78 
THE KILIMANJARO EXPEDITION 
Taveita, is unlike the neighbouring states in being a 
republic, or commonwealth, administered rather than 
ruled by an oligarchy of four or five important men 
known as the Wa-zee,” or elders. There are really 
two entirely distinct races inhabiting Taveita—the Wa- 
kwavi, a tribe of settled Masai who have turned from 
lawless robbers into honest, thrifty tillers of the soil, 
and the Wa-taveita proper, a people of Bantu stock, 
allied in origin to the A-kamba farther north and 
the Wa-caga of Kilima-njaro. The Wa-taveita pre¬ 
dominate over the Wa-kwavi in numbers, and the 
elders are mostly of the former stock. These func¬ 
tionaries had come to greet me with little gifts and 
offerings such as they deemed most acceptable to me, 
and, of course, expected an equivalent present on my 
part. One man had brought a baaing, reluctant sheep, 
and tied it to the tent-pegs. Another thrust into my 
lap a couple of fowls, strongly fastened together by 
the legs, but otherwise not disturbed in equanimity, 
for they pecked inquiringly at the buttons of my jacket. 
A third member of the Taveitan Legislative Council 
pointed to a basket of corn-cobs as his donation, and 
so on. Each in return received about twice the value 
of his free-will offering in cloth and beads, and, I am 
sorry to say, in accordance with African custom, they 
at first affected to be dissatisfied with the return-gifts, 
and tried to haggle for an increase, but finding this 
“ try on 99 of no avail, immediately resigned themselves 
to the inevitable, and marched off very contentedly 
with what they could get. The remainder of the day 
was utilized by the men in buying food, while I availed 
myself of the unwonted rest to recruit my strength, 
and so did nothing in the way of active exertion beyond 
skinning a few birds. 
