Chapter XVIII: Part I: The Primary Varieties of the Human Species (15)

The question which it involves is by no means answered by saying that the advent of the Brahminical Hindus of Gurwhal, Sirmor, and Kumaon, as conquerors and colonists, is a matter of history. Even, then, the nature of the primitive race remains uncertain, _i. e._ it is an open question whether they were southern branches of the Seriform stock, or northern Pulindas; to say nothing about the likelihood of their being intermediate to the two, or different for different parts of the frontier.

That they were Seriform is the likelier doctrine of the two. Still when we see, on the eastern side of the peninsula, how nearly the northern Pulindas of Rajmahal approach the southern Seriform Garos, the difficulties of the question become apparent.

The division of the Purbuttis into three groups is natural. The Khasiyas, in Kumaon and Gurwhal, are Indo-Gangetic Indians with the _minimum_ of intermixture, it being stated that in those two countries the aboriginal impure race is extinct. On the east the extreme tribes are likely to pass into the Bodo and Dhimál, on the west into the Cashmirian type.

Again, the political relations of the eastern Purbutti are with Nepaul. Those of the west with Cashmir and the Punjâb.

As to the real phænomena of intermixture, they can only be ascertained by a great increase of our information for the parts in question; since they are preeminently irregular in their distribution, _e. g._ in Konawer, where the language is Seriform, and the physiognomy Tibetan, the religion is an imperfect Brahminism; whilst in Jobool (and probably elsewhere) we find by the side of a Hindu language and physiognomy the custom of Polyandria, common to both the Seriform Tibetans and the Tamul Malabars.

THE CASHMIRIAN(?).

_Locality._--The Valley of Cashmir.

_Language._--Indo-Gangetic.

_Religion._--Mahometanism.

_Physical appearance._--Referable to the second type, with
clearness of complexion and regularity of features at its
maximum.

The note of interrogation denotes that the _non_-Indo-Gangetic element of the Cashmirians is uncertain. It may be Tamul; it may be Seriform; it may, on the other hand, belong to the class represented by the Siaposh, and other Quasi-Iranian, or Iranian, populations.

THE CINGALESE.

_Locality._--Ceylon.

_Language._--So full of Sanskrit vocables as to be classed with
the Indo-Gangetic rather than with the Tamul tongues.

_Religion._--Buddhism rather than Brahminism. Paganism.

_Quasi-Pulinda population._--The Vaddahs.

THE MALDIVIAN(?).

_Localities._--The Maldive and Laccadive islands.

The note of interrogation indicates that the Maldivians are, perhaps, a sub-division of the Cingalese rather than a separate substantive section of the Indian Mongolidæ.

FOOTNOTES:

[168] For the meaning of this term, see the notice of _India_ under the head of the _Iapetidæ._

[169] See p. 20.

ATLANTIDÆ.

DIVISIONS.

A.--THE NEGRO ATLANTIDÆ.
B.--THE KAFFRE ATLANTIDÆ.
C.--THE HOTTENTOT ATLANTIDÆ.
D.--THE NILOTIC ATLANTIDÆ.
E.--AMAZIRG--ATLANTIDÆ.
F.--THE ÆGYPTIAN ATLANTIDÆ.
G.--THE SEMITIC ATLANTIDÆ.

In respect to the general phænomena of ethnological distribution, we are now fully prepared for all that will be presented in Africa. Large areas covered by single nations, and small ones parcelled out amongst many, are what we have already seen both in Asia and America. The influences of a climate, at once tropical and continental, we shall find at their _maximum_; those of extended river-systems, and of mountain-ranges of the first magnitude, being less important. So also is the influence of the ocean; the insular system of Africa being the smallest in the world, and the African sea-board being the one least indented.

From the greater heat of climate, the steppes of High Asia become sandy deserts in Africa: whilst the central portion of the continent where the highest table-land is to be expected, has yet to be explored.

Still the effect of a high level above the sea as manifested (for instance) in Abyssinia, is to be taken into our consideration of the physical conditions of Africa, _i.e._ as a condition that, to a certain degree, in certain cases, counteracts the effects of excessive heat. On the other hand, alluvial tracts, like the valleys of the Nile and Niger are to be placed in the opposite scale, as assistant to the influences of a tropical and equatorial sun.

The region, however, of the Atlantidæ is not Africa alone; it is Africa and something else--Africa _plus_ the African side of Asia, _i.e._ Syria and Arabia; and here, in attending to the African character of the latter of these two areas, we must not lose sight of their physical relations to the sterile table-land of Persia, and the true steppe-country of Turkestan and Mongolia; for such is the line of continuity, in the way of steppes or desert, from Sahara to Siberia.

Strictly adhering to the order of the supposed affinities, it would be proper to take the Atlantidæ of Asia first; in which case we should begin with the Arab and Jew, and proceed with the Ægyptian, the Berber, and Abyssinian, when the arrangement would be strictly natural.

Nevertheless, a different and more artificial arrangement will be adopted here, and the portion of the Atlantidæ, which will be dealt with first, will not be those who are most closely allied to the Mongolidæ or the Iapetidæ, but those who least resemble either; in other words, those who exhibit the Atlantidean type in its most remarkable form. Hence, it is its typical character rather than its affiliation and descent, which places the _Negro_ division at the head of the Atlantidæ.

A.

NEGRO ATLANTIDÆ.

_Physical conformation._--Skin black, unctuous, and soft. Hair
woolly, lips thick, maxillary profile prognathic, frontal
retiring, nasal depressed.

_Distribution._--Low-lands, sea-coasts, and the delta and
courses of rivers, chiefly of the rivers Senegal, Gambia,
Niger, and Upper Nile. Nearly limited to the Tropic of Cancer.

_Area._--Western Africa from the Senegal to the Gaboon, Sudan.
The alluvial portions of the system of the Upper Nile.

_Divisions._--1. Western Negroes. 2. Central Negroes. 3.
Eastern Negroes.

No fact is more necessary to be remembered than the difference between the Negro and African; a fact which is well verified by reference to the map. Here the true Negro area, the area occupied by men of the black skin, thick lip, depressed nose, and woolly hair, is exceedingly small; as small in proportion to the rest of the continent as the area of the district of the stunted Hyperboreans is in Asia, or that of the Laps in Europe. Without going so far as to maintain that a dark complexion is the exception rather than the rule in Africa, it may safely be said that the hue of the Arab, the Indian, and the Australian is the prevalent colour. To realize this we may ask, what are the true Negro districts of Africa? and what those other than Negro? To the latter belong the valleys of the Senegal, the Gambia, the Niger, and the intermediate rivers of the coast, parts of Sudania, and parts about Sennaar, Kordofan, and Darfúr; to the former, the whole coast of the Mediterranean, the Desert, the whole of the Kaffre and Hottentot areas south of the line, Abyssinia, and the middle and lower Nile. This leaves but little for the typical Negroes. Such, however, as it is, it will be dealt with--taking the Senegal as a starting-point.

Again, sub-typical deviations from the true Negro type will be found within the group in question; since the Sudanian Blacks have the characters of their class in a less degree than the more extreme Negroes of the Niger and the Gambia.

