Hamham, a she-camel whinny [to her foal]. Hawhaw, a dog bark. Koorak, a cat mew. Dagha, a goat maa. Ga’ar, a sheep baa. Hannaq, a donkey bray. ‘Aw’ee, a cock crow. Saksak, a bird chirp. Sarakh, a human shout.
-Sudan Arabic, Sigmar Hillelson
These words all came to me later, except Sarakh which was most useful in Cairo where we just called it Dawsha, Unpleasant Loud Noise [or “Sound out of place” as defined in a recent American University in Cairo M.A. thesis], the audio track of Egyptian everyday life. On the trail except for the rare set-to it was mostly quiet, only to be heard the murmuring of men singing to themselves, the blowing of the incessant north wind, the nocturnal teeth grinding of camels chewing cuds. No she-camels with foal, no donkeys, no roosters. What sounds there were, were mostly in my head. For forty days.