During a recent survey of the non-Mande languages of Guiné (Portuguese Guinea), the writer took notes on the systems of numeration, and observed some of the ways of counting and indicating totals on the fingers and hands. It was found that a comparison of the numeral stems gives a fair index of the degree of lexical affinity between any of the languages.

This paper has two purposes: (1) to present a text in Chikaguru, a Bantu language spoken by the Kaguru of East Africa: this language has not been properly described by linguists and no extensive text in it has yet appeared; (2) to present a tale (the text) which serves as an interesting illustration of certain problems in Kaguru society.

In the first part of this paper, I present this tale in a free English translation with a few notes in explanation of certain details in the story.

In the second part I discuss the significance of this tale as a means by which one may gain insight into certain important problems in one African matrilineal society.

Two appendixes at the end of this paper present the original Kaguru text and an attempt at a literal translation, together with a list and a very brief discussion of the published material dealing with the Kaguru language.

La langue véhiculaire dite sango commercial, ou tout simplement sango, est parlée principalement sur le territoire de la République Centrafricaine, ne débordant que légèrement sur la rive gauche du fleuve Oubangui et sur la République du Congo dans la région comprise entre la Sangha et l'Oubangui. Elle est dérivée du parler des Sango de Mobaye, sur le Haut Oubangui, qui appartient d'après Tucker à un agrégat de dialectes qu'il désigne par le nom du principal, ngbandi.

1. With reference to Mr. Harris's first claim, the differences between the Thonga and Chopi cultures were greater than is commonly believed. These were based not merely on the distinct Karanga origin of the Chopi but also on their ecological environment, since they inhabited a country of forests and lagoons. When the migratory stream began, the Chopi was the only tribe devoted intensively and almost exclusively to agriculture. This environmental and cultural diversity was an undoubted factor in the different reactions on the part of the Thonga and Chopi to migration.

The Ashanti Nation was a federation of Akan tribes united in 1697 under the Golden Stool. This federation, while functioning effectively in war, was loose with regard to internal administration. The chiefs of the constituent tribes had very wide autonomy, and a tendency to assert their independence from the Asantehene at Kumasi.

The British occupied neighbouring territory on the Gold Coast and were primarily interested in trade. For trade to prosper it was necessary to have order in the area. There were two policies which would have made this possible: the British could have supported the power of the Asantehene, who would then have been sufficiently strong to keep his constituent tribes in order, or it could have taken the entire region under its protection and enforced peace among the tribes.