$78 GOVERNMENT OF THE BANYAI 



in many other names by inattention to the meaning, and 

 predilection for the letter r. The river I,oangwa, for 

 instance, has been termed Arroangoa ; and the I,uenya, 

 the Ruanha. The Bazizulu, or Mashdna, are spoken of 

 as the Morurtirus. 



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 

 daughter. When first spoken to on the subject, he 

 answers as if he thought himself unequal to the task and 

 unworthy of the honour, but, having accepted it, all the 

 wives, goods, and children of his predecessor belong to 

 him, and he takes care to keep them in a dependent 

 position. When any one of them becomes tired of this 

 state of vassalage, and sets up his own village, it is not 

 unusual for the elected chief to send a number of the 

 young men, who congregate about himself, to visit him. 

 If he does not receive them with the usual amount of 

 clapping of hands and humility, they, in obedience to 

 orders, at once burn his village. The children of the 

 chief have fewer privileges than common free men. They 

 may not be sold, but, rather than choose any one of them 

 for a chief at any future time, the free men would prefer 

 to elect one of themselves who bore only a very distant 

 relationship to the family. These free men are a distinct 

 class who can never be sold ; and under them there is a 

 class of slaves whose appearance as well as position is 

 very degraded. Monina had a great number of young 

 men about him from twelve to fifteen years of age. 

 These were all sons of free men, and bands of young lads 

 like them in the different districts leave their parents 

 about the age of puberty, and live with such men as 

 Monina for the sake of instruction. When I asked the 

 nature of the instruction I was told " Bonyai," which I 

 suppose may be understood as indicating manhood, for 

 it sounds as if we should say, " to teach an American, 

 Americanism," or "an Englishman to be English." 

 While here they are kept in subjection to rather stringent 

 regulations. They must salute carefully by clapping 

 their hands on approaching a superior, and when any 



