70 



THE LAKE REGIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA. 



in no part of the world will the traveller more often see 

 men and women staggering about the village with thick 

 speech and violent gestures. The favourite inebrient is 

 tembo or palm- toddy ; almost every one, however, even 

 when on board the canoe, smokes bhang, and the whoop- 

 ing and screaming which follow the indulgence resemble 

 the noise of wild beasts rather than the sounds of human 

 beings. Their food consists principally of holcus, manioc, 

 and fish, which is rarely eaten before it becomes offen- 

 sive to European organs. 



The great Mwami or Sultan of Ujiji in 1858-59 was 

 Rusimba. Under him were several mutware (mutwale) 

 or minor chiefs, one to each settlement, as Kannena in 

 Kawele and Lurinda in Gungu. On the arrival of a 

 caravan, Rusimba forwards, through his relations, a tusk 

 or two of ivory, thus mutely intimating that he requires 

 his blackmail, which he prefers to receive in beads and 

 kitindi or coil-bracelets, proportioning, however, his de- 

 mand to the trader's means. When this point has been 

 settled, the mutware sends his present, and expects a 

 proportionate return. He is, moreover, entitled to a fee 

 for every canoe hired; on each slave the kiremba or 

 excise is about half the price ; from one to two cloths 

 are demanded upon every tusk of ivory ; and he will 

 snatch a few beads from a man purchasing provisions 

 for his master. The minor headmen are fond of making 

 " sare " or brotherhood with strangers, in order to secure 

 them in case of return. They depend for influence over 

 their unruly subjects wholly upon personal qualifica- 

 tions, bodily strength, and violence of temper. A chief, 

 though originally a slave, may " win golden opinions " 

 by his conduct when in liquor : he assumes the most 

 ferocious aspect, draws his dagger, brandishes his spear, 

 and, with loud screams, rushes at his subjects as intent 



