3 6 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



the agreement, and a chief cuts the living 

 dog in two, assuring the assembly that 

 any one guilty of breaking the peace will 

 suffer the same fate. 



THE LANGO NATION. 



One of the chief nations of the late 

 kingdom of Unyoro are the Lango (Langgo, 

 Longo) people, who, although often grouped 

 with the Nilotic Negroes, are really of 

 Galla stock and speech. They form, in 

 fact, an important link in the chain of 

 Hamitic peoples who extend from Galla- 

 land through Unyoro and Uganda south- 

 wards to Lake Tanganyika. Their territory, 

 which occupies both banks of the Somerset 

 or Victoria Nile between Foweira and 

 Magungo, extends eastwards beyond Unyoro 

 proper to the valley of the Choi, one of 

 the chief upper branches of the Sobat. 

 They still preserve their Galla mother- 

 tongue amid the surrounding Bantu and 

 Negro populations, and are distinguished 

 by their independent spirit, living in small 

 family groups, and recognising no tribal 

 chiefs, except those chosen to defend the 

 common interests in time of war. 



The Lango people are specially noted 

 for the care bestowed on their elaborate 

 and highly fantastic head-dress. The 

 prevailing fashion may be described as 

 a kind of helmet, in which each lock of 

 hair is separately interwoven with diverse 

 coloured wools, the whole terminating in 

 an imposing superstructure of plumes, 

 tufts of feathers, wreaths of shells or 



glass beads, or curved projections which resemble trumpets, but are intended to represent 

 buffalo horns. Whole years are spent on these sumptuous head-dresses, which even when 

 finished have to be constantly touched up and kept in repair by the native barbers. On the 

 other hand, the Lango women, who are amongst the finest and most symmetrical of the 

 Equatorial lake region, wear little clothing or embellishments beyond waist-bands, necklaces, 

 armlets, and anklets. 



Photo by Richard Buchtu. 



A LANGO CHIEF. SHOWING PECULIAR HEAD-DRESS. 



