THE WAGANDA 



I II 



an attendant hurriedly restored them to mathematical order. 

 The tomb is surrounded in a wide semicircle by a number of 

 huts, erected for the use of Mtesa's widows who were constituted 

 keepers of the tomb. Some royal estates were set aside to supply 

 them with the necessaries of life. There cannot be many of 

 them living at the present day. I was introduced to one ; she 

 had a pleasant face, and the wool on her head was quite white. 



Now and then one is reminded of something analogous in 

 the Uganda of the present day and England in an early stage of 

 its development. The peasants were serfs, practically slaves ; 

 Colonel Colville, by the simple declaration that the status of 

 slavery is not acknowledged in Uganda, abolished slavery and all 

 its evils. Of course one knows that every Soudanese household 

 has a number of slaves, and should any of these complain of ill- 

 treatment or express a desire to leave their master or mistress, 

 practical effect 

 is given to the 

 Colonel's, now ' 

 historic, decla- 

 ration. On the 

 other hand, 

 there is no un- 

 called for in- 

 terference with 

 any man's 

 household. 



The royal 

 family of 

 Uganda is ot 

 Wahima blood. 

 According to 

 tradition, the 

 Wahima are 

 the aborigines 



of Uganda ; but when they were conquered and deprived 

 of their wealth which consisted of vast herds of cattle, they 

 voluntarily offered to serve their new masters as herdsmen. 

 The Wahima are a fine race, what I saw of them ; above 

 the average height, with an intelligent oval face and only 

 slightly flattened nose. To see them at their best the traveller 

 should see them at work on their pasture -lands. I came 



WAHIMA KKAAL. 



