowledge among peoples. This study is divided into two parts. The first deals with cultural identity and its relationship to folk musical instruments, as well as their importance to human life in general and Sudanese life in particular. The second part deals with the manual techniques of making Sudanese folk musical instruments. The traditional methods of making musical instruments in Sudan are considered a heritage that has not received sufficient scientific study, research, or analysis. Given that Sudan contains such great ethnic diversity, we would like to explore the intangible heritage of making these musical instruments, which are used by a number of tribes to practice their musical heritage. To achieve a distinctive Sudanese identity, it is necessary to understand and document the traditional methods of making these instruments so that comparative studies can be conducted to identify the differences that distinguish the groups that practice such heritage.