A great distance between the Red Sea, and the Nile Valley, a region.
covering down to the southern borders of Egypt, dwells the Ababda.
They are a close community where work, and daily traditions make up.
the majority of their lives. Caring for their family, and friends is of high.
importance to them, and they work long, hard hours to insure their loved ones.
happiness. .
Ababda's main line of work demands patience, and concentration. Their.
tools are small brooms with which they search through the sand day, after day.
looking for any items archeologists may find interest in. Their goal is to find.
coins with Roman emperor's heads on them, or fragments of earthenware.
bearing mysterious symbols, or Greek inscriptions. These items bring in the.
most money. Other occupations include fishing, herding, and even tour guiding.
After a long day's work, the Ababda men return to their wives waiting.
for them in poorly assembled, wooden shelters. The women keep themselves.
busy during the day by making pots, and dishes out of stone, or wood, or by.
weaving baskets from the roots of desert plants. They also gather herbs to cure.
illnesses, and spin wool into coarse fabrics with simple patterns to cover the.
walls of their shelters.
Wives are chosen carefully in the Ababda community. Expensive gifts of.
gold must be presented to the woman, and great preparation of songs, and other.
tokens of the man's love are arranged for the ceremony. Once married, the.
couple must move far away from the bride's childhood home due to one of the.
tribes many superstitions. The Ababda claim that evil will overtake a family.
should the bride ever see her mother again.
The Ababda are a generally Arabic speaking community, mixed with.
some Nubian words. They are slim people, but well built. They tend to be short,.
averaging at a little over five feet. They have a dark complexion, accompanied.
by a reddish tone, and possess "radiant" black hair.
Appearance, and dress is very important to this society, and they strive on.
