Naffir

Naffīr (نفير) is an Arabic word used in parts of Sudan (including Kordofan, Darfur, parts of the Nuba mountains and Kassala) to describe particular types of communal work undertakings. Naffīr has been described as including a group recruited through family networks, in-laws and village neighbors for some particular purpose, which then disbands when that purpose is fulfilled (Manger, 1987). An alternative, more recent, definition describes naffīr as “to bring someone together from the neighborhood or community to carry out a certain project, such as building a house or providing help during the harvest season.” (Source: 'Conceptual analysis of volunteer', 2004)

The word may be related to the standard Arabic word nafr (نفر) which describes a band, party, group or troop, typically mobilized for war. In standard Arabic, a naffīr āmm (نفير عام) refers to a general call to arms (Wehr, 1980). Naffīr has also been used in a military context in Sudan. For example, the term was used to refer to the an-Naffīr ash-Sha'abī or "People's Militias" that operated in the central Nuba Mountains region in the early 1990s (Kevlihan, 2005).

Naffīr was also used to describe a trumpet in Arabic. The Spanish used the Arabic name an-naffīr and changed it into anafil. (Trompet.nl, 2005)

See also

• Sudanese Arabic
• Nilo-Saharan languages
• Afro-Asiatic Languages
• Barn-raising
• Bee (gathering)
• Bayanihan (Filipino)
• Dugnad (Norwegian)
• Meitheal (Irish)
• Talkoot (Finnish)
• Gadugi (Cherokee)
• Gotong royong (Indonesia and Malaysia)

Bibliography

• Rob Kevlihan, 2005, "Developing Connectors in Humanitarian Emergencies: Is it possible in Sudan?" in Humanitarian Exchange, No. 30, June 2005, available at http://www.reliefweb.int/library/documents/2005/odihpn-gen-30jun.pdf

• Leif O. Manger, 1987, "Introduction" in Leif O. Manger (ed.) Communal Labour in the Sudan, University of Bergen, p7.

• Hans Wehr, 1980, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, Arabic - English, J.Milton Cowan (ed.), 3rd Edition, Beirut: Librarie Du Liban.

External links

• International Conference Volunteers and MCART Design Association, 2004, “Conceptual analysis of "volunteer" around the world”
• www.Trompet.nl [1] - This is a Dutch language website. The reference quoted above was translated from Dutch to English by Erik van Oojen.