The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan: a compendium prepared by officers of the Sudan government, Vol. 1 (of 2)

Chapter XVIII: Section 2: Country Between Halfa, Berber, Suakin and the

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INTERSECTION OF THE 22ND PARALLEL WITH THE RED SEA.

(_a_) BETWEEN THE RAILWAY AND THE NILE.

[Sidenote: General.]

For purposes of description this area is conveniently divided into two portions by the Halfa-Abu Hamed Railway. The portion west of the railway comprises some of the most arid country in the Sudan. The general formation is that of a plain covered with sand or gravel, dotted here and there with steep and even precipitous hills of from 100 to 800 feet elevation above the plain, which falls gently and uniformly to within a few miles of the Nile. In places these detached hills are so numerous and so close together as to resemble connected ranges. As a rule the sand is coarse and heavy enough to afford excellent going for camels; but strips of soft deep sand are occasionally met with, especially where the wind has banked it up against or between the hills.

The crest of this gently sloping spur projecting into the bend of the Nile, is some 2,000 feet above sea level, where the railway crosses it, that is some 1,550 feet above Halfa and 1,080 feet above Abu Hamed.

The country midway between the river and the railway has been little visited, and the only known place of any importance is J. Kuror, the highest hill west of the railway and some 4,070 feet above the sea. After heavy rains its “Makhzans,” or rocky reservoirs, hold water for many months, and are occasionally visited by nomad Arabs.

Immediately south of Halfa the plain terminates in a belt of low hummocky hills, some 8 to 10 miles wide. After Sarras, the belt becomes wider and the hills bolder, till they culminate in J. Ago, east of Akasha, at the southern end of the Batn El Hagar.

Between Akasha and the latitude of Kosha the country becomes less confined, but contains several high and precipitous hills. South of Kosha it becomes more and more open, and the hills lower and more scattered until they appear to die away south of Kerma.

From Kerma, as far as Old Dongola, practically no hills are visible from the river, and the sand hills are piled up on the very edge of the water. At Old Dongola the ground rises, and from there, as far as J. Barkal, near Merowe, rocky elevations approach the river here and there, or are seen in the distance, without, however, always encroaching on the fertile belt on the right bank.

From J. Barkal to Abu Hamed there is a rough and rocky belt of hills a few miles from the river, though the elevations are inconsiderable.

[Sidenote: Drainage.]

Rain falls at long intervals in very heavy and local showers. From the upper part of the country it is carried off by a number of wide shallow wadis, whose beds are hardly distinguishable when crossed, though the slight remains of grass they sometimes contain show them up clearly when looked down on from the top of a hill.

As these wadis reach the rocky belt along the river, their beds contract so much that after heavy rain regular torrents descend them, sweeping away anything they find in their path. Much damage occurred in this way to the camp at Akasha in 1896, though no rain fell in the vicinity.

South of the crest of the spur the chief drainage lines are the two Wadis Keheli, one of which rises near J. Kuror and joins the Nile, about 40 miles below Abu Hamed; the other rises near No. 5 Station and is followed by the railway under the name of Wadi Gaud, and eventually reaches the Nile a little west of Mograt Island.

[Sidenote: Vegetation.]

Some of the wadis contain a little grass and a few stunted selem bushes, but there is no grazing for flocks except within a few miles of the Nile. Firewood also is very rarely met with.

[Sidenote: Inhabitants.]

The riverain inhabitants graze their flocks a few miles into the desert. Besides these shepherds there are no inhabitants.

[Sidenote: Cultivation.]

There is none.

[Sidenote: Roads.]

Except in the hilly belt along the river, camels can go anywhere.

The only track at all well-known is that from Dongola (Naui) to Merowe, cutting off the great bend of the Nile to the south.

(_b_) COUNTRY EAST OF HALFA-ABU HAMED RAILWAY, OR “THE ATBAI.”

[Sidenote: Limits.]

