. The story of Africa and its explorers. sh, a Gatt, the fourteenth Yanvo. ^holder of the title, lives at Ka-wende, a place of 2,000 inhabitants, consistingof a number of hamlets scattered through afertile valley—the name Musumba, usuallyapplied to it, really meaning no more than the town. The Muata, who inhabits a huge,conical-roofed building on the spur of a hillin the centre of his capital, is very much likeother African chiefs, though Dr. Blichner isinclined to join issue with those who pro-nounce him cruel. During his long residencein Kawende he saw no people whose noses t Reisen im siidw
. The story of Africa and its explorers. sh, a Gatt, the fourteenth Yanvo. ^holder of the title, lives at Ka-wende, a place of 2,000 inhabitants, consistingof a number of hamlets scattered through afertile valley—the name Musumba, usuallyapplied to it, really meaning no more than the town. The Muata, who inhabits a huge,conical-roofed building on the spur of a hillin the centre of his capital, is very much likeother African chiefs, though Dr. Blichner isinclined to join issue with those who pro-nounce him cruel. During his long residencein Kawende he saw no people whose noses t Reisen im siidwestliclien Becken des Congo(1881). He went as far as the Chikapa River. J The narratives of these travellers are, for the mostpart, contained in the Mittheilungen der AfrikanisclienGeneilschaft iit Deutschlancl for the years concerned. 296 THE STORY OF AFRICA. had been cut off or ears cropped; and duringthe whole of that period he knew of only threeexecutions—two of the victims being peopleaccused of aggravated magic, and the third,. that there are already too few men in Lundato admit of many being killed for crime. Yetthe most is made of those who are; for theirskulls are stuck up at the entrance to theRoyal Hall of Audience. This chamberis very large, and at the end of itstands a clay throne covered with aleopard-skin, on which the Muatasits to receive homage and deliverjudgment. He is described as afinely-built though ugly individual, notunintelligent, and at times amiable,though his eyes are, as a rule, piercingand venomous. His teeth* projectlike the tusks of a boar; his beardis limited to a few bristles on thechin. The royal forehead was shaved,but the remaining hair was elaboratelydressed and ornamented with parrotsfeathers. A blue cloth of flannel,fastened round the waist, was the onlyarticle of dress worn by the king,and left the upper part of the bodyexposed. A string of beads, withan amulet, and a copper chain wereworn round the neck, and rings roundthe legs and
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1892
