134 Upper Sobat.

Aniiaks or VamlxHj (E. of NasHer).

with spears, of which every man carries two or three. Their weapon of defence consists of an oval-shaped buffalo-hide shield. Bows and arrows they do not appear to possess.

The elder married women are as filthy as the men in appearance. They all, however, wear a leather apron or skin fastened round their waists. The younger girls and unmarried women wear no such covering, and, like the men, are quite naked.

The right bank of the Sobat near Nasser Post is densely populated as far as the junction of the Sobat and Pibor rivers, there being several large and important villages such as Kwoinlualtong, Taufot, and Ajungmir in addition to smaller ones. The left bank of the Sobat is not inhabited, as from Nasser to the Pibor a considerable portion of the country is inundated when the rivers are full.

East of the Sobat-Pibor junction, the country through which the Baro flows may be described, until Anuak territory is reached, as worthless. For the most part it consists of open treeless grass plains, which, in the vicinity of the river, are inundated for months at a time. The population is small, and confined to villages some distance apart, and absolutely no signs of cultivation are seen, except on a large island near the border of Anuak territory.

This perhaps may be explained by the fact that the Nuers in the dry season of the year occupy villages near the river banks, which are merely used as large fishing villages during the time the rivers are low ; they subsist almost entirely then on the fish speared in the many pools which are formed by the receding waters of the rivers. When the rivers become full again, and the country is inundated, they withdraw to their permanent quarters further inland, where they probably merely cultivate during the rainy season of the year, between the months of May and November.

Several of the large villages to the east of the Pibor-Sobat junction, such as Taiyau, Gunjang, Gadjak and others which were teeming with life in the month of January, were deserted in July when a visit was paid by steamer to Itang.

With the Nuers of the Sobat and Baro rivers very little trade can be done, as they jiossess little or no grain, living chiefly on fish. They possess, however, numerous flocks of goats and sheep in the vicinity of Nasser Post, and also some magnificent herds of cattle at Ajungmir. Thirty-five goats and sheep were obtained in exchange for a cow. Large opaque white beads, about the size of a pea, are in request as articles of barter, but brass wire "No. 8 " is most in demand , and a desire for cloth is beginning to rise.

The eastern Anuaks of the Baro (or Ufeno, as they call it) inhabit that portion of the river bank extending east of 34° 10' to the mouth of the Baro river gorge at the foot of the Abyssinian hills, and the whole of their territory, with the exception of a small enclave round Itang,* which is leased to the Sudan Government, belongs to Abyssinia.

This tract of country is probably the most fertile anywhere along the river after it enters the plains. It is well wooded, and to a great extent free of those large expanses of swamp found lower down the river in Nuer territory. The numerous huts and hamlets, with which the river banks are dotted, are generally built close to the edge of the bank overlooking the river, usually on mounds slightly raised above the normal level of the bank. These huts are neatly built of mud and wattle with grass roofs, and are scrupulously clean and well kept. They are, as a rule, surrounded by a fence of tall reeds and grass, giving absolute privacy to the occupants. Within the enclosure so formed, in addition to several huts for the family, are the granaries, and also other enclosures for the herding of goats and sheep at night time. The interior is most carefully plastered over with mud and free of dust and dirt. The natives of this region are more advanced in ideas of civilisation than any others living along the Sobat and Baro in the plains. This is possibly due to their being in closer touch with the Gallas, with whom they trade considerably, than any of the more western tribes are.

They are a most peaceful, friendly and industrious race, and are great agriculturists. Miles and miles along the river banks are diligently cultivated by them twice a year, and splendid crops spring up from the generous soil.

Physically the Anuaks are not such a tall race as the Nuers, but their muscular development is perhaps finer. This is probably due to their more nourishing grain food all the year round, but tliey also supplement their grain largely with fish during the dry seasons of the year. Although they rarely seem to kill their goats and sheep for food, like the Nuers, they are extremely fond of meat, and will constantly beg a white man to come and shoot a hippopotamus for them, so that they may indulge in a real gorge.

As a rule the men are more decently clad than the Nuers, as many of them wear beautifully cured skins, as soft as chamois leather, round the loins. They are far cleaner, better groomed, and smarter looking in every way than the Nuers. A large number of the Anuaks, especially in the neighbourhood of Pokum and Finkio, wear splendid ivory bracelets on the arms. Some of these are as much as 4 to 5 inches in depth, and it is by no means uncommon to see a man with one such bracelet on the upper arm, and two somewhat smaller ones on the fore-arm.

One very curious weapon, to be seen nowhere else, is found among the Anuaks. This consists of a spear, the head of which is manufactured from a legbone of a giraffe, polished down to about 1 inch or J inch in diameter, and sharpened to a fine point. These curios are obtainable for about five -piastre pieces.

♦ Now moved to Finkio.