SECOND JOURNEY TO USAMBARA

The immediate object of my second journey to Ukambani was, in accordance with the decision of the Committee of the Church Missionary Society, to found a missionary-station in Ukambani, and thus actually to commence the chain of missions through Africa formerly spoken of. If the Ukambani mission succeeded, it was hoped that then a further missionary-station might be established in the neighbourhood of the snow-mountain situated on the high ground of Yata, some 110 leagues from Rabbi in the village of a Mkamba, Mtangi waNsuki, a man of great influence in the district of Yata, and which being visited by all the caravans which journey either from Ukambani to the seacoast, or from the latter to Ukambani, a missionary stationed there would have frequent opportunities of corresponding with his brethren at Rabbai. The village lies in a plain, which is at least 2000 feet above the level of the sea and contains many Wakamba villages. As the Wakamba-land proper begins with Yata a missionary stationed there could make excursions in every direction, and as at the same time many Wakamba from Yata were settled at Rabbai Mpia, in constant intercourse with their friends and relations in the interior, the Yata people would be obliged to be careful in their treatment of the stranger. If they maltreated him the authorities of the coast would in accordance with the East-African custom, retaliate on the settlers from the interior in their power.

FIRST JOURNEY TO USAMBARA

 FIRST JOURNEY TO USAMBARA

I should visit the countries to the south and southwest of Mombaz, to preach the Gospel in a region near to Zanzibar, and to explore its capabilities for being made the seat of missionary-stations. As regarded Kumari, or Kumari, king of Usambara, I knew well that he would soon learn to respect any European missionary, and give him leave to reside in his country; adopting such measures for his protection, that he would always have access to him by way of Tanga and Pangani, both in his dominions, without fear of molestation from the Suahili, an object of the greatest importance for spreading the Gospel in East Africa. Accordingly on the 12th of July 1848 I left Mom baz having engaged Bana Kheri, Rebmann's guide to Jagga, for the sum of fifteen dollars, as guide on my journey to Usambara, and seven Suahili as baggage-bearers at the rate of five dollars per man. I had with me also the needful articles: calico, beads, knives, &c. for presents, and for the purchase of provisions. We left the harbour of Mombaz at 9 a.M. and landed at the Mohammedan village of Mtongwe, to the south of Mombaz. Ascending the higher ground we reached the hamlet Lunguma, inhabited by the Lungo tribe, a branch of the Wadigo tribes of the Wanika. The Wanika, who live to the south of Mombaz, are called, as formerly mentioned, Wadigo, and their country Udigo; those to the north-west and north-east are called Walupanga. Muaje Kuku, the chief of Lunguma, gave us a friendly reception and presented us with fresh cocoanuts, the pleasant milk of which revived me much. Next day, we presented the chief with twenty ells of American calico manufactured at Lowell, in return for his hospitality; and proceeded on our way, gradually ascending as we went. Our road became now steeper and more difficult for the ass which I had brought with me from Mombaz. After continuing the ascent for about three leagues we reached the fine plain of Shimba, where I felt so cold that I longed for warmer clothing. The prospect towards the lowlands, towards Mombaz and its bays, and towards the western mountain-chain of the Wanika-land, was magnificent. After a march of two leagues over the plain we came to the jungle in which the village Kwale lies, the chief of which, Mualuahu, gave us a very friendly reception. The village contains about seventy huts, of which very few are inhabited, as the people generally reside upon their plantations. At Kwale I was not a little astonished to see men and women, old and young, smoking tobacco and making use of a pipe not unlike our European ones, the bowl being neatly constructed out of clay and fastened to a stick some feet in length. Not only do the Wadigo grow a great deal of tobacco, but also buy it in quantities in Usambara, in small, round, dried cakes, which they dispose of in Kiriama and Emberria, to be sold to the Galla. As regards religion the Wadigo appear to be as indifferent and dull as the Walupangu, and to this their intercourse with the deceptive Mohammedans has much contributed. Nevertheless, I had sometimes interesting conversations with Wadigo people, who at first took me for a Mohammedan.

BOOK NAME: TRAVELS, RESEARCHES, AND MISSIONARY LABOURS IN EASTERN AFRICA.

By: E. G. RAVENSTEIN, F.R.G.S.

PUBLISHED: 1860

GEOGRAPHY PHYSICAL AND POLITICAL

 GEOGRAPHY PHYSICAL AND POLITICAL

EAST AFRICA PROTECTORATE

(1) Position and Frontiers

The East Africa Protectorate extends from the Indian Ocean to Lakes Rudolf and Victoria Nyanza It marches on the north with Abyssinia, on the south with the Tanganyika Territory (German East Africa), on the east with” Italian Somaliland, and on the west with the Uganda Protectorate. It lies between 4° 40' S. and 4° 30' N. latitude, and between 34° and 42° 40' E. longitude, and has an area of some 247,000 square miles.

The southern boundary follows a straight line north¬west from the mouth of the River Umba to Lake Jipe, the east shore of which it ascends; thence it proceeds northwards, leaving Mount Kilimanjaro in German territory, to about 3° south latitude, whence it again follows a straight line north-west to Mohuru Bay on Victoria Nyanza, in 1° south latitude. In the east the boundary between British East Africa and Italian Somaliland is the River Juba, from its mouth to the confluence of the Daua. From this point the boundary between British East Africa and Abyssinia follows the River Daua as far as Malka Murri. Thence it runs roughly west-south¬west, and again west, following tribal boundaries, to the eastern end of the Goro escarpment, which it follows for some distance, afterwards turning in a north¬westerly direction to near the southern end of Lake Stefanie, and thence directly west to Lake Rudolf. Between the East Africa Protectorate and Uganda the boundary passes down the middle of Lake Rudolf to the'mouth of the River Turkwel, the course of which it follows to its source. It then crosses the summit of Mount Elgon, and, striking the River Sio, follows it to Victoria Nvanza, and passes west of the islands of Sumba, Mageta, and Mfwanganu, to the point oh Mohuru Bay at which the former German frontier reaches the lake.

(2) Surface, Coast, Rivers, and Lakes 

Surface and Coast

Apart from a narrow belt of coast-land and the plains of Jubaland and Tanaland, the whole territory forms part of the East African Plateau. The country is traversed from north to south by the Eastern Rift valley, which forms a series of lake basins from Lake Rudolf in the north to Lake Natron on the southern frontier.

The highland region in the south-west, which extends far into the Tanganyika Territory, lies at an altitude of between 5,000 and 8,000 feet. North¬ wards to Lake Rudolf, beyond the region of high mountains, the general level declines rapidly, though there are mountains south-east of the lake. Farther east a steppe region, bounded on the north by the escarpment of the Abyssinian highlands, slopes downwards towards the south-east, passing into the plains of Jubaland. West of the Rift valley the Nandi and Mau escarpments fall sharply to the great depression of Victoria Nyanza.

The whole territory may be divided roughly into five regions: (1) the coast and coastal plain, (2) the slopes of the south-western plateau, (3) the largely volcanic highlands rising therefrom, (4) the depression of Victoria Nyanza, and (5) the northern steppes and the plains of Jubaland and Tanaland. Of these regions i he third is-by far the most important and characteristic. (1) The Coast.—From the River Umba, as far north as Formosa Bay, the coast consists of sandy beaches and low coral cliffs, broken by mangrove-fringed creeks and protected by a barrier reef. Farther north it becomes lower and more sandy, and in the neighbourhood of the Lamu group consists of a maze of creeks and islands. North of Kwaihu Bay it is low and unbroken, though small islands and reefs are still numerous.

It is well provided with natural harbours, of which Mombasa is the most important. Port Durnford and Kismayu, in Jubaland, have some importance owing to the lack of harbours further north along the Benadir coast.

The islands, Wasin (near the mouth of the Umba), the Lamu group, and the Bajun islands north of Port Durnford, are the site of the chief Arab towns on the coast, and still possess a considerable population.

The Coastal Plain—The section furthest south be¬ tween the River Umba and the River Sabaki consists of a narrow strip between the sea and the Shimba and Giriama Hills (600 to 1,500 ft.). Sandhills also rise in places to a height of several hundred feet.

This zone is fertile and well cultivated, and south¬ west of Malindi there is a large tract of forest. North of the River Sabaki the coast plain widens greatly, being joined by the inland plains of the Tana. In the Witu and Lamu districts the soil is especially fertile. Further north, in Jubaland, the coast plain is com¬ pletely merged in the great plains of the interior. In this section it is covered with bush, and there is little cultivation. A line of sandhills about 200 ft. high here follows the coast, not far inland.

(2) The Plateau Slopes.—The southern part of the coast plain is bounded on the west by a range of sandstone hills, and behind these are the thinly peopled steppes of Nyika or Taru, which rise gradually west¬ward to a height of 3,000 ft. The soil of these plains is a characteristic red earth, which is fertile when irrigated, and the vegetation consists of a dense thorn scrub. To the south and west of Voi the plains are broken by a number of lofty summits, ranging from 4,000 to 7,000 ft. high, among them being Bura and Kadiaro. Between Tsavo and Taveta, the country is well watered and fertile.

(3) The Volcanic Highlands.—The plateau rises towards the west in a series of ridges running roughly north and south, and having a general altitude of some 5,000 ft. Beyond these ridges rise Mount Kenya and the great ranges of the south-western plateau, which are mainly of volcanic origin. This highland region is divided into two parts by the Eastern Rift valley. Kenya, the Laikipia plateau, the Kikuyu uplands and the Masai plains lie to the east of the valley, and Mount Elgon, the Gwas Ngishu (Uasin Gishu) plateau, and the Nandi, Mau and Lumbwa districts to the west.

The great volcanic mass of Kenya, which lies north of Kikuyu, facing the northern end of the Aberdare Mountains, rises to a height of 17,040 ft., and its slopes are thickly wooded.

