The gizu is a remarkable form of vegetation complex…according to Newbold (1924) the word is derived from Arabic, the translation being “that which satisfied the camels so that they do not need water”…livestock relish gizu forage more than any other grazing…The first report of a gizu in English was by Newbold…[who said the herders] lived on kisra [aseeda], camel milk [“milk is said to become unpleasant after three days in a skin bag on a trotting camel. Personally I think it is nauseous after one”], ostrich eggs, and the occasional gazelle or rabbit and had no access to water…At the end of October 1975 there were rumors of a gizu [west of Wadi al-Milk]. The Reconnaisance Team sighted herdsmen and a very large number of camels, possibly as many as 50,000, moving towards the gizu. They were recognized to be Kababish.
-Notes on the Occurence of the Gizu, Sudan Notes and Records, 1977
In February 1984 Masood abu al-Dood (in standard Arabic, Father of the Worms; in Kordofani dialect, Father of the Lion, as an example of the Sudanese penchant for linguistic play) told me about his good times spent in the gizu. He said how rich and green its mixed plant cover was and that camels could go months grazing on it without being watered, the very definition of growing “grass fat”. The only trouble with the gizu he said was that there were no wells. If there were no wet naagas in the herd, there would be no milk for the herdsmen. They then must drink camel urine, he told me. He said this with a straight face, immediately after he and the others had complained to KhairAllah that David and I were drinking too much water, depleting the drovers’ supply for making tea. I never knew if he was just teasing. Or maybe it was a warning.