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Tob naming as an archive
Our history may also be recorded in so many other ways including some very unusual ones.
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We are used to reading about past events and famous personalities in books or seeing their stories unfold on a screen in documentaries or even through oral recitations told by our elders. However, our history may also be recorded in so many other ways including some very unusual ones. One such way is through linking these events or people to items in our surroundings, a practice of ‘naming’, which is very common in Sudan. These range from new car models, (Egyptian superstar) Laila Elwi to describe the ample and generously curved Toyota four-wheel drive to the Da’ish bus stop near the private university where students were allegedly recruited to join the extremist group. The names are political, cultural and social loaded with references that are understood by the society.
In Sudan, this tradition of naming extends to items of clothing, in this case, to the traditional women’s garment known as the tob, asari-like length of material that is wrapped around a woman’s body as an outer layer. Through the names of tobs, you can get a sense of some of the important events and personalities in Sudan’s modern history. From the obvious printing of faces or logos on the various tob fabrics, to more figurative representations of foods or associations, the names of these tobs are a clever and often humorous.
How are the names created and who thinks of them? Like today’s social media, it may be possible to trace the origin of a post that has gone viral but most likely a certain observation or description will capture the attention of users who will develop it and begin sharing and spreading it.The key here is that people can relate to it. In a similar vein, the names of tobs, once a marketing ploy by traders seeking to create a fashion trend and thus sell more, may also receive their names because of clever associations with their namesakes; iyun Zaroug, eyes of the former prime minister famed for his beautiful eyes is a tob with shiny circular discs and Al-Khartoumbilayal a night scene of the capital with sparkling dots resembling the twinkling lights of the capital. Women themselves also have the prerogative to name tobs, youm al mar’ah, women’s day or Nada al-Gal’ah after the tob worn by the famous singer. Names may also be given to tobs because they resemble a phenomenon that has captured the public imagination such as tob Abual-Gunfud, a tob covered in circular tassels named after rumours of the discovery of medicinal uses of hedgehogs.
And while these fashions and their associations to daily life may be superseded by newer designs and fashions, the fact that they were once named at a certain time, will remain a form of informal Sudanese archive. Will the war and rupture that it has created disrupt this tradition of naming tobs or will it continue to be used? A recent Tik-Tok advert by a tob vendor includes a tob called Al-Quwat al-Musalaha, the Armed Forces, a sign possibly of the names of tobs to come and their association with this tragic event in Sudan’s history.
We are used to reading about past events and famous personalities in books or seeing their stories unfold on a screen in documentaries or even through oral recitations told by our elders. However, our history may also be recorded in so many other ways including some very unusual ones. One such way is through linking these events or people to items in our surroundings, a practice of ‘naming’, which is very common in Sudan. These range from new car models, (Egyptian superstar) Laila Elwi to describe the ample and generously curved Toyota four-wheel drive to the Da’ish bus stop near the private university where students were allegedly recruited to join the extremist group. The names are political, cultural and social loaded with references that are understood by the society.
In Sudan, this tradition of naming extends to items of clothing, in this case, to the traditional women’s garment known as the tob, asari-like length of material that is wrapped around a woman’s body as an outer layer. Through the names of tobs, you can get a sense of some of the important events and personalities in Sudan’s modern history. From the obvious printing of faces or logos on the various tob fabrics, to more figurative representations of foods or associations, the names of these tobs are a clever and often humorous.
How are the names created and who thinks of them? Like today’s social media, it may be possible to trace the origin of a post that has gone viral but most likely a certain observation or description will capture the attention of users who will develop it and begin sharing and spreading it.The key here is that people can relate to it. In a similar vein, the names of tobs, once a marketing ploy by traders seeking to create a fashion trend and thus sell more, may also receive their names because of clever associations with their namesakes; iyun Zaroug, eyes of the former prime minister famed for his beautiful eyes is a tob with shiny circular discs and Al-Khartoumbilayal a night scene of the capital with sparkling dots resembling the twinkling lights of the capital. Women themselves also have the prerogative to name tobs, youm al mar’ah, women’s day or Nada al-Gal’ah after the tob worn by the famous singer. Names may also be given to tobs because they resemble a phenomenon that has captured the public imagination such as tob Abual-Gunfud, a tob covered in circular tassels named after rumours of the discovery of medicinal uses of hedgehogs.
And while these fashions and their associations to daily life may be superseded by newer designs and fashions, the fact that they were once named at a certain time, will remain a form of informal Sudanese archive. Will the war and rupture that it has created disrupt this tradition of naming tobs or will it continue to be used? A recent Tik-Tok advert by a tob vendor includes a tob called Al-Quwat al-Musalaha, the Armed Forces, a sign possibly of the names of tobs to come and their association with this tragic event in Sudan’s history.
