Abdel Karim al Kabli (), sometimes spelled el Kably or al Kably (13 April 1932 – 2 December 2021), was a popular Sudanese singer-songwriter, poet, composer and humanitarian, known for his songs with themes of love, passion, nationalism, Sudanese culture and

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

Early life

Al Kabli was born in the city of

Port Sudan Port Sudan (, Beja: ) is a port city on the Red Sea in eastern Sudan, and the capital of Red Sea State. Port Sudan is Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% of the country's international trade. The population of Port Sudan was estimated in ...

in 1932. During childhood, he developed an interest in the

Arabic language Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, especially old Arabic poems, and learned to play music on a

penny whistle The tin whistle, also known as the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, a class of instrument which also includes the recorder and Native American flute. A tin whistle player is called a whistl ...

. At the age of sixteen, he moved to

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

to attend the Khartoum Commercial Secondary School, where he studied Sudanese folk music and

Arabic poetry Arabic poetry ( ''ash-shi‘r al-‘arabīyy'') is one of the earliest forms of Arabic literature. Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry contains the bulk of the oldest poetic material in Arabic, but Old Arabic inscriptions reveal the art of poetry existe ...

. Further, his musical interest evolved to the

oud The oud ( ; , ) is a Middle Eastern short-neck lute-type, pear-shaped, fretless stringed instrument (a chordophone in the Hornbostel–Sachs classification of instruments), usually with 11 strings grouped in six courses, but some models have ...

(Arabic lute) and shetern (small drum), which he learned by himself.

Al Kabli's songs

Al Kabli's more than 150 songs contain a diversity of topics and references, including love, passion, revolution,

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

and Sudanese folklore. Some of his songs use lyrics from classical Arabic poems by the 10th-century Iraqi poet

Abu Firas al-Hamdani Al-Harith ibn Abi’l-ʿAlaʾ Saʿid ibn Hamdan al-Taghlibi (932–968), better known by his pen name Abu Firas al-Hamdani (), was an Arab prince and poet. He was a cousin of Sayf al-Dawla and a member of the Hamdanid dynasty, who were rulers in ...

, the

Umayyad Caliph The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member ...

Yazid ibn Mu’awiya, Egyptian poet

Abbas Mahmoud al-Aqqad Abbas Mahmoud al-Aqqad (, ; 28 June 1889 – 12 March 1964) was an Egyptian journalist, poet and literary critic,Muhammad al-Fayturi Muhammad al-Fayturi, also spelled Muhammad al-Fītūrī (), was a Sudanese–Libyan poet writer, poet, playwright, and ambassador. Biography Al-Fayturi was born in 1936 in Al Geneina and his paternal family belonged to the Masalit people. Hi ...

(1936-2015). Other lyrics are in

Sudanese Arabic Sudanese Arabic, also referred to as the Sudanese dialect (, ), Colloquial Sudanese ( ) or locally as Common Sudanese ( ) refers to the various related varieties of Arabic spoken in Sudan as well as parts of Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Sudanese ...

dialect that show his appreciation of the country's spoken language and customs. Some of his famous songs include "Ya Bint Ashreen" (Oh that girl in her twenties), "Husenek Fa Masher" (My Love Is More Than The Sweet Perfume...), "Sukker Sukker" (Sugar, Sugar), "Asia wa Africa" (Asia and Africa), "Noama", "Cleopatra", "Limaza" (Why?), and "Merowi" (name of the ancient city

Meroë Meroë (; also spelled ''Meroe''; Meroitic: ; and ; ) was an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile about 6 km north-east of the Kabushiya station near Shendi, Sudan, approximately 200 km north-east of Khartoum. Near the site is ...

in Sudan).

Humanitarian advocacy

Al Kabli was active in peace and reconciliation efforts in

Darfur Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...

and South Sudan and, through his music and social influence, stressed the rich ethnic diversity in the country. In 2005, he joined other well-known artists and musicians and travelled to South Darfur during the "16 Days of Activism for

Violence Against Women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...

", where he performed in camps for the

internally displaced persons An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced displacement, forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the Refugee#Definitions ...

and in the

Nyala The lowland nyala or simply nyala (''Tragelaphus angasii'') is a spiral-horned artiodactyl antelope native to Southern Africa. The species is part of the family Bovidae and the genus '' Tragelaphus'' (formerly placed in the genus ''Nyala''). It ...

stadium. In his later life, his music and poetry dealt with women's equality and women's health, and he was an honorary Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund. - In 2015, his autobiography ''Melodies Not Militants: An African Artist's Message of Hope'' was published by himself and his son Saad.

Death

Al Kabli died on 2 December 2021, in the United States, where he had lived with his family in the years before his death.

Legacy

Commemorating the first anniversary of al Kabli's death, Sudanese literary scholars Eiman El-Nour and Adil Babikir published an essay about his life and work, including English translations of poems he used in his songs. Referring to the strong tradition of Sufi brotherhoods in Sudan, the authors called al Kabli "a Sufi in his own right", quoting his poem “On the Love of the Divine Being”.

Discography

Contributing artist * ''

The Rough Guide to the Music of North Africa ''The Rough Guide to the Music of North Africa'' is a world music compilation album originally released in 1997. Part of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, the album contains five Algerian tracks, five Egyptian, two Sudanese, and two M ...

'' (1997,

World Music Network World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music. The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" competi ...

)

Awards

*On 12 May 2002, El Kabli was awarded an honorary doctorate in literature from

Nyala University Nyala University is a public university located in Nyala in South Darfur, Sudan. It is a member of the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World and of the Association of African Universities. See also * Education in Sudan Educatio ...

, Nyala, Sudan *He was presented with the Gold Award by Algerian President

Abdelaziz Bouteflika Abdelaziz Bouteflika (; ; 2 March 1937 – 17 September 2021) was an Algerian politician and diplomat who served as the seventh president of Algeria from 1999 to his resignation in 2019. Before his stint as an Algerian politician, Bouteflika s ...

*On 7 October 2004, he was awarded the UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador for

Obstetric Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgic ...

Fistula In anatomy, a fistula (: fistulas or fistulae ; from Latin ''fistula'', "tube, pipe") is an abnormal connection (i.e. tube) joining two hollow spaces (technically, two epithelialized surfaces), such as blood vessels, intestines, or other h ...

in Sudan for his advocacy for women's health, gender equality and human rights. *In January 2008, he was awarded his second honorary doctorate in music and arts from

Sudan University of Science and Technology Sudan University of Science and Technology (abbreviated SUST) is one of the largest public universities in Sudan, with ten campuses in Khartoum state. The main campus is located in the so-called Al Mugran area of Khartoum, the confluence of t ...

References

External links

Al Kabli Official Homepage

Al Kabli KIF Official Organization Homepage

Al Kabli's Facebook page

Al Kabli CDs Online

Al Kabli's Book "Melodies not Militants "Video of commemorative concert in presence of Abdel Karim al Kabli with Sudanese musical artists
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kabli, Abdel Karim 1932 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Sudanese male singers People from Port Sudan 20th-century Sudanese poets 21st-century Sudanese poets