“ BAGGĀRA (“Cowherds”) , African “Arabs” of Semitic origin, so called because they are great cattle owners and breeders. They occupy the country west of the White Nile between the Shilluk territory and Dar Nuba, being found principally in Kordofan. They are true nomad Arabs, having intermarried little with the Nuba, and have preserved most of their national characteristics. The date of their arrival in the Sudan is uncertain: they appear to have drifted up the Nile valley and to have dispossessed the original Nuba population. ”

“ They have been described as “men who look the fiends they really are—of most sinister expression, with murder and every crime speaking from their savage eyes. Courage is their only good quality.” They are famous, too, as hunters of big game, attacking even elephants with sword and spear. G. A. Schweinfurth declares them the best-looking of the Nile nomads, and the men are types of physical beauty, with fine heads, erect athletic bodies and sinewy limbs. There is little that is Semitic in their appearance. ”

“ A purely pastoral people, they move from pasture to pasture, as food becomes deficient. The true Baggāra tribesmen employ oxen as saddle and pack animals, carry no shield, and though many possess firearms the customary weapons are lance and sword. ”