The Uganda protectorate; an attempt to give some description of the physical geography, botany, zoology, anthropology, languages and history of the territories under British protection in East Central Africa, between the Congo Free State and the Rift Valley and between the first degree of south latitude and the fifth degree of north latitude

About this book

A broad survey of the British-protected territories around Uganda, Harry Hamilton Johnston’s account sets out to describe the region’s geography, natural history, peoples, languages, and past for readers seeking a systematic overview. Among its ethnographic material, a Muganda tale follows Mpobe as he stretches a cow’s meat over a year to delay the Big Man’s threat, then hides in forests, caves, rivers, and pits. Elsewhere, Johnston groups communities linked to the Nandi by their speech across several mountain districts, while noting differences in their way of life and physical type. Tables comparing bodily measurements show how often the account moves from observation into the racial anthropology of its era.