264 THE GUHAYNA GROUP iii. 2. xxviii.

(h) THE BENI GERAR

XXVIII At one time, from the middle of the eighteenth to the

middle of the nineteenth century, the Beni Gerar and the Hamar

were the chief antagonists of the Kababish in the grazing grounds

of northern Kordofan and northern Darfur from the Wadi el Melik

to Kagniar, and used to raid the caravan roads running from Debba

to el Haraza and over the Bayuda desert and down the banks of the White Nilei.

The name "Fezara" seems to have been more often applied to them than to any of the other nomads and it is not unlikely that they

have some real connection with the Fezara who were in Upper Egypt in the fifteenth century^.

As the Beni GerAr were gradually ousted by the other nomads, by the Kababish in particular, from Kagmar and the northern steppes

of Kordofan they tended to move farther south and to take to culti-

vation, near the White Nile round el Busata and farther inland near Kadmul in central Kordofan, while they sent their herds to graze

round el Tius and to the east of Khorsi.

At present they have numerous villages in the White Nile Pro-

vince, and a few round Kadmul. The nomadic portion of the tribe

remains in Kordofan and accompanies the Kawahla in the rainy

season. No Beni Gerar are left now in Darfur.

The main divisions of the tribe are as follows

:

A. Mahabib