The Atbai is roughly the name applied to the country bounded on the north by the Kena-Kosseir road, on the south by the Berber-Suakin road, on the east by the Red Sea, and on the west by the Nile from Kena to Halfa, and thence by the Sudan Government Railway to Berber. It lies, therefore, approximately, between N. lat. 26° and 20°.

The northern half, which is inhabited by the Ababda, belongs to Egypt; the southern portion, inhabited by the Bisharin and the Amarar, etc., near Suakin, belongs to the Sudan. Although on many maps this country is generally labelled “Nubian Desert,” much of it is by no means desert in the true sense of the word. Comparatively little is known even now of the more southern districts[45] of the Atbai, and the following descriptive notes must be taken to apply chiefly to the country between north lat. 21° and 22° 30′.

[Sidenote: Bisharin country.]

The country of the Bisharin, which is bounded on the north by an irregular line rather north of lat. 22°, and to the south extends as far as Mitateb on the Atbara, contains wide stretches of gravelly, sandy, or stony desert, intersected by frequent bare sandstone and granite ranges, but, at the same time, on the eastern side especially, it contains many more or less fertile and quite luxuriantly wooded wadis, in which water is sometimes found within 2 or 3 feet of the surface.

[Sidenote: Drainage.]

East of the railway the hills become more frequent and larger, and the drainage lines more conspicuous.

Generally speaking, the watershed between the Nile and the Red Sea, which lies between 35° and 35° 30′ E. long., consists of a mass of hills from 30 to 40 miles in width. These hills, which consist of agglomerations of rather small features, out of which a bolder peak, such as J. Eigat, occasionally rises, are intersected by very numerous rocky khors, which feed a few large and well-wooded wadis. West of the watershed, from as far south as 20° 30′, all the drainage escapes north by the wadis Alagi and Gabgaba, which unite to the east of Korosko and join the Nile near Sayala.

Of these the Gabgaba has the longest course, as its head waters rise much further south than those of the Alagi. Much of its basin is still unexplored, in fact, the only well known portion is the plain south-east of Murrat wells, which is painfully arid and deficient in vegetation.

Many of the wadis, however, that descend to it on the east are well wooded as long as they are in the hills, and even for a few miles after they have emerged from them.

The scheme of drainage here is exactly the reverse of that west of the railway.

Instead of water-courses beginning broad and ending narrow and deep, here they commence with narrow defined rocky channels, gradually becoming broader, sandier, of more gentle slope, and in many places with fine trees and much “tabas” grass. When the hills are left, however, the trees die away, the grass disappears, and the bed becomes ill-defined or completely lost. South of the parallel of Murrat the country appears to become more open, and probably very wide plains exist with little to offer to even a desert Arab.

South of the Gabgaba Basin, the drainage from the watershed descends nearly due west by several large wadis, which have at various times given trouble to the railway. Owing to the outcrop of rocks near the river between Abu Hamed and Berber, the beds of these wadis become restricted as they approach the river, with the usual result as regards spates and floods.

[Sidenote: Drainage east of watershed.]

On the east of the watershed the wadis, after leaving the hills on which they rise, traverse a range of granite hills, and thence flow, generally in a north-east direction, to the maritime plain of the Red Sea.

The principal wadis, from north to south, are Hasium, Di-ib, and Haieit.

The Wadi Hasium, after emerging from the hills of Abu Hodeid, skirts the Kajoj and Musa ranges, which it leaves some distance to the south, and flows through open country to the sea. It contains the wells of Kajoj and Shalatein.

The Wadi Di-ib, perhaps the most important wadi of the Eastern Atbai, rises in the Amarar country, probably as far south as the 20th parallel, and flows generally northwards. About 20 miles before it turns eastwards to traverse the open maritime plain, it opens out into a wide basin, a mile in breadth and 8 to 10 miles in length, containing a bed of rich alluvial soil. This basin forms the principal cultivable land in the Um Ali Bisharin country. It is the property of the Shantirab, but portions are allotted both to the Amrab and Belgab in good years. An important tributary on the left bank of the Di-ib is the Wadi Hufra, which, rising in the Amrab country in the hills to the north-east of Onib, joins it at the north end of the J. Elba range. It receives all the drainage from the hills of the southern Belgab country by the Wadis Is and Legia. At several places in its bed, the Arabs cultivate and obtain good crops of dura.

