Art HistoryObservations on the Deffufas of KermaThe word Deffufa descends from either the Nubian name for mud-brick building, or from the Arabic word Daffa meaning "mass" or "pile". Although the religious nature of the Deffufas can not be doubted, their precise function has not been understood. While some regarded the buildings as temples, others considered them to be royal residences. Whatever their function might be, the architectures of the Deffufa are unparalleled elsewhere in the ancient world and their importance to the people of Kerma is comparable to that of the Ziggurat to the people of Summer. So far three Deffufas have been discovered; the Western Deffufa, which is the largest and the best preserved, the Eastern, as well as a third little known Deffufa.
The Western Deffufa is an imposing sight in the vicinity of the small Sudanese town of Kerma. Like the other Deffufas, it is built of thick mud-brick walls to provide cooler temperature in the hot climate. The structure compromises three stories and stretches over an area of 15,070 sq feet1 and is about 18 m. tall.2 The Deffufa is farther surrounded by a boundary wall.3 Inside the Deffufa were columned chambers connected by a complex network of passageways. The walls were lavishly decorated with faience tiles and inlays and gold leaf. Magnificent paintings showing exotic scenes of wild-life found in the sub-Sahara farther south served as visual luxury in an environment as harsh and as deserted as that of Kerma. A staircase seems to have lead to a shrine on the roof of the building.Evidence for a limestone altar for animal sacrifice was also found.4 The repeated works of construction and development efforts indicate the centrality of the monument in the town of Kerma; most likely the town's principal temple.5 Three colossal stele were found laid in front of a large funerary Chapel (i.e., labeled K XI) in the royal cemetery of Kerma. One of the stele measures about 4,73 meters in height. Their surfaces had been eroded; whether the steles had inscriptions on them or not can not be known.6 Unfortunately, inscriptions or records from Kerma may have likely been destroyed (or erased) during the destructive Egyptian invasions of the New Kingdom, i.e., which lead to the eventual demise of the Kerma civilizations. 2 km east of the Western Deffufa area site is the Eastern Deffufa.7 The two second two-stories Deffufa,8 is relatively shorter than the Western Deffufa's and has been identified by some as a royal funerary chapel in association with its cemetery surrounding, which contains at least 30,000 graves.9 The sight of the huge building surrounded by the enormous massive white-plastered mound burials is indeed marvelous. Areas of the exterior walls of the building were layered in stone.10 This Deffufa contained two columned halls with paintings depicting subjects from the wild-life with red, yellow, blue, and black colors.11 The floors were fancifully dressed with stone.12 The paintings served as luxury in an environment as harsh and as deserted as that of Kerma.
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