Messiria Tribe - Geography of Messiria Country (Dar Al Messiria)

Geography of Messiria Country (Dar Al Messiria)

The term Dar means land or location. The word Al or al and sometimes El or el corresponds to the definite article The in English. The term Dar Al Messiria means the land or location of the Messiria. According to Ian Cunnison 1966, the Arab nomads of the Sudan and Chad republics are of two kinds: camelmen (called Abbala) and cattlemen (called Baggara). the Term Baggara means simply cowman but the Sudanese apply the word particularly to the nomadic cattlemen, who span the belt of savanna between Lake Chad and the White Nile. This belt is the homeland for the Baggara people for centuries. Ian Cunnison, referenced above said "History and environment together throw light on their distribution". In Sudan, while the Abbala lives on the semi-desert part of the region: northern Kordofan and Darfur, the Baggara on the other hand lives on their southern fringes; occupying the area roughly south of 12 degree north and extending well into flood basins of the White Nile to the south.

In general the Dar Al Messiria or their zones can be divided into three areas:
1.1. Dar Al Messiria in Kordofan, Sudan.
1.2. Dar Al Messiria in Darfur, Sudan.
1.3. Dar Al Messiria in Chad.

The Messiria in the three different zones are separated for long times to the point that they have developed localized cultural and social differences. The Messiria in Kordofan know little if any about the Messiria in Dar Fur and Chad, but they belong to the same tribe and they have similar subtribal divisions and diversities.