Wadi Haieit, in the southern Atbai, is also said to be cultivated.

The ranges of Elba and Asotriba are composed of red granite, whilst at the foot of the latter are small hills of very beautiful hornblende porphyrite.

[Sidenote: Climate.]

The climate of the Atbai is probably the best in the Sudan. The air is of absolute purity, and the elevation, 1,500 to 3,000 feet above sea level, very considerably mitigates the shade temperature. The heat of the sun, however, is intensely fierce in warm weather, owing to the glare from the sand and rocks. During the summer, waves of superheated air are occasionally known, such as that which destroyed a convoy on the march from Korosko to Abu Hamed in 1897.

In winter, the cold is quite severe, and anyone proposing to travel there in December or January should make sure he has plenty of bedding and warm clothes.

Though it is essentially a very dry climate, dew falls at Deraheib on the west of the watershed in December, and a misty haze, which seems to be connected with moisture in the air, frequently covers the whole country. The climate of the littoral is, as may be supposed, much warmer than that of the interior.

[Sidenote: Rainfall.]

The rain falls in violent local showers during the months of July and August, called the “Shuti” rains. In exceptional years, showers occur in May and June.

Many places go without rain for several years in succession, but during the above-mentioned months it is always risky to camp in the bed of a wadi, as a spate may come down, though no rain nor clouds have been visible to the traveller.

The dew is very heavy on the littoral, and suffices to keep the bush grazing in good condition, though it is insufficient to raise the short grass, which sprouts after rain, and which forms the principal pasture for sheep.

[Sidenote: Towns or Villages.]

There are nowadays no towns or villages in the Atbai. The Arabs live by families in groups of tents made of dom-palm matting. These, of course, move according as it suits them.

[Sidenote: Deraheib.]

There are, however, throughout this district, the remains of quite large stone-built villages, formerly inhabited by the miners of the ancients. Those at Deraheib are particularly striking. Deraheib (Der — castle, aheib — beautiful) was evidently at one time the seat of a colony of miners. On the right bank of the wadi are the broken walls of 500 or more houses, arranged in streets. The castle, a large square building, stands under the hills on the left bank. The pointed arches of the castle and portions of some of the houses are set in lime. The majority of buildings, however, are constructed of stone and mud.

[Sidenote: Vegetation.]

The vegetation, generally, is rare and scanty, though in some of the large wadis, even west of the watershed, it is surprisingly luxuriant. Perhaps the Wadi Alagi, with its fine sayal and heglig and abundant marakh, arak and other green trees, is the most striking instance. West of the Gabgaba, and immediately east of it, selem is chiefly met with, but as one ascends the wadis one comes on sayal and the rare palm, “_Medemia argun_.”

The latter is especially numerous in the Wadis Abaraga and Terfaui, and is found in many other khors in the neighbourhood, especially in those descending from J. Rafit to the Gabgaba.

No adult specimens were noticed east of the Wadi Abaraga, though there are many young plants trying to sprout at Abu Tabag.

This palm is largely used for mat-making, and the Arabs are fully alive to the advantage of preserving it, as well as other trees.

The grazing is not confined to the actual beds of the wadis. There are many flat or depressed places where, for some months after good rain, excellent grazing is found for camels, sheep, and goats.

The rainfall, however, is so uncertain that it is impossible to rely on finding grazing at any particular place even if it has been found there in previous years.

[Sidenote: Vegetation east of watershed.]

