The Tora are a semi-legendary culture that existed in

Jebel Marra The Marrah Mountains or Marra Mountains (Fur, Fugo Marra; ar, جبل مرة, Jebel Marra are a range of volcanic peaks in a massif that rises up to . They are the highest mountains in Sudan. Geography The mountains are located in the center of t ...

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...

. In local

oral traditions Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985) ...

they appear as "white giants" who arrived in Darfur from somewhere in the north, which might be a hint to them originally being

Berbers , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...

. They are credited with the introduction of monumental stone architecture, advanced stone-working techniques and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

techniques like terrace farming,

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

and

palm tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...

cultivation. By the 12th century the Tora culture had been succeeded by the Daju.

Architecture

While it is unknown if the Tora even existed, the pre-Daju sites ascribed to them are real. The construction methods employed appear to be a local development, different from the architecture of the

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

and

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

region, but still fundamentally

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

in character. Typical for Tora architecture is the massive masonry which is faced on both sides. Rubble was used to fill the walls, making the structures extremely solid. The largest type of structure are palaces, being as large as 200-400m in diameter. They normally consist of stone huts encircled by a wall and were built on hill-tops. The wall could be divided or coupled to present two separate compounds, with two entrances opposite each other. This probably served to separate males from females. The Tora architecture was adopted by the succeeding

Daju kingdom The Daju kingdom was a medieval monarchy that existed in Darfur (Sudan) from possibly the 12th–15th century. Its name stems from the Daju people, the ruling ethnic group. The Daju were eventually ousted from power by the Tunjur and the last Daj ...

and remained in use in modified form during the rule of the

Tunjur __NOTOC__ The Tunjur (or Tungur) people are a Sunni Muslim ethnic group living in eastern Chad and western Sudan. In the 21st century, their number has been estimated at 175.000 people. History Based on linguistic and archaeological evidence, th ...

and early Keira

sultans Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...

, but had been replaced by new construction methods including fired bricks by 1700.

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tora (Darfur) Darfur History of Sudan