334 THE NATIVE MANUSCRIPTS iv. d5. iv.
D 5 (a) NOTES
rv The Sururab belong to the Ga'ali group of tribes, and are a branch of the Gamu'ia. 0 M J
V "Hit the leather. . .etc." is (»iij^5 ^\) jJ^\ Ji.
VI "Chief man" is ,.^jj ("rais"); "sons of his father's brother" is <Uo-c l-;_»I, and "his cousin" A.^.e. ^.A; "chamberlain" is v--w».l-». ("hagib"); "hat" is S^jjXs.
It would appear that we have in this paragraph a reference to the well- known African cult of the Divine King, the belief that the king incarnates the divine spirit and that he should be periodically killed with a view to the appointment of a successor whose virility has not suffered from re-
tention in an ageing body. The custom is practised by the Dinka and by the Shilluk, and the killing of the king is a matter of high ceremony and reverence. The same custom was held among the Fung at Sennar, where
Bruce relates that " It is one of the singularities of this brutal people that the king ascends his throne under an admission that he may be lawfully put to death by his own subjects or slaves, if the great officers in council assembled decree that it is not for the advantage of the state that he should be suffered
to reign any longer. There is one officer of his own family who alone can
be the instrument of shedding the blood of his sovereign and kinsman . . . ." The officer was called the " SidelKum." The Fung were largely Shilluk by origin (see Westermann) and the 'Abdullab rose to power in alliance with the Fung : it is not therefore surprising to hear of a form of the belief
in the Divine King as existing among the 'Abdullab. (For this subject see Seligman, Hamitic Problem..., pp. 664, 665, and vol. i, p. 50 above.)
" Who is facing southwards" is iLilt ^JiLc ykj.
The 'Arakiyyun
I The pedigree of these tribes goes back to our lord el Husayn
ibn 'Ali. Their ancestor was Muhammad Abu Idris el 'Araki son of
Dafa'alla son of Ahmad. The tribe is connected by descent with the Badrab, whose Imams, Sheikh 'AbduUa el 'Araki and his brother Sheikh Muhammad, gave instruction to many folk.
II Their number includes many holy men that visited the holy sanctuary and Medina . . . (among their holy men the following are mentioned:
(i) Sheikh 'Abdulla walad Husayn. (2) 'Ali walad Nafi'a. (3) His son Falih ibn 'Ah.
(4) 'Abdulla walad el Kusayer).