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.