Maba

Maba, the dominant people in the kingdom of Waday, Central Sudan, whose territory lies in the north and north-east; there are over twenty tribal divisions, including the royal and noble Kodoy, Uled Jemma, Malanga, Madala, and Matlamba tribes, all united by their common Negro speech, history, traditions, and physical appearance. They are a rude, Negroid people, evidently crossed with Arab blood, and the reigning family even claims descent through the female line from a branch of the Arab dynasty of the Abbasides. Nearly all have long been Mohammedans, and whatever culture they possess is entirely due to Arab influences. From the great preponderance of this nation Waday is sometimes called Dar-Maba, "Mabaland." (Nachtigal, Sahra und Sudan, ii.)