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THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



mougoloid, oblique, upturned eye, common 

 among northern tribes, are here very rare. 

 Though free from intermixture with the non- 

 Negro races of Northern Africa, some of the 

 tribes show signs of Arab influence by the 

 considerable size of the beard. 



Clothing among the people of this group 

 is very limited. Many of the tribes go 

 practically naked; the men wear only a 

 brass ring round the waist, the women a 

 tiny beadwork apron. But these tribes 

 behave modestly, and are moral; whereas 

 the more extensively clothed Wayao practise 

 obscene rites and dances, and are very 

 immoral. 



Among personal ornaments, the most 

 conspicuous among the Bantu of Southern 

 East Equatorial Africa is the petele, a disk 

 of wood or bone about an inch or more in 

 diameter, which is worn in the upper lip, 

 causing it to project forward like a bird's 

 bill. This is not found south of the 

 Zambesi, except in a slightly developed 

 form among the Banyai, who are no doubt 

 offshoots of the Nyasaland Bantu, although 

 they now speak Mashona. 



The Nyasaland natives are among the 

 ablest agriculturists in Africa. The main crops are bananas, plantains, and beans; various 

 forms of grains; and also cassava or manioc, sugar-cane, melons, and pumpkins. Tobacco and 

 hemp are grown for smoking; simsin and castor oil afford the chief supply of oils. 



The belief in fetishism and witchcraft is widespread in East Africa, and is indicated by 

 the funeral rites. 



Death is attributed, according to Johnston, to one of three causes: (1) the direct act of 

 God by some sudden accident or a widespread epidemic or some well-known and clearly 

 natural disease; (2) death in warfare or by murder; (3) by witchcraft, where the malady is 

 obscure or a man has been killed by some wild beast. The animal is said to be either 

 possessed by the witch or to be a human being in disguise. Sir Harry Johnston quotes one 

 striking instance of the native faith in such disguises. During the war with Mankanjira, a 

 famous Yao chief, a truce was arranged, so that the natives might consider the terms of peace 

 offered by Major Edwards, who was in command of the British forces. The Yao held a 

 council to consider the proposals, which were vigorously denounced by one of the councillors, 

 who advocated war to the bitter end. The conference was being held in the bush, and this 

 jingo speech was interrupted by a wild bull-buffalo charging into the party. The buffalo 

 singled out the spokesman and inflicted on him mortal injuries. The Yao declared that the 

 buffalo was Major Edwards himself; the terms were rejected, and war resumed with greater 

 bitterness on account of this supposed breach of the truce. Even after burial the body is 

 not considered safe from witchcraft, so that the grave is enclosed by a strong wooden fence, 

 to protect it from the witch who has caused the death, and who may come in the form of 

 a hyena to devour the body. 



One interesting feature of Nyasaland burials is that the corpse is not allowed to touch 

 the ground of the grave. The body is swung like a hammock from sticks at each end of the 

 grave, and is protected above by a roof of sticks. 



Photo by Miss Palmer. 



CONFIRMATION CANDIDATES, NYASALAND. 



