SENNA is a country on the eastern coast of Africa, and a portion of that region which on our maps is called Mouomotapa, and has acquired some fame on account of the rich mines of gold which it contains. It is situated between 16' and 20° S. lat., 30° and 37° E. long., and is stated to cover a surface of 43,200 square miles. It forms the capitancy of the Rios de Senna, the only territory that the Portuguese really possess on the east coast of Africa ; their other possessions, as Mozambique, Pomba, &c., consisting only of. i fortified towns, to which no territory, or only a very small territory, is annexed. This capitancy is bounded E. by the sea, S. by the moun tains of Sofala, and it extends to the kingdoms of Quiteve and Berne, which inclose it on the west. To the north of it is the independent kingdom of 3Ioraves, from which it is chiefly separated by the course of the river Zambesi.
The shores of Senna are low, and continue eo for some distance inland, but the country gradually rises as we proceed westward. At tho distance of 150 to 180 miles from the sea there are some low mountain ranges, separated into two portions by the plain through which the river Zambesi runs. A great part of the country west of these ranges appears also to be a plain, the surface of which is hilly. Towards the western boundary, near 30° E. long., the country is covered with mountains.
Senna is well watered ; numerous small rivers descend from the adjacent mountains, all of which join the Zambesi. This river, whose course probably exceeds 800 miles, originates in the countries west of Senna, of which we have no account. Its upper course within Senna is from south-south-west to north-north-east, but it gradually turns more to the east. It is in many places upwards of three miles in breadth. From the town of Tet6 downwards it is navigated, though the navigation is very tedious in the wet season, owing to the rapidity of the current, and in the dry season on account of the numerous shoals and the deficiency of water. Above Tet6 the Zambesi enters the flat country, but it runs between high rocky banks until it enters the low country at the distance of about 50 miles from the sea in a straight line. In the low country it divides into two branches at
Marooro, of which the northern is called the river Quilimane, and the southern Luabo, and both branches are navigable. A large branch separates from the Luabo not far from the place of division, and bisects the delta of the Zambesi, falling into the sea at nearly an equal distance from the mouths of the Quilimane and Luabo. It is called the Melambey, from a place, near its mouth. The embouchurea of the Luabo and Quilimane are about 60 miles from one another. Where these rivers flow through the level tract, they form numerous islands, occasioning a very rapid current in many of the narrow inter vening channels.
The delta of the 7Ambeai and the low country near the sea consist of a flat, which is marshy, and covered with mangroves to low-water mark. Higher np the ground is cleared to a considerable extent, and the country abounds in villages; but towards the place where the river divides into arms, nearly the surface of the country is covered with rushes and bamboos, interspersed with extensive swamps. A few Isolated trees, a species of palm, are ecattered over this unwholesome waste. The more elevated part of the country, about the town of Senna and higher up the river, is an extensive plain, which descends towards the banks of the river with a gentle slope.
The rainy season commences in the beginning of November, and continues to the end of March. When the rain fully sets in, the river soon rises above its banks, and inundates the contiguous country to the distance of several miles inland. During this period the heat is very oppreasive, but not unwholesome in the higher parts of the country, except In the vicinity of lakes.
The cultivated grains are rice, maize, millet, and wheat. The angar-cane seems to succeed well. Coffee is grown in the more elevated country. Indigo grows wild. The cotton-shrub is cultivated by the nogroes, but only for home consumption. Vegetables are grown in considerable quantities. A kind of grass is cultivated as food : before it is quite ripe, it is plucked, dried, and husked iu a large wooden mortar, and then ground between two rough stones.