CHAP. XVII THE WA-KAMBA 347 



crushed by centuries of oppression. The tribe of the Wa-kamba is 

 therefore of interest, as it illustrates a third type of Bantu character, 

 for it has kept comparatively free from foreign blood, and has been 

 sufficiently powerful to maintain its independence. 



The tribe is reported to have entered British East Africa from the 

 south. Stanley has referred to the existence of a district named 

 U-kamba to the east of Tanganyika, and this is possibly a former home 

 of the tribe. ^ At present it occupies a somewhat pear-shaped tract of 

 country in British East Africa, including the basins of the Athi and the 

 Tiva, and a small strip of country in that of the Tana. Much of this 

 area is uninhabited, and the Wa-kamba are mainly grouped in three 

 districts — Kikumbuliyu on the south, the Iveti Mountains on the 

 north-west, and Mumoni and Kitui on the north-east. The population 

 of Kikumbuliyu is very limited in number ; the late Dr. Charters of 

 Kibwezi estimated that the inhabitants of the district around that station 

 only numbered about 600 ; and the two other divisions of Kikumbuliyu 

 (namely Masongaleni or Kikumbuliyu Chakati, and Kikumbuliyu 

 Mwesho) probably do not together contain more than twice as many. 

 The district of Mumoni and Kitui is larger in area, but the population 

 is reported to be sparse, and at present the Iveti Mountains form the 

 main home of the tribe. This section has been carefully studied by 

 Mr. Ainsworth, to whom I am indebted for most of the following 

 information. 



The Wa-kamba of the Iveti Mountains are the most powerful and 

 warlike of the British East African Bantu. But in spite of their 

 courage and strength, they are not able to keep their country to 

 themselves. A generation or more ago a colony of the Kikuyu 

 succeeded in establishing itself in the very heart of the Iveti Mountains 

 at Kilungu, and the site of the station of Machakos was occupied by 

 Masai. There are men still living who took part in the struggle which 

 expelled the latter from the district. The Wa-kamba surrounded the 

 Masai kraals by night, and stormed them at daybreak. The Masai 

 rallied on the banks of a stream, and there a battle raged all day. 

 Two thousand of the Wa-kamba were slain, including the brother of 

 the present chief Nzibu, who fell after performing prodigies of valour, 

 which the natives still remember with pride. Enraged by his death, 

 the Wa - kamba warriors made a final charge ; the ranks of the 

 defenders were broken, and a massacre of men, women, and children 

 cleared Machakos of Masai. 



The Wa-kamba, however, still dare not cultivate the open meadows 

 that are exposed to attack. The shambas occur only on the hills that 

 form an amphitheatre around Machakos, and the fertile meadows on 

 its floor lay fallow until the British East Africa Company built a 

 station and planted a garden there ; for though the jNIasai have made 

 no attempt to re-establish themselves in the district, they continually 



1 Hmi) I found Livingstone (cd. 1890), pp. 275-276. 