Lastly; the class in question is not strictly ethnological, and that for the following reasons:--It is based upon elements other than those of affiliation and descent. Thus in respect to descent, the Negro of Sennaar has his closest relations in the way of language, manners, and blood, with the Africans of Kordofan, Abyssinia, and the parts about his own country. Not so, however, his physical conformation. These are with the Africans of Senegambia and Guinea; a fact brought about by the common conditions of heat, moisture, and a low sea-level; conditions, however, which render the group artificial and provisional rather than natural and permanent. The same would be the case if we threw all the mountaineers of Europe in one and the same class, irrespective of their real ethnological differences, simply on the ground of their all exhibiting certain common phænomena of colour, stature, and habits.

I repeat the statement, therefore, that the class of the Negro Atlantidæ is only partially an ethnological one.

The chief area of the Negro is Western Africa, and the point at which the notice of the Negro group most conveniently begins is the mouth of the Senegal, the most northern locality of the _Western Negro Atlantidæ_.

WESTERN NEGRO ATLANTIDÆ.

_Area._--The Lower Senegal and Gambia, the coast as far as the
Kong Mountains, the Lower Niger, and the coast south of that
river.

_Chief divisions._--1. The Woloffs. 2. The Sereres. 3.
The Serawolli. 4. The Mandingo. 5. The Sapi-Felúp. 6. The
Ibo-Ashantí.

Of these the most northern are--

THE WOLOFF (IOLOF, JOLOFF, OUOLOFF).

_Locality._--The Lower Senegal, _i.e._ Cayor on its north, and
the coast as far as Cape Verde on its south bank. Conterminous
with the Fulahs, Sereres, Serawolli, Mandingos, Berbers, and
Moors of the Western Sahara.

_Religion._--Feticism.

_Physical conformation._--Tall, well-made Negroes, with the
nasal profile less depressed, and the lips less prominent than
is the case with the more typical tribes.

THE SERERES.

_Locality._--Cape Verde, conterminous with and surrounded by
the Woloffs.

The Sereres are considered (and that upon fair grounds) to have been the original inhabitants of a great part of the Woloff country. Consequently, they are tribes of a receding area.

The affinities of the language are problematical; being with the Woloff and the Fulah almost equally. It has also many words common to it and--

THE SERAWOLLI (SERACOLET).

_Locality._--Senegambia in the kingdoms of Galam, Kaarta, in
parts of the Bambarra country, and in parts of Ludamar, north
of the Senegal.

The affinities of the Serawolli language are, perhaps, most with the Sereres, and, after that, with the Mandingo.

THE MANDINGO.

_Area._--North and south (south-east).--From the parts about
Cape Verde to Liberia; with an extension, inland, beyond Sego
and the Kong Mountains.

_Conterminous_ with the Woloff, Fulah, Sungai, Howssa, Grebo,
and Fantí areas.

_Divisions._--1. Mandingo Proper. 2. Mandingos of Bambouk. 3.
Bambarrans. 4. Yallonkas. 5. Susu. 6. Bullom. 7. Timmani. 8.
Kossa.(?) 9. Pessa. 10. Vei. 11. Mendi. 12. Kissi. 13. Sokko.
14. Sulimana. 15. Sangara. 16. Kooranko.

_Vocabularies._--For the first thirteen of the preceding
divisions.

_Physical conformation._--Hair, woolly; nose, depressed; lips,
thick; stature, high; skin, black, with a tinge of yellow;
sclerotica, tinged with yellow.

_Religion._--Mahometanism and Paganism.

_Alphabets._--1. The Arabic of the Mandingos Proper. 2. The Vei
(syllabic).

This last deserves special notice. About the middle of January, 1849, Lieutenant Forbes, Commander of H.M.S. Bonetta, inquired of the missionaries of Sierra Leone, whether they had heard of a _written language_ amongst the natives of those parts, since he himself possessed a book in the language of the natives near Cape Mount. The Rev. S. W. Koelle, a missionary of Sierra Leone, undertook a personal investigation of the matter. He found that it was not only composed within the memory of man, but that the composer was alive; a man of the Vei country, named Doala Bukara. Doala Bukara, although an imperfect Mahometan, had seen Arabic books, and, though no Christian, an English Bible. The fact of these being _written_, haunted him in a dream, wherein he was shown a series of letters adapted to his native tongue--the Vei.

Nevertheless, the real alphabet was a joint production--_i.e._ of Doala and others; since, in the morning, he could not remember the signs shown him by night. Therefore, he and his friends put their heads together, and coined new ones. The king of the country made its introduction a matter of state, and built a large house in Dshondu, as a day-school. But a war with the Guru people disturbed both the learners and teachers, so that the latter removed to Bandakoro, where all grown-up people, of both sexes, can now read and write.

The Vei alphabet is a syllabarium; of which the preceding was a specimen.[170]

South of the Gambia, the Mandingo area, although extended so far in the interior, does not quite reach the coast, so that the lower portions of the rivers Caçamanca, Cacheo, Nunez, &c., are occupied by tribes not as yet distinctly recognised to be Mandingo. Neither are they as yet considered as allied either to the Woloff, or to each other. Speaking languages, mutually unintelligible, they are typical Negroes of the rudest and savagest kind; all being pagans. At Sierra Leone, the Mandingo reappears on the coast, _i.e._ amongst the Bullom and Timmani tribes.

SAPI-FELÚPS.

Of these the most northern are--

THE FELÚP.

_Locality._--The forests and low-lands at the mouth of the
Caçamanca.

_Language._--With miscellaneous, but without special affinities.

THE PAPEL.

_Locality._--River Cacheo, south of the Felúps.

_Language._--Said to be peculiar; the only vocabulary of it,
however, has been lost.

THE BISSAGO ISLANDERS.

_Locality._--The Bissago Isles. Probably the same stock as the
Papels.

THE BALANTES.

_Locality._--Isle of Bassi and the opposite coast South of the
Papels.

_Language._--Said to be peculiar, but not known from any
vocabulary.

THE IOLAS.

THE BASARES.

_Locality._--Between the Balantes and--

THE BAGNON.

_Locality._--The river Cacheo.

THE NALOO.

_Locality._--The Nunez.

THE SAPI.

_Locality._--Sea-coast in the neighbourhood of the Nunez.

BAGOES.

_Locality._--South of the Nalus, on the coast. Conterminous
with the Susu Bullom, and Timani Mandingos to which they
perhaps belong.

A convenient transition is now made to the area of--

THE IBO-ASHANTÍ.

Here come, first in order--

THE FANTÍ.

_Area._--The Gold-Coast, and the Ashantí country. From the
river Asinese, west, to the river Volta, east. Inland extension
uncertain. Continuous, but not uninterrupted.

_Conterminous_ with the Mandingo Súsús, and the Whidahs of
Dahomey.

Within the Fantí area are spoken several unclassed tongues, _i.e._

THE AKVAMBU(?)

THE ADAMPI(?)

and, more important than any, that of--

THE GHÁ.

_Synonym._--Acra or Inkra.

