DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49271#0189
The Kababish, a Sudan Arab tribe
127
taken place: 'Alt’s father-in-law is his 'amm. Again, Muhammad Laulau married a woman
from another khasm beyt: in this case there is respect but not intimacy between him and
his father-in-law; he addresses his father-in-law as “ 'ammu so-and-so”, and never as “abu
so-and-so ”, a rather less respectful form of address. There is also avoidance between a man
and his mother-in-law’s brother. Thus young Tom, son of the Sheykh 'Alt wad et-T6m,
avoids Muhammad Laulau because he is the brother of the lady Sheykha, the mother of
his betrothed Um ez-Zayn. A woman takes no special care to avoid her husband’s father’s
brother beyond the ordinary usage observed between men and women, nor is there any
avoidance practised between the respective parents of a married couple. Traces can be
seen of avoidance between a woman and her mother-in-law; a woman will not eat in the
presence of her mother-in-law until the latter has made her a daf'a (payment). This
is always done, and takes the form of a slave, camel, or cow according to the husband’s
mother’s means, as otherwise great inconvenience would be caused when the wife takes
up her abode in her husband’s tent, for even if the mother is not actually living with her
son she pays him frequent visits. A lad begins to avoid all his female cousins after they
have reached about nine years of age, as they are all potential brides.33
It has been noted that there is respect and a certain modified avoidance between a
woman and her brother’s sons, when the latter arrive at puberty, though there may have
been an affectionate intimacy before. As a lad he avoids his female cousins as potential
brides; so it is probably in the capacity of potential mother-in-law that the lad respects
his father’s sister. If this be so, we should certainly expect to find this attitude of respect
and partial avoidance between a lad and all the wives of all his father’s brothers as they
are his potential mothers-in-law par excellence. Unfortunately this point did not strike
us at the time of our visit, and so remains a matter for further enquiry. A man is respect-
ful to his brother’s wife, and avoids seeing her face to face. Muhammad would not
accompany us when we went to photograph the lady Halima, the wife of his brother 'Ali
wad et-Tom; he considered that it would have been a breach of etiquette to do so, but
it was difficult to judge whether his reserve was accentuated because 'Alt wad et-Tom was
absent from the ferik. Certainly Muhammad did not look upon the avoidance in the
same rigid light as that which exists between a man and his mother-in-law. The latter is
a binding usage, the former apparently a matter of good form. A woman is respectful to
her father-in-law and speaks little to him, but is not obliged to avoid him.
33 Partial avoidance of cousins has been noted in Arabia. Doughty (op. cit., p. 178-9) relates that married
women may kiss the men of their acquaintance on their return from a journey, yet other Arabs in Sinai are so cere-
monious that “if a woman meet an uncle’s son in the desert, he and she standing off from each other at their arms’
length, with a solemn countenance, they do but touch together the tips of their fingers”. A somewhat similar condi-
tion of avoidance is suggested in Genesis XXIV, 65, where it is recorded that Rebekah covered her face when she first
saw her betrothed Isaak, her father’s brother’s son.
127
taken place: 'Alt’s father-in-law is his 'amm. Again, Muhammad Laulau married a woman
from another khasm beyt: in this case there is respect but not intimacy between him and
his father-in-law; he addresses his father-in-law as “ 'ammu so-and-so”, and never as “abu
so-and-so ”, a rather less respectful form of address. There is also avoidance between a man
and his mother-in-law’s brother. Thus young Tom, son of the Sheykh 'Alt wad et-T6m,
avoids Muhammad Laulau because he is the brother of the lady Sheykha, the mother of
his betrothed Um ez-Zayn. A woman takes no special care to avoid her husband’s father’s
brother beyond the ordinary usage observed between men and women, nor is there any
avoidance practised between the respective parents of a married couple. Traces can be
seen of avoidance between a woman and her mother-in-law; a woman will not eat in the
presence of her mother-in-law until the latter has made her a daf'a (payment). This
is always done, and takes the form of a slave, camel, or cow according to the husband’s
mother’s means, as otherwise great inconvenience would be caused when the wife takes
up her abode in her husband’s tent, for even if the mother is not actually living with her
son she pays him frequent visits. A lad begins to avoid all his female cousins after they
have reached about nine years of age, as they are all potential brides.33
It has been noted that there is respect and a certain modified avoidance between a
woman and her brother’s sons, when the latter arrive at puberty, though there may have
been an affectionate intimacy before. As a lad he avoids his female cousins as potential
brides; so it is probably in the capacity of potential mother-in-law that the lad respects
his father’s sister. If this be so, we should certainly expect to find this attitude of respect
and partial avoidance between a lad and all the wives of all his father’s brothers as they
are his potential mothers-in-law par excellence. Unfortunately this point did not strike
us at the time of our visit, and so remains a matter for further enquiry. A man is respect-
ful to his brother’s wife, and avoids seeing her face to face. Muhammad would not
accompany us when we went to photograph the lady Halima, the wife of his brother 'Ali
wad et-Tom; he considered that it would have been a breach of etiquette to do so, but
it was difficult to judge whether his reserve was accentuated because 'Alt wad et-Tom was
absent from the ferik. Certainly Muhammad did not look upon the avoidance in the
same rigid light as that which exists between a man and his mother-in-law. The latter is
a binding usage, the former apparently a matter of good form. A woman is respectful to
her father-in-law and speaks little to him, but is not obliged to avoid him.
33 Partial avoidance of cousins has been noted in Arabia. Doughty (op. cit., p. 178-9) relates that married
women may kiss the men of their acquaintance on their return from a journey, yet other Arabs in Sinai are so cere-
monious that “if a woman meet an uncle’s son in the desert, he and she standing off from each other at their arms’
length, with a solemn countenance, they do but touch together the tips of their fingers”. A somewhat similar condi-
tion of avoidance is suggested in Genesis XXIV, 65, where it is recorded that Rebekah covered her face when she first
saw her betrothed Isaak, her father’s brother’s son.