The Laikipia plateau lies north-west of Mount Kenya, and consists for the most part of rolling grass plains with an altitude of 6,000 to 7,000 ft. The Lorogai Mountains form the northern scarp of the plateau, and on the east it shelves downwards towards the Jubaland plains and the Lorian swamp. The district is badly watered, save near the River GwasoNyiro, and is very difficult of access.

The Kikuyu uplands, which slope westwards from the wall of the Eastern Rift valley, are one of the most fertile and thickly peopled regions of British East Africa. The Kikuyu country proper lies at an altitude of 4,500 to 6,500 ft., and consists of a succession of well-watered valleys, which were originally covered by forests, but have now been cleared. The zone of culti¬ vation is extending far up the slopes of the Kikuyu escarpment and the Aberdare Mountains, which attain in places an altitude of 12,000 to 13,000 ft. The Masai plains, which have an altitude of 5,000 to 6,000 ft., run southwards from Kikuyu towards the former German frontier and Mt. Kilimanjaro, and, with the exception of the Athi and part of the Kapiti plains, south and east of Nairobi, are now included in the Masai reserve. They consist of flat and open grass-lands, badly watered, but nevertheless affording good grazing, except in the Nyiri district in the south-east.

The Eastern Rift valley crosses the entire territory from north to south, and in the region of Lake Baringo is bounded on the west by the double line of the Eigeyo and Kamasia escarpments. In its central portion, where the escarpment walls are most clearly defined, and where its floor is highest, it has a widtn of 20 to 30 miles, and lies at a depth of 800 ft. below the general level of the highlands, and 1,500 to 3,000 ft. below the heights of the neighbouring escarpments. The valley floor is divided by a series of transverse folds, which form many lake basins. (See section on “Lakes” below.) The high central portion of this region is well watered and affords excellent pasturage and fertile agricultural land, but north and south of this the valley becomes arid and the climate hot.

The great Gwas Ngishu plateau is bounded on the east by the Eigeyo escarpment, on the north by the Suk Mountains, on the west by Mount Elgon, and on the south by the Nandi escarpment. It consists mainly of level grass-covered plains, with an altitude of 6,000 to 8,000 ft., but there are large tracts of forest.

The Nandi and Mau escarpments are clothed in dense forest, which continues through the broken Lumbwa and Sotik hill country, westward to the Victoria Nyanza depression and southward to the former German frontier.

(4) The Depression of Victoria Nyanza.—That portion of the territory which borders Victoria Nyanza belongs naturally rather to the Uganda Protectorate than to British East Africa. East of the Kavirondo Gulf the shore of the lake is low and swampy, and the country here consists of open plains. Farther south the surface is high and broken, and there is much forest and bush.

(5) The Northern Steppes and the Plains of Jubaland and Tanaland. This district is a northerly continuation of the coastal plain described in (1). The whole of the territory between Lake Rudolf and the River Juba consists of arid thorn-covered steppe (mostly under 2,000 ft. above sea-level), which slopes eastwards and south-eastwards from the region of the Laikipia plateau. This steppe region is in some places almost a desert, although there are occasional wells and oases.

Rivers and Lakes

Owing to the comparative closeness of the eastern water-parting to the sea, there are no very large rivers. The most important are those of the coast area the Juba, the lana, and the Sabaki. There are three drainage areas: (a) that of the coast, (6) that of the Rift Valley, and (c) that of Victoria Nyanza.

{a) lhe River Juba rises in the Abyssinian highlands, and touches British East Africa at about 42° east longitude and 4° Iff north latitude, from this point forming the frontier between British East Africa and Italian Somaliland. It is navigable to light draught river steamers as far as Yonte all the year round, and in the wet season as far as Bardera. The Gwaso Nviro River, which drains the Laikipia plateau and the northern slopes of Mount Kenya, flows into the Lorian swamp; it belongs to the Juba system, with which it is connected in very wet seasons by the Deshek Warna swamp and the Lakdera.

The River Tana rises in the Aberdare Mountains, and drains the eastern and southern slopes of Mount Kenya, the Kikuyu country, and the plains of Tanaland. Its principal tributary is the Thika.

The valleys of the Juba and Tana have a rich alluvial soil and abundant vegetation. On both rivers there are large tracts of forest, and on the Upper Juba there is a considerable amount of cultivation.

The River Sabaki, which is known in its upper course as the Athi, drains the Ukamba country and the plains south of Nairobi. Its principal tributary is the Tsavo, on the right bank.

(b) The drainage area of the Rift Valley contains no important rivers, since it is very narrow in the only part where there is any rain. The southern affluents of Lake Rudolf, the Kerio and Turkwel rivers, are the largest, but these usually dry up in their lower course.

(c) Only a small part of the basin of Victoria Nyanza is in the East Africa Protectorate, but its rivers are fairly large in consequence of the heavy rainfall of that region. The most important rivers are : the Nzoia, which drains the Gwas Ngishu plateau, the Nyando, the Sondo, and the Kuja.

There are numerous lakes in the Rift valley. The largest is Lake Rudolf, the southern and eastern parts of which lie within the territory, and which has a total area of about 3,500 square miles. Next in size are Baringo (13 miles by 5 miles), Naivasha (the highest— 6,165 ft. above sea-level), Nakuru, and Magadi. Smaller ones are Elmenteita, Ilannington, and Bollossat (El-Bor Lossat).

(3) Climate 

Tem'perature

Owing to the high elevation of the central part of the Protectorate, a large part of the country enjoys a temperate and bracing climate. The maximum temperature of this highland region is about 80° F. (26-6° C.), and the minimum about 50° F. (10° C.). The low-lying coastal region has naturally a higher average temperature, ranging from 90° F. (32° C.) to 70° F. (21°. C.). It will thus be seen that the seasonal variation is not great.

A high degree of heat prevails in the regions south and east of Lake Rudolf, especially in the neighbour¬ hood of the Lorian swamp, while the plains of Jubaland are the hottest part of the Protectorate.

Rainfall

There are two rainy seasons, the greater rains falling between March and June and the lesser between October and December. Local variations, however exist, as in Ju,baland the lesser rains fall somewhat earlier, while in the Nyanza Province, at the otjier extremity of the country, they are almost continuous from March to December.

In the southern coastal districts there is a high but irregular rainfall, which varies between 45 and 70 in. (1,140 and 1,780 mm.). A considerable rainfall, about 30-70 in. (760-1,780 mm.), prevails in the lake shore district, and also in the Kikuyu and Kenya districts. The rainfall of the central highland region is irregular, and varies between 25 and 50 in. (635 and 1,270 mm.)!

The regions of smallest rainfall are the southern plains, the Rift valley north of Lake Baringo, the Laikipia plateau, and the districts south and east of Lake Rudolf.

(4) Sanitary Conditions

Owing to the high elevation and consequent temperate climate of the central parts of the territory, the ^ Protectorate is more suitable for European residence than any other part of tropical Africa. Moreover, the coastal regions, with the exception of the district immediately north of the River Umba, compare favour¬ ably with other African coast-lands, Kismayu in particular being fairly healthy.

Malaria is, however, very prevalent, and appears to be increasing in highland districts, such as Naivasha, where it was at first unknown. Blackwater fever, a common sequel of neglected malaria, also causes some mortality, and dysentery is on the increase; there is 3 much enteric, due probably to the pollution of the water supply of the towns. Measures are being taken to remove this source of infection at Kisumu, Nakuru and Mombasa.

Plague, both bubonic and pneumonic, frequently occurs in different parts of the Protectorate. It is endemic on the shore of Victoria Nyanza and is fairly common in the Asiatic quarter of Nairobi. It also occurs on the coast, especially at Mombasa.

Other prevalent diseases are small-pox; cerebrospinal meningitis; sleeping sickness, which is conimon in the Victoria Province; venereal diseases; beri-beri, which is endemic on the upper Juba; and leprosy, which is found in the Victoria Province and near the coast, especially in the towns of Mombasa and Malindi.

Bilharzia, filariasis and ankylostomiasis also occur, especially in the coast regions.

There are Government hospitals at Nairobi and Mombasa.

(5) Race and Language Race

Ethnologically the Protectorate forms an intermediate zone between the negro and the Hamitic races. The north-eastern districts are inhabited by pure Hamites such as the Somali and the Galla; Bantu tribes are found scattered through the whole territory, and the central highlands are occupied by peoples of a mixed race, the most important and characteristic of which are the Masai. In addition to these natives, the coast and its islands were colonised in very early times by Asiatic settlers. The latter consisted of Arabs and Persians, and their descendants still form a consider¬ able part of the population of the coast towns, especially in the Lamu group.

The following are the chief divisions of the population.

(1) Arabs and Swahili.—The Arabs of Mombasa, and, to a lesser extent, those of the rest of the coast, are mostly immigrants from Muscat during the Zanzibari period, the original Arabs of Mombasa—the Mazrui— having retired at Takaungu. The original Arab and Persian settlers are represented by the Bajuns north¬ wards from Patta and by the Swahili south of that point. In the Lamu Islands the latter are as pure in blood as tbe Muscat Arabs, but elsewhere they are much mixed with the Bantu, and the name is commonly ex¬ tended to all coast natives who use the Swahili tongue.

(2) Hamites.—The Somali are by far the most important Hamitic race in the Protectorate, and now extend as far south as the left bank of the River Tana, and as far west as the Lorian swamp, Wajheir and El Wak. They are a handsome and intelligent people, resembling the Galla in physical type, but taller and of a slighter build.

The most important Somali tribes in the territory are the Herti on the coast, and the Ogaden and Marehan in the interior, while closely allied tribes are the Adjuran and the Shurri, Gurre or Garre, who inhabit north-west Jubaland and the Moyale district.

