The zir is one of the most essential items in any Sudanese home and was, until recently, used everywhere in Sudan for its cooling properties. Today we have chosen to tell the zir’s story because it is connected to both the present and to the past and because it is used for watering by travellers and settlers alike. In the past, every train carriage had a mazyarah holding a zir, and many composers were inspired to create their melodies after hearing the shaking sound of the zir on the train.

As we travelled around the different regions of Sudan to document the country’s culture and civilisation, we found that the zir was the soul of the place; it was present in most homes and places in different shapes and forms. Every state in Sudan had a zir that differed from those in other states depending on the type of clay used to make it and the natural environment of the place.

‍

When we visited the River Nile State on a trip from the Nile to the sea, the aim of which was to observe the difference between the Nile and the sea in terms of land, people, customs and traditions, we found that the zir was present in most households and along the roads (known as sabeel). The zir is sometimes called a jara and consists of a large, rounded base with a narrowed neck, and is made of light clay that is smeared with powdered red brick on the outside and burnt in a kiln.

When we proceeded eastwards on the same journey from the Nile to the sea and looked at similarities and differences, we found that the zir in the east had a slightly different shape and was longer, less voluminous and thicker. This was in order for it to survive travelling long distances and to keep its contents cold for longer. As for the trip to the northern states (Nuri Nafar, the Kasinger, Al Barak) where the zir is used primarily as a water cooler, we found many zirs in homes or along the road. Here, the zir is placed at the side of the road or on junctions for passers-by to drink from.

‍

During our visit to many homes, there is a mazyara; a stand made of iron, wood or cement placed next to the house door, holding one, two or more zirs covered by a lid often made of iron or wood. The zir is also sometimes used to store grains or in the process of fermenting hilu mur; the traditional ‘bitter sweet’ drink and occasionally to ferment flour used to make porridge and kisra bread. On our trip to South Kordofan’s Harvest Festival, the first thing that caught our attention was the shape of the zir. We were at Mother Bakhita's rest house in Dilling when suddenly we found ourselves standing around the zir. Its shape was new to us; it was very short, with a wide belly and a short neck and was placed in a corner of the house.

‍

In North Kordofan, during our trip to El Fasher in particular, we also found the zir in homes and along roads. Here they are made of two parts, an upper part and a lower part, which are glued together, and the shape and type of the lid, which is made of dom palm fronds, varies. Even though the zir differed in the various states, we observed similarities in the human relationship with the zir. In all places there was a clear link between human and zir; there is a person directly responsible for the zir in every home, from its daily cleaning and placing a bowl under it to gatheingr water drops from the zir, and making sure it is covered and filled whenever the water goes down. The joy of travelling around Sudan was discovering our legacies, and the zir was one of the legacies we found worth learning more about.

‍

Cover picture © Issam Ahmed Abdelhafiez, 2010, El-Zouma, north Sudan