ing themselves, fought in the Somali country, subjugated
that land, were defeated to a certain extent by the Arabs
from the opposite continent, and tried their hands south as
far as the Jub river, where they also left many of their
numbers behind. Again they attacked Omwita (the
present Mombas), were repulsed, were lost sight of in the
interior of the continent, and, crossing the Nile close to its
source, discovered the rich pasture-lands of (Jnyoro, and
founded the great kingdom of Kittara, where they lost
their religion, forgot their language, extracted their lower
incisors like the natives, changed their national name to
Wahuma, and no longer remembered the names of Hubshi
or Galla—though even the present reigning kings retain
a singular traditional account of their having once been
half white and half black, with hair on the white side
straight, and on the black side frizzly. It. was a curious
indication of the prevailing idea still entertained by them
of their foreign extraction, that it was surmised in Unyoro
that the approach of us white men into their country from
both sides at once, augured an intention on our part to
take back the country from them. Believing, as they do,
that Africa formerly belonged to Europeans, from whom
it was taken by negroes with Avhom they had allied
themselves, the Wahuma make themselves a small residue
of the original European stock driven from the land—:an
idea which seems natural enough when we consider that
the Wahuma are, in numbers, quite insignificant compared
with the natives.
Again, the princes of Unyoro are called Wawitii, and
point to the north when asked where their country Uwitu
is situated, doubtfully saying, when questioned about its
distance, “ How can we tell circumstances which took
place in our forefathers’ times ? we only think it is somewhere
near your country.” Although, however, this very
interesting people, the Wahuma, delight in supposing
themselves to be of European origin, they are forced to
confess, on closer examination, that although they came
in the first instance from the doubtful north, they came
latterly from the east, as part of a powerful Wahiima
tribe, beyond Kidi, who excel in arms, and are so fierce
110 Kidi people, terrible in war as these too are described
to be, can stand against them. This points, if our maps
are true, to the Gallas—for all pastorals in these people’s
minds are Wahiima; and if we could only reconcile ourselves
to the belief that the Wawitu derived their name
from Omwita, the last place they attacked on the east
coast of Africa, then all would be clear: for it must be
noticed the Wakama, or kings, when asked to what race
they owe their origin, invariably reply, in the first place,
from princes—giving, for instance, the titles Wawitii in
Unyoro, and Waliinda in Karagiie—which is most likely
caused by their never having been asked such a close
question before, whilst the idiom of the language generally
induces them to call themselves after the name applied to
their country.
So much for ethnological conjecture. Let us now deal
with the Wahuma since they crossed the Nile and founded
the kingdom of Kittara, a large tract of land bounded by
the Victoria N’yanza and Kitangiile Kagera or River on
the south, the Nile on the east, the Little Liita-Nzige
Lake* on the north, and the kingdoms of Utiimbi and
Nkole on the west.
The general name Kittara is gradually becoming extinct,
and is seldom applied to any but the western portions;
whilst the north-eastern, in which the capital is situated,
is called Unyoro, and the other, Uddu apart from Uganda,
as we shall presently see.
Nobody has been able to inform us how many generations
old the Wahuma government of Unyoro is. The
last three kings are Ckiawambi, N’yawongo, and the
present king Kamrasi. In very early times dissensions
* i. e.. Dead Locust Late,—Liita, dead—Nzige, locust.