194 AFRICA SPEAKS 



AYandered southward from Arabia and became mingled 

 with African elements, but they are generally classified 

 as belonging to the Hamitic negroid group, a mixture 

 of Galla and Somali with Nilotic negroes. It is essen- 

 tially a transitional type, and I have found examples 

 among the Nandi ranging from pure Hamitic to pure 

 Negro. The Nandi are very closely allied to the 

 Elgeyo, Kamasia, Sotik, and Lumbwa, who all inhabit 

 the Western Escarpment of the Central Highlands, 

 but; that they are close kin to the Masai there is no 

 doubt, for we find that even today most of the Nandi 

 medicine men are from a Masai clan, and the Nandi 

 war song is sung in Masai. 



Their speech is of exceptional interest, owing to its 

 peculiarities of structure and an interesting but per- 

 plexing fact is that most of the tribes leading a Bush- 

 man life in Eastern Equatorial Africa, such as the 

 Dorobo, Andorobo, and Wanderobo, speak a Nandi 

 dialect, this being true of such widely separated tribes 

 as the Dorobo of the Mau and Mount Kenya, and those 

 near Lake Natron in Tanganyika. I have seen men 

 among the Nandi who could easily pass for Heikum 

 Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert, with whom I Hved 

 for some weeks, making it impossible for me to mistake 

 their characteristics. That there is a shght infusion 

 of Bushman blood in the Nandi stock has been admitted 

 by some antliropologists. 



The Rest Camp consisted of one large hut which was 

 divided into two rooms by a low partition, a hut for 

 cooking purposes, and another hut for the boys. The 

 government maintains these places for visiting officials 

 and any others who may come along. They are comfort- 

 able ; a great improvement over any camp in the bush. 



