UNYAMWEZI  , a region of

German East Africa, lying S. of Victoria Nyanza and E. of Lake Tanganyika . It is mentioned as early as the 16th century by the Portuguese and by Antonio Pigafetta, under the name Munemugi or " Land of the Moon," which is the exact equivalent of the name—Wu-nya-mwezi—by which the land is known to its own people . It is part of the plateau between the two great rift-valleys of East Africa, is rich in woods and grass, and has many villages surrounded by well cultivated farms and gardens . The western portions, however, are somewhat swampy and unhealthy . The people of Unyamwezi, called Wanyamwezi, are Bantu-negroes of medium size and negroid features, but with long noses and curly rather than woolly hair, suggestive of mixed blood . Dwelling on the main road from Bagamoyo to Tanganyika, the route by which J . H . Speke, Richard Burton, J . A . Grant, H . M . Stanley and others travelled, and having from early times had commercial relations with the Arabs, the Wanyamwezi are more civilized than the neighbouring races .

They practise

tattooing, file or extract the upper incisor teeth, and load their legs and arms with brass wire rings . The men look after the flocks and poultry, while the women do the field-work . They often keep bees; in some cases the hives are inside the huts, and the bees form an efficient protection against intruders . Inheritance is to the direct issue, not as is often the case among Negro races to the nephew . In some parts, one of twins is always killed . On Stanley's first visit in 1871, the Zanzibar Arabs were predominant in the country, but later the natives rose and, under Mirambo, who from a common porter rose to be a conquering chief—earning for himself the title of the " Black Bonaparte "—a Negro kingdom was formed . Since 1890 the country has been under German control and the power of the native chiefs greatly curtailed . As a people the Wanyamwezi are extremely vigorous and have shown great capacity for expansion, being energetic and enterprising . See H . Brode, Tippoo Tib: the Story of his Career in Central Africa (1907); Sir H . H . Johnston, The Uganda Protectorate (1902); Sir Charles Eliot, The East Africa Protectorate (1905) .