Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 4.djvu/230



Pondoland, or country of the Pondo people, comprises over half of the seaboard of Kafirland between the Umtata and the Umtafuna on the Natal frontier. Thanks to their remoteness from Cape Colony, this branch of the Kafir family has hitherto succeeded in keeping possession of its fertile riverain valleys. The Pondos, numbering altogether about two hundred thousand, are passing gradually

and without violent political or social disturbances from the position of absolute independence to that of a mild vassalage. They are divided into several tribal groups, such as the Ama-Kongwe, Ama-Kongwela, Ama-Kobala, Ama-Kwera, Ama-Nyati, Ama-Bala, Ama-Yali and others, each with its own chief and separate government, and connected together by no national or federal bond. All, however, recognise the suzerainty of Great Britain, which was lately for some time represented by the widow of a missionary, whom they commonly consulted on important affairs.