660 NATIVE NAMES. 



On the 20th we came to Monina's village (close to the sand- 

 river Tangwe, latitude 16° 13' 38" south, longitude 32° 32' east). 

 This man is very popular among the tribes on account of his lib- 

 erality. Boroma, Nyampungo, Monina, Jira, Katolosa (Monomo- 

 tapa), and Susa, all acknowledge the supremacy of one called Ny- 

 atewe, who is reported to decide all disputes respecting land. This 

 confederation is exactly similar to what we observed in Londa 

 and other parts of Africa. Katolosa is "the Emperor Monomo- 

 tapa" of history, but he is a chief of no great power, and acknowl- 

 edges the supremacy of Nyatewe. The Portuguese formerly hon- 

 ored Monomotapa with a guard, to fire off numbers of guns on 

 the occasion of any funeral, and he was also partially subsidized. 

 The only evidence of greatness possessed by his successor is his 

 having about a hundred wives. When he dies a disputed suc- 

 cession and much fighting are expected. In reference to the term 

 Monomotapa, it is to be remembered that Mono, Moene, Mona, 

 Mana, or Morena, mean simply chief, and considerable confusion 

 has arisen from naming different people by making a plural of the 

 chief's name. The names Monomoizes, spelled also Monemuiges 

 and Monomuizes, and Monomotapistas, when applied to these 

 tribes, are exactly the same as if we should call the Scotch the 

 Lord Douglases. Motape was the chief of the Bambiri, a tribe 

 of the Banyai, and is now represented in the person of Katolosa. 

 He was probably a man of greater energy than his successor, yet 

 only an insignificant chief. Monomoizes was formed from Moiza 

 or Muiza, the singular of the word Babisa or Aiza, the proper 

 name of a large tribe to the north. In the transformation of this 

 name the same error has been committed as in the others ; and 

 mistakes have occurred in many other names by inattention to 

 the meaning, and predilection for the letter r. The River Lo- 

 angwa, for instance, has been termed Arroangoa, and the Luen- 

 ya the Ruanha. The Bazizulu, or Mashona, are spoken of as the 

 Morururus. 



The government of the Banyai is rather peculiar, being a sort 

 of feudal republicanism. The chief is elected, and they choose 

 the son of the deceased chief's sister in preference to his own 

 offspring. When dissatisfied with one candidate, they even go to 

 a distant tribe for a successor, who is usually of the family of the 

 late chief, a brother, or a sister's son, but never his own son or 



