196 A VISTT 2O Tas MONBULEU: the central open space of this village there are some fine buildings, several of them with open sides, and serving as meeting-places, others with walls made of pieces of bark, and in use as private houses. Round about the space were grouped the servants’ huts. The prince’s zeriba, enclosed by a strong fence of palisades, lay somewhat to the side, and consisted of comparatively few huts, occupied by his favourite wives. As in other Monbuttu villages, there were spaces set apart expressly for cooking operations; these are not found among other Negro tribes. Near the principal door leading from the prince’s zeriba to the square there is a small secret door, intended to be used, in case of need, for flight into the neighbouring “gallery” wood. The Monbuttu princes are no heroes ; they take to heart above all the command to “be fruitful,” &c.

Tingazi, the present capital of the country from an administrative point of view, lies in the worst possible position between the “ gallery ” woods of three streams, on ground swarming with termites. The damp during my short stay was so great that the © wet and dry bulb thermometers at 7 a.M. usually showed only a difference of 0.9° to 1.80 C., and at 2 P.M. the variation was hardly 5° to 7° C.; this great humidity probably continues for a considerable part of the year. It is easy to understand that under such circumstances even my double tin-cases hardly sufficed to protect my collections.

In Tingazi the population is chiefly composed of Bambad, who previously (in Schweinfurth’s time) resided much farther north of the Welle, but who were gradually driven more and more to the south on account of the constant A-Zandé migration towards the east, which migration continues to the present day. Among the Bamba I noticed many Nyapu, another of those aboriginal races which help to form the conglomerate population of Monbuttu. Without extensive philological research, it is difficult to distinguish the original inhabitants of the country from the immigrants—the Monbuttu—and, on the other hand, to determine the various constituents of the former and the real origin of the latter. If one makes inquiry in the country about the component parts of the Monbuttu people, one is given a long row of names, such as Meaje, Mabisanga,