TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION H. 735 



be the hardier people. The Suk language shows a large pei'centage of Nancli. a 

 little Turkana, and a considerable amount of what is probably aboriginal. Tho 

 absence of an article is the most noteworthy feature. 



4. Interim Report on Archaeological Investigations in British East 

 Africa. — See Reports, p. 256. 



5. A Search for the Fatherland of the Polynesians. By A. K. Newman. 



a 



. 6. The BuShongo of the Congo Free State. 1 By E. Torday. 



The BuShongo, who most probably came originally from the Lake Chad 

 region, inhabit the district of the Belgian Congo between the fork of the Sankuru 

 and Kasai rivers. The BuShongo nation is composed of a number of sub-tribes. 

 all under the rule of one great chief. They are well-built and fine in appear- 

 ance ; their movements are graceful. The genealogy of the royal house mentions 

 121 successive kings, of whom the first was Chenibe (God), and his name was 

 Bumba. Under the twenty-seventh ruler fire-making was revealed by God to a 

 man named Keri-Keri, and at this time another man invented bark clothes. 

 Shamba Bolongongo, the ninety-third ruler and the great national hero, was a 

 patron of the useful arts, a legislator and philosopher, and in his youth a great 

 traveller. After his accession to the throne he introduced the weaving of palm- 

 cloth, embroidery, the use of tobacco, and the game of Lela, revised^the Court 

 hierarchy, and introduced official representatives of the various trades. "He 

 established monogyny, and in his reign wood-carving and embroidery reached tb.3 

 highest pitch. 



The organisation of the government of the country as remodelled bv Shambi 

 exists to-day, though greatly weakened. The king in theory is .absolute, but in 

 practice his power is limited by two bodies— a higher, consisting of six male 

 and two female dignitaries; and a lower, consisting of 120 male and fifteen 

 female representatives. Above all these, and to a certain extent above the king, 

 is the king's mother. Land belongs to the nation, and is held for it by the king'. 

 The BuShongo engage actively in trade. 



To belong to the BuShongo nation it is sufficient that one parent should bo 

 BuShongo. Membership of a tribe and village is constituted by birth within that 

 tribe and village. A man may not marry any woman for whom a term of relation- 

 ship exists or who has the same totem. There is no fixed sum for the bride-prii e. 

 The totem (Ikina Bari) is inherited from the father, and wives adopt the Ikina 

 of their husbands. The Ikina of the mother is observed to a certain extent, but 

 not transmitted beyond one generation. 



The BuShongo believe in an all-powerful Creator called Chembe. He has 

 little to do with the human race, and no actual worship is paid him. There are 

 several kinds of magicians, each of whom has more or less different duties 

 The dead are exposed for a certain time before burial. During the exposure the 

 relatives go into mourning and special food tabus are observed. The houses of 

 the dead are left to decay. 



Before emigration the staple food consisted cf millet, bananas, and yams; 

 the use of cassava was subsequently introduced from the West. The"chi^f 

 condiment is palm oil. The BuShongo are great smokers. They hurt with 

 hounds, and near the great rivers fishing with wicker barriers, baskets and traps 

 is practised. The work of the household is distributed equally between the 

 sexes. Men clear the ground, build the hoiwe, and hunt. Women till the soil 

 fetch the firewood, and cook. The men alone paddle, and have to provide the 

 family with garments, which are made of palm fibre. All men, without exception 

 can weave. ' l ' 



1 To be published in book form by the Tervcuren Museum, Brussels. 



3 B 2 



