1. 4. IX. THE NON-ARAB RACES OF DARFUR 77

IX BiRKED. The BiRKED^ live north and east of the Dago and Bayko, between Gebel Harayz and the Rizaykat country, and are a much larger tribe than either. They have also a small colony, a day's

journey north-east of el Fasher, at Turza near Sania Kuldingyi.

Others are in Wadai, and these el Tunisi called- the lowest and most

despicable of folk, "traitres, brutaux, pillards...la honte et la plaie du Ouaday." "C'est de cette peuplade," he added, "que sortent les

ouvriers en fer et les chasseurs." He described them as black and

slim and short. In speaking of the Birked in Darfur he generally grouped them with the Tungur, and his opinion of them was that

they were "traitres, voleurs et rapaces a I'exces, sans crainte de Dieu

ni du Prophete^."

Barth merely mentions them* ("Birkit") among the negro tribes on the Wadai-Darfur frontier.

Nachtigal says^:

This tribe, composed of the slaves of the Sultan [of Wadai] has remained

free of all racial admixture. The Birguid are dark grey ("gris fonces"), darker than the Mabas, and are of a negro type and have the character and customs of the Central Africans, and speak a language entirely peculiar

to themselves®.

Their main divisions in Darfur at present are as follows

:

Madargarki^ ', the ruling house Turinge TuDDUGE, said to be HilAliin Fileik^ SiRiNDiKE 'Eraykat, i.e. some "Arab" ToGONG^, said to be HilaliIn 'Eraykat living with the Birked Kamunga Tongolke MiROWGE KagURTIGE KULDUKE MOROLK^ IZMANDIKE SaSULKE

There are also many other less important divisions. The com- ponent parts of all are, in the view of other tribes than the Birked,

largely adulterated by alien elements.

^ The spelling of " Birked " and " Bayko " is taken from the Arabic of el Tunisi. The words are pronounced "Birged" and "Baygo" respectively, and should perhaps be so spelt.

- Voy. au Ouaday, pp. 249, 250. ^ Voy. au Darfour, pp. 133-136.

* ni, 543 (App. 7). ^ Loc. cit. p. 67.

* They now speak Arabic as well. Their "rotana" is distinct from that of the Dagu, etc. See later.

' The brand of this section, called after it the Madargark^, is as shewn, representing, as a comparison with the royal Fur brand and I I 1

1

that of the Tungur will show, a- war-drum and sticks. It is interesting I I I I

in view of what follows to note that the Serar Bukker ("Cattle Folk")

at Gebel el Haraza in northern Kordofan also use a brand called "Bayt

el Nugara," which represents a small round drum and stick, as in the I ^'~\

figure. (See MacMichael, Camel Brands, p. 34.) I V^