_Locality._--Cape Coast.

The Ghá are Negroes in appearance; speaking a language unintelligible to the Fantí populations, but with undoubted general and miscellaneous affinities. They have the appearance of being derived from some country in the interior of Africa, a fact which Mr. Hanson--himself a native preacher, who has studied the ethnology of his country with great zeal--thinks can be verified by the comparison of an Acra vocabulary with one from the parts near Timbuctú.

More important still, is the unequivocal occurrence of _numerous well-marked Jewish characters_ in their religious and other ceremonies. A paper of Mr. Hanson's[171] on this subject, leaves no doubt of the _fact_. The interpretation, however, is more uncertain. The present writer believes that such phænomena, _i.e._ points of similarity with the Semitic nations, is the rule rather than the exception with the African tribes--Negro and _non_-Negro; a fact which makes the Jews, Arabs, and Syrians, African, rather than the Africans Semitic.

THE WHIDAH.

_Area._--Kingdom of Dahomey. From the river Volta to the river
Lagos.

_Physical conformation._--Typically Negro.

_Religion._--Feticism in its lowest form.

THE MAHA.

_Locality._--North of Dahomey, at the foot and on the sides of
the Kong Mountains.

THE BENIN TRIBES.

_Locality._--The sea-coast on the Bight of Benin. Conterminous
with the Whidah and Yarriba.

The peculiar distribution of the Mandingos must now be considered, along with the configuration of the Guinea coast, and, the imperfectly-known range of highlands, which, at irregular distances from the ocean, runs nearly parallel with it; this range of highlands being the assumed watersheds of the following rivers between Sierra Leone and the western frontier of the Fantí country--the rivers Jong, Gallinas, Cape Mount, St. Paul's, St. John's, Cestos, Lagos, Negros, Costa. All these are inconsiderable, indicating that the elevations in which they rise are near the coast. On the other hand, in Ashantí and Dahomey, the rivers are of considerable magnitude, and indicate that the mountain range in which they rise (the Kong mountains) is far inland.

Now the low coast is the area of the following sections of a typically Negro population.

THE GREBO.

_Synonym._--Cru, or Cruman.

_Locality._--The Grain Coast.

_Conterminous_ with the Vei, and other South-Mandingo dialects,
north; with the Avekvom, south.

_Religion._--Paganism.

_Physical conformation._--Typically Negro.

I am far from being sure that the Grebo is not a section of the Mandingo class.

THE AVEKVOM.

_Synonym._--Quaqua.

_Locality._--Ivory Coast.

_Conterminous_ with the Grebo tribes, west, the Fantí, east,
and probably, certain Mandingo tribes of the Sokko section,
inland.

_Dialects._--1. Frisco. 2. Bassam. 3. Asini. 4. Apollonia.[172]

_Religion and appearance._--Pagan Negroes.

We now pass over the Fantí, Whidah, and Benin areas (already considered) to the typical Negroes of the Delta of the Niger.

BONNY.

_Locality._--The river Bonny or New Calabar.

_Language._--Unintelligible to the natives of--

OLD CALABAR.

_Locality._--The Old Calabar river.

_Language._--Different from--

THE IBO.

_Area._--The Lower Niger, nearly as far as Funda.

_Conterminous_ with the Whidah(?), Benin(?), Bonny, Old
Calabar, Bimbia(?), Yarriba, and Tapua tribes.

ADIYAH.

_Locality._--Fernando Po.

_Language._--Not _identical_ with any tongue of the Continent;
though with miscellaneous affinities.

THE BIMBIA.

_Locality._--The Lower Cameroons.

In the Bimbia country the low coast is at its minimum breadth, the foot of the Cameroons Mountain nearly reaching the sea.

CENTRAL NEGRO ATLANTIDÆ.

By following the course of the Niger, we are again brought in contact with the Mandingo area, _i.e._ with the northern portion of it. Hence, the populations which will now be noticed encompass and surround the Mandingo nations, much as the Mandingo nations encompassed and surrounded the Grebo and Avekvom tribes.

THE YARRIBA.

_Locality._--The right and left(?) bank (banks) of the Niger to
the back of the Ibo and Benin countries.

_Area._--Borgho, Wawa, Boussa, Yaouri.

_Religion._--Paganism.

_Physical conformation.--Sub_-typical Negroes.

_Habits._--Tattooed.

THE TAPUA.

_Synonym._--Nyffe.

_Locality._--The country between the rivers Niger, Makumnee,
and Coodoonia.

_Conterminous_ with the Ibo (south), the Yarriba (south-west),
the Fellatah country (east and north-west), the Haussa(?)
country, north.

_Religion._--Paganism. Nearly that of Yarriba.

_Physical conformation._--_Sub_-typical Negroes; with better
shapes and clearer skins than even the Yarribians.

HAUSSA (HOWSSA).

_Area._--Irregular, being deeply indented by that of the
Fellatahs.

_Conterminous_ with the Tapua(?), Yarriba, Fellatahs, Bornúi,
the Berber Tuaricks.

_Philological divisions._--Haussa Proper, Guberi, Kashna,
Mallowa(?), Quollaliffa(?), Kallaghi(?).

_Religion._--Mohametanism and Paganism.

_Physical appearance._--_Sub_-typical Negroes.

THE FULAHS.

_Area._--In the present state of our knowledge, discontinuous.
Encroaching.

_Divisions._--1. Senegambian Fulahs. 2. Fellatahs.

_Localities._--1. Of the Senegambian Fulahs. _a._ The northern
bank of the Senegal, about Lake Kayor, conterminous with the
Moors of the Sahara and Woloff. _b._ Fouta-Torra, south of the
Senegal, in the same longitude, probably conterminous with
the first locality; conterminous with the Woloff, Sereres,
Mandingos, and Serawollis. _c._ Bondou, west of Fouta-Torro
(with which it is probably conterminous), on the Rio Nerico.
_d._ Foota-jallo and Tembu, on the head-waters of the Rio
Grande, between the Nalus and the Susu and Solimana Mandingos.
How close these come to sea is uncertain. The Susu, although
said to be Fulah, are certainly Mandingo. _e._ Brooko and
Fuladu, between the great eastern feeders of the Senegal north
of Jallonka Mandingos. _f._ Wassela(?), south-east of Fuladu.
_g._ Massina, on the Niger, between Jenne and Timbuktú.

2. Of the Fellatahs--Cubbi, Ader, Guber; parts of Borgu,
Boussa, Kano, Zegzeg, as far as 10° north latitude, and 10°
east latitude, _i.e._ parts, probably, occupied by encroachment
on the Haussa, Yarriba, and Nufi areas.

_Religion._--Mahometanism, Paganism.

_Physical appearance._--_Sub_-typical Negroes.

The civilization of the Mahometan Fulahs is on the same level with that of the most civilized (or Proper) Mandingos.

The departure from the Negro type is, in some instances, greater than has been the case with any of the sub-typical Negroes enumerated; so much so, that the Fulahs of the Gambia have been called the _red_ Fulahs.

Their extension over Howssa, the Yarribian and the Tapua countries, has taken place within the historical period, under a leader named Danfodio.

