Africa-Iwalewa - Artists

Setona (Nubien)
März 1998
Texte unter Mitarbeit von Christoph Herrmann

Setona stammt aus dem Sudan und ihre Wurzeln liegen in der Provinz Kordofan, jenem sagenumwobenen Reich, welches die östliche Perle einer langen Kette afrikanischer Reiche war, die sich vom Senegal zum Roten Meer spannten. Seit jeher wurde der Kordofan von der transsudanesischen Pilger- und Handelsstraße, "tariq as-sudan" durchzogen, die sich weiter westlich - in der Nähe des 'Mutterbergs' (djebel marrah) - mit zwei weiteren transsaharischen Routen kreuzte: der libyschen Straße und der 'darb al-Arba'in' (Straße der vierzig Tage). Der Austausch von Handelsgütern und Menschen ermöglichte hier schon früh die Etablierung mächtiger Reiche, die vom Handel mit Salz, Tieren und Sklaven profitierten. Die isiamischen Pilger aus Westafrika (Haussa, Fulbe etc.) benutzten auf ihrem Weg nach Mekka den "tariq as-sudan". Viele von ihnen machten Rast in den Städten und Dörfern entlang der Straße im Kordofan, um Kraft zu sammeln für den weiteren Weg. Manche blieben, arbeiteten in der Landwirtschaft - die "fellata" genannten Immigranten galten als fleißiger als die Einheimischen - wurden seßhaft und vermischten sich mit den Alteingesessenen.
	Als Setona ihre musikalische Karriere startete, stand sie in ihrer Familie ohne Vorbild da, obwohl einer ihrer Onkel in den fünfziger Jahren Begründer einer sogenannten "Jazz Band" gewesen war. Doch das öffentliche Agieren als Sängerin und Musikerin hat in der konservativen Gesellschaft des Sudan nie den Beigeschmack des Anrüchigen verloren. Als Setona's Familie von Kordofan nach Khartoum - wo Setona geboren wurde - zog, lebte sie in einem Viertel, in dem Menschen aus vielen Ländern Schwarzafrikas ansässig waren: Nigerianer, Zairies, Äthiopier und Sudanesen aus dem Süden des Landes. Mit ihrem Ehemann, Ahmed, der als Lehrer über die Jahre Lieder aus allen Teilen des Riesenlandes gesammelt hatte, schöpft Setona aus einem unendlichen Reservoir afrikanischer Rhythmen und Melodien. In ihrer Musik kombiniert sie wie kein anderer Künstier ihres Heimatlandes mit spielerischer Leichtigkeit Einflüsse all jener Menschen, die entlang dem "tariq as-sudan" - jenem einzigartigen Begegnungsfeld der Kulturen - leben. So sehr Setona's Musik auch aus anderen Quellen schöpft, bleibt sie doch wahre sudanesische Musik. Deshalb kann es nicht verwundern, daß Setona in ihrem Repertoire auch Lieder aus West- und Ostafrika hat, aus Regionen, in denen sie selbst nie gewesen ist.
Denn die besten "Schlager" hatten sich über Jahrhunderte gehalten und so singt Setona manchmal in Sprachen (oder Sprachfragmenten), die sie selbst gar nicht versteht. Frauen haben in den Ländern des Orients eine Lebensweit eigener Art, in der viel und fröhlich gesungen wird. Hier erwarb Setona auch die Fähigkeit, die typischen Henna-Tätowierungen, die auf keiner traditionellen Hochzeit fehlen dürfen, herzustellen. Und sie erlernte, spezielle afrikanische Arten der weiblichen Körperpflege wie Schwitzhütte, Räucherwerk und andere Zeremonien durchzuführen.	Seit einigen Jahren lebt Setona mit ihrem Ehemann in Kairo, wo sie in der dortigen sudanesischen Gemeinschaft als eine begehrte "Zeremonien-Meisterin" für traditionelle Hochzeiten fungiert. In Kairo schreiben selbst Zeitschriften von Setona als "Königin des Henna". Sie bereitet junge Mädchen auf den Tag der Heirat vor und stellt die speziellen Hochzeits-Speisen zusammen und lehrt die alten Lieder, die die Frauen zur Hochzeit singen - auf diese Weise hält Setona die Tradition in einer modernen Welt lebendig.

Media:

Tariq Sudan "africa crossroads" - 1997 (BMG 743 21)

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Africa World Press 1998

THE ART OF AFRICAN FASHION

SALAH M. HASSAN

SETONA: THE NATIVE HENNA ARTIST IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT

Setona, a henna artist from Sudan, is probably the best-known and most internationally rnarketed henna artist. Setona's story exemplifies the destiny of an artist in a changing world characterised by massive human mobility, dislocation, and globalisation. Hers is also the story of resilience and success in the face of all odds. After all, being a woman and an artist in a place where such a profession lacks the respectability it deserves, this is a remarkable achievement. Setona, whose real name is Fatma Ali Adam Uthman, was born in the province of Kordofan in western Sudan. She moved with her family to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, when she was a child. Given the fact that she hails from a family of well-known musicians, it is not surprising that her first profession is really that of a singer and musician.

