240 



S(Mii-; TuniAL crsTo^rs in THi:n; relation to iiedicink ami mokm.s 



Oii.^in of 

 the naniL- 

 " N\anl- 

 nvam " 



Musical InsLi'umeut 



coalescing with them luuler the cogiioincii Zsindeli. Still advancing north -eonunanded 



l)y the warlike Sultan Va.inl)io an<l his eldest son, the present Sultan Mange — this 



quartette of bronze-skinned, high- 

 caste peoples, forced in succession 

 the pronouncedly negroid Bagaro, 

 Bakka, Mnndu, Morro, Makrakka 

 and Avokia, who are designated 

 under the common heading Gebelawi 

 (tribes from the neighbourhood of 

 the Bahr-el-Gebel), to submit, en- 

 slaving and not admitting them to a 

 general equality in the coalition. 



The "Turks" (Galaba, Arab traders) who entered the country during the early days of its 



first conquest by Egypt (and therefore long anterior to these Zandeh raiders), paying little 



heed to distinctions of tribe, had 



named all the savages of the district 



" Nyam-nyam," an onomatopseic word 



suggesting the smacking of lips, and 



reminiscent of their cannibal habits 



and rapacity for food of any description 



{vide Diet). This name has persisted 



as that of tlie polvgenous race under ^mgsps^-- ^»m_ i 



discussion, amongst whom the " royal " 



Avungara are still isolated and uncon- 



taminated. The Zandeh, too, whose 



language is now almost universal 



throughout the Nyam-nyam, and who seem to have absorbed both the Amieumba and 



Abangbinda, are also comparatively pure. The negroid Gebelawi merge with both the 



Zandeh and Gour and are very intermingled, though differences in custom are still 



traceable between them. 



For many of these details I am indebted to notes by Captain H. W. C'hanner, late 



Inspector, Eastern Bahr-El-Ghazal. 



The accompanying table will show the tribal formation of the Nyam-nyanj more plainly : 

 Avungara conquered 



■fe.-^^v''-:? 



the Zandeh and, 

 comljining with them, 

 overcame the 

 Amieumba and 

 Abangbinda 



Four kindred tribes whieli 

 coalesced under the 

 cognomen Zandeh, the 

 Avungara persisting as 

 the royal house 



1 



Zandeh 



Conquered in succession and ^ 

 classed, under the com- ( 

 mon name of Gebelawi, j 

 as serfs of the Zandeh ^ 



Gebelawi 



Nyam-nyam a 

 name loosely 

 applied by 

 the "Turks," 

 which has 

 persisted 



Bagaro 

 Bakka 



Mundu 

 Morro 

 Makrakka 

 Avokia 



Note. — I have not even touched on the further sub-divisions, such as Bakka into 

 Bobyina, Bokum, Bobundili, etc., which are endless and irrelevant. 