The vegetation along the wadis flowing towards the sea varies considerably from that found along those emptying into the Nile. Large trees, such as sayal, selem, heglig and tundub are found along the former, as well as a bush called “adlib,” which camels are extremely fond of, “arad,” an acacia, growing on the tops of the granite hills that border the littoral, is used by the Arabs to produce the red dye for the leather of sword scabbards, etc. The medicinal qualities of the small undergrowth and grasses of the eastern Atbai are considered by the Arabs far more efficacious than those of the west. A species of gum tree, similar to the “_Ficus elastica_,” but with a smaller leaf, exists on the hills of the eastern Atbai; it is known by the Arabs as “gemmeiza.”

[Sidenote: Water supply.]

Water is scarce throughout the whole district and, where found, is in many places more or less brackish.

The only wells that have been sunk by the present Government are at Nos. 4 and 6 stations, at both of which a plentiful supply is obtained at less than 100 feet depth.

The ordinary water supply consists of regular wells, stone lined for part or all of their depth, rough excavations in the beds of wadis, and accumulations of rain water in cracks or hollows in the rocks. These latter, which are called “makhzans,” if large, and “gammam,” if small, contain the best water. Those on J. Rafit are particularly well known, and were drawn on for the supply of the garrison of Murrat before the re-conquest of the Sudan.

The largest supply of water is perhaps found in the Wadi Murrat close under the old fort. This, in the pre-Dervish days, was the midway halting place of caravans proceeding from Korosko to Abu Hamed, and very large numbers of camels used to be supplied from the wells at this place. The water is brackish and disagreeable, but drinkable.

Like the Murrat Wells, most of the wells in the Atbai are situated in the beds of wadis and khors, and are consequently filled in every time a flood descends, entailing great labour on the inhabitants, who have to clear them out. This is especially the case with those which are not stone lined. (A list of wells is given on page 92.)

[Sidenote: Cultivation.]

As may be supposed, the Atbai is not a great agricultural district. In years of good rainfall, however, there is a considerable amount of dura cultivated in the Wadis Alagi, Gabgaba, and Di-ib, etc., but the Arabs rely chiefly on Aswan, and to a lesser extent on Halaib and Suakin for their grain supply. At the former town they find a ready sale for their sheep, which command good prices. The price of a sheep at Aswan is about PT.75, at Suakin PT.25, whilst dura at Aswan only costs from PT.40 to PT.70 per ardeb, whereas at Suakin it is oftener nearer PT.150. Aswan is, therefore, the most popular market with the Arabs of the Atbai.

[Sidenote: Roads.]

The one main road through this country, that from Korosko to Abu Hamed _viâ_ Murrat, which used to be the artery through which the commerce of the Sudan flowed to Egypt, has fallen into disuse since the construction of the railway, and there are now no other tracks except those made by the Nomad Arabs.

The nature of the country, consisting as it does of masses of very small features intersected by numerous khors, and often separated by plains of considerable extent, lends itself to great freedom of movement in almost all directions. The absence of regular trade, too, has militated against the formation of stereotyped routes, and the result is, that between any two places you can find at least one and very often several more or less different routes, none of which, unless lately passed over by a large party, would appear to the traveller more frequented than the others.

The hilly mass forming the watershed is so far an exception that camel transport from one side to the other is restricted to a few passes.

The tracks, as a rule, are bad and stony; camels, even those bred in the country, soon suffer from sore feet. The tracks usually follow the wadis.

[Sidenote: Minerals.]

That this country was once, to a certain extent at any rate, rich in gold, is evident from the numerous shafts and traces of former workings that are seen.

[Sidenote: Game.]

The following species of game are found in the Atbai:—

Ariel: scarce on Wadi Di-ib, but south of Darur, plentiful.

Gazelle (_Isabella_ and _Dorcas_).

Ibex: on hills adjoining littoral.

Cony (native Halidob): hills Red Sea to Murrat.

Wild ass: Onib to Di-ib.

Wild sheep: rare, in hills from Aswan to Abu Hamed, and along
the Nile from Murrat to Akasha. Well known to exist at J. Rafit and
East of Gabgaba.

Klipspringer and Dig-Dig: hills adjoining littoral south of
Bowarti.

