At present the most powerful state in the Upper Congo region is that of Msiri (Musiri), a chief of Nyamezi race, whose family lately reduced all the tribes along

Fig. 223. — Lake Bangwelo and the Lower Lua Laba according to Livingstone.

the Upper Lua-Laba. This territory stretches northwards to Lake Kassali (Kikonja), under the eighth parallel of south latitude, and southwards to the country of the I-Ramba or Wa-Ramba, who occupy the Muxinga (Mushinga) highlands between the Congo and Zambese basins. This region, some 4,200 feet above sea-level, and dominated by wooded mountains running north-east and south-west, is a picturesque