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Table of Degarta Island: Stories and Recipes
In front of us is a platter with several traditional dishes please join us!
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The Communality of Food
Degarta Island is a Nile River island in the Northern State of Sudan, part of El- Borqeq locality. Similar to other regions in northern Sudan, its climate is hot and dry in summer and extremely cold and dry in winter. What dishes are served on the tables of people there? Is it a self-sufficient island in terms of food? Has the table been affected by the politics and the war that broke out in several states of Sudan?
In front of us is a platter with several traditional dishes please join us!
The banks of the Nile, with its fertile silt, is used for organic farming without fertilizers. Sudanese farmers used to grow wheat, Egyptian beans, green crops, fruits, and other seasonal crops alongside palm trees. However, the Marawi Dam came to reduce the annual silt quantity in the region of the north, largely impacting soil fertility leading to farmers’ increased use of chemical fertilizers to ensure the quality of their crops.
Following the emergence of the war, locally produced food products were significantly impacted, such as dairy products, oils, tea, sugar, and others, which led the market and citizens to rely on imported products from neighboring countries with lower quality to suit the financial circumstances of citizens following the disruption to their livelihood.
As for fishing in the Nile, the seasons naturally influence the quantity and quality of fish. They hide very deep in winter, and some of them hatch during this season. The Nubians have long invented a method for preserving fish by salting it to prepare Fasikh, and Tarkin (or Maloha). Fish can be consumed throughout the year but in different ways.
However, the increasing demands of life, especially after the rise in prices during the war, have led some fishermen to adopt a method that is criminalized here; electrifying fish. This procedure initially emerged as a scientific method for researching fish but later turned into a quick fishing method. This method negatively impacts fish stocks, as electricity kills fish in the area exposed to the shock, regardless of their type or life cycle stage. Today, the nets may be full, and the pockets heavy, but do fishermen consider the environmental risks for the future?
Don't be surprised by the plate of dates on the platter; it is usually served as an act of hospitality or to break the fast during Ramadan where the dry dates are often served as a side dish on the breakfast table, like salad, for example. They are made into honey, Madidah (date porridge), and date bread, which have long been a provision for travelers from here.
It is said that years ago, cows produced a lot of milk, and women would make cheese and yogurt from it, but these products were not sold. Instead, the owner of the cows would give anyone who wanted milk, yogurt, or cheese whatever they wanted for free. This was until one of them married someone from outside the island, and she decided that milk should be sold and bought. The person who told me this story believes that a curse befell the milk when it became mixed with money, and its quantity became limited, sufficient only for a small number of the population.
Cover picture: Whole wheat Gorassa. Wheat flatbread © Aya Sinada, 2024
The Communality of Food
Degarta Island is a Nile River island in the Northern State of Sudan, part of El- Borqeq locality. Similar to other regions in northern Sudan, its climate is hot and dry in summer and extremely cold and dry in winter. What dishes are served on the tables of people there? Is it a self-sufficient island in terms of food? Has the table been affected by the politics and the war that broke out in several states of Sudan?
In front of us is a platter with several traditional dishes please join us!
The banks of the Nile, with its fertile silt, is used for organic farming without fertilizers. Sudanese farmers used to grow wheat, Egyptian beans, green crops, fruits, and other seasonal crops alongside palm trees. However, the Marawi Dam came to reduce the annual silt quantity in the region of the north, largely impacting soil fertility leading to farmers’ increased use of chemical fertilizers to ensure the quality of their crops.
Following the emergence of the war, locally produced food products were significantly impacted, such as dairy products, oils, tea, sugar, and others, which led the market and citizens to rely on imported products from neighboring countries with lower quality to suit the financial circumstances of citizens following the disruption to their livelihood.
As for fishing in the Nile, the seasons naturally influence the quantity and quality of fish. They hide very deep in winter, and some of them hatch during this season. The Nubians have long invented a method for preserving fish by salting it to prepare Fasikh, and Tarkin (or Maloha). Fish can be consumed throughout the year but in different ways.
However, the increasing demands of life, especially after the rise in prices during the war, have led some fishermen to adopt a method that is criminalized here; electrifying fish. This procedure initially emerged as a scientific method for researching fish but later turned into a quick fishing method. This method negatively impacts fish stocks, as electricity kills fish in the area exposed to the shock, regardless of their type or life cycle stage. Today, the nets may be full, and the pockets heavy, but do fishermen consider the environmental risks for the future?
Don't be surprised by the plate of dates on the platter; it is usually served as an act of hospitality or to break the fast during Ramadan where the dry dates are often served as a side dish on the breakfast table, like salad, for example. They are made into honey, Madidah (date porridge), and date bread, which have long been a provision for travelers from here.
It is said that years ago, cows produced a lot of milk, and women would make cheese and yogurt from it, but these products were not sold. Instead, the owner of the cows would give anyone who wanted milk, yogurt, or cheese whatever they wanted for free. This was until one of them married someone from outside the island, and she decided that milk should be sold and bought. The person who told me this story believes that a curse befell the milk when it became mixed with money, and its quantity became limited, sufficient only for a small number of the population.
Cover picture: Whole wheat Gorassa. Wheat flatbread © Aya Sinada, 2024
