Africa by Élisée Reclus/Volume 1/Chapter 4
CHAPTER IV.
REGION OF THE UPPER NILE TRIBUTARIES.
HE section of the Nilotic basin comprised between Lake Albert and’ the Bahr-el-Ghazal confluence presents a marked contrast to the surrounding land in its abundant waters, its converging streams, extensive marshy tracts, and the general uniformity of its slope. The natural limits of this distinct geographical domain are formed by the course of the Nile and Asua on the east and south-east, and of the Bahrel-Ghazal on the north. In the historic life of the continent the inhabitants of this watery region have also played a separate part. Here lics the chief connecting route between the Nile and Congo basins. The water-parting being marked by no perceptible “divide,” no barrier is presented to the migration of peoples between the two great arteries. Thus the hydrographic parting-line forms no natural limit between ethnical groups, some of which, such as the Niam-Niam, occupy both sides of the slope, while continually encroaching northwards. Through this region of transition must pass the future continental highway from east to west between the Red Sea and the Bight of Benin. It has already been partly opened by Peney, Lejean, Petherick, Piaggia, Schweinfurth, Junker, Bohndorff, and other explorers are eagerly following in their footsteps.
Flora and Fauna.
The extensive tract comprised between the Bahr-el-Jebel and the Bahr-el-Arab, although clearly characterised by its ramifying waters, has no general geographical designation, and is known only by the names of the tribes occupying its various sections. Politically the western portion is known as the province of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, a name which should properly be restricted to the basin of this affluent of the Nile. The whole territory might be collectively called the "fluvial region," for here are concentrated all the western affluents of the Nile north of Lake Albert. Its total area may be estimated at about 140,000 square miles, and its mean altitude at 2,500 feet above the sea. The soil being composed of disintegrated granite mingled with fluvial alluvia and humus, is extremely fertile. Vast tracts are covered with a red earth overlying soft iron ores, which combining with the sediment and decayed vegetation washed down by the streams, is also very productive. But where the ferruginous deposit lies too near the surface,
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large plants are unable to strike deep root, and even after the rains little is seen except a scant herbage. Elsewhere the soil yields heavy crops, while its spontaneous growths comprise many species of great economic value. Such are the ruhm (criodendron anfractuosum), a large cotton-plant, and the lulu (butyrospermum Parkii), whose fruit contains much oil and butter. Other plants supply several varieties of caoutchouc; and here and there is met the higlik, or "elephant-tree," (balanites Ægyptiaca), under which pits are often dug to capture the huge pachyderms, who greedily devour the foliage of this plant.
The elephant still abounds in this region, although from five thousand to six thousand are said to be taken every year. The species of antelopes have been estimated at a hundred (?), and some large apes, supposed by Felkin to be chimpanzees, are much dreaded by the natives. Some hundreds of these bimanes attacked the station of Gaba Shambé on the Nile, and destroyed several houses, a fire completing the ruin of the depôts. On the other hand, neither the horses, asses, mules, camels, nor the pack-oxen of the Baggara Arabs survive more than a twelvemonth in the wooded districts skirting Dar-For and Kordofan on the south. The destruction of these unacclimatised animals is attributed by Emin-Bey to the spontaneous development of multitudes of entozoa, while the natives suffer much from the "Medina worm" as far as the third parallel north of the equator.
Inhabitants.
Fifty million people might easily live in this fertile region, in some parts of which the villages follow in close succession, and the jungle has been replaced by gardens. But almost everywhere are visible the traces of murderous and marauding inroads, and many districts recently under cultivation are now completely depopulated. Nowhere else in East Africa has so much ruin been caused by the slave-dealers, including many Egyptian officials, who for many years openly carried on the traffic in human Hesh. Protected by their very position, these functionaries were able quietly to promote their "• civilising mission," as it was pompously described in the official reports. Even still the routes followed by the convoys of wretched captives regularly forwarded from the Arab stations to the Lower Nile may be recognised by the bleached bones of the victims of this nefarious commerce. And when it was at last officially interdicted, the ostentatious Government proclamations were easily evaded by the Mohammedan and Christian dealers alike. They no longer engaged personally in the razzias, but they fomented the tribal feuds, encouraging the slaughter of the men, the capture of the women and children. Then humanity itself seemed to require their intervention, to rescue the captives and reserve them for a less cruel bondage in the northern cities. Such was the régime introduced by the "era of progress," under which not only was the country wasted, but its surviving inhabitants debased by the hitherto unknown vices of a "higher culture."
When at last the European governor, Gordon Pasha, attempted in 1878 to put an end to these horrors, the revolt broke out, and while the functionaries were officially encouraged to act vigorously, the rebels were secretly supplied with munitions of war. The slave-dealers were openly or covertly abetted by nearly all the Egyptian officials. The hope, however, of establishing a sejjarate state under the notorious slaver, Suleiman, was thwarted by Gordon's energetic action, aided by the skill and zeal of his lieutenant, Gessi. And although both of these brave men were soon recalled and sacrificed to court intrigue, the old régime of terrorism seems never to have been restored. The Khedive's authority still survives, at least in name, and the Kordofan rebels seem again circumvented in their attempts to cross the Bahr-el-Ghazal by Gordon's return to Khartum in 1884.
