5] THE TUNGUR-FtJR OF DAR FURNUNG 127

The mark (called " sambella'^) with which they brand their cattle Ml and donkeys is distinctively Furian in character^. The Fella brand, on the other hand (see above) is probably of Tungur origin-. /Iv

VI The customs of the Fur and the Tungur appear also to have dove-

tailed in some respects in Furnung. For instance, the holiness of the rock

of Furnung is probably a Fur conception, adopted by the ruling Tungur.

Similarly, at 'Ayn Sirra, a few miles from 'Ayn Ferra and also in the Furnung hills, we seem to have two ceremonies which have gradually become joined into a single observance.

'Ayn Sirra is a delightful little oasis with a rich water-spring and palm- grove ^, lying just inside the circle of the hills and approached by a narrow

pass. At the entrance to this pass stands a large boulder called " haggar

el 'arus" ("the Bride's Stone") or '' haggar el 'dda" ("the Custom Stone"), and on the top of it are heaped some hundreds of loose stones interspersed with bits of dry cow-dung. The explanation of this, given by soi-disant Tungur, was as follows:

There are certain spirits who reside here and protect the entrance to the grove, and any stranger desiring to enter without mishap would need

to be, so to speak, introduced to them by the proper people (for whom

see later).

At the time when the rains first begin Fur and Tungur alike join in making offerings in the stereotyped manner at this stone to ensure a good

rainfall.

This "rain-making" rite may be of Darfur orign, but there are other

features which certainly are not, and the heap of stones on the top of the rock at once calls to mind the exactly similar phenomenon to be seen at Gebel Kayli east of the Blue Nile*.

Apart from the rain-making properties of the stone it is used on four

different occasions, viz. on marriage, on circumcision of a child, on a birth and when a hakim (ruler) visits 'Ayn Sirra. From its name the stone would seem to be chiefly associated with the occasion of marriage.

The rites performed on that occasion were said to be as follows: after the fdtha has been read and the couple thereby wed—for, needless to

^ See note on the Kaitinga brand in para, iv of this chapter.

^ Another so-called Tungur brand used in Dar Furnung is as shewn. A

j | I man who belonged on his father's side to the Fella, e.g., and had a Sambella ' I mother would use both his own Fella brand and the "Sambella," i.e. most of his animals would be marked with the Fella brand, but the minority- would carry the "sambella." In case of their straying there would thus be a chance of their being recognized and claimed by two parties instead of only one. The Fella explained more animals would carr^'^ the paternal than the maternal brand because "the meat only is from the mother, the bone is from the father"—which is apparently a popular quotation, since I also heard it at Mfdob.

* The Tungur who own the site say their ancestors brought the palm from Dongola. Their only cultivation, dates excepted, is cotton and "bamia." Neither red pepper nor onions are grown, though the soil is ideal for both and one expects to see them here as at Kuttum, Mellft and other oases where the population is similar. Utter inertia is the only explanation, and the people admitted "they just

felt too tired" (" 'igizu")

!

* A rather different explanation from that which follows is also suggested in the case of ICayli (see note on p. 45).