Latuka

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Latuka, a tribe of negroid stock inhabiting the mountainous country east of Gondokoro on the upper Nile. They have received a tinge of Hamitic blood from the Galla people, and have high foreheads, large eyes, straight noses and thick but not pouting lips. They are believed by Sir H. H. Johnston to be the original and purest type of the great Masai people, and are assimilated to the Nilotic races in customs. Like their neighbours the Bari and Shilluk tribes, they despise clothing, though the important chiefs have adopted Arab attire. Their country is fertile, and they cultivate tobacco, durra, and other crops. Their villages are numerous, and some are of considerable size. Tarangole, for instance, on the Khor Kohs, has upwards of three thousand huts, and sheds for many thousands of cattle. The Latuka are industrious and especially noted for skill as smiths.

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.