380 Transactions of the Boyal Society of South Africa. 
It consists of a network of rivers and reed-grown swamps, of which the 
Tamalakan and the lower reaches of the Okovango are the extreme east 
and west channels. They are essentially the same river, linked up by 
innumerable channels." 
The boundaries of the Batawana Eeserve were defined by the High 
Commissioner's Proclamation No. 9 of 1899. Its limits are, on the north, 
the narrow 20 miles wide German strip known as the " Caprivi 
Zipfel," on the east the 24th meridian of E. Long., on the south the 
21st parallel of S. Lat., and on the west the 21st meridian of E. Long. 
Eoughly speaking, the Okovango Eiver enters the Batawana Eeserve 
towards its north-western corner, 'and flowing in one strong stream — 
averaging during the winter season 650 yards broad by 16 feet deep — in a 
S.S.E. direction, it begins to overflow its banks at 18° 21' S. Lat. and then 
spreads out fan-wise into many channels and swamps at about 18° 50' 
S. Lat. From the latter point southwards, owing to the level country, 
they continue to spread out until they attain a width of some 100 miles (in 
the winter season) just before reaching the 20th degree of S. Lat. 
According to Dr. Passarge, and Seiner, there can only be a difference 
of some two or three metres between the altitude where the 19th 
parallel cuts the Okovango, and Tsau (south of the 20th parallel) and 
Lake N'gami. 
Most of the main branch channels are perennial in their flow, running 
in comparatively deep beds, but are, of course, low during the summer 
months, when the small local rainfall of N'gamiland (recently about 
16 inches per annum) has little effect on them. On the other hand, large 
swamp areas and countless creeks, valleys, backwaters, etc., which are 
running and full during the winter flood season, are quite dry the rest of 
the year. To the former perennially flowing channels the Batawana apply 
the Sechuana word " noka " (river) in contradistinction to " molapo," 
meaning a wet valley, a creek, or a backwater, or a swamp, which 
they apply to all of the second-mentioned non-perennial watercourses. 
For brevity, I will hereafter refer to "river" and "molapo," as the case 
may be. 
The bulk of the Okovango water is carried down in the easternmost 
rivers, and to-day no water reaches Lake N'gami by the extreme western 
ones. The Okovango — or rather " Kovango," as it is named by the 
Mampukushu who live on it in the neighbourhood of the 18th parallel of 
S. Lat. — is named the " Taoge " (the "g " in Sechuana is pronounced as 
in loch) by the Batawana, the whole length of its course from Portuguese 
West Africa, and they look upon the westernmost river of its swamps as 
its main channel, which they recognize as the Taoge down past Tsau and 
thence down its smaller westernmost branch, locally known as the 
Dobc Eiver, and a mile and a half further down as Moshwana-oa-kubo 
