EASTERN SUDAN

Hokitika Guardian, 30 May 1931, Page 8

EASTERN SUDAN

NEW ZEALANDER’S WORK. d ■■■.'? TEN YEAR’S PROGRESS. Yrev rapid changes in the vast terfitory of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan m the past ten years are spoken of by Mr and'Mrs D. N. Mac Diarmid, who returned to Auckland from the Sudan last week .They are pioneer agents of lie Sudan United Mission, and their work is well known throughout New Zealand. Air AlacDiarmid’s association with Sudan dates back to 1913, when he went out with the first part) of Australian and New Zealand missionaries. 1 The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is an area of about 1,000,000 square miles, stretching roughly for about 1500 miles south of Khartoum, which itself is some 1200 miles from the mouth of the Nile. About the end of last century, owing to the dreadful results of the Mnhdi misrule, its population was reduced to about 2,000,000 but under wise and firm British administration, it has since increased to between (5,000,000 and 7,000,000.

An importan link in the development of the country commercially has been the work of the Government in deepening and improving the harbour at Port Sudan on the Bed Sea, until it has become a very busy and important port frequented by large liners. It is a coaling and oil station and an outlet for the export of cotton. GROWTH OF A TOWN. Air Mac Diarmid quoted one speeilic instance As typical of the developments now going on. Ten years ago the little town of Kadugli was a very small trading post' with no cotton .rrown in the neighbourhood. Five years ago it sent away 5000 kantars — a kantar is about 1901 h. of cot tin. Last year it sent away 100,000 kanLars, and. had to put up a .second ginnery to cope with the trade. It is now a large market in which such imports as Australian butter, (hipping* and tinned foods may he bought, - k large part of the world’s supply of gum Arabic comes ironi the Kordofan nnd among its untouched natural resources are forests of frankincense. When Mr and Mrs‘MacDiarmid first knew the country none of itn languages' had ever been reduced to writing. Now at the mission press at Heibau books are printed in two of the languages by boys trained in the school there. For her successful and scholarly work in reducing the language of ' the Heibau Xubns to writing, and for a thesis she wrote on the language. Airs Ala cl) in rmid was recently granted the very rare degree of Doctor of Literature of the University of Now Zealand Mr and Mrs Mac Diarmid had a particularly interesting commission to execute for the Government just before they left the country. They agreed to make as complete a survey as possible of all the languages in use in the Kordofan Province, an area considerably larger than New Zealand. AVith travelling facilities provided by the Government they succeeded in identifying 45 different dialects, which later examination proved could be classified into ten distinct groups. They made a number of interesting discoveries'which it is hoped will throw light on the somewhat mysterious origin of the Nubas and their ethnological relationship. The whole mat ter is the subect of a report which lias been submitted to the Sudan Government./

TWENTY YEARS’ PROGRESS. Reference to conditions of travel gives a clear indication of how rapidly events have been moving in the Eastern Sudan. When, at the request of the Government Mr and Mrs MacDiarmici went out in 1910 to start a mission station at Heihan, a centre in the lvordofan ’ province, it entailed a journey of 17 days l>v camel and three days on horses ,to reach tlieir destination from the Nile. Now, from Heiban they can reach the railway in one day’s motoring, or even, in the event of emergency, in about an hour and a half by aeroplane, for there are plenty of suitable landing grounds scattered n*»out tho country. ft was impossible to use the direct route ten years ago, because of the dangerous hostility of the native tribesmen. and Heihan was a strong military post maintained to keep order. Five years after the establishment of the mission station tin* natives' had become so much more peaceful that the military post was abandoned as unnecessary. Whereas ten years ago no native could go far from his own home without danger of attack from enemies, they travel all 1 over the country now with entire freedom.