Brands Used By The Chief Camel-owning Tribes Of Kordofan

NTRODUCTION EXPLANATORY NOTES CONTENTS PART I. Containing the names of brands arranged in alphabetical order, with illustrations and with a note in each case of the tribal sections which most commonly use the brand as their distinctive mark PART II. Containing a list of the chief camel-owning tribes of Kordofan and the desert lying between it and Dongola, naming, where possible, the different brands used by each section or subsection APPENDIX. A list of the more common words used by the nomad Arabs to denote a camel at various ages PAGE vi viii 115 1638 3940 PLATES I XVII at end 970771 INTRODUCTION AS will at once be evident, a study of the brands used by camel- JL. owners is very confusing owing to the innumerable varieties and exceptions that occur to almost any rule that may be formulated. Practice alone can enable one to determine the tribe to which a camel belongs by looking at its brands, and one will probably make many mistakes however much practice one may have had. This is especially so if one only sees one or two camels at a time, since it is hard to tell which of the brands on it may mark its tribe or section, and which be merely added by the owner to distinguish it from the animals of another subsection. If one sees a whole herd of camels it is evident that the brand or brands which are common to them all is the important one and marks the tribe or section. Brands that are merely caused by firing a sick camel on the part affected will cause little confusion except at the first. In spite of these difficulties and reser- vations, it may practically be taken for granted that 1. No camel branded on the left belongs to the KABABfsn excepting the BERARA section. 2. That whereverthe KILID UM HAGGAN are seen, that brand was made by the HowAwfR. 3. That a long broad SAMI with a long broad KILADA, both on the left, were made by the KAWAHLA DAR HMID or the MEGANfN A. FADALA. 4. That the KABAsfsH NURAB alone use the BAAG and two DHIRAAT. 5. That a camel marked with one, two, or three KERABfc sing. to.the SHENABLA. KuRBAc probably belongs 6. That only the AxAwfA section of the KABAsfsH use the SHAIBA on the right fore. 7. That only the GAWAMAA use the RUAYKIB on the cheek. INTRODUCTION Vll 8. That almost only the KAWAHLA AsABDA and GIHAYMAB use the BAB. 9. That only the KABAfifsn AwAiDA use the SHABIT. 10. Almost only the KABABISH SERAoAB and A. UKBA use the HADD. 11. Only the KABABfsn UM MATU use the ASABA. 12. Only the HowAwfR ABBASAB use the peculiar large ERIK. Certain other brands or combinations of brands will similarly become familiar in time but the marks used by the sedentary population will always be a source of confusion since any villager is liable to use any brand haphazard. Other animals besides camels are branded, but not to the same extent, nor with the same consistency...