‘The forehead of the Mang’anja was high, narrow, but not retreating; and now and then, among the chiefs and men in authority, you found a breadth of brain not inferior to that of the best European heads. The nose, though decidedly African, was not always unpleasantly flat or expansive; occasionally you saw this feature as well formed as among the possessors of the most approved nasal organs. The cheek-bones were not high; indeed, they rarely interfered with the smooth contour of the face. The jaws were small and not very prominent; the chin, however, was insignificant and retreating. But the mouth was their worst feature.’
This requires some deductions, and Mr. Rowley goes on to qualify it in the case of the River people, who, however, ‘had less amiability of expression—indeed, many of them looked fiercely vile.’ Perhaps time had mellowed them in this respect, for I cannot say I observed any lack of amiability when I came on the scene some thirty years later; and I must own that I cannot form a very clear idea of a man’s expression when he looks ‘fiercely vile.’ A cast of countenance with which I am more familiar is that of the ‘Angoni’ (= Anyanja).
The original home of the Yaos seems to be in the Unango Mountains, between Lake Nyasa and the Mozambique coast. They were driven thence by the encroachments of other tribes from the north, and forced into the Shiré Highlands, where they partially displaced the population, but in course of time settled down side by side with them. In 1893-4 the villages surrounding the mission station at Blantyre were reckoned, some as Yao and some as Nyanja; but a good deal of intermarriage had taken place, and many of the present generation are Yao by the mother’s side, and Nyanja by the father’s, or vice versâ. When this is the case, they usually speak both languages. Even in the villages west of the Shiré, where the people are supposed to be pure Nyanja, there were families whose mothers were Yaos, brought back in the Angoni raids of 1880-1890.
Perhaps the appearance of the Yaos cannot be better described than by the authority already quoted for the Anyanja. ‘Compare an ordinary Mang’anja with an ordinary Ajawa man, and the latter was at once seen to be physically the superior: his face was broader; his frontal development more masculine; the organs of causality fuller; the perceptive faculties larger; the jaws not more prominent, but more massive; the chin large and well to the front; the mouth, though of full lip, shapely and expressive of strength of will; while the eyes ... had a steadfastness and an intensity of expression.... Compared with the Mang’anja, the Ajawa head was large and round.... The Ajawa varied greatly in height. You saw men not more than five feet two or three, and you saw others five feet eight or ten.’
I should have said—but it is dangerous to make such statements without actual measurements—that a good proportion of them were six feet and over.
The Yaos of some of the Ndirande villages used to have a great reputation for strength and stature, and were much in request as machila-carriers. A gang of them took me from Blantyre to Matope—forty miles, though, it is true, most of the way is downhill—between 8 A.M. and sunset—say 6 P.M.; and I do not think I ever saw a finer set of men. They are usually, as Mr. Rowley describes them, of square and sturdy build, even in youth; but sometimes you see lithe and slender boys, graceful, and at the same time full of fire and vivacity, like a spirited horse. The Yao women, as a rule, are bigger and stouter than those of the Anyanja, and are said to be not so good-looking. Personally, when I try to recall individuals among both, I should find it hard to say that they were typically different—one finds Yao girls with slender figures, and small, neat features, as well as faces on a larger scale, which are by no means unattractive. The younger woman in the illustration is, apart from the pelele, by no means a favourable specimen.
Two Yao Women