The Galla belong to two distinct stocks, the Wurde of Tanaland and the Bonana of the northern plains. The Wurde Galla have long inhabited the coast region of Tanaland, but are now confined to the right bank of the Tana and to Witu. The Borana are found in the plains east of Lake Rudolf and west of Jubaland. The Galla of Tanaland have intermixed to some extent with negroes, but the Borana are light in colour and pure in race.

(3) Hamitic negroid group.—This group is repre¬ sented by the Masai, the Samburu, the Nandi, Suk ami Turkana. It appears to have originated in the steppe country south of the Abyssinian Highlands by the inter¬ mixture of Galla and Somali with Nilotic negroes. Thus it is essentially a transitional type, and examples may be found ranging from pure Hamitic to pure negro.

The Masai are the most important of these races, and show the greatest signs of Hamitic blood. Since the British occupation they have been removed to the Southern Reserve in order to leave room for European settlement. Closely allied to the Masai and speaking the same language are the Samburu of the Northern Plains.

The Nandi, with whom are allied the Elgeyo, Kamasia, Sotik and Lumbwa, inhabit the western escarpment of the central highlands. They have been greatly influenced by the Masai, whom they resemble in physical type. The Suk are a tribe of mixed origin who live north and east of the Gwas Ngishu plateau.

The Turkana are a very large and important tribe who inhabit the plains west of Lake Rudolf and have recently pressed south-eastwards across the River Kerio and the River Sugcta. They are an extremely tall race, flat-faced and negroid in feature, and are of a much more massive build than the Masai.

The Doirobbo or Ogiek may be included in this group, since they have strong affinities to the Nandi. They are a people of hunters, who are looked down upon by the other tribes. It is probable that they represent an aboriginal race of Bushman type, but they have inter¬ mingled with the surrounding peoples and the NandiMasai strain is now dominant.

(4) Negro group.—The negro peoples of the Protec¬ torate all belong to the Bantu family, with the excep¬ tion of the Jaluo, or Nilotic Kavirondo, who inhabit the eastern shores of Victoria Nyanza, alongside of the Bantu Kavirondo. The three most important Bantu peoples are the Wakikuyu, who have been much in¬ fluenced by the Masai, the Wakamba and the Kavirondo. In the east of the Protectorate the Wagosha inhabit the lower Juba Valley, and the Wapokomo are found in the Tana. Further south dwell the restless and back¬ ward Wanyika tribes, of which the most important is the Giriama.

Other Bantu peoples, the Meru and the Embu, are found in the district of Mount Kenya.

Language

The language which is in most common use in the Protectorate is Swahili, which is held to have originated in the district of Lamu. It is a blend of Bantu and Arabic, and has become a lingua franca far into the interior.

Of the languages spoken by the Hamitic group of peoples by far the purest and most widespread is Galla. The Somali speech has affinities with Galla, but has been much more influenced by Arabic.

The languages spoken by the Hamitic-Negroid tribes, (Masai, Nandi, &c.), are of exceptional interest to the student of African languages owing to their peculiarities of structure. The negroes of the Protectorate all speak regular Bantu tongues.

(6) Population

Distribution

The population of the different provinces of the Protectorate was estimated as follows in the years 1915-16:—

Province. !         Europeans.         Asiatics.             Natives.             Total. •

Seyidie ..          366                        7,677                195,000*            203,043*

Ukamba            2,875                    5,679                372,948              381,502

Kenya                361                        266                  867,152              867,779

Masai Reserve     ---                        ---                   36,000                36,000

Naivasha            1,541                    498                156,734                158,773

Nyanza                431                    2,052                1,116,655            1,119,138

Jubaland            39                        367                  17,000                 17,406

Totals                5,632                    17,238              2,801,489            2,824,359

Approximate

The greater part of the population of the Protec¬ torate is concentrated in four thickly peopled districts. These are (1) the Kavirondo district to the east of Victoria Nyanza; (2) the Kikuyu and Kenya districts; (3) the Machakos and Kitui districts of Ukamba; (4) the southern part of the coast region. The thinness of the population elsewhere is due in the northern districts to the aridity of the country. In the central highlands it is, however, mainly due to the predominance of the warlike Masai, who monopo¬ lised all the open grass-lands of that region and were checked in their raids only by forest country.

Towns

The largest town is Mombasa, the chief port, which has a population of about 30,000, 130 of whom are Europeans. The other towns of the coast, all of which except Witu are very ancient, are now much decayed The most important are Lamu, Takaungu, Malindi and Kismavu of which the last two have each about 5,000 inhabitants.

The towns of the interior are all of recent growth Nairobi, the capital of the Protectorate, has about 14,000 inhabitants, including 800 Europe-ps and 3,000 Indians. Naivasha and Nakuru in the Rift valley and Eldoret on the Gwas Ngishu plateau are centres of the chief areas of European settlement, and Kisumu on Victoria Nyanza is the terminus of the Uganda Railway.

Movement

Although birth and death statistics are not obtainable, there is reason to believe .that the former dominant races of the Protectorate are declining. The new con¬ ditions are unfavourable on the one hand to the Arabs and Swahili and on the other to the Masai. In addition to this, disease and immorality probably account for the infecundity of these races, while the same is said to be true of some of the negro tribes such as the Wapokomo and the Wanyika.

The Somali, on the other hand, are an advancing race, and the Turkana are also said to be increasing at the expense of the Suk and the Samburu.

BOOK NAME: KENYA,UGANDA AND ZANZIBAR

By: G. W. PROTHERO

PUBLISHED: 1920

THE SWAHILI COAST ZONES

 THE SWAHILI COAST ZONES

British East Africa is naturally divided into three belts or zones. First is the tropical and less healthy zone, which is adjacent to the coast. Above this are the healthy highland and mountainous regions described as " a white man's country." Beyond these the country falls again to the inland lowlands of the shores of Lake Victoria and Uganda, considerably less healthy and more trying in climate than the coast.

Some of the coast towns with their inhabitants have already been described. These form, as it were, a narrow fringe of old Swahili and Arab civilisation bordering the thick bush and uncivilised native tribes of the interior.

I shall now endeavour to give a short description of the country which lies immediately inside this civilised fringe, and of the people who inhabit it.

First of all, as regards seasons. There are on the coast as in most parts of tropical Africa a very wet season and a very dry season. However, these do not divide the year into equal portions as in many parts of the continent. There are the mwaka, or rains of the year, which raise the crops; they begin in March or May, and last three or four months; and again the mchoo, or lesser rains, occurring about September, which latter during a good year are sufficient for light crops.

Back from the coast there is in the south a desert region called " the Taru Desert," which divides the coast from the highlands. In the north, viz., Jubaland, the desert region stretches right back, dividing the highlands of East Africa from the mountains of Abyssinia, and continues westwards across Africa till it meets the swamps of the Nile and Sobat Rivers. The southern and narrow desert, the Taru, is intersected by two big riversone, the Sabaki , having its origin in Kilimanjaro and the Masai highlands ; and the other, and bigger river, the Tana, supplied by the well - watered Kikuyu country and Kenya.

In the north, but one river reaches the sea, the Juba, which originates in the mountains of the Borana and Abyssinia, while the Webbe Shebeli , or Leopard River, which springs from the highlands of Eastern Abyssinia, almost reaches the ocean near Mogadishu in Italian Somaliland before losing itself.1

As I know nothing of the eastern part of Jubaland, I will not speak of this country till I come to Lake Rudolf and the Borana, the western part.

Just back from the mangrove- lined, or coral - bound seashore of the southern coast line there is generally a thick bush belt, wherever the country has not been cleared to make way for plantations.

Behind this the country rises some 700 feet in a series of low hills, grass - covered, and affording fairish grazing in certain places, as in the Shimba Hills and near the railway line, about Mazeras.

Behind these again is a country covered with red earth and thick thorn, the Taru Desert. In the dry weather this red dust is raised in powdery clouds by the passing train, pervading the compartments, covering everything and filling the eyes , nostrils , hair, and pores of the skin with its fine dust. In the hot season passengers emerge from the train at Mombasa station looking like red Indians, and for a day or two afterwards traces of the Taru appear as red streaks on the towel when one dries one's face.

Now of these four divisions into which I have divided the coast belt longitudinally, I have already tried to give an idea of the first, the seashore, either mangrove- lined, or of coral rockand sand dunes.

The next in order is the low bush belt such as is found in the centre of the islands of the Lamu Archipelago, and for a few miles back from the shore of the mainland. In some parts this bush belt seems to merge into the desert without the intermediate layer of grass - covered hills. Such is the case near the Tana River.

In this country there are but few inhabitants except near the coast towns or along the banks of the Sabaki and Tana.

There are two little-known hunting tribes inhabiting this tract, the Wasanya and the Wachoni, who live much as do the Waboni of Jubaland . They are both numerically very small tribes. Possibly they are some of the remains of the original inhabitants of this country, as are said to be the Midgans of Northern Somaliland and the Waboni of Jubaland, both hunting tribes.

I have never met any of these people withthe exception of the Midgans. I am indebted, however, to the District Commissioner of Malindi for the information that the Wasanya and Wachoni of that neighbourhood practise the rite of clitoridectomy, and that the women wear their hair plaited . The former rite is carried out not after the manner of the Masai, but as performed by the Somali.¹

These customs appear to me to be most interesting, as they differ entirely from those of the adjacent tribes, and correspond with those practised by the Midgans, while their manner of living would also appear much the same.

