466 APPENDIX II. 



Bongolawi . . Province Dongola, from Wady-Halfa to Jebel Dera, near ]\Ieroe, where the Shey- 



gyeh Arab territory begins. 

 Danagek . . . Kecent Nubian immigrants into Kordofan and Dar-Fur ; chiefly from Dongola, 



whence the name Danagele. Most of them now speak Arabic (Munziger) 



IV. SEMITIC GROUP. 



Of this division of the Caucasie stock two branches are represented in North-East 

 Africa : 1 . The Yoktanides, or Himyarites, from prehistoric times, mainly in the Abys- 

 sinian highlands beyond the Egyptian frontier — Tigré, Amhara, Bogos,--' and others 

 speaking more or less corrupt dialects of the Gheez or old Himyaritic language of South 

 Arabia. 2. The Ismaélites, or Arabs proper, a few probably from prehistoric times, 

 especially in Senaar ; but the great majority since the Mohammedan invasion in the 

 seventh century, chiefly in the steppe-lands west of the Nile from the iSobat confluence 

 northwards to Dongola. Some of the early arrivals, such as the Jowabere and El 

 Gharbiye, appear to have settled in the Nile Valley south of EgyjDt, where they became 

 assimilated in speech to the surrounding Nubian population. Many others moved west- 

 wards through Kordofan and Dar-Eur to Wadai and the Tsad basin, and, speaking 

 generally, no part of North and North-East Africa, except the Abyssinian uplands, can 

 be said to be entirely free from the Arab element. 



Unfortunately this is also the disturbing element, but for the presence of which there 

 would be no fanaticism, no slave-dealers, no Mahdis, no "Egyptian question," to con- 

 found the councils of European statesmanship. Proud, ignorant, bigoted, and insolent, 

 these Arab tribes " are for the most part nomads or wanderers, each within certain 

 well-known limits. AU are large owners of cattle, camels, horses, and slaves. These 

 last, along with the Arab women generally, cultivate some fields of durra, or corn, suffi- 

 cient for the wants of the tribe. The Arab himself would consider it a disgrace to 

 practise any manual labour. He is essentially a hunter, a robber, and a warrior, and, 

 after caring for his cattle, devotes all his energies to slave-hunting and war." f 



Some of these Arab tribes are very numerous and powerful. They command 

 great influence amongst the surrounding populations, and are often in a position to 

 defy the supreme authority, or compel it to accept their conditions in the administration 

 of Eastern Sudan. The most important are the Sheygyeh, Eobabat, Jalin, and Kaba- 

 bish, between Dongola and Khartum ; the Baqqâra," thence southwards nearly to the 

 Sobat confluence ; the Homran, Eekhabin, and Alawin of Senaar ; the Hamr, El-Homr, 

 Mahâmid, and Habanieh of Kordofan and Dar-Fur. In general, the Semitic type is 

 fairly well preserved, although the Sheygyeh and some others are distinguished by a 

 dark, almost black, complexion. Traces of intermixture with the Negroes are also 

 evident in many districts, while complete fusion of the two elements seems to have 

 taken place in parts of Senaar and Nubia. In religion all alike are zealous Mohamme- 

 dans, to whom some system of domestic slavery seems almost indispensable. Hence 

 even were the export of slaves to Egypt and Arabia suppressed, the institution would 

 still survive in a mitigated form in the interior of the country. 



(a) Himyaritic oe Abyssinian Branch. J 



Bahalaki. . . Great Dahalak Island, near Massawa. 



Massuai . . . The mixed population of Massawa, of Tigré speech. 



* The position of the Bogos or Bilin, who occupy a debatable tract at the north-east corner of 

 Abyssinia on the Egyptian frontier, is somewhat doubtful. Leo Reiuisch regards their speech as a 

 Gheez dialect ("Die Bilin Sprache," Vienna, 1882) ; yet he classes them subsequently with the neigh- 

 bouring Hamite peoples, as will be seen farther on. 



t Lieut. Colonel Stewart's " Report on the Sudan for 1883," p. 8. 



X The "Ethiopian" of some, the "Agazi" of other writers, the latter term denoting peoples of 

 Geez speech. " AUe diese Volker haben einen innern Zusammenhang ; sie sind Abyssinier, alte Christen, 



