Awlad al-balad (the Mahdist riverain tribes)

Awlad al-balad, "sons of the country", was the term used during the Mahdiyya in the Sudan (1881-1898) for the northern riverain tribes, of which the Danakla group and the Ja'aliyyin were the most important. Many awlad al-balad lived, temporarily or permanently, away from their tribal centres along the main Nile, and many were sailors and boatmen, especially on the White Nile, and merchants and slave-traders in Kordofan, the Bahr al-Ghazal and Dar Fur. ¹

The Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad found much support among the awlad al-balad, especially those dispersed in the west and south, and in general they formed his ruling class. After his death in June 1885 the Khalifa 'Abd Allah displaced them gradually from the chief offices, but clerical and other subordinate posts were largely filled by them until the end of the Mahdiyya. The chief group among them were the Ashraf, relatives of the Mahdi, whose nominal leader was the Khalifa Muhammad Sharif; in 1886 they tried to overthrow 'Abd Allah and failed. ¹

The awlad al-balad were seriously weakened by the defeat of the Mahdist invasion of Egypt at Tushki in 1889, where they formed the bulk of the expeditionary force and large numbers perished, including their leading general 'Abd al-Rahman al-Nujumi. A rising of the Ashraf and Danakla at Omdurman in 1891 was foiled and followed by repressive measures. In 1897 the Ja'aliyyin of al-Matamma, under their chief 'Abd Allah Sad, revolted and made contact with the Anglo-Egyptian forces under Kitchener; a Mahdist army under Mahmud Ahmad put down the revolt and sacked the town. ¹