Warada wa hadda wa sadara wa hauwasha, He [the camel] came to the watering place and took a first drink and raised his head and took a second drink. Warrada, v., He drove [a camel] to water. Sharraba, v., He made [a camel] drink. Rawaa, v., He satisfied himself with drinking [water], He bore in his memory, knowing by heart, and transmitted orally, recited, or narrated a story or poem. Raawwi, activ. part., One who draws water, One who recites poetry.
-various entries, Lane’s Classical Lexicon and Hillelson’s Sudanese Vocabulary
Hillelson’s entry for Drink is almost as long as it is for Camel, if that is proof enough of the importance of Water on the trail. I remember the way KhairAllah would decline an offered drink in the midday heat, even when he must have been thirsty yet wanted to appear stoic in the eyes of others. Lissa shiribt, I already drank, he would say, even when he had not. I just learned that the root R-W-Y and its cognates have second meanings about sating oneself with water, in addition to sating others with words. I wish I’d known that back then, that you could do both at the same time.