SUDDSCAPE.
General description. (Editor.)The “sudd” (in Arabic sadd = block) is a generic name by custom applied to the huge marshes through which the Bahr El Jebel, Bahr El Ghazal, Bahr El Zeraf and the lower portion of their tributaries wind their way. It forms an irregular triangle of which the northern base extends about 200 miles west from the mouth of the Bahr El Zeraf, and the southern apex lies about Bor, 250 miles S.S.E. of Lake No. It is difficult to estimate the area of these vast marshes, but it cannot be much less than 35,000 square miles.
These marshes are formed by the expansion of the rivers mentioned over this area, and probably represent the bed of an old prehistoric lake which has to a certain extent dried up. The theory has been put forward that in those far-off days a ridge about Kodok, subsequently broken through by the river, caused the holding-up of waters in this lake, but this is hardly the place to examine this theory in detail.
Suffice it to say that a great part of this area is covered with a shallow sheet of water, over almost the whole extent of which thick reeds and swamp-grasses have sprung up. Except in the actual river channels this water is probably nowhere more than 2 to 6 feet deep.
Scenery.To the eye the effect is one of a vast extent of brilliant green papyrus, feathery reeds and sword-grass, 5 to 15 feet above the water, broken by occasional patches of light ambach trees, with channels of water, pools and lagoons dotting the “swamp-scape,” and here and there a sparse tree or two on the horizon. Occasionally, and more especially towards the south, ridges, or patches of mud or solid ground are visible, Animal life.and in such parts there is much bird and animal life. In the lower (northern) reaches of the Sudd nearly all signs of life—except the brilliant little bee-eater, an occasional heron, fish-eagle, or “anvil bird,” the ubiquitous crocodile, and, of course, the insects—disappear; but in the more southerly parts are found many varieties of game.
Inhabitants.On the Bahr El Jebel, for the first 150 miles south of Lake No there are no human inhabitants visible. Thereafter occasional Dinkas and their villages are seen up to about Bor (384 miles); whilst beyond this the Bari country commences, the population as the Lado Enclave is approached being considerably thicker on the east than on the west bank. The Bahr el Ghazal swamps and banks are almost uninhabited.
Of the larger species of game, elephant, giraffe, buffalo, and many sorts of antelope, including waterbuck, Leucotis, Cobus Maria, etc., etc., are seen towards the south, whilst the hippopotamus is excessively numerous almost throughout.[228] From the reeds and mudbanks arise clouds of wildfowl, crane, geese, (black and white, and brown), storks (saddleback, black, open-billed and marabou), herons (white, grey, egret, purple, “squacco,” and “Goliath”), bustard, and the quaint balaeniceps rex (whale-headed stork), besides pelican, spoonbill, ibis, and duck of every description; and of insect life the supply is unnecessarily large throughout. This latter includes several varieties of persistent and poisonous mosquitos (from the large scarlet one to the tiny anopheles), the trumpet-headed sudd insect and other kindred grasshopper-like creatures, millions of midges and mayflies, the serût fly, moths, spiders, fireflies, etc., etc. The sudd also swarms with coarse fish, some running to a considerable size.
The true Sudd.Some confusion has been caused by the word “sudd” being applied to the whole of these marshes. As a matter of fact, the real sudd is only the obstructive floating vegetation, originated in the lagoons as described below, which is driven by force of circumstances into the river channels and there forms the block or sudd. By far the greater portion of the marshes are covered by standing reeds, papyrus and the like, which, although they cover and assist in the formation of the floating vegetation and even, when uprooted, form part of it, yet are not, strictly speaking, sudd in their original state.
Thus, the traveller who proceeds along the cleared channel from Lake No to Gondokoro will, in all probability, although in the middle of the “sudd,” see little, if any, genuine sudd at all.
Formation of Sudd. (Sir W. Garstin.)In the Bahr El Jebel the main factors in forming sudd are the papyrus and the “um sûf.” These two, with the earth adhering to their roots, form the real obstruction. Many of the smaller swimming plants, such as the “Azolla” the “Utricularia” and the “Otellia Vallisneria” are mingled with the others, but they certainly do not play an important part in the formation of the obstacle. The ambach, too, has been unjustly accused of assisting in forming this barrier. This is not the case. This plant does not grow in any great quantity in the vicinity of the Bahr El Jebel, and its stem is so light and brittle that it would break when subjected to great pressure.