In 1881 Mohammed Ahmed Ibn el-Sayyid Abdullah (1844-1885) declared himself "al-Mahdi," the Proclaimed One, successor to the prophet Mohammed. A scholar and an ascetic, he criticized the corruption of both local religious leaders and the intrusive Egyptian colonial officials who governed the Sudan. Egypt was officially part of the Ottoman Empire of Turkey, but its ruling khedives (viceroys) had a great deal of autonomy and controlled the Sudan as a provincial colony. In 1882 a nationalist-driven revolt by the Egyptian army led the British to intervene and assume control in Egypt to counter what they perceived as a threat to the Suez Canal. England then found itself involved in an existing holy war in the Sudan--one that the Mahdi was winning, and would continue to win against the combined Anglo-Egyptian forces. Soon after taking the capital at Khartoum in 1885, the Mahdi fell ill and died suddenly. Khalifa Abdullah Ibn Mohamed, leader of one of the army divisions, was declared Khalifa al-Mahdi, the Madhi's successor. Under his direction, the Sudan took on more the aspect of an established administration than of a moving rebellion, a condition that prevailed until he met with a series of defeats by British Major General Sir Herbert Kitchener in the 1896-98 campaign to retake the Sudan. Khalifa al-Mahdi died in battle in 1899.
While most of the known flags, tunics and weapons were taken on the battlefield as military trophies during this last campaign, they were originally created to convey specific religious principles as well as to unify the diverse regional army that gathered around the Mahdi. The Mahdi called his followers ansar, or helpers, after the men of Medina who supported the prophet Mohammed. They were a diverse group--desert nomads, Nile farmers, hill herders, soldiers who had been employed by slave traders and former slaves from Central Africa.
These troops literally rallied around flags proclaiming the word of God. The flags' appliquéd inscriptions are invocations of God's might and mercy, but with some variations in the closing line that lists leadership descent from God and the Prophet. The museum's flag is typical:
O God! O Merciful! O Compassionate! O Living! O Unchanging!
O Lord of Majesty and Mercy! There is no God but God,
and Mohammed is the Prophet of God.
Mohammed the Mahdi is the representative
of the Prophet of God
(translation courtesy of Dr. Massumeh Farhad, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery/Freer Gallery of Art)
Many flags were white with colored borders, the letters in different colors on one side. Allah, the name of God, is often emphasized with green, a color associated with Islam. It is possible that other colors referred to the military unit that owned the flag, but even contemporaneous accounts give contradictory identifications as to division colors. This example is particularly impressive because of its well-preserved state, vivid colors and the use of silk for the central panel. The white tube on the side would have slipped over the shaft of a spear when the banner was carried.
While all these elements are directly linked to the military organization of the Mahdi, influence from a broader Islamic world emerges. It shows in the importance of calligraphy and the literal emphasis on the word for God, turning it in some contexts into an abstract pattern. The use of flags, parade costumes and chain mail was also widespread in the Islamic world.
Description:
Double sided rectangular cloth flag with a central brown silk panel surrounded by a blue-black cotton border with an outer red cotton border, and a white cotton tube for a pole support. The central panel contains four lines of appliqued Arabic script in blue-black with white diacritical marks and seperated by pale blue lines. One word is appliqued in green.
Provenance:
Anthony Jack, London, mid-1970s
Michael Graham-Stewart, London, 1991
Exhibition History:
Inscribing Meaning: Writing and Graphic Systems in African Art, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, May 9- August 26, 2007; Fowler Museum at University of California, Los Angeles, October 14, 2007-February 17, 2008
Published References:
Kreamer, Christine Mullen. 2003. " A Tribute to Roy Sieber: Part 2." African Arts 36 (2), p. 21, no. 23.
National Museum of African Art. 1999. Selected Works from the Collection of the National Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 152-153, no. 110A.
Content Statement:
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Image Requests:
High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
