IV.D5.VI. NATIVE MANUSCRIPTS OF THE SUDAN 333

III Serious fighting occurred between them and the Sururab west of Halfaya el Muluk at a spot called nowadays Fasher el Sheikh

'Agib el Hag, [that being the name of] the ancestor of the tribe. IV The cause of the fight was as follows : the Sururab attacked the

'Abdullah at el Halfaya ; and in old days fighting was done only with swords and spears, and it was customary in warfare that the opposing armies should stand aside and the fighting be begun by the kings. They were followed by the viziers, and the latter by the rest of the armies.

V In this particular engagement the Sheikhs of the 'Abdullah and the Sururab respectively came forth to battle, and the first to begin

the fight were the Sheikh of the 'Abdullah and the king of the

Sururab. Then the former stood up on his steed and said to the latter

"Hit the leather" ("shew your strength"), and [the king of the Sururab] hurled at him a spear of the kind called by them el salatia so that it came out at his back. And when [the Sheikh of the

'Abdullab] knew his end had come he drew his sword and smote the king of the Sururab with it, and they two both died. And the

Sheikh of the 'Abdullab did not fall from his mare, though dead, and no one knew that he was dead till the end of the battle. And when

the Sururab knew that their king was slain they fled in utter disorder,

and complete victory rested with the 'Abdullab. VI One of their customs was that their chief man was liable to

death at any time whatsoever, for if any one of the sons of his father's brother wished to slay him he would inform him of the fact and

appoint a date for him ; and the chief would reply " yes " for fear that report should become current that he was afraid. So he prepares himself to meet the demand of his cousin and shaves his head and

gets out his sword and places it in front of him and prostrates himself

twice in prayer and seats himself to await [his cousin's] coming. Then his cousin arises and takes his sword and goes to find the king we have mentioned and orders the chamberlain to procure him per-

mission [to enter] from the king. Then the chamberlain informs him by knocking at the door, and he gives [his cousin] leave to enter. The latter enters drawing his sword and stands behind the king, who is

facing southwards, and strikes him on the neck without the king's saying so much as a word. Afterwards the great men [of the tribe]

gather together and place the king's hat on his [sc. the slayer's] head and appoint him their ruler. Such were their customs of old.