362 THE NATIVE MANUSCRIPTS iv.d7.xxix.

that the king of Tekali had attacked one of his friends who journeyed thither, and plundered his goods, and when told that the victim was

a friend of the king of Sennar had replied " If the king of Sennar wants me on his account and crosses the wastes of Um Lama'a, then let him do what he will."

XXX Now the desert spoken of by the king of Tekali is difficult to cross owing to lack of water, but must be passed by one going from Sennar to Tekali. And when the man returned to his friend the Mek Badi he told him how his possessions had been plundered and what the king of Tekali had said, and [Badi] at once equipped his

troops and said to his friend "When we reach the wastes of Um Lama'a, let me know." And when they arrived there the man told him, and the king and all his men dismounted from their horses and crossed over on foot. Then they remounted and rode on until they reached the hills of the Nuba; and there they slew many and took numerous prisoners and so proceeded until they came to Tekali and laid siege to it.

XXXI And the king of Tekali had fortified it against them, and he used to come out to meet them by day, and send them provisions by night ; and when the king of Sennar saw the generosity of his spirit he made terms with him on the basis of a fixed tribute payable yearly by the king of Tekali.

XXXII Then he returned to Sennar with the prisoners taken from the Nuba and Tekali, and on arriving there built a village for each different race of prisoners ; and these villages surrounded Sennar like a wall to the east and west, and the inhabitants acted as troops for the aid and protection of the realm, and they bred and multiplied until the fall of the Fung kingdom. Now each village was named

after the race inhabiting it, for instance "Tekali" and "el Kadero" and " el Kanak " and " el Karku."

XXXIII And this king was a man of continence and piety and paid great respect to the men of learning and reHgion, and he used to send

presents with the guide Ahmad walad 'Alwan to the learned men of el Alahrusa ; and his virtues became so famous among them that they celebrated him in many poems, including that in which Sheikh

'Omar el Moghrabi says ... (thirteen lines of poetry follow) ,., This poem is a long one, consisting of about seventy lines.

XXXIV And the same Sheikh also said of him. . . (nine lines of poetry

follow); and this also is a long poem of about sixty lines.

XXXV Similarly all the best men of el Mahrusa sang thus in his praise, and the evidence of these learned men is sufficient honour.

XXXVI Among the praiseworthy monuments he left are the great