 Before the coming of the Europeans from 1860 onwards, the Lozi people of Barotseland were building "Nalikwanda" royal barges made from teak planks fixed with iron nails (extensive Rhodesian Teak forests grew in the east of Barotseland).As seen in the Kuomboka ceremony these reached huge sizes, requiring a hundred paddlers or more.Although there has been speculation that the Lozi learnt this method of boat building from Arab or Portuguese traders, the Lozi did not allow such traders to enter their territory, and the traders certainly did not haul boats overland to central Africa with them.