Meantime the communications with the north have been interrupted. By the very force of circumstances this province has, at least for a time, become autonomous; but the time seems still remote when the Sudan will be able to dispense altogether with foreign intervention in its internal affairs. A bright prospect is nevertheless in store for it, as soon as the slave-trade has yielded to legitimate commerce, dealing in com, fruits, vegetables, butter, cotton, hides, metals, gums, wax, caoutchouc, and many other local products instead of the present staples—ivory and human flesh. The climate is suitable to Europeans willing to lead sober and active lives. But the extensive swamps in the low-lying districts must always render it dangerous to immigrants, until health resorts, like those of India, have been established in the southern uplands.
The native populations have in many places become intermingled through the constant local wars and razzias of the slave-hunters; the old tribal limits can no longer be determined; the territories have shifted their inhabitants. During the last generation stable communities have been maintained only on the banks of the Nile between Magungo and Dufile, where the slave-dealers have scarcely succeeded in penetrating or establishing their footing for any length of time. Hence the population is still done in this district, in which we may wander for days without meeting any waste or unreclaimed lands. In this peaceful region, for generations undisturbed by foreign wars, the manners of the people have become softened, crime is almost unknown, and the traveller may move about freely unarmed. How great the contrast with those communities that have been harassed by the slave-hunter! Yet nearly all are of one origin, and had formerly the same habits, the same social and political organisation. Mostly of Negro stock, they speak languages entirely different from those current amongst the Bantu peoples of the equatorial lakes. But of these diverse tongues, two or three only have been reduced to writing by the missionaries. The Bari, Denka and Shilluk have thus been partially fixed by grammatical works and religious translations. Of all the African linguistic groups, this is on the whole the least known, although the country has been more frequented by Europeans than many other regions of the interior.
The Shuli and Madi.
Southernmost of these Nilotic tribes are the Shuli on the east, and the kindred Lur, or Luri, on the west bank of the river, where it emerges from Lake Albert. Their joint domain comprises the left side of the lake, and an extensive tract stretching along the Nile northwards beyond the Asua affluent. The Shuli would be of pleasant outward appearance but for the habit of piercing the lower lip, and inserting a piece of crystal, a stick, or any other ornament, three or four inches long. They also extract the four upper incisors, causing their utterance to be very indistinct, and with an oxide of iron daub their bodies red in all sorts of fantastic forms. Like the Madi on their northern and the Lango on their southern frontier, the Shuli pass a great part of their lives in thus painting and decking themselves. The elaborate headdresses vary according to the taste of each individual, but on all alike the greatest care is lavished. Some are raised several stories high, and embellished with ornaments of all kinds—flocks of wool, wreaths of foliage, rings, strings of pearls—the whole forming an architectural edifice sufficiently incommodious to the bearer. The rich throw an antelope skin over their shoulders, the poor a goatskin, loading wrists, legs, and neck with iron rings. Under this weight of metal locomotion becomes difficult, while to look to the right or left the faabionable Shuli has to wheel his whole body half round. The costume is completed with red and white beads, and diverse amulets of silk, roots, teeth, horn, and the like. The women, however, wear nothing but a loin-cloth, a few glass trinkets, some decorative paintings, and a queue, like that of the Niam-Niam.
The Shuli, Lur, and Madi are distinguished from the neighbouring tribes by the consideration they pay to the women in all social matters. Young girls, living apart in huts reserved for the purpose, have the privilege of choosing their own husbands. They are never beaten, and the husband seldom takes any important step without consulting his wife, or receives any present without sharing it with her. The women are also exempt from field operations, and occupy themselves exclusively with household duties.
The national name, Shuli, recalling that of the Shilluks on the White Nile, points to a common origin of these tribes, a conclusion confirmed by the obvious affinity of their respective idioms. The Shuli, however, unlike their northern kindred, are a peaceful people, engaged chiefly in agricultural pursuits. They grow excellent tobacco, various kinds of vegetables, and large quantities of cereals and sesame. In the midst of their orchards they plant here and there certain fetish trees, loading the branches with the horns, teeth, and heads of animals captured in the chase. Like the Nyanza tribes, they also dedicate small shrines to the local genii, and never start on any enterprise without consulting the wizards. All travellers meet with a friendly welcome, and on their departure a goat is sacrificed by the wayside to avert all dangers on their homeward journey. Three days of the week are considered propitious, three ill-omened, and the seventh indifferent. But through their ignorance of these local superstitions strangers often become involved in serious troubles.
In the Shuli territory the Egyptians have established a few military posts placed at intervals of two or three days' march from each other, so as to overawe the whole land by a system of strategic routes. Wadelai, one of these stations, lies on the left bank of the Nile, at the confluence of a small tributary. But the most important place is Fatiko, founded by Baker, some 60 miles east of the river, between two affluents of the Asua, in a fertile district commanded by granite heights. One of these crags rises north of the fort about 300 feet above the plains, affording an extensive view of the whole region beyond the Nile. Fatiko, standing at an altitude of 4,000 feet above the sea, occupies the culminating point of the Shuli territory, whence the land falls in abrupt terraces north, west, and south. Lj-ing midway between Foweira, on the Somerset Nile, and Dufile, on the Bahr-el-Jebel, it is favourably placed for trading purposes, and exports much com and wax. Other large villages in the Shuli country are Fq/'elh (Fajuli), Fudihek, Fdrqjok and Obho, lying east and north of the Asua river.
The Madi, who occupy the right bank of the Nile north of the Shuli, resemble them in appearance, in their style of headdress and other usages, notably the respect paid to their women, who take part in their tribal deliberations. Although apparently of kindred stock, their language is quit© distinct from that of the Lur, Shuli, and Shilluks, showing affinities rather with that of the Niam-Niam. This difference in speech and resemblance in customs is doubtless due to the presence of two ethnical elements now fused in one nation. The foreign intruders probably came from the south-west, where the Madi occupy the water-parting between the Nile and Congo basins, and where they are conterminous with the Kalika, allied to them in speech and origin.:
In the Madi territory the chief Egyptian station is Dufilé(), on the westDufli bank of the Nile, near the great bend it describes before its confluence with the Asua.