Nevertheless, the exact original locality of the stock has yet to be determined.

CUMBRI.

_Locality._--Forests, mountain fastnesses and swamps of Borgho,
Bowssa, Youri, and Wawa.

_Language._--Not known by a vocabulary, but said to differ from
that of the neighbouring tribes, Tapua and Yarriba.

_Physical conformation._--That of the Yarriba.

_Religion._--Pagan.

The Cumbri appear to be in the same relation to the Yarribeans and Fellatahs that the Pulindas are to the Indo-Gangetic Indians, _i.e._ the representatives of a dispossessed population.

SUNGAI.

_Locality._--From the parts east of Sego (Sansangding) on the
Niger to the parts about Timbuctú. Probably in Timbuctú itself.

KISSÚR.

_Locality._--Parts about Timbuctú. Probably Timbuctú itself.

As the Sungai vocabulary of Hodgson represents a different language from the Kissour of Caillié (both professing to represent the language of Timbuctú) I leave the investigation for future inquiry.

BORNÚ.

_Locality._--Bornú, on the Lake Tshad.

_Divisions._--1. Bornúi, semi-civilised and Mahometan. 2. Bedi,
rude and Pagan.

_Physical conformation._--More truly Negro, and less
_sub_-typically Negro than any of the populations of the
interior already enumerated.

BIDDUMA.

_Locality._--Islands of Lake Tshad. Known by name only.

BEGHARMI.

_Locality._--The River Shary, South of Lake Tshad.

_Political relations._--Subject to Bornúi.

_Language._--Known by a vocabulary, and different from both the
Bornúi and the--

MANDARA(?)

_Locality._--South and south-west of Begharmi.

_Language._--Known by a vocabulary, and different from both the
Begharmi and Bornúi.

_Extract from Denham and Clapperton._--"On penetrating a short
distance in this direction, with some people from Mandara, we
saw the inhabitants run up the mountains quite naked, with
ape-like agility. On another occasion, a company of savages
were sent from a Kerdy, or Pagan village, termed Musgow, as
a peace-offering, to deprecate the Sultan, who was on the
eve of making a kidnapping expedition into their country. On
entering his palace they threw themselves upon the ground,
pouring sand upon their heads, and uttering the most piteous
cries. On their heads, which were covered with long, woolly, or
rather bristly hair, coming quite over their eyes, they wore
a cap of the skin of a goat or some animal like a fox; round
their arms and in their ears were rings of what appeared to be
bone, and around the necks of each were from one to six strings
of the teeth of the enemies they had slain in battle; teeth
and pieces of bone were also pendent from the clotted locks
of their hair; their bodies were marked in different places
with red patches, and their teeth were stained of the same
colour. Their whole appearance is said to have been strikingly
wild and truly savage. Endeavours to set on foot intercourse
with them were in vain; they would hold no communication, but
having obtained leave, carried off the carcase of a horse to
the mountains, where the fires that blazed during the night,
and the savage yells which reached the valley, proved that they
were celebrating their brutal feast."

This, short as it is, is a notice which would apply to no Negro tribe yet mentioned; indeed, there are many reasons for believing that south of the Mandaras the type changes, and that the populations represented by them are the almost unknown tribes of Central and Equatorial Africa. At any rate, the Mandaras are the most southern tribes hitherto known of the longitude of Bornú.

And now the comment upon the words _typical_, and _sub-typical_ Negroes finds place. The two divisions coincide closely with the physical character of the area to which each applies; the departure from the true Negro features being greatest where the approach to a _high_-land or a _table_-land is the closest; the Bornúi being, at one and the same time, the most like the Negroes of the Coast, and the occupants of the most notable basin of Central Africa, _i. e._ the basin of Lake Tshad.

Due east of Lake Tshad we have, according to a variety of imperfect descriptions, a series of Negro districts; and here it must be admitted that the coincidence between the Negro conformation and the existence of fluviatile, lacustrine, or oceanic low-lands is not found to occur; the greater part of the tract being, according to all accounts, a table-land.

MOBBA.

_Locality._--East of Lake Tshad.

_Synonyms._--Called by the Arabs _Dar-Saleh_ and _Waday_;
Darfurians, _Bergú_.

_Religion._--Chiefly Mahometanism.

_Intermixture._--Arab.

FURIANS.[173]

_Locality._--Dar-Fúr.

_Religion._--Mahometanism.

_Intermixture._--Arab.

KOLDAGI.[173]

_Locality._--Kordofan.

EASTERN NEGRO ATLANTIDÆ.

South and east of the country of the Koldagi we come to the Negroes of the White Nile (Bahr el Abiad); where the fluviatile character of the soil and the physical appearance of the occupants coincide.

THE SHILLUK.[173]

THE DENKA.[173]

THE TUMALI.[173]

THE SHABÚN.[173]

_Locality._--South, or south-west, of the Koldagi.

THE FERTIT.[173]

_Locality._--South of the Shabún.

All these agree in being Pagan Negroes, south and south-west of Obeyd, the capital of Kordofan.

They also agree in being slave countries, the markets they supply being those of Ægypt.

Lastly, their languages have undoubted affinities with those of the Nubian class, a fact which verifies the statement at the beginning of the present section, _viz._ that the group of African Negroes was artificial rather than natural, since tested by physical form, the Denkas, &c., fall in the same class with the Ibos, &c., whereas their real affiliation is with the Nubians.

Through the researches of Dr. L. Tutshek, one of these languages is known grammatically, _i. e._ the Tumali; and it may be as well to remark that it has (amongst others) as a _Semitic_ character, the method of expressing grammatical relations by means of internal change rather than by the addition of prefixes, postfixes, or inter-fixes, and also that such changes (as in the Semitic tongues) fall upon the vowel rather than the consonantal elements of the word.

More undoubted Negroes of the Nile are--

THE QÁMAMYL.

_Locality._--Fazoglo, or Fazoel, south of Sennaar.

_Language._--Peculiar, but with miscellaneous affinities.

THE DALLAS.

_Locality._--The Tacazze; called by Salt, the Shangalla
(Shankali) of the Tacazze.

_Language._--Peculiar, but with miscellaneous affinities.

THE DOBA.

I presume that these are the Dar-Mitchegan Shangallas of Salt, and the Agaumider Shankalas of Beka. If so, they are occupants of the interior of Abyssinia, and conterminous with the Agows of that country; their language being peculiar, but with miscellaneous affinities.

And now follow two sections which I place amongst the Negroes provisionally; the first because its characteristics, although pretty well known, are aberrant; the second, because our information concerning them is preeminently imperfect.

They are separated from one another by a large area, one being north-west, the other south-east of Darfúr and Kordofan, and have little in common except the uncertainty of their position.

THE TIBBOO(?).

_Area._--The Eastern Sahara; bounded by the Tuaricks, Ægypt,
Kanem (of which the ethnology is uncertain), Mobba, and the
Furian and Nubian tribes.

_Divisions._--1. Rechádeh, or Tibboos of the rocks, to the
southward and south-east of Fezzan. The towns of Abo and
Tibesty belong to them.

