ABSTRACT
The crucial problem in the life of service nomads is that of ensuring physical, economic and political security. The former implies social relations and interaction between potential customers who comprise a niche and individuals defending this niche. In Upper Egypt and northern Sudan the term Halab is used to designate families who belong neither to one of the sedentary riverine tribes nor to one of the pastoral groups; they do not even belong to one of the known categories of once-immigrant populations from the lower Nile Valley. Kerma is important not only for its camp site, but also because the town with its big market and large housing quarters offers many opportunities for the exercise of different economic activities. The Halab niche is created by the farmers' fluctuating needs in goods and services – primarily household utensils and minor repairs of locks, pressure-lamps, kettles, etc.