It occupies the apex of the triangle formed by the two streams and by the
The Bari.
The Bari, who follow the Madi along both banks of the river, form one of those groups of Negro tribes most remarkable for their physical beauty and haughty carriage. The traveller can easily study their fine proportions, as they go perfectly naked, considering it effeminate to cover the body. Peney even tells us that they are "afraid of clothes," and that to assure himself of a favourable reception he had to take off his own garments. Although the women are allowed to dress, most of them merely wear the rahad, or loin-cloth, made either of little iron chains or strips of leather, and a hide round the hips. Their hair is always shaved off, while the men leave a little tuft on the top of the head, which the chiefs deck with ostrich feathers. Unlike the Shuli, the Bari do not cover themselves with amulets and bracelets, although some also paint the body, especially for the war dances, and tattoo themselves with arabesques or many-coloured geometrical designs. These operations, undergone at puberty, are very dangerous and often end in death. According to Felkin, the Bari, recently decimated by small-pox, have invented and applied the practice of innoculatiou, apparently with perfect success. The Bari warriors are considered the bravest of all the Nilotic tribes. Amongst them men are often met wearing on the wrist an ivory bracelet; these are the hunters who managed to kill an elephant in single combat. The slave-dealers generally recruited their bands of slave-hunters amongst the Bari, and the name of these banditti was dreaded as far as the vicinity of the great lakes. But the Bari have themselves suffered much from the razzias of the slave-traders, certain parts of their territory having been completely depopulated. Knowing that the principal wealth of the Bari consists of cattle, and that they are very proud of these beautiful animals, decorating them with bells, like the Swiss cows, the slavers first captured their herds, the Bari bringing their own wives and children to ransom them, unless a fortunate expedition enabled them to substitute the families of some neighbouring tribe. The cow is held as sacred amongst these Nile populations. Instead of squatting, like most other Negroes, or sitting cross-legged, like the Arabs, the Bari are accustomed to sit on stools painted red.
Catholic missionaries have been for some time at work amongst the Bari, but with small success, the conduct of the Christian slave-dealers being scarcely of the kind to assist the teachings of the priests. The Bari still adhere to their magical rites, their ancient animistic religion, their worship of the serjx?nt, called by them "grandmother," and their veneration for the dead, whom they carefully bury in a sitting posture. "Formerly," said they, "we could climb to heaven by a cord connected with the stars, but this cord has been broken." The ruins of the church, the head-quarters of the Upper Nile missions, are no longer to be seen, a fine avenue of lemons alone marking the site of what was the city of Gomhkoro; the bricks of the Austrian missionaries' houses have also been ground down by the natives, and mixed with grease, with which to paint their bodies. Baker Pasha had made Gondokoro the centre of his administration under the name of Ismailia; but on account of the shifting of the river, and the development of marshes and sandbanks, Gordon removed his residence to Lado, or Lardo, some twelve miles farther down on the left bank of the river. This town, whose brick buildings and sheet-iron roofs are visible above the palisades, presents a fine appearance in comparison with the neighbouring villages. It is surrounded by a promenade; a eucalyptus, planted by Emin-Bey, towers above the house-tops; while till recently the quay was crowded with river craft. The other stations in the Bari country above Gondokoro are Kirri and Bedden, where the river is crossed by a ferry. South-east of Gondokoro stand the villages of Billigong or Belenián, noted for their iron mines and javelin and lance manufacturers. In the neighbouring Lokoya Mountains dwell the bravest
of the Bari, against whom the whites settled at Gondokoro had often to protect themselves. Farther north the Berri, Bar, or Behr, occupying the prairies northeast of Gondokoro, form a group of tribes distinct from the Bari, speaking an idiom nearly identical with that of the Shuli, whom they also resemble in customs and appearance. Another kindred people are the Shir, whose villages line both banks of the Nile below Lado. Possessing no iron, these blacks fashion their arrow-heads from ebony-wood.
The Latuka Country.
East of the Bari, a territory well watered by wadies flowing towards the Nile from the south-east is occupied by the Latuka, who are entirely different from their Negro neighbours. Nearly all travellers regard them as of Galla stock, and their language appears to belong to the same family as that of the Ilm-Orma. Their high foreheads, large eyes, straight and shapely nose, thick but not pouting Fig. 35. — Routes of Explorers East of the Bahr-El-Jebel.