Now the customs of the Unyago and the extending of the lobe of the ear practised amongst Swahilis, alluded to before, are foreign to the Arab, and have evidently been borrowed from the original African inhabitants of the coast . Similarly, it is not improbable that the customs of plaiting the hair and clitoridectomy, customs foreign to the alleged ancestors of the Somali, have been borrowed from the original inhabitants of their country, the Midgans. Even to- day it is the heathen Midgan woman who is called upon to perform the latter operation on the Muhammadan Somali girl.

Bearing these facts in mind, and remembering that a hunting tribe is apt to become thinly distributed over a very wide area, as is the case with the Wandorobo of the highlands, it is within the bounds of conjecture that these four small scattered tribes, the Midgans, Boni, Sanya and Choni, are of nearly allied if not common origin, and that they all represent some very old inhabitants of the country, who lived in Somaliland and Jubaland before the coming of such tribes as the Somali, Galla, and many others .

It is believed by the Swahili that before the founding of the coast towns, the inhabitants were wild men of the bush, like the Boni.

A comparative study of the languages of these four hunting tribes might decide how much truth there is in these conjectures. With regard to the game of the coast belt, there is not the variety obtainable in the highlands, but the game that is found is as a rule uncommon elsewhere, and worthy of being hunted, in that, in this kind of country, it needs skill and patience to obtain a decent bag.

If I were going to East Africa for the sake of sport alone, I should certainly not follow in the wake ofthe hundreds of sportsmen who flock up to Nairobi and jostle each other round the Athi, Lemek and Guas Ngishu plains like golfers on a crowded links. I should search out some quiet little nooks in the coast belt, and every day congratulate myself that there were no other sportsmen within reach , while each hardly- earned specimen in a very small but very refined bag I should consider worth a hundred of the cheaply- earned, plain- dwelling animals . I should hope to include in my little bag two elephants, small tusked, but shot under very difficult circumstances , one old male buffalo, one or two bush lions, more wary and difficult to catch napping than their plain - dwelling kinsmen, a leopard , two Oryx callotis , two lesser kudu, three or four nice-sized bushbuck, two Hunter's antelope , two topi , a few duiker and dik dik, and perhaps a sable ; while of birds, not being a shot-gun shot, I should hope to pick off enough guinea fowl, spur fowl, florican and partridge with a miniature rifle to keep a good stock- pot fairly well replenished.

On my return journey to England I should be indifferent alike to the jeers or the sympathy of brother sportsmen who numbered their bag in hundreds or perhaps even in thousands, for I would have the satisfaction of knowing that each one of my little bag of trophies had been a wary animal, hunted , tracked and outwitted with conditions all in its favour.

However, reader, do not take my advice, because you will get fever, and you will get scratched by thorns, and a very bad backache from stooping and crouching through the narrow, obstructed bush paths . Perhaps you will even think I am a terrible romancer to say that there is any game at all in these horrible places.

Before going on to the higher country of the coast belt, let us take a look at the lower Tana River and its riverine population , the Pakomo.

This river appears to have near the mouth a considerably less volume of water than it has higher up, no doubt caused by wastage passing through the Taru Desert.

However, it is generally deeper here than it is before it enters the desert tract.

It is navigable for some 300 miles up from the coast, but the multitude of snags and waterlogged trees in its course are constantly damaging the propeller of the little river launch which ascends it. The old mouth of the Tana used to be some distance south of its present mouth at Kipini. The old course leaving the new at the Mbelezoni Canal now only contains water during the rains .

This old course was a much more direct entrance to the sea . It now follows a course parallel to the sea coast, and only a few miles distant from it, from Mbelezoni to Kao, and the sand- hills of the shore can be seen from the river as one passes in a canoe.1 

Near the mouth of the river a certain amount of rice is grown, which appears to do well , although the natives are too lazy to pay much attention to it. If this industry were developed, the product could be easily transported by river and sea transport to Mombasa, at which place there is a considerable demand for rice which now has to be brought from India and Burma, and also from the Lake Victoria . The rice from the latter place is of an inferior quality ; it is locally known as " Muanza " rice.

The soil close to the Tana appears wonderfully rich and fertile, and crops grow rapidly, while the ground can be flooded during the rains and would be easy of irrigation at other seasons .

In spite of, or perhaps because of, the richness of the soil , cocoa- nuts do not do well . They spring up quickly and flourishingly at first, but then rapidly decline, soon after they commence to bear. Possibly their roots strike something at a certain depth which does not agree with them.

There are excellent fish to be obtained on the river.

The Pakomo inhabit the banks of the river from almost as high up as it is navigable, to the mouth ; they plant their crops on the bank and ply their canoes up and down the stream with great dexterity. The canoe is generally propelled by two men, one seated in the stern with a paddle, and one standing in the bows with a long pole forked at the tip. With this he dexterously propels the canoe by poling, now at the bottom of the stream where shallow, now shoving the bank, and now catching a group of reeds or a mangrove root with the fork and shoving away from it. Meanwhile his comrade in the stern with the paddle keeps the canoe close into the bank so as to allow the poler to make use of the marginal vegetation , for the river is generally too deep and the fall of the bank too abrupt to allow him to pole at the bottom of the river.

In plying upstream the paddler lazily sits in the stern taking a stroke every now and again to keep the canoe in to the bank, while his comrade propels the boat.

However, the canoe must make frequent crossings of the river, so as to always keep to the bank with the least current; that is to say, generally the concave side of the numerous bends. Then the paddler paddles for all he is worth to reach the opposite bank with as little loss of way as possible.

Coming downstream of course the reverse is the case, as the canoe will pass from side to side of the river, or even remain in mid- stream wherever the current is greatest.

Many of the Pakomo are said to be converted to Islam, while the missionaries are busy with those who still hold their old pagan religion.

There is supposed to have been a discovery of coal on the Tana River near Mafano, but as yet one has heard little or nothing about it .

The Galla stretch down as far as the coast by Witu, and occur on the left bank of the Tana. The Galla and Borana, both talking the same language with slight variation, cover an area only less than the Somalis, stretching from Wollo in Abyssinia to the coast here.1

Behind the thin belt of coast bush there is, as before stated, in the south part of the Protectorate, a country of grassy hills. This is a pleasing- looking country of green downs and hills, -dotted with clumps and patches of bush, but is unhealthy, and the water supply is bad and poor.

This is the country of the Wanyika, a tribe from whom the Mombasa Swahili has borrowed many words, customs, and superstitions.2

They inhabit the country west of Kilindini Harbour and south of the railway line between Mombasa and Mazeras. They are a finely developed people, though of primitive manners and customs.

The women wear many- pleated kilts of calico round the waist, but from the waist upwards are nude. The kilt is not a made- up kilt, but is carefully pleated afresh from time to time, as I had occasion to notice whilst camped in a Kinyika village. The lady whom I had the audacity to watch making her toilet had one end of a very long strip of calico fastened to the wall of the hut, while she was carefully folding and pleating it from the other end. After an immense amount of trouble spent in getting the pleats equal and symmetrical, she donned the kilt, pulled and pleated it here and there, took it off again, rearranged it, pirouetted and looked over her shoulder at the fall in the rear. It was a tremendous time before she was satisfied with the hang of the skirt.

" Nyika " in the Swahili language means " forest and thorn bush country," generally a dry thorn country, and it is very probably derived from the same source as the name of this tribe, for they lived partly in thorn country and partly in the Shimba Hills .

They own a certain amount of cattle, and, as with most of the coast peoples, do not take their cattle out till the heavy dew has dried from the grass . About eight or nine o'clock is called by the Swahilis for this reason " Mafungulia ng'ombe," or "cattle opening time."

No such precautions are taken in the highlands, and although the dews are there heavy, they do not appear to exercise the evil effect on the cattle that they do on the coast.

North of the Wanyika country and the other side of the railway line is Rabai, occupied by a small community of that name who speak a language differing both from Swahili and Kinyika. South of the Wanyika are the Waduruma and the Wadigo, the former living near Gasi on the coast.

We next come to the Taru Desert, the flat red earth and thick thorn desert commencing on the line just after Maji ya Chumvi (salt water) station , and reaching to about Makindu. About this place it begins to give place to less wooded country, gradually rising and growing more open until the highlands are reached .

The greater part of this desert is uninhabited, for there are no nomadic or camel-owning tribes suited to the requirements of life there.

Toward Taveta, however, live the Wataiita, a tribe paler thanthe Wakamba and Wanyika, but not so pale as the other Kilimanjaro tribes.

Both sexes file the teeth to a sharp point, as do the Wakamba.

On the road from Voi to Taveta the Seringeti plains form a break in the dense thorn of the bush. These plains are well known to sportsmen, who visit them generally during the wet season , as at other times lack of water prevents them moving about. During the rainy period of March and the following months game is numerous and lions are said to abound.1 Here are found Waller's gazelle and the fringe- eared oryx, both animals suited to life in waterless regions.

Game is not very plentiful in the thick thorn recesses of the Taru, but in parts, especially in the little - known parts back from and north of the line, lesser kudu and oryx are said to be numerous.

To return to the south side of the Taru Desert. Kilimanjaro is reached viâ Voi and Taveta.

This mountain appears all the more majestic in that it rises. from a lower level, and not from such elevated country as Kenya. It is able to carry on its broad back a very massive amount of snow, and this, coupled with the fact that it is 2,000 feet higher than Kenya, makes no comparison possible between the amount of snow visible on the two summits. Perhaps Kenya is the most beautiful, but there can be no heavy accumulation of snow on its pointed summit, and so the glaciers push down to a comparatively short distance.

It is strange that natives never seem to realise what it is that shines white on the top of these mountains, and refer to it as silver or white rock or diamonds. Kilimanjaro is , of course, the home of a devil, and all kinds of magic, according to the natives. Its top consists of pure silver which is occasionally changed by Satanic agency to gold or blood . Add mother-of-pearls, opals, and a few other precious stones, and this is a fair description of the colours assumed by the snowy dome under varying conditions of sun and moon.

