Sudan loses one of the prominent scholars specialized in its ancient civilization and its Nubian heritage
Khartoum: Altaghyeer
Professor Herman Bell, the linguistics professor at Oxford University, specialized in preserving ancient Nubian language and heritage passed away.
The National Council for Cultural Heritage and National Languages Promotion announced Saturday the death of Prof Bell.
The late Prof Bell had been linked to the Sudanese Nubian region and it’s culture since 1961 when UNESCO named him as linguistic expert for registering names of the villages, areas and temples in the extended area from North Sudan borders with Egypt to the central north region of Sudan.
He managed to register all names of these places during the period 1961- 1962, the period of construction of the Aswan High Dam, Egypt, and subsequent submerging of the Nubian villages. His relations with Sudan hadn’t stopped since that time.
He joined the teaching staff at the university of Khartoum, upon the request of Prof Yousif Fadul Hassan, 1973-1997, as a lecturer and head of the Sudanese and African Languages Department.
Prof Bell and Prof Sayed Hamid Hiraiz, the renowned folklore researcher and former Deputy Director of the Afro-Asian Institute, jointly edited “Sudan Lingustics and Folklore” encyclopedia, published in 1975.
One of the famous books he authored is “Paradise lost: Nubia” in which he collected rare photos documenting the life of Nubians in Wadi Halfa town and its surroundings.
Prof Herman Bell was born in Virginia State, US, in 1933. He obtained his PHD in linguistics and geographical names (specialized in Nubian Language) from Northwestern University, MA in ancient Egyptian and Coptic language from Oxford University and a degree from the Arabic-Islamic Studies Institute in the Nubian language and culture at Leicester University.