2. The Febabos, situated about ten days' journey towards the
south, south-west of Augelah.

3. The tribe of Borgou, placed further southward, nearly on the
parallel of the southern part of Fezzan.

4. The tribe of Arno.

5. The tribe of Bilma, which is the greatest tribe of the
Tibboo nation, and occupies the country between Fezzan and
Bomon.

6. Nomadic Tibboos, on the borders of the empire of Bornú.

_Physical appearance._--Lips, thick; hair, curly rather than
woolly; complexion, varied, from jet-black to a copper colour;
nose, in some tribes, flat, in others aquiline; frame, slender.

_Language._--With no special, but with numerous miscellaneous
affinities. Improperly considered to be Berber.--_From
Prichard_, vol. ii.

THE GONGAS(?).

_Present locality._--The valleys of the Rivers Abai and Godjeb.

_Original locality._--Enarea, and a large tract south of
Abyssinia.

_Area._--Discontinuous; the division being effected by the
invasion of Galla tribes.

_Dialects._--1. Kaffa. 2. Woratta. 3. Wolaitso, 4. Yangaro.

_Vocabularies._--Those of Dr. Beke, published in the
Transactions of the Philological Society.

The Gonga tribes are in the same relation to the Abyssinians as the Mandara to the Bornúi, _i. e._ the occupants of the most southern part of the geographical area known; the parts immediately beyond either being _terræ incognitæ_.

If, however, the current notions respecting the geographical structure of Central Africa be correct, and if the views here exhibited respecting the coincidence between the Negro type in the way of physical conformation and the geographical conditions of a fluviatile low-land be well-founded, the tribes of the interior should depart materially from the tribes already described; a probability which has been indicated in the notices of the Mandara and Mobba Africans.

Nay more, inasmuch as the stock next in order of notice is a stock with a preeminently encroaching frontier, it is probable that the true affiliations of the southern Abyssinians may be lost through the encroachments of the Gallas and Kaffres, and the consequent extinction of the tribes representing them.

FOOTNOTES:

[170] For the meaning see Note at the end of the Volume.

[171] Read before the British Association for the Advancement of Science, at Swansea, in 1848.

[172] American Journal of Oriental Literature.

[173] See Rüppell's Reise, &c., that author being the first to give the true affinities of the Koldagi language, _i.e._ with the Nubian.

B.

KAFFRE ATLANTIDÆ.

The preliminary facts of most importance in the ethnology of the great Kaffre area are two--connected with the language, and from their combined effects giving it the appearance of differing in kind from any other African tongue.

These two peculiarities, which are illustrated from Boyce's Kaffre, and Archbell's Bechuana Grammars, are as follows:--

1. _The system of prefixes._--Every Kaffre noun is preceded by an adventitious syllable, apparently destitute of any separate meaning; just as if, in English, we said, instead of--

Father, _al_-father.[174]
Son, _el_-son.
Mother, _em_-mother.

So far is this principle carried that the words introduced by the missionaries, from our own language, all become thus modified. Hence _priest_ changes to _um-priest_; _pharisee_, _um-pharisee_. I imagine that without this prefix the simple root would be as impossible a form for a Kaffre or Bechuana as a word like ὀρνιθ- (_i. e._ a root without any concomitant inflection) would be to a Greek. Nevertheless, the Kaffre prefix is no sign of case or number.

In the following words the syllables in italics are the prefixes, wholly independent in origin from the root, and wholly non-radical:--

ENGLISH. KAFFRE.

Person _um_tu.
Horse _i_hashe.
Chief _in_kosi.
Servant _isi_kaka.
Infant _u_sana.
River _um_lambo.
Face _u_buso.
Ford _ak_utya.
People _aba_ntu.
Words _ama_swe.
Cattle _ink_omo.
Trees _imi_ti.

2. _The euphonic or alliterational concord._--This is a point of Kaffre syntax, and occurs when certain words come together; _e. g._ in the case of a substantive governing another in the possessive case, or an adjective agreeing with a substantive. In either of these cases the _secondary word changes its initial sound into that of the primary one, or into some sound allied to it_.

If in English we expressed the relation between the nominative and possessive cases on the same principle that occurs in the Kaffre and Bechuana, we should say instead of--

_M_an's dog--_d_an dog.
_S_un's beam--_b_un beam.
_F_ather's daughter--_d_ather daughter, &c.

It may easily be imagined that languages thus characterised, taken along with undoubted points of physical difference, have supplied the grounds for a somewhat broad line of demarcation between the Kaffre and the other Africans. That such a line is natural, is certain; whether it has not been made too broad, is another question.

KAFFRE NATIONS AND TRIBES.

_Physical conformation._--Modified Negro.

_Language._--Prefixional and alliterational.

_Area._--Western, Central(?), and Eastern Africa, from the
north of the Equator to the south of the Tropic of Capricorn.

_Chief divisions._--1. Western. 2. Southern Kaffres. 3. Eastern
Kaffres.

That there is no broad line between the Kaffre and _non_-Kaffre Africans, on the western side of Africa at least, is shown by the following populations; whereof both the languages, as known by vocabularies, and the physical conformations are intermediate or transitional.

1.

WESTERN KAFFRES.

Beginning with the parts south of the Bimbia area we have between the river of that name and the Portuguese kingdom of Loango--

THE BATANGAS.

_Native name._--Bânâka.

_Locality._--Sea-coast of Western Africa 3° north latitude,
half way between the Camaroons and Gaboon.

_Physical appearance._--More Kaffre than Negro; skin more
copper-coloured than black; sclerotica clear.

THE PANWES.

_Locality._--Eastward to, and more in the interior than the
Batangas; from 3° north latitude to 3° south latitude, on the
Head-waters of the Gaboon.

THE MPOONGAS.

_Locality._--Mouth of the Gaboon.

Then follow the nations of--1. Loango; 2. Congo; 3. Angola; and 4. Benguela; closely allied both in language and appearance, and nations whose place in the Kaffre division has long been recognised.

That there is, however, considerable difference in respect to the physical conformation of the different tribes, is certain; some writers, reducing the native of Portuguese Africa to the Negro, others to the proper Kaffrarian, or South Kaffre, type.

If the difference between these two extremes be rightly estimated by the present writer, the former should prevail along the courses, the latter on the watersheds of the rivers. His information, however, is imperfect upon this point.

2.

SOUTHERN KAFFRES.

_Area._--The extra-tropical portion of South Africa, _minus_
the parts south, Walvisch Bay on the west, and the water-system
of the Orange River.--Encroaching.

_Chief divisions._--1. Amakosas, nearest the Cape. 2.
Bechuanas, north of the head-waters of the Orange River. 3.
Zulus, north of the Bechuanas, with an undetermined extent
inland. Numerous sub-divisions.

_Physical conformation._--Cranium, more vaulted and less
prognathic than the Negro; hair, tufted, and as such
approaching that of the Hottentot; zygomatic development,
outwards rather than downwards, so that the cheek-bones become
projecting, and the forehead and chin tapering; lips, generally
thick, and nasal profile less generally depressed than with the
Negro; colour, black, dark brown, clear brown; stature, tall.