No wonder that the natives think that if one could only reach the enchanted top, jewels and precious stones can be had for the picking up.

The Jin who inhabits the mountain resents strongly any intrusion in its domains, but is not wholly an evil spirit, as the following little story will reveal :-

Once upon a time a caravan of porters was passing the mountain. There was a youth, the boy of one of the porters, who had hurt his leg, and came limping along behind the caravan. At last he was unable to go any further, so the porters, with that kindly solicitude for the afflicted and distressed which characterises the African native, abandoned him without food or blankets , and continued on their way rejoicing.

The youth, with whom we do not sympathise so much, as one knows that he would have done the same to a weaker fellow under similar circumstances, struggled to the foot of the mountain, and there lay down cold and hungry, till sleep overcame him. In his sleep he dreamed that the spirit of the mountain came to him and brought him unlimited wealth on one condition ; that was, that he was not to divulge how he obtained it.

When he awoke in the morning, he discovered lying beside him a jewelled casket, which he picked up and brought back to his own country, and from this he draws as much wealth as he likes .

Many people have tried to make him tell where he obtained the casket, but to all he replies, " Oh, I just bought it. "

It would appear, according to native legend, that a certain white man, name unknown, was not so discreet . He reached the summit of the mountain, and there received a similar gift under condition that he was to tell no one that he had successfully accomplished the ascent. 

On his return he gave a banquet with the wealth that he had accumulated, during which he became talkative, and at last said, 'It has been declared that no one can reach the summit of Kilimanjaro, but I have reached it, and see what the Jin of the mountain has given me, " producing his jewelled casket. The following morning he was discovered dead in his bed, and the casket was missing, having flown back to its home.

The natives who inhabit the base of the mountain are very pale for African natives . The Taiita are paler than most East African tribes, but some of the people of the mountain, the Wapari and the Wachaga, if it were not for their woolly hair, might be almost mistaken for Arabs.

These last tribes do not file the teeth like the Taiita, but they remove one tooth from the centre of the bottom jaw.1

These people, I am told, hold the mountain in great veneration, and certain of their old men ( corresponding to Druids) occasionally ascend to the snow level to perform sacrifices . Before leaving the coast belt, just a word about the possibilities from the white man's point of view.

The towns of the coast contain the usual types to be found in tropical countries, viz .: the white official and the white merchant, both temporary residents and dependent on leave every few years to Europe to maintain their health. The merchant's chief trade lies in ivory, copra, logwood , cotton and a few other things as exports, and calico, cotton robes, etc. , as imports. The ivory chiefly comes from Uganda and the Congo, while the other three exports come from the coast.

There is now, however, another kind of white man on the coast, rapidly increasing in numbers, the planter. I do not wish to go into the heated arguments as to whether the highlands of East Africa are a white man's country " or not, or even into what is the exact meaning of this phrase.

There are hundreds of men willing to stake their last farthing that there is a great future " before the country, but though this phrase has been in vogue some years , no definite hint has yet been given as to what that future will be.

It seems to me that foreign countries as fields for the white man's energies, other than official , fall into two easily distinguished classes .

One is the healthy country where a man goes with his whole family, and stops for good, such as Canada, Australia, etc. In these places he does not expect to get rich in a few years , but he slowly builds up an estate which subsequently his children and children's children can enjoy and subsist on. His riches are not of a movable character, but are attached to the country.

The second class of country is the tropical and unhealthy country where a man expects, to use a Swahili expression, "After toiling in the sun, to rest in the shade."

That is to say, that after a certain number of years ' struggle against adverse conditions of health and climate, he hopes to have made enough to enable him to retire to England and enjoy a comfortable old age.

The coast belt comes under this second class . The climate is not especially bad or trying , and the conditions of life can be made comfortable enough for a temporary sojourn, but on the other hand, the profits at present do not appear to be very considerable. However, if not great, they are at all events discernible and steadily increasing.

The chief products are cotton, by way of a start, and then rubber and hemp, while judicious investments in cocoa-nut plantations , I believe, can be turned to good account. The coast planters are men, many of them of modest means, who have had the sense to hold themselves aloof from the wild rush to grab land in the highlands, and have grasped the present, leaving the future to develop in the hands of the more wealthy experimental farmers.

The planters of the coast are the men who are laying the solid foundations of a structure on which the future prosperity of the country may be based, and so my good wishes go out to them, and I trust that after " toiling in the sun " they will , like the Swahili, be enabled to rest comfortably in the shade.

page 32

Book Name: THE LAND OF ZINJ

Published: 1913

BY CAPTAIN C. H. STIGAND

ANCIENT HISTORY FROM SWAHILI SOURCES

ANCIENT HISTORY FROM SWAHILI SOURCES

THE following histories are culled from old Pate records. They were communicated to me by Bwana Kitini who is a direct 'descendant of the Pate Sultans, and looked on locally as the authority on historical matters . For some reason or other I was not allowed access to the original documents, except one relating to recent Zanzibar history and evidently not much prized.¹

My informant, who, like most Orientals, had a prodigious memory for learning by rote, 2 made notes and visited me daily for some months. I wrote the text down from his dictation and subsequently translated it as literally as possible.

The reader must please pardon the peculiar phrasing sometimes adopted so as to keep as near as possible to the Swahili.

The beginning of these coast towns, 3 he who first made them  was a ruler called Abdul Malik bin Muriani. The date was the seventy- seventh year of the Hejra. He heard of this country, and his soul longed to found a new kingdom. So he brought Syrians, and they built the cities of Pate, Malindi, Zanzibar, Mombasa, Lamu and Kilwa.4

After that Abdul Malik died, and his sons who reigned did not care for the work of founding towns, and so they left them.¹ Now Abdul Malik's tribe was the Bani Omaiya, and of these fourteen kings reigned. After this the Bani Omaiya dynasty went out, and there ruled the Bani al Abbas. The third of this dynasty was Harun al Rashid, 2 who reigned in the year.

This Sultan heard that Abdul Malik had built in Africa, and he was pleased to call people and give them much wealth where with he sent them to build houses on the coast. The people he sent were Persians.

In the year 601 came the Nabahans to the coast coming forth from the Oman (Maskat) . Now the origin of the Nabahans leaving the Oman is this. In the beginning at Maskat four tribes ruled. First reigned the tribe called the Kharusi. After that they were robbed of their kingdom by the Nabahans. A Nabahan Sultan called Imam 3 Muthafar took the kingdom and ruled over the whole of Oman. After him came his son Suleiman bin Muthafar, and then the latter's son Suleiman bin Suleiman.

Then occurred a quarrel between the Arabs and the Nabahans amongst the two tribes of the Henawi and Ghafir. Then the Yorubi fought the Nabahans and they gained strength and defeated the ruling Nabahan . So he went forth and fled away and came to the Sawaheli 4 coast with some of his tribe, whilst others went to Jebel Riami ; they are there at Riami until now, He who went to the Sawaheli coast was he who had been Sultan of Maskat.

He landed at Pate and the inhabitants of Pate were those people who had been sent by Khalif Abdul Malik bin Muriani. So he remained in Pate with his people for he had arrived with many men and ships and much wealth. Presently they sent gifts to the chief of Pate and to every big man in Pate they made a present, and even to the small men of the town. they gave goods. Then the people, both great and small, perceived the goodness of the Sultan who had come from Maskat.

After this he went to Is-hak, the chief of Pate, and asked for his daughter in marriage, and Is - hak gave him his daughter and he married her, and he rested with her the seven days of the honeymoon.1

On the seventh day he came forth and went to see his father-in-law. When he came Is - hak said to him, " Your marriage portion is the kingdom of Pate." So Suleiman ruled, and he had a son by that woman and he called him Muhammad.

Till in the year 625 Suleiman bin Suleiman died, and  his son Muhammad bin Suleiman ruled and took possession of all his people, his wealth and his soldiers. It was he who first took the name of Sultan of Pate, and this by right, for his father came forth from their country bearing the title of Sultan.

The people of Pate loved him much for his own goodness , and because he was a child of the town, for his mother was of their kin .

Now Sultan Muhammad remained with them twenty-five  years, and then he died leaving three sons , Ahmad, Suleiman, and Ali .

It was Ahmad who took his father's place. The townspeople, those people of Pate, wished to make trouble, and so they said to his brothers Suleiman and Ali, " Why does this one take the kingdom ? Do not consent to it. "

So rebellion was stirred up in the country and the towns-people then went to Sultan Ahmad and said, " These brothers of yours are makers of mischief. ”

So discord arose between them, Suleiman and Ali on, one side , and Sultan Ahmad on the other, but Sultan Ahmad was together with those people whom his grandfather had brought from Arabia. Now these people of Pate purposely egged them on one against the other, so that they should waste their strength and then they might get back their country, for they regretted the arrangement made by their elders giving the kingdom to the Nabahans.

Sultan Ahmad's mother was a Pate woman, and she said to her son, " Understand that you must go and agree with your brothers . This is for your good, for my relations, the people of Pate, design to urge you on one against the other, until such time as you may expend your strength. Then they will turn you out and retake their country that its greatness may be restored to them.

" So you, myson, take my advice, and come to an agreement with your brothers here to- day. "

Sultan Ahmad called Ali bin Othman bin Sef bin Muthafar, an old man who had been with his father, and sent him to his brothers according to the advice his mother had given him. So Ali bin Othman went to Suleiman and Ali , they took his advice, and he brought them secretly by night to their brother, and the Pate people had no knowledge of this . Till in the morning when day broke they perceived that there was no longer war in the town.

