Struggle for Life

In the arid region of northern Africa known as the central Sudan lives an Arab tribe known as Habbania, whose life is a daily struggle for survival. When the tribe searches for a new home in the forest, wildlife menaces them. A lion kills a woman, while a python nearly kills her infant. The baby is adopted by the tribal leaders of the Habbania, who already have a son, and the two boys are reared together. One of their companions, a girl, enjoys imitating them. Eventually, the orphan boy falls in love with the prettiest girl in the tribe, and both boys become the tribe's most skillful hunters. While the boys mature, an elephant is attacked with spears, a giraffe is captured alive, and the tribe fights to keep their cattle alive. When a drought threatens, the pair find a promising new area to which the tribe can move, and the tribe settles on a lake not overrun with dangerous wild animals. A spreading forest fire forces the tribe to run toward the river, however, and the chief of the Habbania is lost in the confusion. His son goes back to find him, and both are struck by a falling tree. The orphan bravely returns, finds the father dead, and carries his adopted brother to safety, only to discover that he, too, has expired. In recognition of his bravery, the orphan is named the new chief.