III. 1. XVII. THE GA'ALIIN AND DANAGLA GROUP 207

surnamed Abu Delayk, had obtained a hold on the particular site now known by his name and a large part of the Wadi Hawad. Some

years before the Mahdia Sheikh 'Abd el Baki 'Abd el Kadir, the

grandfather of the present '"omda" of the Batahin, succeeded in

opening wells at 'Alwan, Tomama, Um Sidayra and Kadum and

thereby the unity and prosperity of the tribe were considerably

advanced^.

At Abu Delayk there must have been wells from very early times,

for water is procurable in the "uddi^' so near the surface that a "sdkia" can be used, but it was only as a result of the upheavals and vicissitudes of the Mahdia that the Batahin found themselves

sufficiently strong to assert their ancient claims in the face of the Shukria and Delaykab and to make Abu Delayk their tribal head-

quarters, open numerous wells there, and cultivate most of the sur- rounding ''wddis^."

XVII In the Dervish days many of the Batahin were sent north by

the Khalifa to Dongola and Berber and perished there. Those remain-

ing near Abu Delayk fell into his displeasure, and it is still remembered how he put sixty-seven of them to death with the utmost brutality in

one day at Omdurman^.

They now own fairly large herds of camels, cattle, sheep and goats, and cultivate a rain crop in the numerous shallow ''zvddis" of their

''ddr." They are typical nomads in physical appearance*, lithe,

sallow-red in complexion, furtive-eyed, and in character impatient

of control, quarrelsome like the Shaikia, humorous, and more daring

than the usual. They are also incorrigible and unblushing thieves;

yet their thefts are not of the mean house-breaking order, but

a survival from the happy inter-tribal looting days^. They profess

^ Mrs Petherick (Centr. Africa, ii, 84) speaks of "some five hundred brood of camels with their young" seen by her in March, 1862, watering on the east bank of the White Nile near Gebel Aulia and belonging to the "Batacheen."

^ The " '0>nda" has lately founded a village of mud houses close to the wells, an entirely new departure for the Batahin. The most permanent type of house in use among those who were not entirely nomadic had previously been a tukl of straw of which the wall was plastered with " zibl" (dung) and lime. The mixture adheres to the corn-stalks and the wooden uprights alike, and windows are cut through it. This type of building is not found west of the Nile. Inside their huts

the Batahin have one or two large "suaybas," cylindrical jars for storing grain, about three and a half feet in height. Their jars (" bata'") are made from a compound of " seidl" gum {" kaddb") and leather and rags. The black colour is obtained by mashing and burning corn and forming it into a paste which is used in manu-

facturing the '^bata'." The black conglomerate is about an eighth of an inch thick and overlies a groundwork of rag.

^ Slatin, Ch. xiii.

* I except, of course, those in whom slave-blood is obvious.

^ Within the memory of the present generation a Bathani youth could not hope

to gain a bride until he had proved his prowess by stealing a camel. This reminds