They knew then that their plan had failed, and so they went to Sultan Ahmad and said to him, "We rejoice exceedingly that you are acting as a guardian to your younger brothers-it is indeed good news. "

Then they went to those brothers and said, " And for you to own allegiance to your elder brother is indeed proper. " In those days lived a man who strung some verses symbolical of the wiles of the Pate people which began, " The Pate people weave discord, then it is unravelled and they ask, ' Who is it that began the quarrel ? ' ”

So Sultan Ahmad lived in accord with his brothers, and placed many soldiers in the country, and enriched his subjects . The Pate people seeing this, gave allegiance to him, and peace came

to the country and he made it prosper. He benefited that country much, making plantations, digging wells , building stone houses , and sending expeditions by land and sea, till that country flourished exceedingly.

In the year 690 Sultan Ahmad died, leaving two sons, Omar  and Muhammad, and two daughters, Mwana Khadija, and Mwana Mimi.1

Muhammad bin Ahmad reigned , the third of the Nabahans, 2 and this Sultan was the first who was called by the name of Bwana Fumomadi, ³ and he was given the name of " The Great. "

This Sultan was a very fine man, both in appearance and disposition ; he was moreover very generous . He still further established the country and conquered the whole island of Pate, and fought with the people of Shanga, a country near Pate on the side of the rising sun. This country, which is even nearer to Siu, he conquered in war, plundering it and killing the males. The youths and the old women and maidens they made prisoners.

There was a maiden sitting on the ground grinding frankincense, and a soldier entered and seized her, intending to rob her of her goods and clothes and make her a captive.

This maiden said to the earth, "Open, that I may enter, " and the earth opened and swallowed her up, leaving only the border of her upper robe above ground. Now this is the truth, which has been obtained correctly from the people of those days who beheld the miracle, for this maiden was a God- fearing person .

That soldier, when he sawthat, gave up the profession of arms, for he perceived that this calling did not lead to great things , saying, " I am a soldier and I am unable to say to the ground

Open, that I may be swallowed up. ' Even my Sultan is unable to do this thing. This maiden is able to do this because she obeys her Master who created her. I also will obey him truly. "

So this soldier led a devout life until he died.

Sultan Muhammad when he heard the news about this damsel went to the place and there saw the border of her garment. He tried to dig her up but was unable, so he built a shrine over the spot to honour her as a sign to posterity.

That soldier he put in the shrine to live there performing the services, and to light the lamps at night, and pluck up the grass growing in the doorway.

When their father died , his sons tended the mausoleum, and their tribe was the Watui, but now there are no more of that tribe.

After Sultan Muhammad had conquered the country of Shanga, trouble arose between him and the people of the country originally called Rasini, but which is now called Faza.

So he made war against them and they fought together for many days. And it came to pass that the people of Pate were unable to go outside the town to draw water after the sun had risen for fear of those people of Rasini.¹

For it was the custom of those people to arrive daily as the sun commenced to mount in the heavens.2 Till the women in their houses used to tell their slaves , Go quickly and draw water before the sun mounts and those of the mounting sun have come. "

So the people of Faza (or Paza) were called " those of the mounting sun. " This is the origin of the word " Wapaza, " for after a while the word " sun " was dropped out, and they were called "those of the mounting (= Wapatha in Pate Swahili) . After many days had passed the name of Wapaza stuck to them.

Later on when the country of Rasini had been taken by the Sultan of Pate, it remained uninhabited till the Watikuu came asking for a place in which to settle. The Sultan of that date told them that they could have the place of the Wapatha. That is why they are now called Paza (or Faza) .

Now after the Sultan of Pate and the Sultan of Faza had warred together many days they made peace with each other and agreed each one to remain in his own country.

Then Bwana Shakwa, the Faza Sultan, married his daughter to Omar, the son of the Sultan of Pate, and they lived together at Faza for many days.

After that Omar took his wife and brought her to Pate secretly. When the girl's father heard in the morning he was very angry, and his son followed after his sister with a big expedition and came to Pate.

Omar said to his brother- in- law, " There is no need for you and me to quarrel, for your sister herself wished to accompany me her husband. So you go your way and she will rest here seven days and then I shall send her home."

The Sultan of Faza's son returned home to await the agreement made with Omar, but after seven days his sister had not come back, and he was very angry and swore to conquer the country of Pate .

So he warred again against Pate going and returning daily for many days, and every day as the sun mounted the heavens at nine o'clock, the people of Faza had come, and the people of Pate were no longer able to leave the city to draw water.

So they fought for many days, the people of Faza coming to Pate, and at other times the people of Pate going to Rasini. Then the Sultan of Faza's son registered a vow not to shave his head 1 till he had entered the town of Pate. So he went many times to fight at Pate till one day fortune favoured him, and he entered the city of Pate, seizing a whole quarter of the town. Then he had a chair placed outside the mosque and there his head was shaved, and so he consummated his vow.

Meanwhile they were still fighting and the people of Pate held out in one side of the town, and they took counsel of a sage who said to them, " Do not go now into the fight, but wait till two o'clock has passed . If you fight then you will drive them out of your country, but you must follow them and kill of their number in the way, and retake your property which they have looted till they reach their home, when you will take their town also."

Now the Rasini people when they had captured part of the town were content to rest and loot, thinking that they would take the rest of the city when the sun had declined .

When two o'clock was past the people of Pate fought them and turned them out of the town, for they were carrying much loot and were unable to fight. So the Pate people followed them till they reached the town of Paza. The Rasini people entered the city and barricaded the gates while the Pate people besieged them closely, so that a man might not come out or enter in.

They besieged them for seven days, and each day they were losing strength by reason of lacking water to drink . Now in the town of Faza was one of the captains of the troops called Haji Mwetha, and he said to the others, "My fellow captains, if I tell you my plan will you follow it ? " They answered, "We will follow it."

Then Haji Mwetha said, The reason that the Pate people drove us out of their town was that we found ourselves amongst their wealth , and they fell upon us when we were unable to fight because of the loot that we had taken.

Now my plan is to make a small breach in the wall and leave one part of the town for them to loot. When they see our property there together with the things we have taken from them, they will leave off fighting and remain there.

We shall remain with our women and children in the other part of the town, and when they withdraw with their loot we will fall upon them. The way out will be narrow so we shall kill and capture them and retake our property."

So the people of the town took his advice and they broke part of the wall.

When the Pate people saw this the chiefs and ameers said to the captains and soldiers , " Do you perceive this matter ? It is a ruse, so now everyone who enters the town must seize neither thing nor person. Everyone he meets he must smite whether it be man, woman, or child, and when we have finished conquering the town we will obtain all their property. Any people who are then left we will make our slaves . "

So they acted on this advice and entered the town smiting all they met with.

When the people of Faza looked on the faces of those who had been killed, they ran away and wished to open the gates and fly, but the Pate men had surrounded the whole town so there was no way out.

They then desired quarter, but the people of Pate refused to give quarter except to those of them who had friends amongst the people of Faza ; each man seized his friend and the remainder they killed or made slaves . The town and the houses they broke up leaving neither thing nor person.

For this reason the Swahilis say to anyone who gives advice which is not good, " Your advice is like the advice of Haji Mwetha."

From the day that the town of Faza was destroyed no man lived there till the coming of the Watikuu, ¹ and the only inhabitants left alive were those who were made captive and men who were not present at the fight such as fishermen and those on a journey.

Even to- day there are descendants of these at Siu , Amu, the Mrima, Zanzibar and other places and they call their tribe the Mafazii.

Later on the Sultan Muhammad of Pate pardoned the captives and they were scattered abroad, every man living where he pleased .

Sultan Muhammad conquered the island of Pate from Yaya and Shanga as far as Mtangawanda-that is the length and breadth of the island . After that he sent expeditions to Kiwayu and Ndao, and the people of Kiwayu, when they saw the strength of Pate, did not fight with them but declared allegiance to them and paid tribute to them. Each chief man of his tribe had to give a slave and twenty dollars to every Sultan of Pate, and if there was any matter or case they sent written petitions to the Sultan who ordered their affairs for them.

When the people of Kiwayu made allegiance to Pate they became soldiers of the Sultan, and the Sultan fought and conquered all the countries beyond Kiwayu, viz .: Kiunga, Tula, Koyama, Kismayu, Barawa, Marika and Mukadisho . He installed a governor at Mukadisho 1 for in those days this was an important place.

After conquering all these places Sultan Muhammad died in the year 740, and his son Sultan Omar (Fumomari) 2 reigned. It was he who fought the towns of the coast, Manda, Uthiwa, Komwana, Malindi and the Mrima and Kilwa till he came to Kirimba. 3

Now the Sultan of Manda,4 when he saw that the kingdom of Pate had become great, wished to place a governor over them, for before the coming of the Nabahans Pate used to be under his rule. The people of Pate did not agree to this and so trouble arose between them.

Till during the north- east monsoon if a man was building a vessel in Pate harbour, when he hammered a nail to drive it into a plank, an order used to come from Manda, " The master is sleeping ; do not make a noise. " 5 It came about that a person was unable to work at boat- building save morning and evening.

To this the Pate people did not agree, so war arose between them and they fought together many days.

Till after a space of time had elapsed one day the elders of Manda were sitting in council, all the big men of the town, every tribe with its representative. However, one of their head men, Bakiumbe, was not present, for he had gone to sea fishing and they had not told him that there was to be a meeting.

So all the elders assembled except Bakiumbe and someone said, " Let us wait, " but others said , " There is no necessity to wait for him; these words are not for fisher folk but for elders."

So they transacted their business , and when Bakiumbe returned from the sea he was told of this matter by his relations, for he was the chief of the fisher- clan. Then he spoke and said to his clan, " These men have treated us fishermen as lowly folk like unto slaves, and we are all as well bred as they, save that every one follows his calling. This one hoes, another is a smith, and another a palm-tapper. This is our town and every one has his house, his property and his dependants. I will make a plan that I may pay back this insult that has been offered us till even those who come after us will not be able to scorn a man again.'