_Habits._--Pastoral rather than agricultural.

_Religion._--Paganism.

_Customs._--Circumcision and tattooing.

_The Dammaras._--Are the Dammaras Kaffre? This will be noticed in p. 495.

The Kaffres of Lagoa Bay, darker and more Negro-like than the typical Kaffres of Kaffraria, form the transition between the southern Kaffres and the eastern divisions of the tribes of Inhambane, Sofala, and Botonga, and the water-system of the river Yambezi. They are Negro rather than Kaffrarian, their languages being but imperfectly known.

3.

EASTERN KAFFRES.

So are those of Mozambique and Zanzibar; chiefly represented by the Makuas, the Monjous, and the tribes speaking the Suaheli language. A vast accession to our philological data for these parts proves incontestably the Kaffre structure of the languages of the coast from the Cape of Good Hope to nearly 5° north latitude.

But the tribes of the unknown parts of Central Africa, south of the equator, are also, probably, either wholly, or almost wholly, Kaffre. It is this which has induced me to pass _sicco pede_ over the numerous details of the Kaffres of the coast, so as to allow space for a short notice of the newer additions to our knowledge of the inland Kaffres, west and east.

_a._ _West._--_The Kazumbi_, said to live at such a distance from the coast, as to be obliged to travel three or four moons, before they reach any of the possessions of the Portuguese and to speak a language which resembles, in many words (especially the numerals), the Congo. This is probably the Cazambe of the maps, nearly in the centre of Africa, in 13° south latitude.

_The Koniunki._[175]--From some captured Negroes examined by the Rev. T. Arbousset, of the Paris Missionary Society, a few words have been collected of the Koniunki language. They are apparently of the Kaffre class.

_English_, eyes
Koniunki, _maro_
Kaffre, _amehlo_
Sechuana, _matlo_
Makua, _meto_
Monjou, _mezo_
Suaheli, _matsho_

_English_, water
Koniunki, _mose_
Kaffre, _amanzi_
Sechuana, _metse_
Delagoa Bay, _amate_
Makua, _amazi_
Monjou, _mizi_

_English_, tree
Koniunki, _mote_
Kaffre, _umti_
Sechuana, _sefate_

_English_, two
Koniunki, _mapele_
Kaffre, _amabini_
Sechuana, _maberi_
Delagoa Bay, _mabizi_
Suaheli, _mabizi_

_English_, three
Koniunki, _mataru_
Suaheli, _madato_
Kaffre, _amatatu_
Sechuana, _mararu_
Delagoa Bay, _mararu_

The locality of the Koniunkis was also said to be so far in the interior, as for the gang to have been three or four months in reaching the Mozambique coast.

This indicates that they were _east_ of the Kazumbi, whilst the affinity of the language with the Bechuana gives them a southward direction.

_The Mazenas_, mentioned along with the Koniunkis, as lying between them and the Makuas.[176]

Hence, the Congo, the Kazumbi, Koniunki, and Mazena areas, probably, carry us across the whole continent in (about) 13° south latitude; whilst the likelihood of the southern Koniunki and northern Bechuanas being conterminous, helps to fill up the void spaces north of the parts about Litakú.

_b._ _East._--Parts about Mombaz, Formosa Bay, Lama, Patta, &c.

POCOMO.

_Locality._--River Pocomosi (Maro).

_Conterminous_ with the southernmost section of the Gallas.

WANIKA.

_Locality._--North and west of Mombaz.

The Mahometanism of the Wanikas, if it exist at all, is of the most imperfect kind. They practise circumcision, it is true; but this is a general African, quite as much as a particular Semitic, rite--"They bury their dead, placing the head to the east; and it is customary, after waiting ten days, to kill a bullock and make a feast, pouring the blood upon the grave." The Wanika man seen by Pickering, "bore the marks of a national designation; consisting of a single notch, filed between the two upper front teeth, with numerous small scars on the breast."

WAKAMBA.

_Synonym._--Merremengo.

_Locality._--Mixed with, and conterminous with the Wanika.

WATAITA(?).

_Locality._--Five days from the coast; conterminous with the
Wakamba.

TAVAITI(?).

_Locality._--Westward of the Wataita.

_Language._--Different from the Chaga and M'Kuafi. Probably
akin to the Wanika.

M'SIGUA.

_Locality._--Pungany River. Scattered among the Wanika.

M'SAMBARA.

_Language._--As known from a vocabulary of Krapf's, closely
akin to the Pocomo, Wakamba, Wanika, and M'Sigua.

This last sentence suggests the nature of our reasons for making the tribes just enumerated Kaffre. The dialects of five of them are known by specimens, collected by Krapf, and are very nearly Suaheli. The evidence of the Kaffre origin of the Tavaiti and Wataita is less conclusive.

_The M'Kuafi._--Are the M'Kuafi Kaffre? This question will be noticed in p. 501.

* * * * *

It has been suggested that the import of the peculiarities in the structure of the Kaffre languages may have been exaggerated; the effect of such an over-valuation being to isolate the class beyond its proper limit. The following facts are corrective to this view:--

1. The Woloff language is at least one other African tongue, which exhibits the phænomenon of an _initial change_, a process allied to the euphonic concord.

2. The Celtic tongues of Europe do the same.

3. Apparent instances of _prefixed_ syllables, occur in the Howssa, Yarribean, and probably in other African languages.

Now there are many good reasons for believing that although the effect of such and such-like processes is to give the languages in which they occur a very remarkable _external_ appearance--an appearance which, if we classed tongues and nations on the same principles upon which we class minerals, _i.e._ irrespective of descent and affiliation, would throw them into solitary and independent groups--they by no means denote the necessity of any inordinately long period for the evolution. All that they _do_ denote is the greater intensity of what may be called the euphonic instinct, combined with a tendency to incorporate elements which, elsewhere, would be kept separate.

A doctrine laid down by Mr. Hales in his Philology to the United States Exploring Expedition, indicating a different classification from the present, deserves notice.

That inquirer considers that the line of affinity runs west and east, rather than north and south; so that the Kaffres of Inhambane, Zanzibar, and Mozambique are more closely allied to those of Loango and Angola than the Kosas, Bechuanas and Zulus of the Cape. The _published_ evidence of the proposition is certainly insufficient.

FOOTNOTES:

[174] These are not the _real_ Kaffre prefixes, being merely meant for the sake of illustration, they are arbitrary syllables.

[175] Dr. Adamson's speech, at the Wesleyan Missionary Meeting, in 1846.--_Journal of the American Oriental Society_, vol. i. No. 4.

[176] Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. i. No. 4.

C.

HOTTENTOT ATLANTIDÆ.

The Hottentot stock has a better claim to be considered as forming a second species of the genus _Homo_ than any other section of mankind. It can be shown, however, that the language is no more different from those of the world in general than they are from each other.

THE HOTTENTOT ATLANTIDÆ.

_Area._ The southern extremity of Africa. Encroached upon by
_a._ the Kaffres; _b._ the Dutch and English of the Cape.

