Wooden boats still kings of the Nile for Sudan’s fisherman
KHARTOUM, Sudan — Wooden boats in Sudan are still favored today as a means of crossing the Nile River, particularly during seasonal flooding.
The islanders and fishermen heavily depend on these traditional boats to transport goods and personal belongings.
Wooden boat-building still endures in Sudan, where the vessels, known locally as “marakib”, have a long history.
“I have been building wooden boats since 1955. These boats constitute heritage for Sudan and their industry is still popular despite emergence of modern steel boats,” said Al-Haj Hussein Nasr Mohamed, a Sudanese builder who believes the wooden boats “will never end” in Sudan despite the spreading of modern transportation.
“Steel boats cannot compete with wooden boats because the latter is cheaper. Additionally, wooden boats can endure the factors of nature and do not rust because they are made of wood,” he said.
The wooden boats are flexible, with the ability to withstand the wind and fluctuations of the weather, and cost less than 2,000 Sudanese pounds (around $100).
“Islanders and fishermen are greatly connected to wooden boats because they have remained their means to transport their commodities during this time each year,” Al-Haj Mohamed added.
The wooden boats are built from al-Sunnut, or acacia wood, which is brought from areas of the White Nile in South Sudan, Al-Haj Mohamed said, adding that the building of a boat could take a month.
He said: “It is not an easy task. We begin by preparing the wood into plates, then we make the general structure of the boat, which is composed of the floor, the front, locally known as al-Muqadima, and the rear, locally known as al-Daraga (the shield) and finally the wooden plates are plastered to complete the body of the boat.”
He explained that boats are built as required in terms of length, width, height, size and purpose, noting that the builder must have experience to complete the work with accuracy.
“Fishing boats are usually 5 to 6 meters in length, passenger boats 10 to 12 meters and commodity boats 15 to 20 meters,” he said.
“We build wooden boats for all areas of Sudan. We have boats that sail to the far north of Sudan and the White Nile areas in central Sudan. We even have boats that are now present in South Sudan.”