Cheetah and leopard: rare in hills near littoral.

Hyena and wild dog „ „ „

Also bluerock pigeon and sand, rock, and night-grouse on all hills.

ATBAI—SOUTH OF LATITUDE 20° 0′.

[Sidenote: Drainage.]

From the northern portion of the Atbai the general line of the watershed between the Nile and the Red Sea is south-eastward as far as the hills enclosing the upper part of the Wadi Amur.

The hills lying to the north of the Wadi Amur in its upper part form a portion of the watershed.

North of these hills are a series of large khors which drain first north and north-east. Lower down these khors are practically unknown, but are said to curve eastward and reach the sea north of Cape Elba. The largest of these khors are Mahaleit, Dirab, and Haieit. In their upper portions they are broad level valleys covered with a considerable amount of coarse grass. The scrub in them is low and scattered.

South of Wadi Amur the watershed lies north and south in about E. long. 37° 20′, until the great Khor Arab basin is reached.

Of the wadis draining westward, south of lat. 20°, Khor Arab has by far the largest drainage area. It includes in its lower portion not only Khor Arab proper, but also Khors Erheib and Thamiam and Barameyu. It may be said to drain the whole triangle of country, whose angular points are Kokreb, Erkowit, and Oi.

Between Khor Arab and Wadi Amur the drainage is taken by Khors Habob and Laiameb, while Khors Misrar and Aderot drain the country between Khor Arab and the Tobrar range.

On the east side of the hills the valleys are narrower and have a steeper fall, and possess well-defined and clean-swept watercourses, which, in the narrower valleys, cover the whole bed of the valley.

The most important of the khors draining west are Khors Garar, Arbat, Okwat, and Adit.

The general course of Khors Garar and Okwat is at right angles to the watershed, and the upper parts of these khors are therefore steep and stony. Khors Arbat and Adit lie parallel to the watershed for a considerable part of their length.

Khor Arbat is the largest of these khors, and, from its watershed, opens out almost immediately into the broad Odrus plain, which the Berber-Suakin caravan road crosses.

Entering the Akareirirba hills, it narrows in, and in the lower part of its course it becomes a defile shut in by steep hills, which rise directly from the sandy and stony bed of the watercourse.

Khor Adit also has its maximum width in its upper part between Sinkat and Jebel Erba, and, narrowing as it descends, joins Khor Okwat through Khor Totali, a winding defile shut in by steep hills, and in places only 200 yards wide.

The minor khors which drain eastward from the hills bounding Khors Adit and Arbat, are steep stony valleys, ending in agabas, strewn with boulders and difficult of passage by loaded camels.

Such are Khors Adaia and Bengar, leading from Khors Arbat and Khors Teiutelri and Abent from Khor Adit.

The khors become ill-defined on leaving the hills, and what vegetation they possess gives place to the low scrub and coarse grass of the maritime plain.

[Sidenote: Climate.]

The higher parts of the watershed on the eastern side have a perfect winter climate, and the extreme ranges of the temperature are less than those of the higher plains of the northern Atbai.

On clear nights in the late autumn and winter a very heavy dew falls, quite sufficient to saturate any bedding or kit left exposed to it.

On the west side of the watershed little or no dew falls.

To the west of the hills the rainy season coincides with that in the Nile Valley, while in the east rain may be expected between November and March, although local thunderstorms may occur at other times of the year.

The winter rain in the western hills is sometimes heavy thunder rain, and at other times a heavy downpour or thick mist, unaccompanied by electrical disturbances.

[Sidenote: Vegetation.]

In the lower parts of the khors, where they merge into open desert, the vegetation is very scanty. It is confined to a thin line of scattered scrub which marks the lowest part of the valley.

As the valleys become narrower and more marked the trees are larger.

Selem, samr, and tundub, form the chief part of the vegetation, with gamob in Wadi Amur and a thick belt of “eitil” in Khor Arab, near its junction with Khor Oi.

