356 THE NATIVE MANUSCRIPTS iv.dt.

'Adlan's father 'Othman or in the time of 'Adlan II, i.e. in the eigh-

teenth century. He does not even know his own family history and has not the faintest idea whether the book was written by one man or half a dozen.

There is, however, internal evidence which makes it easy to guess

at certain probabilities. In the first place, the author only describes

in detail events that occurred in the Gezi'ra, from Sennar to Khartoum, and he is familiar with the geography of this region and the details of its administration.

It is also evident that he was frequently in Khartoum, for he is interested in the various buildings that were erected there, knows various junior officials, tells of visitors from Egypt, and knows exact dates of arrivals and departures.

Similarly he shows far more knowledge of the Blue Nile than of the White. Kordofan, Berber, Dongola, Kassala and other more distant provinces hardly come within his ken at all.

Again he speaks with exaggerated respect of Sheikh 'Abd el Kadir wad el Zavn, the Ya'akubabi, and represents him as having an almost supreme influence. Here there must be considerable exaggeration,

for whereas several of 'Abd el Kadir's contemporaries are mentioned by travellers, I have seen no reference to 'Abd el Kadir, and his name is not universally remembered. No other secular Sheikh is spoken of in similar terms.

Another man upon whom the author heaps titles of respect is

Sheikh Ahmad el Taib, the introducer of the Sammani'a tarika, who lived a day's journey north of Omdurman. Other holy men receive no more than passing words of praise.

He also indulges in gross adulation of Ga'afir Muzhar Pasha, and abuses his successor Mumtaz Pasha with an almost equal lack of

proportion. Other Governor-Generals are treated very leniently.

One also notes the author's familiarity with Turkish ranks and titles.

For the Fung and the Hamag he holds no particular brief, and of

the history of the 'Abdullab of el Halfaya and the Sa'adab of Shendi he expressly mentions his ignorance. The successive Sheikhs of

Khashm el Bahr, near Sennar, are, on the other hand, fairly well known to him.

From a consideration of the above facts and other minor points one would say that the author of this history was perhaps by birth

one of the Ya'akubab of Sennar, and by training a follower of the Sammania tarika. He had an education better than the average, and was much in touch with the Turkish officials — as were the sue-