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lips, leave little doubt as to their origin. Other populations living more to the east, towards the Sobat, especially the Arboreh, belong to the same family; but the Akkara and Irenga speak different languages. The character of the Latuka differs greatly from that of the neighbouring Negroes; they are merrier, franker, and so brave that slavedealers have never succeeded in capturing them. If their tribes were united, instead of continually fighting one against. the other, they would assuredly be one of the most powerful African nations. Although these Galla immigrants have to a great extent preserved their original speech, physical traits, and character, the Latuka have become a half-caste race, and have adopted many customs of the Nilotic Negro peoples. Like the Bari and Shilluk, they would seem to be ashamed to wear clothes; but they take great pride in dressing the hair in elegant styles, mostly affecting the form of a helmet. The completion of these elaborate headdresses is a work of eight or ten years. The hair, bound with bark strips, is made into a sort of thick felt, ornamented with glass and china beads; a copper plate glitters above the forehead, and nodding tufts of feathers and plumes crown the superstructure. The women, less elegantly formed than the men, and possessing unusual strength, have no right to all this finery, and confine themselves to a few tattooings; they wear a queue like a horsetail, and like most other women of this region, extract the four lower incisors. The Latuka huts resemble those of the neighbouring tribes; they are shaped like a bell or extinguisher, the only opening being a low door, which is entered on all-fours. Near each village is a
' cemetery, whither the bones of the dead, first buried near the dwelling, are brought after they have been completely decomposed. Funeral dances are kept up round the dead for weeks together. The territory of the Latuka is very fertile, and their tobacco, although nearly always adulterated with foreign substances, is in high demand among the neighbouring peoples. In this country the leopard is the only beast that is feared, as it often attacks man. The lion is so little dreaded that Emin-Bey tells us that one of these animals having fallen into a leopard-trap, the people hastened to set it free.
The Latuka district is bounded on the east by the Lofit or Lafit range, rising some 3,300 feet above the plains, and on the south by still higher mountains. The whole country consists of a long fertile valley studded with trees, amongst which is the " higlik," whose saccharine fruit is so rich in potassium that it is used as soap. The villages are tolerably numerous, many even meriting the names of towns. Tarrangoleh, the chief town, situated in the midst of the Latuka country on the high bank of the Khor Kohs, is said to contain no less than three thousand huts, not including the sheds for some ten or twelve thousand head of cattle. It is surrounded by a strong palisade, each house being further protected by a separate enclosure. Three-storied turrets stand in many parts of the city, in which sentinels keep guard during the night, ready to strike the war drum at the least appearance of danger. One main street intersects the town, all the rest being merely winding alleys, into which the cows can only enter one by one — an arrangement which simplifies counting, and prevents the enemy from surprising and carrying off their herds. In the northern region of this country, the two villages of Wakkala, or Okkela, and Loronio, also known as Latomeh, from the name of its chief, have also a large population. According to Emin-Bey, the women, as in U-Ganda, are far more numerous than the men.
The Latuka are the most easterly of all the Galla tribes, unless the Lango of the Upper Nile and the Wa-Huma of the plateaux are also to be regarded as branches of this race. But on the Bahr-el-Jebel itself and to the west of this river none but Negroes are met. The Niambara, or Niam-bari, occupying a hilly district which forms the water-parting between the Nile and its tributary the Yeï, are akin to their easterly neighbours, the Bari, although their speech is distinguished by a greater variety of tones and sibilant consonants than the language of the neighbouring peoples. Like the Bari, the Niambara are tall and strong and go naked, but load themselves with iron bracelets, rings, and other ornaments of the same metal; while the women wear daggers at the girdle. Although earrings are unknown amongst most of the Nilotic peoples, the Niambara pierce the lobes of the ears, passing glass trinkets through them, and, like the Orechones of South America, distending them on each side of the face. The women also pierce the lips at the corners, and insert a fragment of quartz, or if that is not available, a wooden cylinder or a piece of reed. They wear no loin-cloths, but only a scrap of leather, leaves, or occasionally a small bell. About the middle of the century, before the arrival of the ivory merchants, elephants' tusks were of fiuch little value that they were scarcely used except as stakes for the cattle enclosures. The Niarabaru hunt this huge pachyderm in a totally different manner from the other tribes. A man concealed amongst the foliage of a tree waits till the beaters have driven the animal under the branch where he is stationed, lance in hand; then the iron head, from 26 to 30 inches long, plunges to the shoulders into the elephant's back, generally producing a mortal wound. Besides being skilful hunters, the Niambara also carefully cultivate their orchards and fields, have beehives roimd their huts, and as smiths rival the Bari of Belenián. One of the chief villages bears the name of the tribe. It is situated 2,000 feet above the sea, in a valley surrounded by high hills, joining by a lateral branch the mountain range which skirts the Nile from Mugi to Dufilé. The pyramid-shaped Ku-Gu peaks rise above the grassy plains of the Niambara, and mineral springs, used alike by natives and the Arab dealers, burst forth in many parts gf the country.
The Denka.
Of all the peoples living on the banks of the Bahr-el-Jebel, the Denka or Dinka, also called Jeng and Jangheh, occupy the most extensive domain. Their territory may be estimated at about 40,000 square miles, and their tribes or separate clans are counted by the dozen. The best known are, naturally, those which, come in contact with the traders, such as the Tuich, the Bor, the Kij or Kitch, and Eliab on the Nile, and the Waj, Rek, and Afoj to the west, on the Bahr-el-Ghazal tributaries. Other Denka communities are also settled on the right bank of the Bahr-el-Abiad, below the Sobat confluence. But although occupying the route necessarily followed by all travellers ascending the Upper Nile or penetrating to the Congo basin, the Denka have in no way altered their mode of life under the influence of foreign civilisation. They have remained free on their plains or marshes, buying next to nothing from the Arab merchants, the milk of their herds, the fruits of their orchards, and the seeds and vegetables of their fields sufficing for all their wants. On the right bank of the Nile, in the country of the tribe of the same name, stands Bor, a fort built by the Egyptian Government to overawe the Denka. Like the Bari, the Denka have also been visited by Italian and Austrian Catholic missionaries, who had settled themselves at Panom or Fautentum, below Bor in the Kij country, on the left bank of the Nile; but they were forced to quit this establishment of the Holy Cross (Santa Croce, Heiligen Kreutz), on account of the epidemics that ravaged the mission. Nor did their proselytising labours produce any results beyond the collection of vocabularies and translations that they brought back from the Denka country.
