The following is an abridged example of an Odyssey Report written by Hatim-Arbaab Eujayl, one of the collaborators for Earth Odysseys: Nubia and a Narrating Nubia partner. To learn more about the course Earth Odysseys, see the previous blog post here.
Required Listening
Before reading Arbaab’s report, students were asked to watch the following clip of Nubian singers preforming on a Sudanese TV program.
While they listened to the song, they were ask to consider these questions before reading the report:
What do you think of this song? What do you think it may be about?
What does the musical style remind you of? How about the singing?
Arbaab’s Report
The other day I was telling my sister how crazy it is that two of the biggest American artists in the last couple of years are seventeen year olds. Billie Eilish? Olivia Rodrigo? Imaging being that accomplished as a teenager. I certainly couldn’t!
But this phenomenon of young people reaching immense musical success obviously isn’t new. In fact, my second favorite Sudanese artist got their start at the same age as Eilish and Rodrigo…
Non-Arabic music doesn’t get the attention it deserves in Sudan, which is a real shame. Singers who do not mostly sing in Arabic rarely get a chance to perform on Sudanese TV, which makes it all the more admirable that the artists al-Balabil — the Bulbuls (songbirds), on account of their beautiful singing voices — are using the power they’ve gained through mainstream acceptance by Sudanese society to promote a minority culture. The feat is made all the more impressive by the fact that, at that time, there weren’t many mainstream female Sudanese singers; of course, there had been female singers prior to al-Balabil, and female singers are a key part of many local traditions (especially weddings). Despite this, however, al-Balabil attracted no shortage of controversy, with the very movements of Hadia’s eyebrows being labelled “provocative”–that is, too flirtatious–by religious extremists. Family and friends criticized Muhammad Talsam for letting his daughters sing in public. But he had no interest in stopping, and neither did his daughters, and by the 80’s, al-Balabil had cemented their status as some of Sudan’s most iconic singers.
The song itself has wonderful lyrics that present an interesting life philosophy. The song’s very first line is as follows:
ⲇⲟⲩⲛⲓ̈ⲁ ⲁϣⲣⲓⲓ̈ⲁ ⲓⲓ̈ⲓⲛⲓ̄, ⲟⲩⲗⲗⲓⲙ ⲁ̄ⲅ ⲟⲩⲥⲁⲕⲉ̄ⲣⲟ̅ⲩ̅?
Life is full of beauty; why do you fill it with evil?
It then goes on to describe kindness, the natural miracles of the sunrise and the rain, all things that we should be celebrating; but instead, humanity ruins these things with its cynicism, procrastination, and unfairness.
Worldwide this isn’t an uncommon sentiment: how often do we tell people (or are we told) that it is our attitude, rather than life itself, that is making things difficult? A British writer one said: “Life is a mirror: if you frown at it, it frowns back; if you smile, it returns the greeting,” and this song very much has the same message. It is a contribution to a universal line of thought, the human discussion on how to be happy and who or what is responsible for unhappiness.
The fact that al-Balabil had to struggle as women, as Nubians, to be able to get to the point where they can present this piece of art to the Sudanese public would suggest that their art is weird, hard to understand, maybe even scary; yet, like most great music, “Dunya Ashri” is really universal. Even if it’s in a language only about half a million people speak, the message of “Dunya Ashri,” I think, is something everyone can understand and have an opinion on.
Each Odyssey Report ends with one or two questions that guide student reflections and responses. This week’s guiding prompt was:
So, what’s your opinion? What’s your reaction to the story Arbaab tells of al-Balabil, their music and their struggles? Does it remind you of any stories you know about?
Student Responses
The following excerpts have been lightly edited for clarity and student anonymity.
Student I: Hi, thank you so much for the amazing post! It was so insightful and interesting to read. The video of al-Balabil singing was so entertaining and beautiful: the singers have such incredible voices, and even though I couldn’t understand the lyrics of the song, it was still just as amazing. The musical style and the song itself reminds me somewhat of the musical pieces I’ve encountered before in foreign travels, but nothing I can recall listening to sounds quite like that unique and beautiful piece of music. I should also add that the philosophy “Dunya Ashri” presents is so clever and insightful: a positive perspective and attitude towards the world can often alter everything about the way you see it. People should be more appreciative of the positive things in life instead of tainting it with the negative aspects of the world, because by simply viewing the world differently, it can become just that more beautiful.
