Senndr. 87 CHAPTER IV.

COUNTRY TO THE EAST OF THE WHITE NILE.

(i) Country between the White and Blue Niles.

(a) SennAr.

This province lies principally in the angle formed by the White Nile above Khartum and the Blue Nile or Bahr el Azrek, and between lat. 12° and 15° 45' N.

In lat. 15° 37' N. is situated the junction of the two great branches of the Nile, the tract between which, increasing towards the south to 50 to 60 miles in width, is called by the Arabs the " Island of Sennar." The indigenous population call it " Hui."

The towns lie chiefly along the banks of the Blue Nile, and are numerous, from the 13th parallel for 200 miles. The province is bordered on the north by the country known as Dar el Halfaya, and on the south by Dar Fazokl.

To the east of the Blue Nile, the province extends as far as the forests which surround Abyssinia. The actual boundary is but vaguely defined.

The west side of the " Island of Sennar " is more or less a wilderness, Hellet el Ais, a poor hamlet at the ferry on the road to Kordofan, and, lower down, Manjera (Mangara), a former station for hewing timber and building boats, being the principal places.