In trying to settle whether tribes are of the same race the Ethnologist turns his attention to such points as (1) their language, (2) their customs and beliefs, and (3) their physical characteristics. Though in this chapter we refer only to the second of these particulars, we may remark that on the evidence of language alone we can decide that the Wayao, Walolo, Anyasa, Achikunda, Machinga, Mangoni, Makua, and others in their neighbourhood, are sprung from common ancestors, and that all these tribes are of the same race as the majority of the tribes found south of the Equator, which have been grouped together as the Bantu.[12] The other important inhabitants of South Africa besides the Bantu are the Hottentots and Bushmen, who again have been often classed together. The Hottentots and Bushmen seem to have been first in the Continent. Then the Bantu came into the middle of them, and split them into two sections. One section (Hottentots and Bushmen) is found in the South, the other section (represented by tribes like the Akka) is found in the North. As to the time when the Bantu established themselves in South Africa there is little to guide us. It is said that the Kafirs were forcing their way down by the West Coast at the time when the Portuguese were settling on the East Coast. It seems clear that Santos on one side of Africa and Merolla on the other both mingled with this great people. African Ethnology is a vast subject, and in treating it some have been led to maintain that there was once a continent to the east of Africa, which has become submerged. The traditions common among these African tribes to the effect that the Bantu came from the North tempt us to look northward along the map of Africa with the view of discovering whence they came. On examining the tribes of Northern Africa, we find that one obstacle has been put before the Ethnologist by Mahommedanism, which, pressing into the country by the seventh century, changed the ancient tribal customs. On the other hand, the customs of certain ancient races like the Egyptians have been preserved by history. Putting aside language for the present, we shall note the customs of various African races. This besides pointing to certain ethnological conclusions, will throw light on the customs that have been laid before the reader, and may increase the interest in those tribes. Taking our stand in the Nyassa region, we shall, after glancing at customs of Eastern Africa supplied by earlier missionaries, look towards the South, the West, and the North in succession; and then conclude the chapter with notes on ancient races that might have had contact with the African Bantu. EAST CENTRAL AFRICA.