Sudan Traditional Music Centre

The Sudan Traditional Music Centre is a place that promotes and produces, traditional Sudanese music and instruments. Our visit started with a small introduction concert on a handmade string instruments. They were really enthusiastic and the music and dance show was really full of joy. People joined in the dance - and the community was proud of their work.
Afterwards we entered the centre and saw the amazing collection of traditional instruments from all over Sudan. Strings, drums, and horns in many shapes and forms. All the people at the centre, could play the instruments and gave us an amazing show with music, song and dance. It was a truly amazing experience, to see how the traditional instruments were used and how much they upheld their musical history.
The leader had an enormous collection of data, 16 terrabyte of music/videos from all over Sudan. The size of Sudan and the fact that it is compromised of countless of different tribes with different music traditions, languages and dances. This makes the job at hand seem impossible. But still they were working relentlessly on doing just that, with a minimum of resources and funds. They had received national recognition for their work, and they showed us clips from a documentary broad-casted on national tv.
Dance, music and politics used to be integrated into an whole. Lot of the music and dances were used in several rituals concerning different aspects of life. Both internal politics fx selecting a new leader or going to war, marriage and so on. A lot of the traditional dances involved dressing up as an oxen, and stomping and dancing. The ox was the most important animal in the religion and in the lives of the people in the region and this was reflected in the dance and music.

The centre both produces their own instruments as well as restoration of old ones. They also teach the old techniques to young interested musicians.