The celebration begins with a great participation of Sudanese men, women and children and a large presence of representatives of the many Sufi Sheikhs, who attend in their distinctive clothes, with banners and flags of different colors and religious verses. The crowd is accompanied by religious songs and mystical songs on drums and tabors, including "Noaba", a local rhythmic instrument, while the Sufi groups seek the prophetic praises, whose rhythms sway on the crowds. The parade starts from the eastern part of the Nile and leads to the "Field of Birth" in the center of the city of Khartoum, where the tents are erected during the first days of the Rabi Al-Awwal until the 12th of it and they call it "Wagfat El Moolid" and people chant and praise until late at night. With the development of life, the Sudanese kept the tradition of commemorating the birth of the Prophet, with the difference and development of means and methods of celebration, where motorcycles replaced the horses in the big cities and became the lead crowd.
In the city of Omdurman, the historical capital of Sudan, the scene is different and the picture boasts of the flock that roams the streets of the city to settle in the square of the Khalifa, where the ceremonial form of his distinctive songs. The places of celebration of the Prophet's birth are found in large squares, mosques, houses, and even roads.
I lived most of my life in Saudi Arabia where the celebration of Mawlid is prohibited by Sunni Muslims there. My first encounter with Mawlid was when I first came back to Sudan with my family in 2010. You can imagine me, as full grown adult, mesmerized by the different shapes of celebration of our Prophet in Khartoum.
