780 



NILOTIC NEGROES 



inlialtiti'd X(irtli«'iii I'liyoro (whcvt' a fVagiiu:'nt of them remains), and that 

 the Hiihima and their IJantu sulijeots drove this branch of the Nilotic 

 |»('(>]il(' across the Alhcrt Nile to the north-west (where they remain as the 

 Ahirii) and intu I'lisoga (across the Victoria Nile) on the south-east. 

 From lUisoga they appear to have Ijcen driven on by the l^antu right 

 tlirough the Kavirondo country until they linally settled and throve round 

 the shores of Kavirondo l^ay. where they at present bear the name of 

 .hi-hio or Nvifwa. It is a remarkalile fact tliat the Ja-luo to tins dav are 



WHITE NILE 



caHed l)y their JJantu neigldjours '• Abanyoro,"' which would indicate that 

 this theory of their origin is correct. 



The Ja-luo reside in fixed villages of from ten to fifty huts, which are 

 .Miirounded by hedges of aloe and euphorbia. Formerly they built mud 

 or stone walls round their settlements in imitation of the Bantu Kavirondo 

 to the north. Eut this is a custom which has now died out. The houses 

 are similar in appearance to those of the Bantu tribes around them, as is 

 the arrangement about the two fireplaces. Young unmarried girls usually 

 sleep together in one large hut under the care of an old woman. The 

 yoimg men and boys of the village also sleep by themselves, generally 