The Mohammedan missionaries have also had little success amongst the Nilotic peoples, who have remained nature-worshippers, like most of the other Central African peoples.
Like the Bari, who speak an allied language, the Denka are ashamed to wear clothes, the women alone attaching hides to their girdle. They do not however despise ornaments, wearing iron rings on the arms, ankles, and ears, placing ostrich feathers on the crown of the head, tattooing the face to distinguish themselves from other tribes, and extracting the incisors of the lower jaw. Nearly all of them shave the head, but the dandies paint their hair so as to make it resemble that of Europeans, and give it a reddish hue by moistening it with animal matter. The natural complexion is of a fine bronze hue ; but to prevent it from changing they take constant care to rub the skin with greasy substances and smear it with ashes, which gives them a bluish-grey appearance. Being accustomed to kindle large fires every evening, round which they pass the night with their herds to protect them from mosquitoes, their villages become strewn with large ash-heaps, on which they delight in rolling. The Denka of the eastern region are one of the tallest African races, men often being found amongst them over six feet in height. The Kij are especially tall, but westwards, in the Bahr-el-Ghazal basin, their stature is scarcely superior to that of the average European. They possess generally great bodih' strength, although they eat but one meal a day, towards sunset. Their legs are long and thin, and as they live, like the Nuer and Shilluks, in marshy regions, they walk as if on stilts. Seen from a distance moving slowly above the reeds, raising the knee and cautiously advancing their large flat feet, they might easily be mistaken for storks. Like the birds of the swamps, they are accustomed to stand motionless on one leg, resting the other above the knee, and remaining in this position for an hour at a time.
Although living in the iron age, as shown by their preference for implements of this metal, the Denka have no smiths, their alluvia being destitute of iron ores; still they show themselves to be skilful workmen in various industries. Sarcastically called "men of the stick" by their neighbours on account of their favourite weapon, they make ingenious elastic bows and carve curious walking-canes with shell guards to protect the hands from blows. Their houses are larger than those of the neighbouring tribes, and as cooks they possess rare skill, in this respect being unrivalled in Africa. They are great cattle-breeders, possessing vast herds. When an animal falls ill it is separated from the rest, and taken to a well-appointed infirmary for treatment. They never kill but only occasionally bleed them, to drink the blood mixed with milk, and eat the flesh of those alone which die of disease or are killed by accident. In spite of their care, the bovine race appears to degenerate in the country, owing probably to climatic conditions, or else, as Schweinfurth believes, because of the total lack of crossing with other breeds, and the want of salt in their food. Amongst one hundred beasts, scarcely one could be found strong enough to travel from one mura/i, or enclosure, to another, or to carry
burdens such as those of the Baggara cattle. In appearance, however, they are handsome animals enough, with slender horns and delicate heads, and might be almost mistaken for antelopes. The bulls have a mane covering the shoulders, neck, and breast, the body and tail being clipped close, giving them the appearance of small bisons. The Denka also breed goats, the only animals they kill for food. A nation of pastors, living in small groups on the plains, the Denka have no public or private form of worship, although many of their local practices are supposed to recall a cult resembling that of the primitive Aryan Hindus. Like the Shilluks and Bari, they respect the cow, and have a remarkable veneration for snakes, which 
they call "brothers; "to kill these reptiles is considered a great crime. Schweinfurth was told that pet serpents are kept in every house, which recognise the members of the family and answer to their names.
The Makraka.
The large river Yei, which rises in the "Blue Mountains" near the Madi country and the Upper Nile, and which, after describing a westward bend through some marshy tracts, joins the Nile below Gaba Chambeh and the Bahr-ez-Zaruf bifurcation, traverses the lands of the Eakuak, Fajellu, and Kederu tribes, most of whom are related to the Bari and Denka. But amongst the tribes of this basin there is at least one, that of the Iddio, or Makruka, who are entirely distinct in speech, appearance, and usages. They belong to the powerful A-Zandeh or Niam-Niam nation, whose domain stretches chiefly south-west into the Congo basin. The Mukruka (Makanika), or " Cannibals," fully deserve their name, as is attested by Schweinfurth and other European explorers. But taken all in all they are decidedly superior to the surrounding Negro tribes. They are of a reddish black colour, with less flat nose and less prominent cheek-bones, and the facial angle more developed than those of their neighbours. The hair is long and almost silky, and by means of berries and various vegetable substances built up into the most fantastic forms. They do not yield the palm even to the Madi in this respect. They do not extract the incisors like the surrounding Negro tribes, but alone of all non-Mussulmun peoples practise circumcision. They are accordingly regarded as a kind of Mohammedans, although they do not recognise Islam, and this semi-religious brotherhood is one of the reasons why the Egyptian governors choose them to recruit their troops ; but the chief cause is the terror inspired in the other tribes by their courage and reputed cannibalism. The dealers traversing the country had often to fight not only the Makraka men, but the women as well. These Niam-Niam are skilful agriculturists and possess a considerable variety of plants. Although their territory is of small extent, it ranks from its material prosperity as the first amongst the surrounding nations, and one of the administrative departments established by the Eg^'ptian Government is named after these people, although also comprising many other nationalities.
The Muru.
