This article examines the persistence of ritual drumming in the Middle Nile Valley through a comparative analysis of Napatan and Meroitic iconography and contemporary Sudanese Sufi practice. It focuses on the ritual drum known as Al-Nūba and explores whether its continued presence reflects functional continuity rather than direct historical transmission. Drawing on Jan Assmann’s concept of...
Spirit possession and the belief in witches and their curses is common in Uganda. This paper discerns a number of common themes that run through many of these experiences. In particular, sex as a motif for deviance and evil is noted as a common feature of many of the possession stories and all contact with spirits is seen as fundamentally dangerous. There is also some commonality in the content...