Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/563





I. BANTU GROUP.



II. NEGRO GROUP.

Numerically the Negro is by far the most important element in Egyptian Sudán. It is in almost undisturbed possession, not only of the main stream from the great lakes to and beyond the Sobat junction, but also of the Sobat Valley itself, and of the countless headwaters of the White Nile converging from the west and south-west at Lake No, above the Sobat junction. Within this area is probably concentrated one-half of the population of the whole Nile basin, from the equatorial lakes to the Mediterranean, a population which has been roughly estimated at about forty millions. Here are several large and powerful Negro nations, some still enjoying political autonomy, such as the Zandeh (Nyam-Nyam), the Mittu, and the Monbuttu, who occupy the low water-parting between the Nile, Congo, and Tsad basins, some brought within the limits of the Khedive's possessions, such as the Bari and Nuer