Though not invariably susceptible of demonstration, the influence of Classical Arabic upon the popular literature of Arabic-speaking Muslims in North Africa may safely be assumed. ‘Popular’, indeed, the early Islamic verse forms (ši'r mawzūn) and the later stanzaic compositions (klam or ālat al-andalus) have remained, and in these, even when modified by local tradition, the source of inspiration is easily recognized. Less clear is the transfer pattern of classical elements in the strictly vernacular poetry (klam melḥūn) of the same people. It is this category of composition with which the following observations are concerned, and wḥich suggested selection of the term ‘vernacular’ rather than ‘popular’. A further factor contributory to isolation of this topic is the existence of a vernacular literature amongst non-Muslim Arabic speakers in North Africa: the Jewish communities. There, owing both to Judaeo-Arabic orthography and to confessional motives in the selection of theme, the tyranny of Classical Arabic is considerably weakened, to some extent a consequence of social (educational) lines of demarcation. Important, however, are the affinities between the vernacular compositions of both groups, especially in matters relating to rhetorical convention and prosodic structure.

The gibla, the south-west of Mauritania, is a monotonous region of gum acacia trees, baobabs, ‘dead’ dunes, and hillocks. This ‘backwood’ is the last refuge of Znāga Berber, once spoken far to the north in whole regions of the Western Sahara. A number of short poems, a cycle of folk-tales, and a handful of masterpieces of extended odes in praise of the Prophet—some 200 years old and written in Arabic script—this is the meagre literary legacy of a proud and cherished tradition.

Recent surveys of historical writing on the modern history of the Nilotic Sudan show the rather late appearence of critical historical studies which draw on contemporary Arabic source materials. Only in the last decade or so has the abundant contemporary Mahdist documentation been decribed, partly classified, and utilized by scholars. So far, few of these documents have been reproduced and, although some attempts to prepare critical editions of texts have been made, they remain unpublished.

Kukotay (K) and Bok Murun (BM) have epithets and formulae of greater or lesser elaborateness in common. Some of the more interesting of these will be adduced and compared, as will some of the more interesting discrepancies between K and BM on the way, since they throw light on the nature of their common source and of the Kirgiz epic tradition.

In my article ‘A case of murder in eighteenth-century Mongolia’ I analysed and summarized five documents through which the course taken by a murder case could be traced from the level of the Banner, which made the initial investigations, up to that of the Imperial consent to the recommendations submitted to the Throne by the Li Fan Yüan, and then back again to the Banner as the executive organ which had to put the punishments into effect. That case arose in the Banner of the zasag or Banner Prince Ǖrjinjav, and amongst other things it demonstrated the gap between regulations and the way they might be applied. Reference was made in the article to another case which arose in Ǖrjinjav's Banner, one of attempted murder, the documents concerning which are to be found in the same printed collection. In the present article I propose to analyse these documents, which concern a girl called Omboh.