THE SHILLUKS. 119 



The upland valleys of the Yal, north of the Koma, belong to the Amam, whom 

 Mateucci wrongly terms the African " Patagonians." They are certainly tall, 

 but not so tall as the Nuer and Kij ; but they have so successfidly repulsed the 

 Egj^tians that they are described as giants and reputed cannibals. Their customs 

 resemble those of the Komas. 



The Suro, who roam on the border of Kaffa south of the Gambils, are said to be 

 tributary to the latter state. They have already been brought into the circle of 

 Abyssinian political influences. Like all the tribes plundered by the Abyssinians, 

 they are called " Shangalla " by the plateau populations ; but this designation 

 implies no connection with the Shangalla of the north, such as the Bazeh. 

 Although frequently visited by the Arab merchants, the Siiro are still wild pastors, 

 like the Shilluks. They go naked, excepting the women, who wear a narrow loin- 

 cloth ; the chief alone wears garments, the insignia of power. Like several Nilotic 

 Negroes of the same race, the Suro extract two teeth from the lower jaw, and insert 

 a disc of wood in the lower lip. They also pierce and thrust blades of grass through 

 the lobe of the ear. Like their civiKsed neighbours of the plateau, they eat no 

 other flesh but that of their herds. 



The riverain peoples of the lower Sobat, although bearing various tribal names, 

 all belong either to the Nuer or Shilluk family. The formidable Gibhas, Bonjaks, 

 and Mivaks are isolated Shilluk communities ; while the Baloks, settled more to the 

 west, and the Ndiekens lower down, are Nuers. Lastly, the populations of the lower 

 valley, near the confluence, are Shilluks separated from the main body of the nation 

 only by the breadth of the Nile. The Egyptian Government had formerly 

 established the military . post of Nasser on the Sobat, about 120 miles above 

 the confluence ; but the expenses of maintaining it not being covered by the small 

 trade, and the land being of little value, it was abandoned in 1876. At present 

 the vast unexplored basin is claimed neither by Abyssinia nor Egypt, and its political 

 system is in the fragmentary and shifting state produced by the continual displace- 

 ment of the tribes by emigration or by conquest. But these unexplored regions 

 traversed by the Upper Sobat and its affluents, will doubtless become one of the most 

 frequented parts of Africa, as it is here that the water-parting between the White 

 Nile and the Indian Ocean can be most easily crossed. The border range between 

 the Kaffa mountains and the volcanic highlands of the Masai country is partly 

 interrupted by broad openings, at present occupied by fierce Galla tribes, and forms 

 a natural communication between the watersheds. 



The Shilluks. 



The Shilluks, who occupy the left bank of the Nile from below the Sobat junction 

 to Abha Island for a distance of over 360 miles, are one of the largest African races, 

 and the only one on the banks of the Nile recognising a bando, or king, rtding all 

 the tribes, and selling as slaves those whom his anger or justice lights upon. 



The riverain zone inhabited by the Shilluks is only from ten to twelve miles 

 broad, the plains of the interior beiag occupied by the Baggara (Bagara), or 

 " Cattle Arabs," pure or mixed, so called on account of their large herds of cattle. 



