The ''hakura'' system was a method of land allocation in the
Sultanate of Darfur
The Sultanate of Darfur () was a pre-colonial state in present-day Sudan. It existed from the 17th century to 24 October 1874, when it fell to the Sudanese warlord Al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur, and was reestablished again from 1898 to 1916, until it ...
. The system was based on charters or ''hawakir'' (singular ''hakura'') issued by the sultan entitling one to ownership of a certain estate, usually as a
freehold
Freehold may refer to:
In real estate
*Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple
* Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England
*Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...
, sometimes as
fiefs
A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal allegi ...
in exchange for tribute or rent. The possessors of ''hawakir'' were usually wealthy aristocrats, while most of the estates granted were worked by slaves or bondservants. A distinction can be made between the
demesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...
lands of the estate-holder, whose slaves he personally owned, and the rest of the ''hakura'', from whose inhabitants he exacted tribute and who owned their own slaves.
The ''hakura'' system was introduced to Darfur during the reign of
Kuuru, the second sultan of the
Keira dynasty. When the itinerant court finally settled down around
El Fasher
Al-Fashir or El Fasher () is the capital city of North Darfur, Sudan. It is a city in the Darfur region of southwestern Sudan, northeast of Nyala, Sudan.
"Al-Fashir" (description)
''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2007, webpage:
A historica ...
towards 1790, the land around the capital was gradually given out to courtiers through ''hawakir''. In exchange these landholders were responsible for tax collection on their estates, which were the most heavily taxed in the country. The right to employ nomads as herders was sometimes granted to ''hakura'' holders.
After the
conquest of Darfur in 1916, the
Anglo-Egyptian government abolished the ''hakura'' system and abolished slavery, effecting "the release of Sudanese servants".
Notes
Sources
*
*{{cite book , title=Famine That Kills: Darfur , url=https://archive.org/details/faminethatkillsd00dewa , url-access=registration , last=de Waal , first=Alex , publisher=Oxford University Press , location=Cary, NC , year=2005
History of Darfur