[i68]

MANUSCRIPT C 8

Introduction

A COPY was made for me of a MS. in the possession of the late Sheikh el Abbas Muhammad Bedr of Um Dubban, a Mesallami of the

Badrab section, ex-Kadi of the Khah'fa, and later 'omda of the first khut of el Kamlin district.

This copy (called "No. i" in the notes) was found to be un-

intelligible in places and I returned it to Sheikh el Abbas for veri- fication.

He then produced " No. 2," explaining that the original had been so damaged in the course of years that the copyist— himself not well versed in the subject — had occasionally got into difficulties ; but that he had himself revised the whole and made a fresh copy.

The work seems to have been well and carefully done: Nos. i and 2 are in close agreement, though the former contains a certain amount omitted in the latter and the order of the paragraphs has been changed in places for the sake of clearness.

Sheikh el Abbas thought that the original was written about the

time of Idri's Arbab. The latter {q.v. D 3, 141) died about 1650 a.d.

I In the name of God ....

II When I, the fakir Mekki Muhammad, saw how rife were sus-

picion and incertitude regarding things of importance .... And how ignorant men were concerning the matter of ancestors and pedigrees, I offered my prayers to God and set about clearing

the pedigree of Musallam ibn 'Atif of doubt and incertitude.

III I took this copy from the feki el Ami'n ibn Deli'sa, he having taken it from the great book of pedigrees; and it is as follows.

IV Musallam ibn 'Atif begot Ibrahim, who begot Muhammad, who begot Daud the elder, who begot Mas'ud, who begot Daud el Hashi. The last named was called "el Hashi" because he used to round up [yahush] the animals on the days when camp was moved.

V Daud el Hashi had seven sons, Muhammad Katarish^ Abd el

Khalik, Arabi, Faza'a, Faragag, Yasir and Sulayman.

VI Muhammad Katarish begot Abd el Khalik, Hamtur, Hadlul, Salih, Razuk and Awad el Kerim.

^ reading ^jUaS for u-j^^.