ADMIXTURE OF TRIBES. 197 Mabode, A-Barambo, Nyapu, &c., of which a large proportion have as little claim to being real Monbuttu as the Momyu, the Ldgo, and other of their neighbours. And yet to-day all the tribes just mentioned are so firmly cemented together by intermarriage, intermixture, habits, customs, and even language that they not only acknowledge themselves to be subdivisions of one Monbuttu people, but also feel themselves to be so. The fact, moreover, remains—and there are a number of similar ones in our country—that the Monbuttu language proper has, to a large extent, replaced the original language, and that the people, who neither are Monbuttu, and who do not appear to be related to them, have acquired their habits; this must be borne in mind when examining the ethnology of the country.

I would like to add another remark bearing on this subject. In the collection of what are called typical skulls, very great care is necessary. It is well known that skulls are of no value if collected within reach of Arab settlements, or in the borderland of two tribes, but one has also to be most careful even in the centre of a district belonging to any one tribe. The intermingling of separate tribes and peoples in Central Africa consequent upon war, plundering raids, dividing of the spoil in women, slavery and exchange of slaves, and in a much less degree on intermarriage, has brought to pass such a state of confusion, that it is almost impossible to obtain skulls of really pure race. Dr. Schweinfurth gives an instance of a Zandé who was introduced to him as a Bongo chief. In the centre of Unyoro I found a large number of Waganda women. During my stay in Uganda hundreds of women were brought into the country from Usoga and distributed through the land, and as expeditions are sent there annually, and the Wasdga do not appear to be of Bantu origin, the constant crossing must in the end have a decided influence. Whether the great variation in the colour of the skin observable among all Negro tribes is to be attributed to these mixed relationships I do not venture yet to decide.

Since the scientific discovery of Monbuttu, the habits and customs of the people have hardly changed at all, in spite of the Arab invasion. One man here and there may have learnt to clothe himself in rags of stuff, and to hang a rosary round