Answer to Question 1
Abu Zayd, charming, intelligent, witty protagonist, responsible for outsmarting many enemies that the Bani Hilal met on their migration across Arab lands
Dieb, the blade of the tribe,' is the fearsome warrior.
Sultan Hasan, the level-headed tribal wise man, competent in Islamic Law and tribal protocol, but often ineffective
Al-Jaazaiyah, the most beautiful woman in the world, known for her strength, bravery, and her ability to outwit any opponent
Al-Zanati Khaligah, the Berber ruler of Tunisia and a villain who must be defeated at any cost
Answer to Question 2
The Sirat Bani Hilal is one of the oldest continuously performed epic traditions in the world . . . The epic recounts the adventures of the Bedouin tribes of the Bani Hilal and the Bani Sulaim as they migrated, during the ninth century, from their original homelands in the Arabian Peninsula all the way to Algeria and Tunisia in North Africa.
In this epic tradition, stories are spoken and sung in rhymed verse by the sha ir, a poet-singer Sheikh Taha who accompanies himself on the rebab (also rababa), a one-or two-stringed, spiked, skin-covered fiddle.