In the valleys east of the watershed the trees are larger and more numerous. Khor Adit is especially noticeable in this respect, with its large gemmeiza trees near Sinkat well, its thick covering of arak bush along the bed of the valley, and sunt and other trees of considerable size near the watercourse. The steep and stony khors, however, such as Khor Garar and the upper part of Khor Okwat, are in most places swept too bare of earth to allow of the growth of trees of any size.

The grazing on both sides of the watershed is confined to the actual valleys.

The watersheds dividing the westward-flowing khors are low rough ridges of black rock and gravel, and are practically destitute of vegetation.

After rain, there is frequently grazing in the depressions in the atmurs, such as El Gura, near Tendera.

In the khors on the east of the watersheds there is little or no grass until the lower levels are reached, except in the Odrus plain and in the upper part of Khor Adit, near Sinkat.

[Sidenote: Water supply.]

Throughout the whole stretch of desert, between the hills and the railway, water is scarce.

Besides those at the well-known halting places on the Berber-Suakin caravan road—Obak and Ariab—the following wells may be noted:—

GARAFAB.—50 miles N.N.E. of Abidia, has several shallow wells among sand dunes.

SARARAT WELL.—In Wadi Amur, is 96 miles from Garafab. The well is 50 feet deep, and is lined with stone, but only gives a small supply. This well is probably the same as that marked on the older maps as the “Oasis of Amur.” South of the Suakin-Berber road the chief wells are as follows:—

TENDERA, MIB, and OI.—There are several good wells at each of these places.

The Mib wells are specially good, and lie in a hollow of the hills, reached by a narrow defile about ¾ of a mile long. The water supply at Thamiam is very good, but the wells are dug in the bed of the khor and are liable to fill up. There is sometimes water in the rocks at Rauai, but it was stated not to be sufficient to water a hamla of 80 camels in November, 1902.

Talgwarab is only a water hole 18 feet deep, and cannot be counted on as a supply at present. The natives state that attempts to dig down deeper are prevented by the light soil falling in.

Near the watershed the wells are more numerous. There are four wells in the upper part of Khor Haieit, and several others in the deep valleys through which the larger khors drain into the Haieit, Amur, and Arab basins. In the upper part of Wadi Amur, above Sararat, wells are reported to be about 11 miles apart. On the eastern side, besides the existing wells, water could probably be found at a depth of a few feet anywhere in Khor Arbat. The wells in the lower parts of the khors are frequently brackish. Hoshiri at the foot of Khor Okwat is an example of this.

[Sidenote: Cultivation.]

In years when the rainfall is good there is a considerable area under dura cultivation in Khor Arab near Talgwarab and between there and Thamiam wells. The natives build numbers of horse-shoe shaped dams to retain the water and keep it standing on the ground. There are also signs of the main khor channel having been dammed to divert the water over the flat earthy soil of the valley.

The upper stretches of Khors Barameyu and Erheib and Hareitri are also used for dura growing.

There is also cultivation near Abu Goloda, on the eastern side in the head of Khor Haieit, in Khor Adit above Sinkat, and especially in the Odrus Plain, dura is grown.

Near the Atbara River there is a considerable area under cultivation in Khor Abadar.

[Sidenote: Roads.]

Besides the main Berber-Suakin caravan road there are well-marked roads leading to Rauai well.

The Tendera-Mib-Oi road is also a good track and the surface is fairly smooth, except at the approaches to Mib and Oi wells.

The going on the main Suakin-Berber road is distinctly bad in several places, notably at the head of the Kokreb valley, in Wadi Hareitri and in Khor Hadasana.

Near the hills, communications parallel to the watershed are difficult, as for instance between Haieit and Kokreb. Such a line is very hard on camels, as there is a continued succession of deep-cut khors of varying size divided by hills or ridges of loose shale and black rock, steep and difficult to surmount.

The road leading from Khor Haieit to Khor Garar is a fairly easy one for camels, but Khor Garar itself is very rough.

