Paper short abstract:

A paper presents an institution of roadside mini-cafes run by women in Omdurman. Not only is it one of many examples of women`s informal activity in an urban environment, but also an institution important for the local iconography of power.

Paper long abstract:

A paper presents an institution of roadside mini-cafes run by women - mostly poor migrants from peripheral or war-torn regions of Sudan - on Forty Days Road Street, one of the main street of Omdurman. It is not only one of many examples of women`s informal activism in urban environment but also an institution reflecting in-depth historical phenomena. An event of slavery goes back to the precolonial times when the peoples of the Nile valley were slave-riding and slave-owning. Slave raids created a situation of domination and control by Northerners over Southerners of Muslim over "pagans". It led to racial stratification and the widespread identification of the people from the South with low status - a situation which still effects the social relationships in this part of Africa. I would like to look at the institution of roadside mini-cafe as something particularly important for the urban iconography of power. Particular legacies of racial stratifications hidden in this institution are helping a city dwellers with arranging hierarchies, rivalry and legitimating status. How shall we look at the intertwining legacies of gender, race, and class in the case of Sudan`s tea ladies? What does it mean for different groups of actors? Eventually, how do all these legacies affect social and economic relationships in this urban context? Here the main questions to which the author tries to deliver the answers. The paper is based on ethnographic research undertook in Khartoum agglomeration in 2013.