DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49271#0178
116
C. G. and B. Z. Seligman
In the wet season the members of the khasm beyt split up and scatter to take ad-
vantage as best they can of the fresh grass that springs up; each da'n, consisting of a
man, his wives, children, and retainers, goes its own way.
All khasm biyut unite against the enemies of the tribe. The procedure of the Kaba-
bish during an attempted raid which took place while we were at Showa demonstrated
clearly that the duty of defence or counter-attack fell equally on every khasm beyt, and
not specially on the one attacked.
Only Negroes are slaves; those belonging to the Nurab are for the most part Dinka,
or show traces of Nilotic blood. Owing to the action of the Government, slaves cannot
be made at the present day, and any slave who demands it must be given his freedom.
As a matter of fact slaves are so well treated and their bondage is so light that they seldom
wish to change their condition. Indeed, it is a matter of pride to the Nurab that the
request for freedom is seldom made in their khasm beyt. It is interesting to record that
among the Nurab slaves was a grey headed pygmy who said he had left his country, stated
by the Kababish to be Dar Fertit, forty years before.19 The position occupied by Nil
may be regarded as typical. The father of Nil was a slave of Fadlulla (father of Muham-
mad Tom) who treated him as a son, and allowed him to accumulate considerable wealth.
During the Mahdia, Nil became separated from his master, but when peace was restored
he sought out his master’s family and settled beside his son Muhammad, who treated
him with every kindness. Nothing in the behaviour of the two men would betray to the
stranger that one was the master, and the other the slave. Nil rides a horse, and his
saddle, rifle, and other accoutrements are all as good as those of Muhammad, from whom
they all are gifts. The only difference that would be made between a slave and a free
Arab is that the former would not be allowed to marry a daughter of the latter. A master
would, however, see to it that his slave should have as wife a good and reliable woman,
chosen from among the daughters of slaves. Thus Nil has two wives; that their daughters
may be taken as concubines by Arabs is not considered any hardship, as their children
would be considered full members of the tribe. In times of peace slaves often occupy
positions of trust, and in warfare ride by the side of the master. A freed man might be
able to obtain as wife the daughter of some poor Kabbashi, and their children would be
treated as full tribesmen.
In Northern Kordofan the life of the nomad Arabs, though pastoral like that of the
Beja of the Red Sea Province, differs from the latter by reason of the severity of the dry
season, and the organised effort that is required to meet it; and it is only during the short
19 For some account of this man — a dolicocephal (C. I. 73) with a stature considerably under five feet — see
B. Z. Seligman ‘A linguistic fragment from western Kordofan ’ (Man, vol. 18, no. 4, Apr., 1918, art. 31, p. 55 sq.).
C. G. and B. Z. Seligman
In the wet season the members of the khasm beyt split up and scatter to take ad-
vantage as best they can of the fresh grass that springs up; each da'n, consisting of a
man, his wives, children, and retainers, goes its own way.
All khasm biyut unite against the enemies of the tribe. The procedure of the Kaba-
bish during an attempted raid which took place while we were at Showa demonstrated
clearly that the duty of defence or counter-attack fell equally on every khasm beyt, and
not specially on the one attacked.
Only Negroes are slaves; those belonging to the Nurab are for the most part Dinka,
or show traces of Nilotic blood. Owing to the action of the Government, slaves cannot
be made at the present day, and any slave who demands it must be given his freedom.
As a matter of fact slaves are so well treated and their bondage is so light that they seldom
wish to change their condition. Indeed, it is a matter of pride to the Nurab that the
request for freedom is seldom made in their khasm beyt. It is interesting to record that
among the Nurab slaves was a grey headed pygmy who said he had left his country, stated
by the Kababish to be Dar Fertit, forty years before.19 The position occupied by Nil
may be regarded as typical. The father of Nil was a slave of Fadlulla (father of Muham-
mad Tom) who treated him as a son, and allowed him to accumulate considerable wealth.
During the Mahdia, Nil became separated from his master, but when peace was restored
he sought out his master’s family and settled beside his son Muhammad, who treated
him with every kindness. Nothing in the behaviour of the two men would betray to the
stranger that one was the master, and the other the slave. Nil rides a horse, and his
saddle, rifle, and other accoutrements are all as good as those of Muhammad, from whom
they all are gifts. The only difference that would be made between a slave and a free
Arab is that the former would not be allowed to marry a daughter of the latter. A master
would, however, see to it that his slave should have as wife a good and reliable woman,
chosen from among the daughters of slaves. Thus Nil has two wives; that their daughters
may be taken as concubines by Arabs is not considered any hardship, as their children
would be considered full members of the tribe. In times of peace slaves often occupy
positions of trust, and in warfare ride by the side of the master. A freed man might be
able to obtain as wife the daughter of some poor Kabbashi, and their children would be
treated as full tribesmen.
In Northern Kordofan the life of the nomad Arabs, though pastoral like that of the
Beja of the Red Sea Province, differs from the latter by reason of the severity of the dry
season, and the organised effort that is required to meet it; and it is only during the short
19 For some account of this man — a dolicocephal (C. I. 73) with a stature considerably under five feet — see
B. Z. Seligman ‘A linguistic fragment from western Kordofan ’ (Man, vol. 18, no. 4, Apr., 1918, art. 31, p. 55 sq.).