Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 4.djvu/447

THE WAKWAFI. 868 Besides the Bnntus, the hilly, wooded, and alluvial re«,'ion8 suitable for tillaj^e would also appear to bo inhabited by other peoples descended from the aboriginal races. Such are the Ala tribe, who dwell in the recesses of the forests between the Usambara and Pare highlands, and the Wasilikomos (Wa-Silikomo), that is, " Dwarfs," who are said to roam the districts lying west of Kilima-Njaro. But no European traveller has yet been able to visit them, and their very existence as a distinct race still remains somewhat doubtful. The "Wakwafi. The struggle for the ascendency is henceforth carried on exclusively between the Bantu populations, who are mainly tillers of the soil, and the Masai and Galla nations, who are members of the Ilamitic family occupied chiefly with pasturage and chronic warfare. The Wakwafi (Wa-Kwafi), although of the same origin as the Masai, may be regarded as forming a sort of transition between the Bantu and Hamitic ethnical groups, for several of their tribes have given up the nomad life, and become intermingled with the agricultural and settled populations. These Wakwafi are scattered over a territory of vast extent. Some, under the name of Humba, are settled in the vicinity of Mamboia, a missionary station in the Usambara country, others dwell over 400 miles farther north on the lower slopes of Mount Kenia. But the great majority of the nation is at present con- centrated in certain parts of the volcanic and lacustrine depression which separates the eastern and western plateaux, and on the western terrace lands sloping in the direction of Lake Victoria Nyanza. In the year 1830 the Wakwafi were also still the ruling people in the region which is bounded on the west by the Ugono and Par^ districts, on the east by Teita, and southwards by Usambara. But since that time this section of the nation has been exposed to an almost uninterrupted series of crushing calamities. Some of their pillaging or foraging parties were cut off to a man, their crops were devoured by swarms of locusts, their cattle perished of disease and hunger; then came the Masai hordes of the surrounding districts, who fell upon and miissacred the greater part of those that had escaped from the previous disasters. The few survivors were fain to seek a refuge amongst the Bantu populations of the neigh- bouring highlands, founding agricultural and trading settlements in the midst of the Taveta, Teita, Pare, Gono, Sambara, and Zeguha communities. This change from an unsettled, predatory existence to a peaceful mode of life has been attended by excellent moral results. The eastern branch of the Wakwafi nation, who were formerly so much dreaded, is at present regarded as one of the most industrious, honest, and hospitable people in East Central Africa. The Masai. The Masai properly so called, who claim for themselves and the kindred Wakwafi the distinctive appellation of Il-Oikob, that is, " Men," * believe, like so ♦ This term ia, however, also diversely explained to mean, " Brave," " Free," or " Masters of the Land," that is, autochthones, or men of the soil.