Even to- day if there is an assembly people will speak together, and if one man is left out they say, "Do not leave out oneman from amongst our people for he is our brother even though he is a lowly person. Did not Bakiumbe break up Manda for this reason, choosing to leave his property and his children. without leaving even his name to the end of the world." 1

Now this is the story of Bakiumbe and what he did. After having heard about the council he took his canoe and went over to Pate and demanded private audience of the Sultan. Then he said to him, " I want to give you the country of Manda without trouble or war and with but little expense . Will you follow my advice ? " The Sultan said to him, " I will follow it ; tell me what it is."

Bakiumbe said, " Whenever I ask for ambergris I want you to give me the amount I ask for. About the third or fourth time I will give you the town of Manda."

The Sultan of Pate said to him, " I have agreed, but you, for what reason do you desire to break up your country, in which are your children and your property ? Tell me your reason that I may recognise for myself whether it be true or false."

Bakiumbe related to the Sultan the whole story of howhe had been treated by the elders of Manda. At that time the Sultan knew truly that he would do as he said, for he was seized with anger, and if a man is seized with anger he loses all wisdom.

So he consented and gave him the ambergris that he required .

Bakiumbe set out and when he arrived at Manda it was late at night. He knocked at the gate, but the officer would not open it ; because of the war with Pate all the gates of the city were closed at night. So he slept there outside, and the ambergris he put in his fish basket and poured water over it . In the morning he was permitted to enter and he went to the Sultan of Manda and gave him the ambergris .

The Sultan said, " Why did you leave the ambergris to get wet and why did you put it in your fish basket ? "

Bakiumbe said, " I came last night and when I knocked at the gate your officer would not open it for me. This is my reason, for I slept on the shore and did not get a receptacle to put it in, so I poured out my fish and put this ambergris in my fish basket. "

So the Sultan said to him, " If you get any more bring it to me and I will treat you very well ."

Bakiumbe said, " I want permission to enter the gates at whatsoever time I shall come and you must tell your door-keeper to open to me. So if I get any at any time I will bring it to you, for you are my master and my Sultan, and at whatever you give me I will rejoice exceedingly." 1

So the Sultan agreed, and Bakiumbe was glad in his heart, saying, " I have already attained my desires."

Then he remained for the space of one month and again he brought him ambergris bigger than the first. After that he remained more than a month and brought him some again.

Then he waited more than three months and again he brought him a piece.

After this he went to the Sultan of Pate and said to him, " Make ready-the work is finished . To-morrow night at two o'clock I will come to fetch you. Have soldiers ready, a few I shall take myself and many must follow behind me."

They arranged after this manner till , when night had come and two o'clock was passed, Bakiumbe went to the Sultan of Pate and found soldiers ready as he had desired.

He took them and came with them to Manda, and coming to the gate he knocked . The officer of the watch thought that this was Bakiumbe coming according to his custom with ambergris for the Sultan.

He unfastened the gate, and Bakiumbe entering with the soldiers seized the guard and killed them and straightway went to the Sultan's palace while other soldiers seized the gates of the city.

The Sultan, when he heard Bakiumbe's voice, descended from upstairs and said to the door-keeper, " Open quickly, for this is Bakiumbe," and his heart was exceeding glad.

When the door was opened Bakiumbe entered together with the Pate soldiers with naked swords held ready. When the Sultan saw the swords he wanted to run away, but there was no way in which he might run.

The soldiers struck him and killed him together with those of his people who were there in the house. The people of the town heard shouts so they came to the house of the ruler of the city . When they came, they met the people of Pate who had already seized the house.

Other people went to the gates, but the Pate men had already seized them.

So when dawn came, the townspeople had made no plan for assembling together or fighting because wherever they went they found Pate men already in possession . Thus it was that Pate conquered the country of Manda in one day, and when it dawned they seized as prisoners both the men and women, and all their property, silver and gold.

Now the Manda people had many gold ornaments, for which reason they were called Wavaa ng'andu " 1 (the wearers of gold) .

So Pate obtained much wealth, and they took both property and prisoners back with them to their city. troops went on to Taka and broke into the city.

The people of Kitao, when they heard that both Manda and Taka had fallen, sent their elders to Pate to sue for peace.

The ruler of Kitao was a woman called Mwana Inali . When she heard that her elders, fearing war, had gone off to sue for peace with Pate, she said, " It will not do for me to live any longer. There is no cause that I should await the arrival of the Pate people, for they will kill me or make me captive, and treat me with every kind of abasement. Therefore it is better to die first. "

So she arose and put on her gold ornaments, pearl buttons and ancient jewellery, and went out behind Cape Kitao, and threw herself into the sea.

When her people heard that their Queen was going down to the shore, they followed after her, but did not see her again ; even a sign of her clothes or body they saw not.

This is the story of Kitao, Taka, and Manda, and the people of Pate took prisoners of the two countries Manda and Taka, but the people of Kitao got peace because they made allegiance to Pate before the war reached their country.³

So they were left in their country, but everyone who cultivated. land had to pay three loads of produce for every gang of slaves.

Since that time the Sultan of the Nabahans taxed their subjects a kikanda (about 180 lbs . ) for every gang of slaves,¹ and who first made this tax was Sultan Omar.

Now the captives of Manda were taken to Pate and put on the east side of the city, and a wall was built round making it one with the city of Pate.

This quarter was called " Weng'andu " 2 by reason of those people, " the wearers of gold," being there.

Now at the time of the building of the wall of this quarter the captives, both men and women, were made to carry the stones.

There was one woman of the people of Manda who refused to carry stones, so a soldier beat her and that woman wept. There was a second Manda woman there and she said to her, "Friend, do not weep," and then she said the following couplet :-

{When we were at our home in Manda it was we who were doing-to - day if we are done to, why should we refuse ? They give us the wall to build winding hither and thither ; all day it is quarrelling-we get no respite.)

So the people of Manda lived in the quarter of Weng'andu ; this is the account of them till at last they were sent to Shela by Sultan Abubakr ; its history will be related further on.

So Sultan Omar reigned on the coast, it was he who was the Sultan to conquer Manda, Taka, Kitao and Emezi on the mainland and Tukutu. After this he fought Mea, Kiongwe and Komwana and the seven towns between Komwana and Shaka.1

The Sultan of these latter towns was called Liongo, 2 and he subdued the country from Mpokomoni to Malindi , and this district was called Ozi . Now Sultan Omar fought with these towns for many days, and when he perceived the difficulty of taking them, he went to Magogoni, the harbour of Tukutu, and stayed there.

Every hour he sent out an expedition and he remained at Magogoni fifteen years till he got a son called Ahmad.

It was this son who finally overcame the towns of Ozi, and then sent the news to his father. So his father returned to Pate and then he went and fought Malindi .

When he and his troops reached Malindi there was a Godfearing man who invoked Allah against them so that the Pate soldiers became sick.

So they returned to Pate and Omar said to his son, " Now rest till we have seen about this sickness . "

So they rested, and after that the people of Malindi came to offer allegiance to the Sultan of Pate, and so they remained seven years without war.

Afterwards Sultan Omar collected many troops and made many ameers, and passed over to the mainland to go and fight against the towns there.

They passed on to Malindi and traversed the country in peace and then came to Mombasa. travel abroad again. His mother said, " Ah, my son, do not travel again. You have been greatly afflicted, why do you want to travel ? Money to spend is here ; if you want anything or any matter, tell me."

He said to her, " I want neither thing nor matter. My soul longs to travel, and if I do not get leave from you, my father and mother, I will travel away as best I can. "

As they were unable to stop him they made up a fleet of seven ships for him, and he voyaged away and wrecked all his ships. He returned alone, and he had nothing and no one with him.

His father and mother said to him, " Now you will not be able to travel any more." So that youth stopped at home a year, and by the second year he had no more desire to travel by reason of the trials through which he had passed.

Till one day he went to the bathroom at night and saw a cockroach climbing the wall . When it had climbed a little it slipped down, then it rose up again, and again it slipped down. But it rose a third time and climbed up till it reached the top and passed out of sight.

That youth said, " I have been outdone by that cockroach, for it fell twice and tried a third time. I was not able to try a third time. God has sent it to teach me a lesson. I must set forth again. "

In the morning he said to his parents, " I must set out again, and this time I want much wealth with me. If you do not give me a fleet according to my wishes you will not see me again. "

His parents and his relations and friends all besought him not to travel again, but he did not agree. When his parents found that they were unable to prevent him, they gave him a fleet according to his wishes.

So he set out and arrived in India where he traded and made much profit. During the return they were lost at sea for many days till from the vessel on board of which he was they saw an island near them.

So they disembarked as they were in need of water, and that youth wished to rest from the discomforts he had suffered . He lay under a tree and told his servants to cook his food and bring it him there.

They sat down to cook, and when the fire blazed up they saw the sand of that place melt and run away. When it had gone a little from the fire it cooled in separate little pieces .

The cooks told this to their master and he came to look at it and recognised what it was. However, he only said, " Cook food quickly," till after he had finished eating he called the captain and sailors and said to them, " Do you recognize here that our home is near ? " They said, " We do not know this place, we have now come to this island for the first time, nor have we before even heard tell of it. "

He answered, " I have made a plan ; will you follow it ? " They said to him, " Whatever you desire, that will we do. " So he said, " I want to unload our food and everything we have on board leaving food and water for fifteen days only. Whatever is over and above this let us leave behind and let us load up our ship with this sand till she can carry no more, for this sand is silver ore, and we cannot help getting from it a return greater than from these other things we are carrying . "

So they took his advice and unloaded all their goods and filled up with sand for three days till the ship could carry no more. They sailed away, and on the third day they met a bad storm and lost all hope of escape . The sailors jettisoned the sand till , the boat was half empty, that youth stopped them, saying, " Have patience first. ".

