viii liliNEKAL KliMARKS.
as tlieii- weapon the u i tow ; the Kafir and the Bechuana, their masters, took the assaffoi^ for theirs." Thus \vc coiichule
that the Ilottcntnts. or pale-coloured race, were the orighial possessors of the soil, until scattered, broken up, atul
extuiguished, by the gradual pressmg on of two supeiiov natious.
" And ilius Ihi'v fade nnd wither,
I.ike la ilie oimiinn leaves driven liy ilie n
Until, crc long, the memory iiP llicir roee
Will be an idle lale."
iixi,
'Flic Other great division, or family, iuhabiting Africa south of the tropic, comprises, undei- the general term of Kafirs,
all the pi-ople occupying the rich and fertile country between the mountains and the ludian Ocean, known as Kaffraria,
stretching from the Fish River to Natal, and divided into the various tribes of Amakosa, Amatembu, and Aniaponda Katirs;
the Fingoes,+ ^^•llo originally possessed the districts about Port Natal, until driven out by the conquering hosts of Chaka,
after which they placed themselves under the protection of the Colonial Government; the Amazulu, inhabiting the eounti-y
between Natal and Delagoa Bay, who, under their kings, Chaka and Dingaan, rose to be the most powerful and warlike
people of South Africa; and the BechuauaJ tribes of the interior, which include the Basutos, Baraloiigs, Mantatces, and
the people as far up as the Baquaine country, where a tribe ha.s lately been discovered who use the distaff and spindle,
and mauufacture a beautiful cotton cloth.: they are also skilled in the art of working gold and brass. ITie teiin "Kafir"
in Arabic signifies an infidel, and it was probably applied by thcii- Mahommedan neighbours on the coast to the most
northern tribes, and afterwards extended to their more southern kindred, liow far the Kafirs really extend northward,
coastwise, is unknown; old Portuguese writer.? apply that name to the tribes on the Zambezi in latitude eighteen degrees
south, and even still further north.
The Kafirs are a tall, athletic, handsome race of men, approaching nearer to Em-opeans in the height of their stature,
in the elegance of their form, in the shape of the skull, and in their general intelligence; but their dark skm and crisp
woolly locks give them a strong resemblance to the Negroes. 'Hie rite of circumcision practised amongst some of the
tribes, and several other traditionary customs, such as purification, together with an indication in their manners of having
.sprung from a people of higher civilisation, would lead us to sui)pose something like an Eastern descent. They have a
confuscd idea of a Supreme Being: but, of all their beliefs, that in sorcery or witchcraft is the most general, and appeare
to possess a powerful and almost unlimited influence over this people; its results being attended with constant acts of
cruelty and bloodshed. There is a great affinity existing between the languages spoken by all the Kafir and Bechuana
tribes; wherea-s the Seroa, or Hottentot language, pveieuts too little resemblance to permit the supposition that it can have
sprung from the same primitive as they. The disagreeable "cUck" of the tongue, so constant in the Seroa, is only to be
met with in Kafir, where it is comparatively rare; and uever iu Smito, which is sj)oken by the Bechuanas. It is
questionable whether the "click" may not have been intiodueed into the language of the frontier Kafirs from the Seroa,
as well as n num])er of wor<ls apparently the same in both langu^es-
Besides the two great aboriginal divisions, under one or the othei- of which the inliabitants of Southern Africa arc
comprised, the Cape Colony is peopled by the representatives of many other races, who have been transplanted to its
shores, and who have, in many instances, so intermingled with each other as to produce a mixed race, varying iu every
gradation of coloiir and feature, tVom the European to the Negro of tropical Africa- Fi'om Asia an extensive immigration
of the Malay and Malabar races took place during the Dutch government of the Cape of Good Hope. The descendants
of these A.-'iatics (who still adhere to tlie Mahommedan faith) comprise, at lea.st, one-third of the pojjnlation of Cape Towu
!ind the surrounding villages. Negroes from both coasts, but more especially from Mozambitjue, as well as natives of
.Madagascar, have, from time to time, been imported mto the colony; so that, as regards the population of the towns
especially, perhaps few parts of the world present a greater vaiiety of the different races of mankind, dwelling within a
certaiu limit, than does tlie colony of the Cape of Good Hope.
g ajjcar or javtliii, with a 1 head, and s
employed in Kufir Kurfare.
I- Fimjo means literally "n dog."
Í The name ¡¡tc.lwmm probably originated in tiie mistalie of a.
rcci'ived the reply, 7?« ehaunu—"Tlir:y arc all the aanie."
h sides ; it is, together with a short club, calleil Kirri, the ehiel' iveapon
ravelter, »ho, having asked Ihe inhnhilanlx respccling llK^r neighboiii-a,
M/iI-AV SCIIOdI
ON THE MALAYS Ol' CAPE TOWN.
in.n proportion of the pi>pulati<m of Cape 'I'owii and the surrounding towns and villages is composed of
Malays, or people of Malay extraction, who, although naturalised in the colony as British subjects, still adhere to the
customs, costume, and Mahommedan faith of the countries from which they originally emanated. Dining the Dutch
government of the Cape of Good Hope, a great number of Malays were brought over from Batavia, and other settlements
of the Dutch East India Company, as slaves, from which the present Malay population is descended. Up to the period
of the emancipation of the slaves throughout the British Colonies, a few years back, the greater portion of the Malays in
Cape Town were in a state of bondage; now many of them are in easy, and a few in afRuent, circumstances, vvhilst the
mass constitute the artisans and labouring classes of the place. Most of the carjiciiters, masons, tailors, shoeinakci-s, &c.
are Malays: they also make excellent grooms and house-servants, from their sobriety anil cleanliness. Ahnost all the
fishermen and boatmen of Table Bay are likewise Malay; and the number of them one sees iu the streets on landing, with
their gay costumes, hi-oad conical hats, and their heads tied round with handkerchiefs of the most brilliant colt)Ui-s, miparts
a cheerful and foreign air to the scene, sparkling beneath a bright African sun.
As all the Malays arc strict Mahommedans, they observe the feasts and fasts, the Ramazan, the Bairani, the Kalipha,
and other cercmonies belonging to their Ea-stern faith, under the guidance of priests of their own religion. These priests
differ upon sundry minor matters, and several sects have sprung up amongst them, each led by a rival priest, though I
imagine tlic spirit of bigotry is not carried to such an extent by them as it unfortunately is amongst the Christians.
The Malay burial-grounds are remarkably picturesque, planted with flowers, and bearing tokens of I'cspect and afl^ectiou
for the departed. I like to see the care with which the Malays tend the graves of their dca<l: the snow-white turrcted
tombs, the rosemary and geraniums, and the monthly I'oses they plant round them, and the lily bulbs in the spring.
On a bright summer's evening, the Malay bui-ial-grouiul, on the brow of the hill overlooking the tow^^, is often i:rowded
^^•ith tlic living, who have comc to pay visits to the restiug-places of theii- friends. Some are trimming the flowers;
the young girls anointing the tombstones with frankincense and myrrh, or placing nosegays upon the graves; and all this
as though the silent tenants were only aslce]), and would «akc again by and bye, so gently, and yet vvith a calm cheerfulness,
do they perform these beautiful and holy rites.
1 will endeavour to describe the funeral of a young gii-I I witnessed there one Saturday evening. The sun wa.s just
setting, the ground planted with fiowcrs that made the air frjigrant, and palm and rosemai-y grew at the head of the
graves. Little upright slabs marked every tomb, and rows of white j>ehi)les were placed along the earth. Beside each
headstone was a small chamber, \vith a little door, for holding lights; for at the llamazan these burial-grounds are illuminated.