_Divisions._ 1. The Hottentots. 2. The Saabs.

_Physical conformation._ Stature, low; limbs, slight; colour,
more brown or yellow than black (that of new-born children said
to be nearly white); cheek-bones, prominent; nasal profile,
depressed; hair, in tufts rather than equally distributed
over the head.--Thus described by Barrow: "It does not cover
the whole surface of the scalp, but grows in small tufts, at
certain distances from each other, and when clipped short, has
the appearance and feel of a hard shoe-brush, except that it
is curled and twisted into small, round lumps, about the size
of a marrow-fat pea. When suffered to grow, it hangs on the
neck in hard, twisted tassels, like a fringe."[177]--Eyes,
oblique; vision, acute; cranium, Mongoliform with wide orbits,
brakhykephalic, nasal profile extremely flat, broad at the
root; and the chin, long, forward, and thin.

Pelvis, with a _maximum_ difference in structure according
as it is male or female; that of the former being strong
and dense, that of the latter, light, and delicate. In
both cases a _minimum_ of diploe between the bony plates;
ossa ilii, vertical; sacrum, narrow; conjugate diameter,
short; neck of the thigh-bone, short, and with an oblique
direction.[178]--_Vrolik._--Oftener wedge-shaped or oblong,
than oval, round, or square.--_Weber._

Buttocks often steatomatous.[179]

_Physical condition of area._--Karroos, _i.e._ elevated
terraces and table-lands, with the soil dry, hard, clayey,
fissured, rarely moistened with rain, and chiefly productive of
the _succulent_ classes of the vegetable kingdom.

_Language._--Containing _two_ inarticulate elements, viz. _h_
(like other tongues), and a peculiar and characteristic _click_.

_Intermixture._--Dutch, the Griquas of the Orange River being a
mixed stock.

_Habits._--Pastoral and hunter state; the latter exhibiting
the lower forms of the type (_i.e._ the Saabs, or Bushmen,
once disconnected from the others, and considered as forming a
separate and more degraded class).

1.

HOTTENTOTS.

The _extinct_ sections of the Hottentot division are:--

1. Gunyeman, nearest the Cape.

2. Kokha_qua_, north of the Gunyeman.

3. Sussa_qua_, Saldanha Bay.

4. Odi_qua_.

5. Khirigri_quas_, on Elephants' River.

6. Koopmans.

7. Hessa_quas_.

8. Son_quas_, east of the Cape.

9. Dun_quas_.

10. Dama_quas_.

11. Guari_quas_.

12. Honteni_quas_.

13. Khantouers.

14. Heykoms, as far on the north-east as Natal. Now
replaced by Amakosah Kaffres.

_Extant._--1. Gona_quas_, south-east, on the Great Fish River. Probably replaced by Amakosah Kaffres.

2. Kora_quas_ (Kora, Korana), north-east frontier, on the upper part of the Orange River.--In the more favourable localities the Koraquas are the tallest and best-looking men of the Hottentot stock. On the other hand, the Koras of the Hartebeest River, who formerly possessed, but have since lost their cattle, "exhibit the obvious process by which the Bushmen race have been originally driven back from the pastoral state, to that of the huntsman and robber."--_Thompson's Travels in Southern Africa._--_Prichard_, vol. ii. p. 274.

3. Nama_quas_, separated from the Koranas by the Saabs. Occupants of the lower part of the Orange River, _i. e._ Little Namaqualand to the south, and Great Namaqualand to the north of its mouth.

2.

SAABS.

_Locality._--The country between the Roggeveld and the middle
portion of the Orange River; preeminently a _Karroo_.

_Habits._--Hunters.

_Language._--Wholly or nearly unintelligible to the other
Hottentots.

_Area._--Encroached upon the Koranas, who are their deadly
enemies, and continually at war with them.

Are the Dammaras Kaffre or Hottentot? This has already been asked.

On the authority of Mr. Barrow, Prichard corrects Vater and Maltebrun for making the Dammaras Hottentot instead of Kaffre. The term, however, is a geographical rather than an ethnological one, comprising the tribes inhabiting those parts to the north and south of Waalvisch Bay, which are marked in the maps as _sterile country_, and lying between Benguela (where the languages belong to the Congo class of the Kaffre languages), and Namaqualand, where the inhabitants are Hottentots.

Now, geographically speaking, the Dammaras fall into two divisions: _a_,[180] the Dammaras of the Plains, or cattle Dammaras, and _b_, the Hill Dammaras. These latter inhabit the parts to the north and north-east of Namaqualand, and are Namaqua Hottentots. The former only belong to the Kaffre division, and extend as far north as 17° south latitude.

Forced downwards by the stronger tribes of the Kaffres, with their periphery overlaid, the Hottentots probably represent a population whose original area was extended much more towards the north--possibly as far as the central range of mountains. Nay, more--fragments of the stock may still, in central Africa, interrupt the Kaffre area, and form future discoveries in ethnology.

This possible northward extension of the Hottentot area has a bearing upon the questions connected with the population of Madagascar.

* * * * *

_Overlaying of the periphery of an ethnological area._--Let two divisions of a certain class pass into each other by imperceptible degrees, and let one of the _central_ portions of either class spread itself at the expense of the parts belonging to its circumference.

The effect which follows is, that those portions of this area, which represent the phænomena of transition, are overlaid, or overlapped; and that instead of two populations coming into contact by imperceptible degrees, they meet as separate classes, with as broad a line of demarcation between their respective representatives at the circumferences (peripheries) of their respective areas, as there was between their central or typical portions.

North-western America illustrates this. The more southern Algonkins have overlaid both the Algonkins of their own section, which approached the Eskimo, and the Eskimo of the opposite section, which approached the Algonkin. Hence the two populations meet as widely-separated, and broadly distinguished varieties of mankind.

FOOTNOTES:

[177] Prichard, vol. ii. p. 278.

[178] Ibid. p. 332.

[179] Aliquando, apud hanc nationem, nympharum protuberantia enormis--minime vero apud onmes--occurrit.

[180] Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. i. No. 4.

D.

NILOTIC ATLANTIDÆ.

This is a far less simple group than the last, and one which may, probably, require the value of some of its divisions to be raised. Besides which, it probably comprizes, if classed according to the strict rules of ethnology, the _eastern Negroes_ of our first division. Again, it passes into the Kaffre, Coptic, and Semitic groups by imperceptible gradations. At the same time, as far as it goes, it is ethnological, _i.e._ it embraces populations actually affiliated to each other rather than populations exhibiting the common effects of common social or climatological conditions.

NILOTIC NATIONS AND TRIBES.

_Physical conformation._--Modified Negro, in certain cases
approaching the Arab conformation.

_Area._--The water system of the Upper and Middle Nile.

_Chief divisions._--1. Gallas. 2. Agows. 3. Nubians. 4.
Bisharis(?).

As it is the southern portion of the Nilotic area, which is conterminous with the northern Kaffre, the southern populations will be noticed first.

THE GALLAS.

_Area._--Preeminently encroaching. From 4° to (there or
thereabouts) 16° north latitude. Irregular.