The chief routes across the watershed are:—

From Khor Barameyu to Sinkat—here the gradients are very easy and the surface smooth.

A route westward from Sinkat towards Abu Goloda and Rauai has steep stony “agabas.”

From Abu Goloda into the Odrus plain—easy slopes but rough underfoot in the upper part of the Abu Goloda khor.

Wadi Hareitri on the Berber-Suakin road—very rough underfoot.

From Wadi Amur into Khor Yudib—many low rough watersheds have to be crossed, and there is no beaten track.

From Khor Arbat the maritime plain can be reached either:—

(1) By the Tamabaf watershed into Khor Okwat.

(2) By Khor Dimm.

(3) By Khor Adaia or Khor Bengar.

Of these the Tamabaf and Khor Dimm routes are easy for camels, but Khors Adaia and Bengar have steep and rough “agabas.”

(_c_) THE BISHARIN.

[Sidenote: Boundaries of Bisharin.]

The Bisharin inhabit the desert bounded on the north, roughly, by the Alagi and its tributaries, on the south by the Atbara, on the east by the Red Sea from Shalatein to J. Asotriba, and thence by a line joining Mitateb or Umbeiba on the Atbara, and on the west by the Nile from the mouth of the Atbara to Abu Hamed, and thence by the old trade route from Abu Hamed to Korosko.

The Ababda and Bisharin formerly lived a good deal further south in the districts now occupied by the Hadendoas; both tribes moved northwards probably about 100 years ago.

The Ababda by their move north, came into a more civilised country. Their Sheikhs, through the transport needed on the Korosko—Abu Hamed road, came into touch with the Government and acquired at this time great wealth, and with wealth, their numbers increased, whilst the Bisharin of the hills, left far behind as regards progressiveness, soon came to be despised by them.

The Bisharin claim descent from Bishar, the son of Kahl, who was also the father of Abad and Amar, from whom the Ababda and Amarar are said to have sprung.

[Sidenote: Origin.]

Kahl is said to have been descended from Zubeir Ibn El Awam,[46] whose wife was a sister of Abbas, uncle of the Prophet. They maintain, therefore, that they are descended from the noble Koreish Tribe. In the genealogy of the tribe, the three principal ancestors are Kahl, Bishar, and Ali Jalan; on this all accounts seem to agree. The present generation of Sheikhs is generally said to be the ninth or tenth from Ali Jalan.

The descendants of Kahl most likely originally inhabited part of the district now occupied by the Hadendoas, the Bisharin, and Ababda, as stated above, having latterly moved northwards.

[Sidenote: Sub-division.]

The Bisharin are divided into two great families, the Um Ali and Um Naji. The former live in the north, the latter in the south, of their country. Both sections are named after the wives of Ali Jalan, the great grandson of Bishar, who had the following sons:—

By Um Ali. Tribe. By Um Naji. Tribe.
------- --- -------- ---
Ali Aliab. Hanr Hanr.

Shanatir Shantirab. Eira Eireiab.

Amer Amrab. Nafi Nafab.

Hamedor Hamedorab. Mansur Mansurab.

ALIAB.—The Aliab, who are far more numerous and wealthy than any of the Um Ali or Um Naji tribes, are divided into the following sub-tribes: Koatil, Mallak, Hamedomerab, Kurbeilab, and Balgab.

The first three named are sometimes classed together and known as the Sararab, on account of their near common ancestry.

The Sheikh of the Koatil has for two generations been the representative Sheikh of these three families; before this the Sheikhship was with the Hamedomerab.

_Sub-tribes of the Aliab._

KOATIL.—The Koatil, under Sheikh Isa Abdalla, are a small tribe, and poor. They live at Meshushenai and Terfaui.

HAMEDOMERAB.—Sheikh Mohammed Wad Kurab. This, again, is a small tribe, owning few camels, but good flocks of sheep and goats.

Wadi Meisa, at the head of which is Bir Meisa, is where most of the tribe are to be found during the summer. Their two wells are Meisa and Didaut, close together in the small hills north of the Elba red granite range.

