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Hukm: the creolization of authority in Condominium Sudan

Willis, J.

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Authors

J. Willis



Abstract

Recent scholarship on 'neo-traditionalism' and colonial governance in Africa has challenged assumptions about the 'invention of tradition' and the ability of the colonial state to create wholly innovative kinds of local authority. This article explores one episode in the development of the authority of Ali el Tom, probably the most famous 'traditional' ruler in Condominium Sudan. It suggests that Ali el Tom's authority was a creole product, which drew on local moral codes and colonial forms of authority, but was not fully part of either. The willingness of his people to accept this sometimes abusive authority relied on a partly illusory sense that it was familiar; but this willingness was not unlimited, and on occasion actions from below set limits to the invention of authority and tradition.

Citation

Willis, J. (2005). Hukm: the creolization of authority in Condominium Sudan. Journal of African History, 46(1), 29-50. https://doi.org/10.1017/s002185370400996x

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date 2005-03
Deposit Date May 23, 2008
Publicly Available Date May 23, 2008
Journal Journal of African History
Print ISSN 0021-8537
Electronic ISSN 1469-5138
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 46
Issue 1
Pages 29-50
DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/s002185370400996x
Keywords Sudan, Colonial administration, Chieftaincy, Courts, Governance.

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Copyright Statement
© Cambridge University Press 2005



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