The Eastern Congo 



well to give my readers an outline of the history of 

 this singular race, of whom Msinga was the chief 

 representative. 



Broadly speaking the Ruanda (when speaking of 

 " Ruanda " I mean the Burundi district as well) is inhabited 

 by two classes of negroes, namely the Barundi, Bahutu and 

 dwarf Batwa, who are the slave tribes or working classes ; 

 and the Watusi, who are the aristocratic or ruling class which 

 never works. The Watusi are a tall race, many of the men 

 being seven feet high and even more. They are the original 

 conquerors of the country and came down from the north, 

 most probably being contemporary with the coming of the 

 Masai to East Africa, bringing with them the forerunners 

 of the countless herds of horned stock to be found in the 

 Ruanda to-day. Hamitic in origin and of the same stock 

 as the Bahima of Uganda, these natives present a most 

 graceful and dignified appearance and moreover possess 

 the rare qualities of honesty and truthfulness, so seldom 

 found amongst the inhabitants of Africa to-day, with 

 high foreheads, oval faces, and clean-cut features of Eg5^tian 

 cast. We never tired of watching them. To see a group 

 of these fine fellows talking and laughing together was 

 a real pleasure, which could never be the case with the 

 snub-nosed Bantu tribes. Other points of interest about 

 them were their beautifully shaped hands and feet and their 

 satiny skins, often bronze in colour. Their hair too, although 

 typically woolly, is given special attention, being coifed 

 in bizarre though symmetrical patterns, often with a comb 

 stuck in it or a single string of pearl-beads through it or 

 round it, giving them the smartest appearance. As most 

 of them are extremely tall and well proportioned, their diet 



40 