_Chief divisions._--1. Galla Proper, or Ilmorma--south and east
of Abyssinia.

2. Somauli--The parts between the Sea of Bab-el-Mandeb, the
Indian Ocean, and (there or thereabouts) 45° east latitude.

3. The Danakil, or Afer--The coast of the Red Sea from Adel to
Suakin.

_Religion._--Paganism, Mahometanism. According to Dr. Beke,
fragmentary Christianity among the Gallas.

_Habits._--Chiefly pastoral. Partially mercantile.

_Physical appearance._--Colour varying from a deep black to
a brownish-yellow. Stature, tall; bodies, spare, wiry, and
muscular; frontal profile vaulted; nose, often straight or even
arched; lips, moderate; hair, often hanging over the neck in
long twisted plaits.

It is the wilder tribes of the Ilmorma Gallas that have broken up the kingdom, and disturbed the ethnology of Abyssinia, both in respect to its Semitic populations, and the earlier and more aboriginal--

AGOWS.

_Divisions and localities._--1. Agows of Damot.

2. Agows of Lasta; Troglodyte Pagans.

3. Falasha--_a._ Lowlanders of Dembea. _b._ Highlanders of
Samien. _c._ Christianized Falashas (Kimmont) of the hill
country, north-east of Gondar.--_Bruce from Prichard_, vol. ii.
p. 135.

The fact that both the Galla and Agow languages pass through the Amharic into the more typical Semitic tongues, and that the former (over and above many undeniable points of affinity with the Coptic) is quite as _sub_-Semitic as the Berber, is one of the many phænomena which break down the broad line of demarcation that is so often drawn between the Semitic and the African nations.

Again, the extent to which the Falashas exhibit a variety of customs common to themselves and the Jews has long been recognized. It by no means, however, follows that they are a result of Jewish influence. The criticism that applied to the Ghás applies here. Many of the so-called Jewish peculiarities are African as well--irrespective of intercourse, and independent of imitation.

THE NUBIANS.

_Locality._--Valley of the Nile, Nubia, and Dongola.

_Dialects._--_a._ North Nubian, or Kensi. _b._ Middle Nubian,
or Nub. _c._ Dongolawi of Dongola.

_Synonym._--Barabbra, or Berber.

_Antiquities._--Monuments of _a._ an Ægyptian, in the Lower,
_b._ an Æthiopian type in the Upper Nubia.

_Political relations._--Subject to Ægypt.

_Intermixture._--Arab. Negro from slaves.

_Religion._--Paganism and Mahometanism.

_Habits._--Agricultural and trading.

_Physical appearance._--Eyes, deep set and sparkling; nose,
pointed; nostrils, large; mouth, wide; lips, moderate;
hair and beard, thin; body, slender; _colour, shining jet
black_.--_Denon._[181]

Hair, long, slightly crisp, not woolly. _Colour, intermediate
between the ebon-black of Sennaar Negroes, and the brown of
Ægyptians._[181]--_Costaz._

_Extract from Rüppell[181] as to the Dongolawi._--"An
attentive inquiry will enable us to distinguish amongst the
old national physiognomies, which their forefathers have
marked upon colossal statues, and the bas-reliefs of temples
and sepulchres, a long oval countenance, beautifully-curved
nose, somewhat rounded towards the top, proportionately thick
lips, but not protruding excessively, a retreating chin, scanty
beard, lively eyes, strongly frizzled but never woolly hair,
and remarkably beautiful figure, generally of middle size,
and a bronze colour, as the characteristics of the genuine
Dongolawi."

_Descent._--From the ancient Nobatæ.

The relation between the Nubian of Nubia, and the Koldagi language of Kordofan, was first indicated by Rüppell, and has been generally admitted.

On the other hand, the relations of the Koldagi not only to the Furians of Darfúr, but to the more truly Negro Shilluks, &c., are equally manifest.

From the Ægyptian, therefore, to the Eastern Negro, the transition is through the Nubian.

BISHARI (BEJAS).

_Area._--The high country, and table-land between the Nile and
the Red Sea.

_Divisions._--1. Northern Bishari or Ababde, from the latitude
of Kosseir, north; to Deir, south.

2. Southern Bishari (=the Hadendoa, Hammadab, and other tribes)
from the Danakil, Æthiopic and portions of the Shankala area to
the Ababdes.

_Language._--With definite affinities with both the Nubian and
Coptic.

_Descent._--Probably from the ancient Blemmyes.

_Physical appearance._--Nearly that of Nubians.

_Habits._--Pastoral and wandering.

What are the M'Kuafi? This was asked in p. 493. The M'Kuafi west of Mombaz, are conterminous with the Southern Gallas, and with the Kaffre Wanika, &c.

From these last, however, the only known vocabulary of their language disconnects them.

Hence they are at present unplaced; since they may be Kaffre, Gallas, Gongas, or, finally, the representatives of a separate class altogether. The only description is the following one of Pickering's:--

"The information respecting them was derived from young persons seen at Zanzibar, where, according to the Arabs, slaves of this class were formerly cheap, and much esteemed, but now bring high prices.

"A M'Kuafi girl stated, that she had been captured by the Mussai; who killed her father and mother, and who sold her to the Chaga. She was twenty-five days in reaching the coast. Formerly, her nation was powerful above others, so that one woman with a stick would stop a thousand persons from passing through the country unless a present was first made; but her people are broken, and at present they would not fight the M'Sigua.

"Her people do not cultivate the ground, and they eat only milk and meat. Children, when hungry, help themselves by direct application to the cow. Cattle are killed by piercing the spine; numbers of them every day, until each family is supplied. The M'Kuafi have not fixed meal times, but they eat whenever they feel inclined, inviting their neighbours of the same village to partake with them. Each family has its own cattle, which all go to pasture together, and outside the town is a place to receive them at night. The men marry as many women as they please; and each wife has a separate house. These habitations are tents of bullock-skin, supported by poles set around. The men decorate themselves with large beads, and their dress is made of skin, and consists of a painted cincture full of openings and hanging strips, and of a long cloak worn over one shoulder. Cloth, however, now is brought by traders. The women, by way of ornament, coil brass wire about the arm as far as the elbow. The beads and brass wire are procured at Pemba, by selling ivory, obtained from elephants, some of which are found dead, while others are purposely killed.

"The M'Kuafi do not bury, but they put their dead in the bush, for the wild beasts to eat. The friends afterwards cry from ten to twenty days, and then kill three bullocks and make a feast. The M'Kuafi have neither prayers nor religion, but they eat and sleep. The name of their deity is Angayai; and on some big days they take feathers and dance. They have cows, goats, donkeys, sheep, and dogs; but neither cats, nor horses. They take off the fleece of the sheep, and spin yarn, with which they sew the skins together. They have gourd shells for holding water, which are bought of the Chaga. They go out to fight with the Mussai, frequently, sometimes every day; and they take cattle; they fight, also, with the Wampugo, and the Wataita, but not with the Chaga. The country of the M'Kuafi, consists of mountains and plains, and produces some trees which supply tent-poles, but there are no fruits. Persons while sleeping, are sometimes eaten by leopards.