Student II: At first hearing this song only reminded me of Japanese performances. I don’t know if the style is quite similar or because of the way the music is played. It is very similar to the songs I heard in early Taiwan (my father listened to), because the performances are mostly in Thinking about love or waiting makes me think of a song that may be about feelings. After reading the article, I also learned that this song is a very beautiful song that describes the world. Let us not look at the world too badly.
I have not always been very good at dealing with disputes, but I think the reason why there are disputes is that someone encounters unfairness or uncomfortableness. Then I hope that all people in the world who accept unfair treatment can enjoy the same life as others. Hope there is no unfairness in the world
Student III: The song is pretty good. It’s a song I would definitely listen to. I like these types of songs. The instruments in the beginning were so calm. I could hear the violins, drums, flutes and some other instruments. I have to say my favorite part is the LaLaLaLa La La La La La La La part. I was moving my feet along and kinda wanted to sing it out loud. It’s not a super hyper song and that’s one of the reasons I like it. The message behind the song is so beautiful. I think music doesn’t have a language you don’t have to understand the language but if the makes you feel some kind of emotion you don’t need to understand. The woman being told not to sing is just overall ridiculous. I’m glad they didn’t let those comments get to them.
Student IV: I think this a really beautiful song with a good message. The musical style really transfers to the the message too, which I really like. The story of the al-Balabil was interesting too, they went though a lot too be where they are! I think the message can apply to everyone too, and I often look at life with a frown. I general, the song was really pretty, because of the message and how beautiful it was.
Student V: I like the song a lot! It is very pretty and cheerful and If I could imagine what it looked like, I would see colors everywhere. I also think the song was very unique, because I haven’t ever heard something quite like it before. It’s also a very positive song, talking about the beauty of the world and kindness. I also feel like it’s talking about taking on the world and facing your fears. I really enjoyed listening to it.
Student VI: A JOYFUL song sounds like to share the happiness to other worldwide. Facing the unfair world for these pessimistic people is a terrible situation and will be getting more worse to face it alone.
A positive song is helpful for EVERYONE. Whatever the song’s language to be.
UM Mentor Responses to Students
Initial student responses are further guided by mentors, UM undergraduate students enrolled in EDUC 461, to help students reflect on their own lives.
The following excerpts have been lightly edited for clarity and student anonymity.
Student VII: I really like the song! I like how it builds and how the instruments get more intense as it goes on. The song is very pretty, I think the category is kind of like classical/folklore. I think that this song would be played at some type of party or background music at a fancy mansion. I also really like the message it’s sending, it reminds me of my grandma. She is always tells me “enjoy where you are right now because soon you might wish you were there.” That has always stuck with me… Sometimes I am in a really bad situation (usually in trouble) and wish I would have not taken the moments before for granted. It really thought me how to live in the moment and be grateful. Over all i really like the song and it intent.
Thomas, UM Mentor: Hi [Student], your grandma sounds so wise! I am impressed by the connection you made. How do you think that message applies to the experience of the artists?
Student VIII: The song was really beautiful. I like how the instruments coordinated with the singers forming the really beautiful piece of music. It was very important that the al-Balabib kept going even when the others didn’t approve of them. It wasn’t right that people weren’t accepting them just because they were girls, the song made it clear that women can do anything just as good as boys
Farrah, UM Mentor: Excellent points! I wonder how much of the criticism leveled at them was because they were girls, and how much was because they were Nubian. It was maybe a bit of both?
What to hear more songs by al-Balabil? Or perhaps you’re interested in learning about other Nubian and Sudanese artists? Arbaab can help you there! Check out The Sounds of Sudan on Youtube and Twitter! To learn more about Arbaab and his other projects, see here.
This concludes our short journey through Nubia with Earth Odysseys!
Thank you for joining us!
To see previous Odyssey Reports, click here to learn about Nabra’s experience with learning Nubian or here for a memory from Anwar about his father, a builder of sail boats.
Students interested in joining EDUC 261/461 to be a mentor for Fall 2022 can reach out to Jeff Stanzler (stanz@umich.edu) with their questions.