MALLAK.—Sheikh Isa Shingeirab. The Mallak, the third Sararab tribe, is by far the richest, and own many camels, and of a breed which is famous among all the neighbouring tribes. The Mallak own many wells.[47]

BALGAB.—The next of the Aliab tribes is the Balgab (Isa Abdalla), who live in the hills about Is. They have never, since the time of Abdalla, the father of Isa, had a representative Sheikh, but have always been represented by the Sheikh of the Sararab.

They have good herds of camels, sheep, and goats. They do not frequent the Aswan market as much as the other Aliab sub-tribes, but they sell a great deal to merchants who come from there, and buy much of their corn in good years from the Di-ib. They are a wilder people than the other tribes and very rarely leave their hills. They are shy and difficult of approach. Their wells are Is and Legia.

KURBEILAB.—Sheikh Mohammed Katul. This is a large tribe. They have many wells, generally in the small tributaries of the upper Alagi.

Katul, Sheikh of the tribe, is by far the ablest man of the Aliab Sheikhs, or, in fact, of any other of the Bisharin Sheikhs.

[Sidenote: Compensation for murder or wounds.]

The traditional “diia” or compensation for loss of life among these Arabs is: for a man, 50 male and 50 female camels; for women or children, or loss of legs, arms, eyes, 25 male and 25 female camels.

Wounds are assessed according to their gravity. The cause in which murders are committed, or a wound is received, is always taken into consideration.

The above amounts are the limit of compensation.

WELLS.

The following is a list of Bisharin wells in the northern Atbai, showing the sub-tribe to which they belong:—

(_d_) ABABDA.

The following brief account of the Ababda Arabs, whose country adjoins the Bisharin, is given here, as, although with the exception of the Meleikab section, they are under the Egyptian Administration, they are generally said to have sprung from the common ancestor Kahl (_vide_ origin of Bisharin). Feuds, too, between these tribes, though now less frequent, were, until recently, of constant occurrence.

[Sidenote: Limits. Three main-sub-tribes.]

The Ababda, who inhabit the Atbai from roughly north lat. 22° 30′, where they adjoin the Bisharin, to as far north as the Kena-Kosseir road, are divided into three main sections or sub-tribes, viz., Eshabab, Fogara, and Shanatir.

(1) ESHABAB.—The Eshabab, which is by far the largest and most powerful section of the Ababda, range practically the whole way from Kena to Ongwat, and share the Kosseir route with the Shanatir. The Sheikhship of this sub-tribe rests with the Gubran family, of which Beshir Bey is the representative. Beshir Bey’s residence is at Aswan; he claims to be Nazir of the Ababda, and does not admit any common ancestry with the Bisharin. This sub-tribe is divided into many minor sub-tribes.

(2) FOGARA.—The most important sub-tribe of the Fogara is the Meleikab, part of which sub-tribe belongs to Egypt and part to the Sudan. The Meleikab in the Sudan, who are practically a colony of those in Egypt, range from Korosko to Abu Hamed, but considerable movement goes on between the two sections. The head Sheikh of the Fogara is Abdul Azim Bey of the Khalifa family; his headquarters are at Derau, in Egypt, on the Nile, north of Aswan.

(3) SHANATIR.—The Shanatir share the Kosseir route with the Eshabab, and also live on the river between Aswan and Korosko. Their headquarters are at Sayala. Their hereditary Sheikh is Bashari Bey, who belongs to the Shanatir family. Their largest sub-tribe is the Abudiin.

[Sidenote: Feuds with Bisharin.]

The feuds before-mentioned are, as a rule, in connection with the wells. The Ababda having gradually moved north, base their claims to wells, now occupied by Bisharin, on the fact that they originally belonged to them, despite the fact that they themselves left them perhaps half a century ago.

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The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan: a compendium prepared by officers of the Sudan government, Vol. 1 (of 2)Chapter XVIII: Section 2: Country Between Halfa, Berber, Suakin and the

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