Kodok (Kothok) Fashoda | |
|---|---|
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  Kodok (Kothok) Location in South Sudan | |
| Coordinates:09°53′15″N32°06′37″E / 9.88750°N 32.11028°E /9.88750; 32.11028 | |
| Country |  South Sudan |
| Region | Greater Upper Nile |
| State | Upper Nile State |
| County | Fashoda County |
| Population (2012) | |
• Total | 7,709 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (CAT) |
Kodok orKothok (Arabic:كودوك), formerly known asFashoda, is a town in theFashoda County ofUpper Nile State, in theGreater Upper Nile region ofSouth Sudan.[1] Kodok is the capital ofShilluk country, formally known as theShilluk Kingdom. Shilluk had been an independent kingdom for more than sixteen centuries. Fashoda is best known as the place where the British and French nearly went to war in 1898 in theFashoda Incident.[2][3]
According to Shilluk belief, religion, tradition and constitution, Kodok serves as the mediating city for theShilluk King. It is a place where ceremonies and the coronation of each new Shilluk King takes place. For over 500 years, Kodok was kept hidden and acted as a forbidden city for the Shilluk King, but as modern educations and traditions emerge, Kodok is now known to the outside world. Kodok is believed to be a place where the spirit of Juok (God), the spirit of Nyikango (the founder of Shilluk Kingdom and the spiritual leader of Shilluk religion), the spirit of the deceased Shilluk kings and the spirit of the living Shilluk King come to mediate for the Kingdom of Shilluk's spiritual healing. Kodok is preserved as a quiet place for the spirit of God, where the sounds and speeches of God (Juok) can be heard and received by the King, leaders, and elders. For theShilluk, Kodok is a city of mediation and peace.
An Egyptian military post was established at Fashoda in 1865. It was then a trading station of some importance, including a slave trade. Between 1883 and 1884 the place fell into the hands of theMahdists.[4] However, historically Fashoda is chiefly known for being the site of the 1898Fashoda Incident between theUnited Kingdom andFrance. The British were attempting to create a solid block of influence fromsouthern Africa throughEast Africa toEgypt, which was already under British control.[5] Meanwhile, the French were attempting to expand fromWest Africa along the southern border of theSahara Desert in order to control all of the trade through theSahel. The intersection of these lines of intended control passed through Kodok, and a standoff between armed expeditionary forces led the two countries to the brink of war. The outcome in Britain's favour contributed to the stabilisation of colonial claims and the eventual end of the "Scramble for Africa".[5] The incident gave rise to what is known as the "Fashoda syndrome" in French foreign policy. In 1904, the development of the Anglo-FrenchEntente Cordiale prompted the British to change the town's name to Kodok (Kothok) in the hope of obliterating the memory of the incident.[5]
The EvangelicalChurch Mission Society (CMS) was assigned in 1898 by the British colonial administration to Kodok awarded to the missionary, after they had been denied the location of Khartoum.The Catholic Verona Fathers were also given the area west of the Nile and thePresbyterian Church (USA) the east to the Ethiopian border. From 1900, the missionaries were in low numbers and encountered territorial disputes, but in the 1920s, complaints were made by the CMS about the expansion of the Catholics on their territory. In January 1933, a Catholic Mission was established in Kodok and since 1974 has been classified under theDiocese of Malakal. From the 1930s, Kodok was also a centre of thePresbyterians, so Kodok has a major Christian influence.
In 1955, the population of Kodok was about 9,100. During theFirst Sudanese Civil War in 1964, during the reign ofMuhammad Ahmad Mahjub, Kodok was the scene of a massacre by the military inKhartoum. Similar massacres in 1964 and 1965 also took place in other cities in southern Sudan.[6]
In the 1990s, Kodok suffered a serious famine and saw many charities brought to the region, especiallyOperation Lifeline Sudan. In 2004 and 2005, at the end of theSecond Sudanese Civil War, many refugees returned but the security situation in 2004 was still very critical.
Today the inhabitants of Kodok are mainly involved insubsistence farming and grow as a staple of their dietmillet and rear cattle. From the mid-1990s they began marketinggum arabic, obtained fromAcacia seyal and sold toArab traders from the north. There are also ongoing local disputes in the area between Kodok and the south of Malakal on the Nile for land rights and water distribution.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Fashoda".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 192.
