Chapter Four Social Life Among the Hamadab People First: Social Customs: 1. The Life Cycle: Funerals: In times of grief upon the death of one of them, the Hamadab people have customs somewhat different from the rest of the Sudanese people, and their customs are close to those of the Manasir due to the geographical proximity of the two regions. The nature of funeral life in both cases is similar. When one of the sons of the Hamadab region passed away, they would send to all the people of the region to inform them of the death, and burial would take place in the designated cemetery. The announcement might also be made specifically to the people of the islands, and the Rissamin would often fire shots into the air, their sound carrying the news, and people would come to them to learn of the news. After the news reached everyone, people would immediately head towards the cemetery to participate in the mourning and prayers. The deceased would be carried on shoulders after being seen off by women in the usual manner. The affairs of the deceased would be handled, and people would be informed that condolences would be accepted after a week or ten days, (Al-Rika Sayyimi) or (Al-Rika Ashri), or perhaps more, to await travelers and inform those absent so they could attend the condolences. This practice of setting a future date for the opening of the mourning period and accepting condolences was dictated by the nature of the region, the extreme difficulty of its paths, and the challenges people faced in reaching it.

The Custom of (Al-Awd) in Funerals: In preparation for the funeral day, there is a social duty that every Hamadab citizen must perform, which is a known quantity of sorghum to be ground and its bread prepared on the day of the funeral. This is equivalent to a quarter of a loaf of bread.