DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49271#0175
The Kababish, a Sudan Arab tribe
113
khasm beyt or are its clients. The encampment of the Nurab along the Wady Showa,
being the ferik of the sheykh of the whole tribe, had attracted a considerable number of
clients, whose tents were pitched according to a definite plan. We were told that where
the ferik runs east and west (as it usually does, following the band of trees that outlines a
dry wady) the tents of the sheykh would always be to the west, and that no man would
build his tent west of that.13 Yet at Showa the tent of 'Alt wad et-Tom was almost in the
middle of a long line of tents that stretched for more than a mile. It appeared that all those
tents lying to the west of the sheykh’s belonged to men who were his clients or muhana.u
Apart from these the ferik was considered to be divided into five parts, which, taken from
west to east, were as follows:—
(i) 'Alt wad et-Tom, Sheykh.
(ii) Muhammad, brother of 'All wad et-T6m.
(iii) The sons of Belal.
(iv) The sons of Kuraysh.
(v) Under some trees at a distance of a few hundred yards from the main wady
were the tents of Gam'a, son of Salih Bey.
The tent of the first wife of the most important man in each group was at the eastern
extremity of the section; then followed the tents of later wives and the tent of the mother,
in those cases when she was living with her son; then those of concubines and slaves.
Disregarding for the present the question of clients and slaves, it will be seen that
all the inhabitants of the ferik are related to one another in the male line. A glance at
the key genealogical table below will show how the descendants of various members of
the family of the eponymous ancestor, Nur15, split off to form separate khasm biyut.
Two of these, the Fahl and the Abu Shaya, that had once been strong and had sheykhs
of their own, had been severely handled in the fighting against the Mahdi’s forces, and
had rejoined the sheykh of the Nurab; their tents were under scattered groups of trees,
a little distance from the main wady, and were counted as belonging to the main ferik.
It is probable that if the Nurab continue to prosper the sheykh’s khasm beyt may split
into two before very long. The tendency in this direction is shown by the fact that the
13 Mansfield Parkyns (op. cit., p. 262) describes the dry season camp as a kind of zeribah enclosing a series of lines,
and states that the “chief’s house” is at the west end of the central line.
14 Vide infra, p. 115.
16 Ntlr is probably a fictitious personage invented to account for the name Nfirfib. The form of this word is not
Arabic and the suffix -Ab cannot be the Arabic “father As already stated, the termination-Ab is common among
Beja tribal names, and the Nurab division of the Am Ara have lately assumed the status of a tribe. It is quite possible
that the Nurab section of the Kababish took its origin as a split from a Beja division of that name which became
incorporated in an Arab division — presumably the Rikabia referred to on p. Ill — to which it subsequently gave its
name.
113
khasm beyt or are its clients. The encampment of the Nurab along the Wady Showa,
being the ferik of the sheykh of the whole tribe, had attracted a considerable number of
clients, whose tents were pitched according to a definite plan. We were told that where
the ferik runs east and west (as it usually does, following the band of trees that outlines a
dry wady) the tents of the sheykh would always be to the west, and that no man would
build his tent west of that.13 Yet at Showa the tent of 'Alt wad et-Tom was almost in the
middle of a long line of tents that stretched for more than a mile. It appeared that all those
tents lying to the west of the sheykh’s belonged to men who were his clients or muhana.u
Apart from these the ferik was considered to be divided into five parts, which, taken from
west to east, were as follows:—
(i) 'Alt wad et-Tom, Sheykh.
(ii) Muhammad, brother of 'All wad et-T6m.
(iii) The sons of Belal.
(iv) The sons of Kuraysh.
(v) Under some trees at a distance of a few hundred yards from the main wady
were the tents of Gam'a, son of Salih Bey.
The tent of the first wife of the most important man in each group was at the eastern
extremity of the section; then followed the tents of later wives and the tent of the mother,
in those cases when she was living with her son; then those of concubines and slaves.
Disregarding for the present the question of clients and slaves, it will be seen that
all the inhabitants of the ferik are related to one another in the male line. A glance at
the key genealogical table below will show how the descendants of various members of
the family of the eponymous ancestor, Nur15, split off to form separate khasm biyut.
Two of these, the Fahl and the Abu Shaya, that had once been strong and had sheykhs
of their own, had been severely handled in the fighting against the Mahdi’s forces, and
had rejoined the sheykh of the Nurab; their tents were under scattered groups of trees,
a little distance from the main wady, and were counted as belonging to the main ferik.
It is probable that if the Nurab continue to prosper the sheykh’s khasm beyt may split
into two before very long. The tendency in this direction is shown by the fact that the
13 Mansfield Parkyns (op. cit., p. 262) describes the dry season camp as a kind of zeribah enclosing a series of lines,
and states that the “chief’s house” is at the west end of the central line.
14 Vide infra, p. 115.
16 Ntlr is probably a fictitious personage invented to account for the name Nfirfib. The form of this word is not
Arabic and the suffix -Ab cannot be the Arabic “father As already stated, the termination-Ab is common among
Beja tribal names, and the Nurab division of the Am Ara have lately assumed the status of a tribe. It is quite possible
that the Nurab section of the Kababish took its origin as a split from a Beja division of that name which became
incorporated in an Arab division — presumably the Rikabia referred to on p. Ill — to which it subsequently gave its
name.