13 Since 1989, Setona has been living in Cairo, Egypt, probably one of the many creative individuals forced to flee Sudan in the wake of that country's oppressive regime. She lives in the neighborhood of Al Halamiya with her husband, Ahmed, formerly a teacher in the Sudan as well as a musician who accompanies her in public performances with the lute, the popular Sudanese string instrument. Setona's music combines folk and contemporary Sudanese music with the traditions of women's lore and wedding songs.

Setona has been credited, and with good reason, with the revival of henna body painting in Egypt. She may not be the only Sudanese henna artist in Cairo, but she is certainly the most celebrated thanks to her many artistic talents and entrepreneurial sophistication. What distinguishes Setona is her ability to market herself as a wedding consultant for 'Sudanese retrostyle' ceremonies, where she starts by applying the henna designs on the bride and teaching the women Sudanese dances, and ends with singing traditional songs during the ceremony itself. Setona's expertise in the traditional body care of Sudanese women known as Dukhan (vapor-bath) and Bakhur (the burning of incense to perfume the body) are also in demand.

14 In other words, Setona draws on her knowledge of an entire set of traditions associated with body care and body painting in the context of Sudanese wedding rites.

Setona's considerable artistic and entrepreneurial success can be measured in many ways. Her skill in the art of henna painting has earned her the title of 'Queen of Henna' in Egypt, and the demand for her work is world-wide. Among her most famous clients is The-Artist-Formerly-Known-As-Prince, who reportedly, makes special trips to Cairo in order to be decorated by Setona. Five-star hotels in Cairo, such as the Meridian, Sheraton, and Hilton, book Setona well in advance for special wedding parties.

15

Lately, Setona has taken to the stage, performing with the avant-garde Egyptian theatrical group EI Tali'aa, the Vanguards. She even had a minor cameo role in one of the most successful Egyptian movies in recent years, 'An Upper Egyptian in The American University."

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Setona's remarkable success in Egypt is not always viewed favorably by many of the exiled Sudanese intellectuals in Cairo. Some have criticised the Egyptian fascination with Setona as an act of appropriation that exoticises and stereotypes Sudanese culture.17 They compare the Setona phenomenon with the Western appropriation of African cultural products. Interestingly, many seasoned Sudanese musicians and singers, such as Mohammed Wardi and Mohammed El Amin, whose styles have defined modern Sudanese music for the last thirty years, and who have been residing in a voluntary exile in Egypt for the last ten years, never enjoyed Setona's success. Setona's popularity has also been attributed to the shift in Egyptian identity as Egyptians move away from pan-Arabism towards increasing awareness of their African heritage.

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Setona's international success must also be attributed to her shrewd entrepreneurial skills. Nevertheless, she could never have achieved such popularity without the current rise of henna art and African music in the West. Interestingly, her brochures and CD write-ups market her as the 'Black Magic Woman'. Such labeling is very revealing of Western marketing strategies and their capitalisation of the 'exotic', the 'magical', and the 'primitive' so popular in the West. Thus, Setona's success becomes more comprehensible when read within the context of the henna mania sweeping the West today.

13. Setona's uncle, Omar Abdu, has been credited with founding the first kind of 'jazz bands' in Sudan; a Sudanese vocal music closer to what is known as R&B and Black pop music in the United States.

14.The two types of body care function like a sauna. The woman sits over a hole in the ground covered with a blanket to get 'smoked'. It is important to note that these are traditions associated with the esoteric culture of sex and desire in Sudan.

15.Setona has a German agent, Martin W. Riedel, who manages her international engagements and performances. Through Mr. Riedel's efforts, Setona has released two records on famous labels such as Blue Flame and BMG, and toured many of the major cities in Europe.

16. Released the summer of 1998, the controversial comedy made box office history in Egypt, grossing more than a million dollars in its first few weeks.

17.I would like to acknowledge the fruitful discussions I had with Adil Kibaida, a Cairo based Sudanese artist during my recent visit to Cairo in the summer of1998. Equally helpful were the insights and shrewd observations of Hassan Ali Ahmed and Safwat Ahmed, also of Cairo.

18.The current debate among Egyptian intellectuals concerning the identity of Egyptian literature, culture and arts, and the renewed interest in Nubian culture and history, well illustrate this phenomenon. The interest in Sudanese culture and arts can be interpreted, therefore, as a kind of 'return to African roots.' Hence, the new popularity of Sudanese music, known for its faster tempo and hot rhythm, and the demand for henna and Sudanese-style weddings among fashionable Egyptian families. Gawhara, a Cairo-based Sudanese singer, has sold thousands of CDS of Sudanese folk songs and popular music, rearranged and written to suit popular Egyptian taste.

SALAH M.HASSAN

Salah Hassan (Sudan) is an Assistant Professor of African and African Diaspora, Art History and Visual Culture at Africana Studies and Research Center, Cornell University, lthaca, USA. He published and edited several books in the field of the arts and served as a guest curator for several exhibitions. He is editor of 'NKA Journal of Contemporary African Art', and serves as consulting editor for the magazine 'African Arts' and 'Atlantica International Journal of Contemporary Art'. Hassan is interested in human rights and democratisation issues in Africa and has been a member of the Sudan Human Rights Organisation since ist revival in London in 1989.