African Folklore: An Encyclopedia - Marshalls University

African folklore 830
conditions as the cause of their migration. They have suffered drought for years at a
stretch:
During seven entire years
Not a single lightning announcing the rain,
No cauldron placed on the tripod
Nor grain stirred on the fire.
A bushel had grown dearer,
It cost a three-year she-camel.
(transl. from Galley and Ayoub: 50–51)
Although the decision to migrate is vital, it is perceived first as an exile (taghrîba):
Where is the tribe of the famous name?
Their drinking troughs are dry,
They have exiled themselves, bringing their camps far
and wide,
(transl. from Galley and Ayoub 1994:48–49)
An Epic of the Desert
The key factor in the story of this march is the search for a land hospitable to men,
An underglass painting inspired by a
folk epic in which the hero Bu Zid