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BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA 
4. The Awa-nkonde 1 stock. This includes amongst other tribes the Awa- 
wandia, the Awa-nyakiusa, the Awa-ndali, the Awa-kukwe, the Awa-rambia, 
the Awa-wiwa, the Awa-nyamvvanga, and the Awa-wanda and the Awungu 2 
(the two last on German territory). The 
languages of the Awa-nkonde stock are gene¬ 
rally remarkable for their archaic character in 
preserving many old Bantu roots and gram¬ 
matical forms. Their full form of the plural 
prefix of the second class (referring to human 
beings) is almost always Awa-, the only races, 
with the exception of the Awemba, in which 
this form is met with. They inhabit the 
northern and north-west coasts of Lake Nyasa 
and much of the Nyasa-Tanganyika plateau, 
and extend north-westwards to the shores of 
Lake Rukwa. 
5. The Ba-tumbuka stock. This includes 
the Wa-tonga, the A-timbuka or Ba-tumbuka, 
and to some extent the Wa-henga, A-nyika, 
and A-poka, though these two latter groups 
are of somewhat obscure affinities. The Wa- 
henga may possibly be a mongrel race, formed 
by the mingling of refugees from many tribes. 
It is possible that this linguistic group may 
extend to the Upper Luangwa River. 
6. The Nyanja stock. This is the largest 
and most important of all and includes the 
following tribes:—The A-senga 3 of the north 
bank of the Zambezi and the river Luangwa; 
the A-maravi; the A-chipeta; the A-makanga; 
the Va-dema; the Va-nyungwi of Tete; the 
A-mananja, 4 of the Lower Zambezi, the Lower 
Shire, the Western Shire, the Shire Highlands, 
the Mlanje district and the Upper Shire; the 
Ambo, south of the River Ruo; the Ma- 
chinjiri of the eastern bank of the Lower 
Shire ; 5 the A-nyanja of Lake Chilwa, of the 
south coast of Lake Nyasa and of the eastern 
coast of that lake about as far north as the 
Portugo-German frontier; and finally the 
A-chewa of the west coast of Lake Nyasa. 6 
7. The Ba-tonga or Ba-toka stock, which 
includes amongst other sections the Ba-ramba 
1 The word “Nkonde” means “banana” in some of the adjacent languages, and was no doubt applied 
with aptness to the North Nyasa district which is singularly rich in banana groves. 
2 Originally Awa-ungu. 3 Sometimes called Ba-senga : their language is closely related to Ki-bisa. 
4 This is a case of a double plural. The root -ilanja is the same as -nyanja (meaning a lake, a sea, a 
big water). Ma- which is often used as a tribal prefix would mean, “the people of the lake,” but in 
course of time it became so united to the root -hanja that it is now preceded by an additional plural 
prefix, a- (aba-). 
5 This branch of the Nyanja stock reaches to the vicinity of the Quelimane district where it touches 
the Makua races. 
6 These people are sometimes called the A-nkomanga. 
