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THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



and by their political system to the Waganda group, but who by their language and by many 

 of their customs are akin to the Nilotic Negroes. The Monbuttu were first visited by 

 Schweinfurth, who estimated their numbers at about 1,000,000 and their territory at nearly 

 4,000 square miles. But their kingdom was overrun by Arab raiders, and they are now subjects 

 of the Congo Free State. 



In physical character the Monbuttu are remarkable for their light brown tint, light 

 greyish hair, long curved nose, and the somewhat Semitic form of the skull. Schweinfurth 

 described the king as a man with "small whiskers and a tolerably thick beard; his perfectly 

 Caucasian nose offered a remarkable contrast to the thick and protruding Negro lips. In his 

 eyes gleamed the wild light of animal sensuality, and around his mouth lurked an expression 

 of avarice, violence, and love of cruelty that could with the extremes! difficulty relax into a 

 smile." The king was autocratic, and the political organisation of the country similar to that 

 of Uganda before the British annexation. "The Monbuttu," says Schweinfurth, "are subject 

 to a monarchical government of an importance beyond the average of those of Central Africa; 

 and in its institutions it appears to correspond with the descriptions of Negro empires long 



since passed away." At the time of Schwein- 

 furth's visit the king held his court in a palatial 

 hall 100 feet long by 50 feet wide, and with a 

 vaulted roof 40 feet high; he sat at one end on 

 a throne, surrounded by his courtiers, officials, and 

 marshals. He received taxes from his subjects, 

 and had a monopoly of the ivory. 



The dress of the Monbuttu is simple: the 

 women have only a plantain leaf hanging down 

 from a narrow girdle; while the men are wrapped 

 in a mantle made from the bark of a fig-tree. 

 The hair in both sexes is worn as a cylindrical 

 chignon. The women have bands of scars cut 

 across their breasts and back, and are painted in 

 various designs. The ornaments worn consist of 

 chains of teeth and steel rings and copper neck- 

 laces. The weapons are curved swords, long-headed 

 spears, knives, daggers, bows and arrows. The 

 tools used include the spade for agricultural work, 

 axes for tree-felling, and adzes for carpentry and 

 hollowing out canoes, which are sometimes 40 feet 

 long by 5 feet wide. 



The ordinary dwelling-huts are two-roomed buildings 30 feet long by 20 feet wide: the roofs 

 are overhanging, and are lined with plantain leaves. The huts are placed in rows on the 

 banks of the numerous streams. 



The staple food of the country is the plantain; but various grains, cassava, yams, 

 ground-nuts, and tobacco are also grown. The food is mixed with oil obtained from the oil-palm 

 and sesame. Tobacco is largely grown, and its foreign origin is clearly indicated by its name, 

 eh tobboo. Meat is obtained by hunting and fish by poisoning the streams with the juice of 

 the Tephrosia. Cannibalism was practised extensively. Schweinfurth reports that while he was 

 in the Monbuttu country a child was killed every day for the king's meal. 



Weaving and tanning are unknown; but the people are very skilful metal-workers and 

 wood-carvers; while the pottery, like the black earthenware of Uganda, is very superior to 

 that of the average African native. 



The whole of the agricultural work is done by the women, who are treated by the men on 



terms of equality. But polygamy is the rule, and the king's wives are numbered by the hundred. 



Though many of the habits and institutions of the Monbuttu are similar to those of the 



Photo by Richard BuMa. 



A MONBUTTU NEGRESS. 



