1. 4. XXI. THE NON-ARAB RACES OF DARFUR 105

At Gebel Si, on the other hand, I could find no hint of any

religious functions pertaining to the Urundulu and he was spoken of

as simply a vizier to the Shartdi.

As regards the Sultan's Urundulu, or the " Urundulu of el

Fasher," the term is said by el Tunisi to denote "the head of the

Sultan," and the Urundulu was

un haut et puissant dignitaire, qui possede, comme prerogatives, plusieurs grands domains On porte devant lui un tapis, comme devant le Sultan. Quand celui-ci va a la chasse ou en voyage, la fonction de Torondolon est de marcher avec ses soldats, en tete des troupes; c'est lui qui ouvre la marche.

But the interpretation of the name as " head of the Sultan " is contra-

dicted by what the people of Abu Di'ma, Si and Kerne alike state, namely, that the term means "the threshold of the door." It is, they

all explained, through the Urundulu that anyone desirous of approach-

ing the Sultan or Shartdi must prefer his request^.

When Darfur was reoccupied in 19 16 there was still a nominal

Urundulu at el Fasher, but his privileges and powers were nil, and the Sultan seemed to have taken no notice of him whatever and merely to have allowed him to exist as a sort of traditional survival.

Similarly, but to a much slighter extent, in the out-districts peopled by Fur there has evidently been some change, and with the wider

spread of Islamic manners the fekis have increased and it is now

usual for them to be consulted as much or more as the Urundulus, and the latter have lost much of their distinctive character. Local Kadis have also arisen, appointed by the Sultans, and among the non-FuR tribes perform the same functions as the Urundulus among

the Fur, but with the aid of a greater smattering of Muhammadan

law than the latter possess.

In Dar Abu Dima if a man die a natural death he is buried free

of charge ; but if he is killed in a quarrel or murdered a sum equiva-

lent to about a pound or so has to be paid as a burial fee by his

relatives to the Urundulu, who shares it with the Shartdi. This is

called "buying a grave," but no purchase of land is implied, since

the money would have to be paid even if the deceased owned the

land on which he was buried^. The fee, which is entirely distinct

^ The Fur word for "a door" is "vvurre" or "urre." The word for a "fiki"

is "ur." The same word ("ur") also means "flour" (made by grinding grain on a "murhaka").

^ Some feeling was caused in 1916 when during the disturbances that accom- panied the reoccupation some Arabs were killed by the Fur and the latter were not only averse to paying "dia" (blood-money) but crowned their impudence by demanding a "burial fee" from the Arabs before they would consent to let the Arabs bury their dead.