244 Preparations for the March. 
ning which accompany rain like the storms upon 
the mountains of Yemen. After 30' (z= 1*50 miles) 
we reached our destination, Banza Chinguvu, the 
head-quarters of Gidi Mavunga. As we entered 
it he pointed to a pot full of greasy stuff under a 
dwarf shed, saying, “ Isso e meu Deusit was 
in fact his Baka chya Mazinga. Beyond it stood 
the temple of Nbambi; two suspended pieces of 
wood, cut in the shape of horns, bore monkey 
skins on both sides of a dead armadillo, an animal 
supposed to attract lightning when alive, and to 
repel it after death. 
The Banza was beautifully situated on a dwarf 
platform, catching the full force of the sea-breeze, 
and commanding to the north-west a picturesque 
glimpse of the 
“ waters rippling, flowing, 
Flashing along the valley to the sea ; ” 
a mountain tarn representing the mighty stream. 
On the right lay fields, dotted with papaw-trees, 
and plantations of maize and manioc, thur (Capanus), 
and sweet potatoes, a vegetable now common, but 
not noticed by Tuckey; on the left, a deep ravine, 
densely forested with noble growth, and supplying 
the best of water, divides it from Tadi ja Mfimo, a 
pile of rock on the opposite hill-side ; here lay the 
Itombo village, belonging to Gidi Mavunga’s 
eldest son. Beyond it, the tree-clad heights, roll- 
