Introduction

The Nuba Mountains region of South Kordofan in central Sudan represents at least three major features of contemporary Sudan as outlined in this introduction. It demonstrates the African and Arab character of Sudanese society; it signifies the unequal and exploitative forms of centreperiphery relations within an overall socio-spatial system. Further, it manifests the consequences of political marginality, disguised or distorted forms of development, coupled with excessive land grabbing and alienation by the state (Baumann 1982, 1984, 1987; Ibrahim 1988; Battahani 1986; Mohamed Salih 1999; Saavedra 1998; Suliman 1999, 2002; Mohamed and Fisher 2002; Manger 2003b, 2008b; Komey 2005a, 2005b; Jedrej 2006; Patey 2007).

This chapter provides a bird's eye view, or generalized picture, of the Nuba Mountains region as a whole entity, composed of physical and cultural landscapes. Nevertheless, the focus is on its major socio-economic organizations within their temporal and spatial settings. It outlines topographic features, ethnic composition, settlement and land use patterns, and the socio-political landscape of the past and present. At the centre of this multi-dimensional analysis is the land factor, in its wider context, as a connecting feature between these various spatial and social fields.