ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the ecological setting and the different aspects of economic organization as they existed among the White Nile Arabs in the pre-dam period. The Northern White Nile area, co-terminous with Dar Hassaniya, lies within the geographical and climatic boundaries of the semiarid zone. The chapter discusses the social, economic and political repercussions of this change upon the White Nile Arabs, particularly among the Kawahla tribes, specifically the Hassaniya. The introduction of artificial irrigation has greatly eliminated the element of uncertainty in agricultural production, has had wide socio-economic repercussions. The White Nile, the dominant feature of the region, flows from south to north dividing Dar Hassaniya into the two administrative segments of Hassaniya East and Hassaniya West. The area around the White Nile is a wide flat basin with a specially gradual slope on its west bank where, in the past, the river as it receded used to uncover large areas of clay soil which were utilized for cultivation.
