Ancient traditions

The following transcript includes both the text from the captions and a text version of the audio descriptions.

DESCRIPTION: Now, in the desert. A man on camel-back herds dozens of single-humped camels. A farmer walks with a herd of goats.

NARRATOR: The descendants of the Kushites are the Nubian people of southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Living in villages and cities, many still practice customs from ancient Kush.

MAN: The tribal scars you see on people's faces are of various types. The most common is three... three lines on each cheek. You see these same kinds of scars in the reliefs of the Meroitic period, worn by rulers 2,000 years ago.

NARRATOR: Many clues to the past can be better understood by looking to the present. The architectural design of Nubian homes, and the customs and practices of people living today, help scholars to reconstruct the past.