A female camel from the Bakr camp, belonging to a woman named al-Basūs, spotted the herd of Taghlib leader Kulayb ibn Rabi’a and wanted to join it (via “The Mute Immortals Speak: Pre-Islamic Poetry and the Poetics of Ritual“). The camel broke free of its tether and went with the herd to the watering hole owned by Kulayb.
Kulayb, being extremely possessive of his territory, angrily took up his bow when he noticed this and shot the intruder. The arrow pierced the udder and killed the beast. Seeing this, Al-Basūs tore off her veil and cried out: “O, for shame! O, protector/neighbor!” This was a sign of disgraced womanhood and a call for retribution. Her kinship rights had been violated; though she was not a blood relative of Kulayb nor Bakr leader Murrah ibn Dhuhl, she was part of the Bakr tribe and deserved more respect than that.
Al-Basūs’ young nephew, Jassās, son of Murrah ibn Dhuhl, answered her call. He took his spear and killed Kulayb. Then the war broke out.
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