El-Kurru is a village on the Nile in northern Sudan that is also the location of a royal pyramid cemetery of kings and queens of ancient Kush. Residents of El-Kurru today keep gardens along the Nile in which they grow date palms and vegetables and they also raise animals. Some residents are university graduates who have returned home, and most have other skills, whether as builders, musicians, poets, fishermen, or teachers. The village culture is relatively traditional for Islamic Sudan, and while women are active and influential in the community, it was not considered proper for them to appear on film for this tour. The relationship between the village community and the ancient archaeological site is complex. Most people in the village belong to the Shaigiya ethnic group, which considers its roots to be in the Arabian peninsula rather than ancient Kush.