cotch the Lord
Douglases. Motape was the chief of the Bambiri, a tribe of the Banyai,
and is now represented in the person of Katolosa. He was probably a man
of greater energy than his successor, yet only an insignificant chief.
Monomoizes was formed from Moiza or Muiza, the singular of the word
Babisa or Aiza, the proper name of a large tribe to the north. In the
transformation of this name the same error has been committed as in the
others; and mistakes have occurred in many other names by inattention to
the meaning, and predilection for the letter R. The River Loangwa, for
instance, has been termed Arroangoa, and the Luenya the Ruanha. The
Bazizulu, or Mashona, are spoken of as the Morururus.

The government of the Banyai is rather peculiar, being a sort of feudal
republicanism. The chief is elected, and they choose the son of the
deceased chief's sister in preference to his own offspring. When
dissatisfied with one candidate, they even go to a distant tribe for a
successor, who is usually of the family of the late chief, a brother, or
a sister's son, but never his own son or daughter. When first spoken to
on the subject, he answers as if he thought himself unequal to the
task and unworthy of the honor; but, having accepted it, all the wives,
goods, and children of his predecessor belong to him, and he takes care
to keep them in a dependent position. When any one of them becomes
tired of this state of vassalage and sets up his own village, it is not
unusual for the elected chief to send a number of the young men, who
congregate about himself, to visit him. If he does not receive them with
the usual amount of clapping of hands and humility, they, in obedience
to orders, at once burn his village. The children of the chief have
fewer privileges than common free men. They may not be sold, but, rather
than choose any one of them for a chief at any future time, the free men
would prefer to elect one of themselves, who bore only a very distant
relationship to the family. These free men are a distinct class who
can never be sold; and under them there is a class of slaves whose
appearance as well as position is very degraded. Monina had a great
number of young men about him from twelve to fifteen years of age.
These were all sons of free men, and bands of young men like them in the
different districts leave their parents about the age of puberty, and
live with such men as Monina for the sake of instruction. When I asked
the n