MONBUTTU PEDIGREES. 205 



A-Zande as well as the Monbuttu make a great point of 

 direct descent (on the father's side, of course), it was pretty 

 easy to get to the bottom of the matter. 



The great Monbuttu chiefs are as follows : — Yangara, Deg- 

 berra's son ; Gambari, a usurper ; Kadabo, ditto ; Sanga, sur- 

 named " the little " by the Arabs, who is one of Munza's 

 nephews, and Sanga, " the great," one of Munza's brothers. 

 Besides these there is quite a number of smaller chiefs. 



As already indicated, both Gambari and Kadabo are not 

 entitled to their present positions, especially as the legitimate 

 heirs are living. In Kadabo's case, however, this legitimate 

 heir is not a very able man, and as his territory is occupied by 

 Momvii and not by Monbuttu, he might with propriety be 

 allowed to hold his place during good conduct. With Gambari 

 it is quite different ; for, prudent yet perfidious, he has learnt 

 all the tricks and underhand practices of the Danagla, and 

 whilst obsequious and ingenuous in appearance, the meshes of 

 his intrigues have been drawn over the whole of the country. 

 That he is not thought much of in the upper circles of Mon- 

 buttu society is proved by the fact that even at the present 

 day, after having been many years in possession, he dare not 

 sit down in the presence of Yangara or Sanga without their 

 inviting him to do so. Naturally he tries to revenge himself 

 for his false position by all sorts of wicked tricks, and it is 

 quite possible that the time is not so very far distant when, 

 for the sake of the general peace, his removal will become 

 necessary. 



Of the two Sangas, the one is the son of Muapa, Munza's 

 eldest brother, the other is Munza's younger brother, both of 

 them, therefore, legitimate chiefs belonging to the family of 

 Erii ; while Yangara, whose numerous brothers (Kupa, Benda, 

 Bondu, &c.) have been removed, descends through his father 

 from the family of Ndula, and may also be considered as of 

 pure blood. This ancestor, Ndula, had remained on the other 

 side of the Kibali, but had given his daughter, Degberra's 

 sister," and a renowned beauty, to Nabimbali, the son of Man- 

 ziggi, and brother of Tukuba (Munza's father), thereby found- 

 ing the relationship between the two principal lines. 



The rulers of the country do not levy regular taxes, but the 



