THE TUFI BORANA 



in the years to come Lorian may not be the centre 

 of a teeming population engaged in tilling the soil, 

 instead of a lonely swamp, the haunt of the mosquito 

 and tsetse fly, seldom visited except by a few nomadic 

 tribes ? 



The next Borana boma was reached after a short 

 but pleasant march. It proved larger than the one I 

 had left, and was the scene of much life and anima- 

 tion when I arrived, for the cattle, goats and sheep 

 were being driven in to the zariba for the night. 

 While my tent was being pitched, I walked down to 

 the village, inspected the huts and spent a pleasant 

 hour watching the inhabitants at their daily tasks. 

 They were very friendly and willing to oblige and to 

 show me everything I wished to see, but my ignorance 

 of their language proved a great difficulty in the way 

 of obtaining all the information I sought — a difficulty 

 only partially overcome by the efforts of my headman 

 and interpreter. 



Both these villages appeared to belong to the 

 Tufi Borana, a tribe that may be found in scattered 

 communities throughout the country from the Lorian 

 to Wajheir and Eil Wak ("the wells of God"). 

 They came originally from Abyssinia, their head- 

 quarters being the fertile district round Moyale, from 

 which they have been driven by their enemies. 

 They are a peaceful pastoral people, but faint-hearted, 

 although when hard pressed they will show fight. 

 Consequently they are continually being plundered 

 and harassed by the surrounding tribes. In physique 

 they resemble the Somali and the Galla rather than 

 the negro. They are light coloured, with not un- 

 pleasing features, and of a strong but somewhat 

 clumsy build. The women, when they are young, 



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