The most widespread nation in the Yeï basin above the Denka country are the Muru, one of whose communities, carefully studied by Felkin, bears the name of Madi, like the large tribe on the banks of the Bahr-el-Jebel. Differing little from the Bari and Denka in usages, the Muru also go naked, seldom wearing any ornaments except iron rings. Their distinctive tribal sign consists of two tattoo-marks on the forehead. The stones heaped round their graves have the same form as the dolmens of Brittany. Owing to their physical strength, the Muru are employed as porters throughout the whole region of the Upper Nile tributaries. They are also skilled tillers and gardeners, and each hut has in its vicinity an enclosure, where the vegetable beds, three feet high and very narrow, are so disposed that they can be cultivated without bending the back. The old Muru custom of all property being in common has not yet been completely replaced by private ownership. The beer prepared by the women belongs to everybody ; it is placed in a public building, every thirsty native or traveller drinking at pleasure, but never taking it away or abusing the privilege, drunkenness being quite unknown. In fine weather all the people in the village, men and women, dine together, served by the children. Politeness is one qi the virtues most sedulously cultivated by the Muru; the women are respected, and those amongst them who practise medicine, with much more success and intelligence than the men, are always escorted back to their own dwellings by the head of the family they have honoured with a visit. The education of the children is looked upon as the chief duty of the tribe. Boys and girls are trained to bow to and keep silence before their elders; they learn gymnastics, dancing, mimicry, practise games of strength and skill, accustom themselves to the use of arms, and make of their father a target for their blunt arrows. They are taken away and left in the woods, then watched from a distance to see how they find their way back to the village. Their education is completed by travel. At the age of ten the children leave the paternal roof on visits to distant friends of the same or other nations, thus making their " tour of the world," in order to become acquainted with the manners and customs of foreign lands. When the young women get tired of travel their brothers bring them home, then again set off on their ramblings. They also seek foreign wives, chiefly amongst the Niam-bara, exogamy being the rule in the Muru nation, although unknown amongst the Bari. "When the young Muru finds a girl that takes his fancy, he approaches her and attaches a wreath of foliage to her wrist; if she retains this ornament the young man may hope, and the negotiations for the marriage are forthwith begun between the respective parents.
The chief station of the Muru is the village of Madi (A-Jiladi), on the left bank of the Yei, and on the caravan route between Lado and Dem Suleiman, in the midst of vast sesame and millet-fields. It is one of the centres of traffic between the Nile basin and the Monbuttu country. The official reports record how many hundredweights of ivory are purchased by the Egyptian officials, but make no mention of a more important commercial article, namely, the slaves captured from the peaceful tribes of the country. Till recently Madi also forwarded a large number of eunuchs to the towns of the lower Nile and Arabia. It is stated that the slave-dealers always tried to capture and mutilate those chiefs who did not readily countenance their traffic in human flesh. Hence it is not astonishing that the sight of a " Turk " terrifies the blacks of these regions; the children on seeing a stranger scamper away with cries of terror.
The river Rol, which under divers names flows parallel to the Ye'i, and which at last runs out in the Nile marshes above the cataracts, flows through the territory of numerous tribes, such as the Abukaya, the Lori, the Lesi, the Belli, and the Jiri, which possess no political cohesion. In the country of the Agar, a branch of the Denkas, there is a veritable town, Ayak, or Dufalla, standing on the right bank of the river and surrounded by a palisade and a deep ditch. The dwellings, all built on raised platforms, are crowded together within the enclosure, whilst the zeriba is surrounded by a complete zone of villages. North-west of Ayak, at some distance from the river, and in a hilly cultivated district, is situated another zeriba, founded by the Arab traders. This is the town of Runbek, also called Roi, after the name of the river and its chief riverain tribe. It is the chief town of the Egyptian administrative Government. According to Felkin, the town population numbers about 3,000 individuals, and that of the neighbouring villages 30,000. In Rol dress is regarded as a religious privilege, and except the wives of the Arabs, no women have a right to be seen clothed.
The Bongo.
Towards the west, the great Bongo nation, also called Dor or Deran, occupy the hilly plains north of the Niam-Niam, watered by the Jau, the Tonj, the Jur, the Bongo, and their numerous affluents. Schweinfurth, who lived two years amongst the Bongo tribes, says that before the arrival of the slave-dealers they must have numbered at least about 300,000, but at present they appear to be reduced to 100,000. Formerly distributed in countless little independent communities, and living in peace .with each other, the Bongos never thought of uniting to resist hostile attacks. "When the slave-dealers presented themselves with their bands armed with guns, they easily gained possession of the villages on the plain, established their zeribas at all strategic points, and the whole country was soon at their mercy. The whole Bongo nation threatened to disappear in a few years, so rapidly was the country wasted by the slave-trade and oppression. The local civilisation perished, and certain industries were abandoned. Schweinfurth feared that this original people, so remarkable in physical traits and usages, might have been discovered only to be lost to science. It seems, however, that thanks to several years of peace, the country has begun to revive, although now again threatened by the raids of the Arabs and their native allies. The Bongo families appear to be fairly numerous, owing, i)erhaps, to their relatively late marriages : the young men marry only between the ages of fifteen and seventeen, whilst in other tribes unions take place at thirteen or fourteen.