Afterwards they got a safe and favourable wind and arrived home. When they arrived they found that those other vessels of his had arrived first, and on shore was a mourning for him.

He said to the captain and sailors, " I want you to hide the news about this sand till I know truly if it be silver ore, for if it is not so people will think me a fool, throwing away wheat and food and loading sand. " They said to him, " Very good . "

So the youth landed with great joy and his parents were overjoyed to see him.

He rested for three days, and then at dead of night he brought some of that sand and put it in a store in his house.

Then he called skilled workmen and showed them a little, and when they made an ornament out of it they found that it was very pure silver.

Now it was at this time that the Portuguese arrived in Pate, and first they came in friendship .

Afterwards he showed the ore to the Portuguese and they asked him where he got it . He told them the story from first to last because of his joy when he knew that it was real ore .

Those Portuguese wanted him to show them the spot, and they went together with the captain and searched for six months and returned again without finding it.

When he arrived back in Pate he found that Sultan Muhammad had died, and that his father Abubakr was now Sultan . The name of that youth was Bwana Mkuu.

So Sultan Abubakr reigned in the year 825.

The Portuguese came and they stayed at Pate and Dondo and they were in friendship with Sultan Abu Bakari ( Swahili for " Abubakr " ) . Their influence grew great in the town of Pate, and they taught people how to excavate wells in the rocks by means of gunpowder.

The Portuguese built houses on the rock and made an underground passage to Pongwa rock.1 For a long time they lived together in friendship and traded with goods and every kind of thing.

The Portuguese said to Abubakr, " Your kingdom is very great, but there is no profit. Why do you not make taxes ? "

So they made a customs house at a place in Pate harbour called Fandikani ; in the language of the Portuguese it means 66 customs. " 2

Afterwards Sultan Abubakr died in the year 855. The Bwana Mkuu reigned and he had much wealth, and traded much till the whole country of Pate became very wealthy.

They made large houses and put in them brass lamps with chimneys, and they made ladders of silver to climb up into bed with, and silver neck chains. Into the pillars of the houses they beat silver studs and nails of gold on top of them.

The Portuguese lived on the coast and they set in order Dondo and Mombasa. Their governor lived at Mombasa, and there they built a fort which is there to this day.

So Bwana Mkuu reigned without falling out either with the Portuguese or with his own subjects .

In the year 903 of the Hejra he died, leaving seven children, of whom Muhammad reigned, and he was called Bwana Fumomadi the Second. There came about trouble between the people and his brother, a Nabahan called Bwana Mtiti, nephew of the Sultan Omar.

They made war and defeated him, and so Sultan Muhammad reigned at peace with his subjects . He set the country of Siyu in order ; this place was there before that time, but it had no power.

At that time was the beginning of the Wafamao coming to an agreement with the Portuguese governor ; some accounts say that the Wafamao are Portuguese, and other that they are the Arabs originally sent by Abdul Malik.

That was the origin of the Siyu people.

Now they are called Swahilis and their clan is the Banu Sadi.

Afterwards trouble arose between the people of Siyu and Pate by reason of Portuguese intrigue. They fought together and Siyu was defeated, and the town broken into. Their chief went and complained to the Portuguese and they came and made peace and took the prisoners who had been made and returned them to Siyu. So they stayed in allegiance to Pate.

In the year 945 Sultan Muhammad died, and Sultan Abubakr, son of Bwana Mkuu, reigned.

Now at this time the Portuguese conquered the whole Swahili coast. They instituted a tax, and afterwards their subjects would not agree to the tax.

Sultan Abubakr was of one accord with his people, and strife arose between him and the Portuguese. The Portuguese came and fought with Pate, and the people of Pate were grievously afflicted.

Now at that time there was a Sherif 1 of Arabia in a country called Inati . So the Sultan of Pate sent a man to desire his supplications, for he was a very holy man, saying, " Pray to Allah on our behalf that he may deliver us from our enemies." When he went to him, he gave him his two sons, and they were brought to Pate.

He said, " The Portuguese will not get your country again by the grace of Allah." So his sons came and settled at Pate and married there. It was after these Sherifs that the quarters of Sarambini, Inati and Shindoni were named, for these were the names of their houses.

Now at that time the ships of the Portuguese came round the Cape and they attacked Pate and afterwards there was a truce for six months .

The Portuguese always came during the season of the greater rains, and this time, after the six months' truce, they came in great strength and stationed their ships in the neighbourhood of Pate. There is a small island near Pate which even to- day bears the name of Shaka Mzungu (the white man's Shaka) because of the Portuguese staying there.

They seized also the harbour of Mtangawanda and Shindakasi, and they blockaded the island of Pate, landing by way of Shindakasi . They fired cannons on the town and fought with the inhabitants.

The shots from their cannons passed overhead without damage by reasons of the supplications of the holy man Sheikh Maulala Abubakr bin Salim.

When they saw that the shots did not hit they made channels in the ground of Shindakasi so that they might pump water into the town. When they had made these and brought water from the shore it would not rise. When they saw that they were not able to do this they made peace and came to an agreement with the Sultan of Pate.

Afterwards Sultan Abu Bakari died and his son Sultan Bwana Mkuu reigned in the year 995.

At this time foreigners came into the country of Pate and they were called Wabarawa.

At one time they used to live at Barawa, but they were Arabs and their tribe is called Hatimii, a tribe renowned in Arabia, and their country was formerly Andalusia.1

They arrived in Pate with much wealth, and they bought houses and even bought firewood and wells .

So the country of Pate prospered exceedingly till in the year 1010 Sultan Bwana Mkuu died, and Sultan Ahmad, the son of  his cousin, reigned. He was a very good man and loved his subjects much. He reigned seven years without rain falling, and then he abdicated of his own free will and gave the throne  to Sultan Muhammad, the son of Sultan Abubakr.

Sultan Muhammad quarrelled with the Portuguese and they turned him out of the throne and gave it to a son of Bwana  Mkuu called Abubakr, and he agreed with the Portuguese very well.

The Portuguese then had trouble with the people of Amu, and they fought and defeated them utterly, making many people prisoners.

Sultan Abubakr, by reason of his friendship for the Portuguese, desired them to give up these prisoners, and he returned them to Amu. From that date the people of Amu made allegiance to Pate.

Sultan Abubakr loved to travel about and visit every place. Whilst he was on his travels, there behind him in Pate the people intrigued, and put Sultan Muhammad, the son of his brother, on the throne in the year 1040.

When Sultan Abubakr returned he landed at Amu; he was not able to get to Pate again. He and the Portuguese went together to fight Pate, but they were utterly defeated and so made peace, and Sultan Abubakr remained at Amu. He married at Amu, and later the people of Pate and Amu combined against the Portuguese who lived at Dondo, but they were not strong. enough for them.

At Pate Sultan Muhammad married his son to the daughter of Abubakr. The name of the son was Bwana Mkuu.

Bwana Mkuu had not yet taken her to put her in his house when the people of Pate and Amu and the Portuguese intrigued together and brought back Sultan Abubakr, and Sultan Muhammad they locked up.

Sultan Abubakr then said to Bwana Mkuu, " Enter the house and take your wife. I am your father, do not be angry with me for locking up your father-it was the subjects and the Portuguese who wanted it."

So Bwana Mkuu took his wife and lived in peace with his father-in-law till Sultan Muhammad died.

The people of the town told Bwana Mkuu that his father had received poison and that presently he also would be poisoned. Bwana Mkuu did not listen to these tales, so the people went to the Sultan Abubakr and said, " Your son- in- law is about to kill you in revenge for his father's death, and the kingdom, he says, is his."

Sultan Abubakr believed their words and so made a plan with the Portuguese, saying, " When your governor comes from Mombasa I will pretend to be ill and will send my son-in-law Bwana Mkuu and forty great men in my stead.

Honour them greatly and feast them. Give them food of quality and strong drink. When they have finished getting drunk, hoist sail and carry them away that they return no more. For these are troublesome people ; I am not able to reign while they are here."

The Portuguese took Sultan Abubakr's advice and did as he suggested.

When the Pate people came to know that these men had been taken away at Sultan Abubakr's instigation, they were at first silent and acted as if the matter had not reached their ears.

Sultan Abu Bakari 1 said to his daughter, " Your husband has gone to Goa-after six months he will return . " son.

So she awaited her husband and meanwhile gave birth to a When her son had reached three years of age she knew that her father's words were false. Now at that time her father made a fête for the circumcision of his sons and told her that he would have her son circumcised at the same time.

She replied, " I do not want that, I will have him circumcised separately. "

Sultan Abubakr replied, " You have joined in the intrigues of the other people ; perish , both of you. "

Now it was necessary that at these festivities the royal horn should be blown and there was but one horn.

So his daughter came to borrow the horn of the Amu people secretly, but the Amu people would not give it for fear of the Sultan.

When she could not obtain the horn she called to her secretly a man in Pate called Mwenyi Baenyi, one well versed in skilled work.

She said to him, " I want you to make me a horn secretly that no man may know, and what you ask that will I give you." He said, " Very good, " and so she put him in her house and gave him an elephant tusk 2 and everything he required , and he made a fine horn.

When he had finished she asked him what wages he required, and he replied, " My wages are the gifts given to the blower." She said, " Take them, " and she gave out the horn and he sounded it through the town and people showered gifts on him.3

So she held the ceremony and rivalled her father.

After this the people of Pate made intrigue and rushed in on Sultan Abubakr, smiting him and his brother Bwana Madikilling them both.

Book Name: THE LAND OF ZINJ

Published: 1913

BY CAPTAIN C. H. STIGAND