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Monday 30 December 2013

Heard in the Sudan: The answers

Here are the answers to the quiz I set a couple of days ago.
  • Ansar: Followers of the Mahdi (Arabic, helper or follower).
  • Ardeb: A unit of capacity used in many Islamic countries. In the Sudan it was about 5.5 bushels.
  • Ashraf: A name given to the relatives of the Mahdi.
  • Asida: Sorghum mixed with water into a paste onto which was poured a strong sauce of spices and peppers. In the Sudan it is eaten with meat and milk.
  • Aziba: The tail of turban that hung behind left ear and served as a mark of being a Madhist.
  • Baggara: Cattle-owning Arab tribes living south of Darfur and Kordafan.
  • Beia: The oath of allegiance to the Mahdi.
  • Bimbashi: A Major in the Egyptian Army.
  • Curbash: A whip made from rhino hide.
  • Dem: A Madhist camp.
  • Dragoman: An interpreter or guide who speaks Arabic, Turkish, or Persian. It was used especially in the Near East (Aramaic: turgemana).
  • Durra: A kind of millet eaten in the Sudan.
  • Effendi: A man of property, authority, or education in an eastern Mediterranean country (Turkish: effendi = master).
  • Farda: A cotton or woollen shawl.
  • Fellah: The common soldiers in the Egyptian Army. Also used for Arabic or Egyptian peasant (Arabic: fallah).
  • Fellahin: Plural of fellah.
  • Felucca: A lateen-rigged coasting vessel of North Africa (Italian: felucca).
  • Gellabas (or Jellabas): West African pilgrims working their way across the Sudan on their way to Mecca.
  • Hamattan: A dry, Saharan wind.
  • Imma: A turban.
  • Jebel: A hill or mountain.
  • Jibbah: A Sudanese robe. The were originally rough, patched garments worn by all, but eventually they became highly embroidered when worn by the Mahdist leaders.
  • Jihadiyya: The Mahdist rifle units pre-1892.
  • Kadi: A judge during the Mahdiya.
  • Kaimakam: A Lieutenant Colonel in the Egyptian Army.
  • Karaba: A straw belt.
  • Khalifa: The deputy (or caliph) of a Sufi shaikh, in the Sudan the term described the Mahdi’s successor. He termed himself Khalifat al-Mahdi, or successor of the Mahdi.
  • Khedive: A Turkish ruler of Egypt from 1867 to 1914 (Turkish: hidiv)
  • Mahdi: The Sudanese messiah (Arabic: mahdIy = one guided by Allah)
  • Mahdiya: The period from 1885 to 1898 when the Sudan was ruled by the Mahdi and the Khalifa.
  • Mudiria: A building in which the district governor lived or worked.
  • Mulazem: A servant/bodyguard who served the Mahdi and Khalifa.
  • Mulazemin: Plural of mulazem.
  • Mulazimiyya: The Madhist rifle units post-1892.
  • Muslimaniya: Christians who had converted to Islam.
  • Ombeya: A horn made from an elephant tusk.
  • Pasha: A man of high rank or office in Turkey or North Africa (Turkish: pasa)
  • Ras: An Ethiopian prince.
  • Ratib: The book of sayings of the Mahdi.
  • Rayya: The flag used to designate Mahdist military groupings (e.g. the Black Flag force or the Green Flag force).
  • Rekuba: A small hut.
  • Sayidan: Sandals.
  • Shebba (or Shaybe): A forked pole that was fastened to the necks of slaves to prevent their escape.
  • Siraral: White trousers.
  • Sirdar: The commander of the Anglo-Egyptian army (Hindi/Persian: Sardar).
  • Sudan: An Arabic term meaning ‘Land of the blacks’.
  • Taggia: A skull cap
  • Tarboosh: A fez-like hat (Arabic: tarbush)
  • Turkiya: The period from 1821 to 1885 when the Sudan was ruled by Egypt.
  • Voyageurs: French-Canadian boatmen brought over to Egypt for the Nile expedition.
  • Xebec (or Zebec): A North African coasting vessel that had masts that carried a combination of lateen and square sails. (Modification of French: chebec and Arabic shabbak).
  • Zariba: An improvised enclosure constructed from thorn bushes (Arabic: zaribah = enclosure).
I have plans for one more of these quizes ... and the next one will probably appeal to anyone who has read any of the FLASHMAN books.

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