The Bongo present a striking contrast to their northern neighbours, the Denka, although the two languages appear to point at a remote affinity. They are not so black, the skin being of a reddish brown, similar in colour to the ferruginous soil composing the terrace lands sloping northwards. Of smaller stature than the Denka, the Bongo are stronger and more thickset, the strong muscles of their thighs and calves presenting a marked contrast to the thin legs which give such a "stilted" appearance to the marsh tribes. The women have largely developed hips, and walk like animals, the tail they ornament themselves with, swinging about at each step, adding to the resemblance. Whilst the Denka head is narrow and long, those of the Bongo are all brachycephalous, the skull being nearly round. According to Schweinfurth, no other people possess a higher cephalic index; it would appear moreover that in certain districts the mothers compress the heads of their children into certain shapes. Unlike so many other peoples of the riverain regions, the men do not go naked, but wear a strip of cloth, and the iron' rings which they wear on the arms, occasionally numbering several dozens, are 80 arranged as to form veritable pieces of armour. The women wear no loin-cloth,
Scale 1; 6,000,000.
merely attaching to the girdle a leafy branch or tufts of grass. Their ornaments consist of nails or metal plates, which they pass through the lower lip. Bongo women are often seen wearing, like the Botocudos of Brazil, inserted in the lip, a disc large enough to be used as a plate. The dandies also insert pegs into the sides of the lips, the nostrils and other prominent parts of the body. Persons are seen thus "pinned up" in a hundred different places. The Bongo are perhaps one of the most kindly, gentle, and industriouH people of Africa. They are not possessed of the extraordinary passion for cattle which characterises the Bari and Denka, but occupy themselves mostly with agriculture, men and women alike preparing the soil and cultivating their plants with the greatest care. The fertile red soil yields abundant crops of tobacco, sesame, durra, and other alimentary plants; but in spite of this variety of vegetable products, including wild roots and mushrooms, the Bongo despise no flesh, fresh or putrid, excepting that of the dog. They drive away the vulture to regale themselves on the remains of its meal of carrion, eat with relish the worms found in the entrails of the ox, devour scorpions, termite larvae, and all creeping and crawling insects. As amongst other tribes, earth-eating is also very common amongst them. The Bongo are the most skilled of African smiths, supplying the Denka with their arms and ornaments. They build ingenious furnaces to direct a current of air across the iron ore, and manufacture with the aid of very simple tools articles equal in finish to the products of the European workshops. Like the Logone people of the Tsad basin, they have introduced the use of round pieces of this metal as money. They are also skilful builders and carvers, erecting substantial dwellings with circular ledges, which serve as terraces or balconies. Hound the graves of their chiefs they carve stakes in the form of human beings, which bear a striking resemblance to the divinities of the South-Sea Islanders. But these human figures of the Bongo are not gods, but merely symbols of the resurrection, a doctrine in which, together with metempsychosis, they are firm believers. The souls of old women are supposed to pass into the bodies of hyænas, on which account these animals are regarded as possible family relations, and never killed.
The Diur.
The Diur, that is to say, "Men of the Woods," "Savages," are so called by the Denka, who regard as inferior beings all tribes not possessing numerous herds of cattle. Their true name is Luoh or Lwo, and like the more southerly Belinda, who have encroached on the Niam-Niam domain, they are immigrants of Shilluk stock. They still speak an almost pure Shilluk dialect, and some of the aged amongst them have preserved the traditional system of tattooing peculiar to that nation.
The Diur occupy the last ferruginous terraces of the plateau between the Bongo and Dinka territories. Their domain is watered by several streams, the largest of which takes the name of this tribe. According to Schweinfurth, they number some 20,000, but increase rapidly in times of peace, because their families, remarkable for their mutual affection, are generally numerous. The Diur, much better proportioned than the Denka, are one of the naked peoples classed by the earlier explorers amongst the "tailed men," as they generally wear two attached to the girdle. Skilful smiths like the Bongo, they also manufacture rings for ornamenting the arms and legs, but they no longer dress the hair after the complicated Shilluk fashion. Nearly all the men and women have very short hair. The ancient customs are disappearing. Thus, amongst others, the Diur have ceased to spit upon each other as a mark of affection ; and the " tree of death," to whose trunk the heads of enemies were nailed, no longer stands at the side of each village.
Topography.
Diur Ghattas, the principal zeriba of the country, is well placed at the junction of the Bongo, Denka, and Diur territories, and in the intermediate zone between the marshy plains and the hilly terraced lands, with their alternate woods and grassy steppes. Sixty miles to the north-east, at the Diur and Momid confluence, sur- rounded by a labyrinth of canals, and to the east of an immense forest, stands the village and the group of depots called Meshra-er-Rek, or " Station of Rek." Here begins the navigation of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, and here is the starting-point for all the caravans proceeding south, south-west, or west, into the region of the Upper Nile tributaries. Before the war which cut off this region from Khartum, a steamer ascended the Bahr-el-Ghazal periodically as far as Meshra-er-Rek. North-west of Diur Ghattas, other zeribas follow in the Diur territory. Such are Kuchuk-Ali, where Gessi gained a final victory over the slave-dealer Suleiman, and where are some fine banana, lemon, and orange groves, planted by Schweinfurth ; and Wau, on the left bank of the Diur, surrounded by extensive forests, which furnished the materials for the flotilla in which Gessi sailed down the Diur to the port of the Bahr-el-Ghazal.
The Sereh, Gold, and Krej Tribes.
West of the Bongo are the Sereh and Golo, whose territories are both bounded by the Ji or Pango tribe. The Sereh greatly resemble their neighbours the Niam-Niam, to whom they were for some time subject. They are a well-built, stout, cleanly, and industrious people. They are of a cheerful disposition, enduring fatigue, hunger, and thirst without complaint. Of all Africans, they possess the fewest domestic animals, rearing poultry alone in their villages.
