280 ■ LIVINGSTONE'S LAST JOURNALS. [Chap. XI. 



in dealing with dumb show. I have, however, been asto- 

 nished to see that none of the Africans imitate the Arab 

 prayers : considering their great reverence of the Deity, it is 

 a wonder that they do not learn to address prayers to Him 

 except on very extraordinary occasions. 



My remarks referring to the education by Mohamadans 

 do not refer to the Suahelis, for they teach their children to 

 read, and even send them to school. They are the descen- 

 dants of Arab and African women and inhabit the coast 

 line. Although they read, they understand very little 

 Arabic beyond the few words which have been incorporated 

 into Suaheli. The establishment of Moslem missions among 

 the heathen is utterly unknown, and this is remarkable, 

 because the Wanyamwesi, for instance, are very friendly 

 with the Arabs — are great traders, too, like them, and are 

 constantly employed as porters and native traders, being- 

 considered very trustworthy. They even acknowledge Seyed 

 Majid's authority. The Arabs speak of all the Africans 

 as " Gumu" that is hard or callous to the Mohamadan 

 religion. 



Some believe that Kilimanjaro Mountain has mummies, 

 as in Egypt, and that Moses visited it of old. 



Mungo Park mentions that he found the Africans in the 

 far interior of the west in possession of the stories of Joseph 

 and his brethren, and others. They probably got them from 

 the Koran, as verbally explained by some liberal Mullah, 

 and showed how naturally they spread any new ideas they 

 obtained : they were astonished to find that Park knew the 

 stories. 



The people at Katanga are afraid to dig for the gold in 

 their country because they believe that it has been hidden 

 where it is by " Ngolu," who is the owner of it. The Arabs 

 translate Ngolu by Satan : it means Mezimo, or departed 

 spirits, too. The people are all oppressed by their super- 

 stitions ; the fear of death is remarkably strong. The 



