IV. D 3. OF THE SUDAN 285

going to the river; and in place of ojjj dijixj ("for the shaving ceremony

of his child") gives ojjj ajI-o-J U' v-*=-i j-^wJI ij3 ("went to the river to fetch water for the naming of his child "). No. 58 also adds that Basbar, who was sitting under the acacia trees, was engaged in trimming a tablet (U-aJ 5>-*aj), i.e. the board used hy fekis as a schoolmaster uses a slate.

The point of the story of course is that Basbar's son in revenge translated himself into a crocodile.

Most of the AhAmda are not riverain folk, hence the note that the particular Hammadi in question lived on the river, the implication being that it was very hard for him to avoid visiting the river for years.

As regards the shaving ceremony see Hughes, p. 554: "At the birth of a child it is incumbent upon the Muslim father to sacrifice a goat (one

for a girl and two for a boy) at the ceremony called 'Aqiqah, which is celebrated on either the 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th, or 35th day after birth, when

the hair is first shaved and its weight in silver given to the poor." On the Blue Nile the father names his child on the 7th day after birth and gives a party in honour of the event and kills a sheep or goat for the guests. The water fetched from the river, in this story, would, if it is really the naming ceremony that is referred to, be merely water wherewith to fill the jars from which the guests would drink. Elsewhere, however (p. 17), Hughes

says: "'Aqiqah. A custom observed by the Arabs on the birth of a child; namely, leaving the hair on the infant's head until the 7th day, when it is shaved, and animals are sacrificed . . ."; and again (pp. 50, 51) "The naming of the child should, according to the Traditions. . .be given on the 7th

day.. . .On this, the 7th day, is observed also the ceremony of 'Aqiqah, established by Muhammad himself.. . .It consists of a sacrifice to God,

in the name of the child, of two he-goats for a boy, and one he-goat for

a girl. . .," which sacrifice is eaten by the friends assembled: while they eat they offer the prayer " O God! I offer to thee instead of my own off-

spring, life for life, blood for blood, head for head, bone for bone, hair for hair, skin for skin. In the name of the Great God do I sacrifice this

goat." It would appear therefore that the father went to fetch water for the

" 'akika" proper, i.e. for shaving the boy's head, and that it is not strictly accurate to say he wanted it for the naming of the boy, although it is true both functions took place on the same day and presumably on the same occasion.

The occasion of the naming of a child is also celebrated among some

Sinaitic tribes (see Jaussen, p. 16 note). For the 'akika as the ceremony of shaving the head of a child, cp. jaussen, p. 94; and cp. Nachtigal (Voy. au Ouadai, p. 88) for the same custom as practised in Wadai, and Crowfoot, Customs of the Rubdtdb (pp. 122 and 130), where the naming ceremony is described.

In the Sudan, when the child's hair is first cut, which is, by the way, often some four months after birth, a long tuft (the " '«>-«/" mentioned here) is left growing on that part of the head which was first visible at the

time of birth. Now previous to the child's birth it is customary for the