In general, the Golo resemble the Bongo in appearance and customs, although speaking an entirely different language. Their round huts have very large eaves supported on a circular row of posts, thus forming a complete verandah round the dwelling. They erect exceedingly elegant granaries in the form of a vase resting on a stool, and surmounted by a movable cover tapering to a point ornamented with plumes.
West of the Golo dwell the Kredi or Krej, who wander in small bands in the
heart of the forests, and whom Schweinfurth describes as the most repulsive and least intelligent Negroes he ever met. This region, however, which drains through the Biri and other streams into the Bahr-el-Arab, is one of those where the populations have become most mixed, not by free crossings, but by promiscuous intercourse, forced migrations, and the passage of troops and slave-dealers. The whole of Dar-Fertit, a name usually applied by the Arabs to this part of the country, was recently little more than a camp of slave-hunters. The affix Dera or Dwem, meaning "town," joined to so many names of places, indicates the zeriba or fortified stations main
tuined by the slave-dealers. Dem Idris, the chief town of the Golo country, is one of the great centres of the ivory trade. When Bohndorff, Juncker's fellow-traveller, escaped northwards towards the end of 1883, elephants' tusks were here heaped up in the stores. Hud the river not been blocked by the revolt. Governor Lupton valued the merchandise that he could have forwarded to Khartum at 125 tons of ivory and 15 tons of indiarubber.
Topography.
Dem Ziber, or Dem Suleiman, the chief town of the "Dwems," named after the two slave-dealers, father and son, whose power was overthrown by Gessi in 1878, is one of the largest places in the Nilotic basin above Khartum. The Egyptians have made it the capital of the province of Bahr-el-Ghazal. The king of Uganda's envoys on reaching this "great city" believed that they had arrived in England, of whose wealth and wonders they had heard so much. Its stores are stocked with European merchandise as well as with local produce, exotic fruits and vegetables acclimatised in the surrounding gardens. Here jewellers have established themselves, and sculptors here carve ivory tastefully as bracelets, sword and dagger hilts, and many other articles of vertu, and manage to keep within the law which claims elephants' tusks as the Khedive's property. Dem Suleiman is the only town of the riverain countries possessing a mosque.
To the north of Fertit, Gessi chose as the garrison station on the Arab frontier the town of Hiffi, situated in the vicinity of large forests near the sources of the streams flowing towards the Bahr-el-Arab, but which run quite dry during a part of the year. The Togoi, one of the neighbouring tribes, belonging probably to the same race as the Krej, are savage, ugly, and debased; whilst other peoples, such as the Inderi and Shir, have features which, according to Felkin, are almost "European," and are distinguished for their high moral qualities. The village of Gondu, about 24 miles north of Hiffi, is a citadel of the Shir, perched on the top of a hill rising some 300 feet above the plain; a rough path winds up the side of the hill, which, however, the Arab invaders have vainly attempted to scale. The Shirs, with no other weapons than arrows and stones, have always repulsed their assailants. Having remained independent and retained their bravery, they have lost nothing of their good qualities. At the sight of a stranger they leave their work and run forward, offering him refreshment and food. The Shir have little of the Negro type, their lips being thin and the nose shapely. They daub the body with oil and red ochre, which gives them a resemblance to their namesakes, the Shirs of the Nile Valley. Like the Madi and so many other peoples of the Upper Nile region, they pass a great part of their life in dressing their hair. Their favourite shape is that of a halo composed of long tresses.
The Mandara, or Mandula, north of the Shirs in the direction of the Baggara Arabs, form the most advanced section of the Negro populations. According to Gessi, they are immigrants from Baghirmi, near Lake Tsad, who, flying from the slave-traders, took refuge in a country which, however, had been most devastated by the slavers. It was a hunting-ground where the Sultan of Darfur formerly hunted human beings to pay his debts. The Mandaras are nearly all Mahommedans, like their neighbours on the banks of the Bahr-el-Arab. They have allied themselves with the Baggara and Nuer to attack the Egyptian garrisons in the riverain
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countries, but they were repulsed many times by Governor Lupton near the village of Mayendut.
The Fertit country forms the ethnological boundary between the clothed and naked populations. This contrast, combined with those of the physical features, impresses travellers, who here seem to enter anew world. To effect its junction with the Bahr-el-Ghazal and Nile, the "River of the Arabs" in its lower course winds across Negro territories. Denka tribes and peoples of the great and warlike Nuer nation occupy the swampy plains along its banks.
The Nuer.
Of all the African peoples, the Nuer best deserve the term of "stilted," applied to the inhabitants of frequently inundated districts. Resembling the Denka in this respect, they possess even longer legs and flatter feet, which they raise above the high grass and place cautiously on the boggy ground. Like most Negroes of the riverain countries, they go naked; clothes would greatly incommode them in these damp regions. But they take great pride in the beauty of their hair, giving it a yellowish tint by applying cinders and other substances. Those who have short hair wear wigs of cotton dyed red; they make incisions on the forehead, while the young women pierce the upper lip, inserting rods two or three inches long encrusted with glass beads. Like the Denkas, the Nuer, whose fields are above the flood level, possess large herds of oxen; their most binding oath is taken on the breed of their cattle. There are also a few Nuer communities living in the midst of swamps on the floating islets of grass and reeds brought down by the river during the floods. Like the aquatic birds, they eat fish as well as roots and nelumbo seeds. Still all travellers have wondered how these half amphibious beings can settle down and bring up their families in the midst of mud and decaying vegetable substances. Their life must indeed be a hard one. They are in general very sullen, strangers rarely receiving a gracious reception from them.
