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THE
Living Races of mankind
A POPULAR ILLUSTRATED ACCOUNT OF THE CUSTOMS, HABITS, PURSUITS, FEASTS cr CEREMONIES OF THE RACES OF MANKIND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
H. N. HUTCHINSON
B.A., F.R.G.S., F.G.S.
^ 1 J. W. GREGORY
i D.Sc, F.G.S.
R. LYDEKKER
F.R.S., F.G.S., F.Z.S., t»c.
ASSISTED BY EMINENT SPECIALISTS
Vol. II WITH 309 ILLUSTRATIONS
A»/c l-j> F. 7-../.W
LONDON: HUTCHINSON ^ CO., Paternoster Row
31 1
CONTENTS OF VOL. 11.
Xlir. The Negro in General — The
Bantu Negroes ....
XIV. The Bantu of Eastern and
Western Africa
XV. The Equatorial and Nilotic
Negroes
XVI. The Soudanese and Guinea Negroes, and the Abyssinian and Etiiiopic Groups. XVII. The Hajiitic and Semitic Eaces of North Africa XVIII. Europe : Eussia, Caucasia, Fin- land, Lapland, Norway, Sweden, AND Iceland ....
XIX. Greece and Isles, Turkey, Bulgaria, Eumania, Servia, Montenegro, Bosnia - Herze- govina, Austria-Hungary, the Gypsies .....
XX. Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spai.v, axd Portugal .
XXI. Denmark, Belgium, Holland, Great Britain and Ireland
XXII. Arctic America and Greenland
XXIII. North America ....
XXIV. Central and South Amuuica (including Micxico) .
48} 505 52»
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS, VOL. IL
Ova-Herero women . A Swazi girl . A Kaffir woman, Natal . Three Kaffirs .
cliief of the Ba liuanas .
Kha
Kaffir
Khai
A r\
Katfiis in fi-liiniL'-'Mstume
Zulu won. 11 t;ii'i'ling corn
Three Zulu gul, .
A Basuto girl . . .
Two Zulu girls
Usipebu's wives, Zululand
A Zulu witch-doctor
A Zulu girl .
Matal.ili w.irriors .
Maslinnas
TwM Mash
Chi.f T-,n
rtering
Nat
Coufiniiatiuii candidates, Nyasaland Waganda scholars .... Nubian Police, Uganda . A Uganda man and woman in native style .... Wakwafi men of Kavirondo . A group of Suk .... Y'suk warrior, Karaniojo Wabeni school-girls Natives of Lumbwa Wateita boys. East Africa . An Elgon chief ....
Unyoro chiefs
An Unyoro girl (full-face) .
An Unyoro girl (profile) A princess of Unyoro (full-face) . A princess of Unyoro (profile) A Monbuttu negress
Two Congo natives.
A Congo woman ....
A Congo man and woman .
A group of Congo men .
A Congo native, with primitive
stringed instrument . A Congo warrior and his wife A group of Congo natives dressed
for a war-dance A Congo man in native canoe Treaty-making, Kikuyu . Wyaki and his brother chief,
Kikuyu
A group of Niara-niam natives
Niam-niani warriors
A Niam-niam girl ....
A Niam-niam witch-doctor .
A Niam-niam native
Typical women of the Equatorial
regio
Women and children of Equatorial
Africa . . . . •
Liberated slaves from Central Africa
A Central African chief and his
A Monfu woman ....
A Dinka girl (full-face) .
A Dinka girl (profile) . .
A Shilluk girl
A Shilluk man ....
Fajehi men and woman . . A Bari girl . . . . A Bari woman (side view) A Ban «oinan (front view) .
A Madi man X>S
Madi women 35»
A Lango chief, showing peculiar
head-dress 360
The Mandingan lalenjch, or native
piano 361
Native carriers. Upper Mendi . 36? An Upper Mciidi jiriiicoss . . 363 An Upi«T M.Mi.li rlii.f . . .363 An Ui.i»r ^\■u.\, rh,W in war- Amazons !'l l>,',li-,nn '. '. 365- NativHs ..■ \ II. Ita . . 30ft A nati\. '' l:i..r.s, Niger
C,.:.-i !■■... . .367
A Dah..i,,. . .:. . . . . .308
I)ali..li.,\:.n Aiii;i/,..lis . . . 36!>
A |i,.li..i,i.M..i warri.ir . . . 37i>
A l>:.l)..|ii.i:,., .nan . . . .371
A V..nil.,i\v..ina.n .... .372- A Yoruba man . . . .373
Somali children .... 374
Somali 375-
A Somali man .... 37ft
A Somali m:in and his wife . . 377 \„ \I.^-Mnl„ u'irl.^ . . .378
\ _i..;i. : \l.vssinians' ' '. .'WO ll.iii -a' , ; . .. . 381, 3S:J. A llaussa woman . . . .382- A group of Haussa . . . 3S4
A group of Tuaregs, South Algeria '.'<So- A Tuareg woman .... 3S& A Tuareg man . . .387
Mixed tvi)e, Berber and Negru race,
Sahara 3SS
A Fellah woman . . . 38*
Two Nubian girls . . . . 3!W Two Nubian d.ancing girls il'J
List oi Illustrations and Maps, Vol. 11.
A Nubian dancing-woman
An IJled-Nail (Algerian type)
An Uled-Nail woman, Biskra 394,
An Uled-Nail woman .
Uled-Nails and two Negro girls .
A Kabyle man ....
A Kabyle woman . . . 399,
Two Kabyle women, Algeria
Arab children at play .
Kabyle children ....
Street minstrels, Cairo .
An Algerian Moorish girl
A Moorish lady ....
An Arab man
An Arab camp
A Russian mendicant .
A Russian coachman
A group of Russian women .
A sergeant in the Russian army .
A Russian school ....
Tartars
A Russian nurse ....
Twi. danrers, Little Russia .
A Russian bride of the better class.
Map based (by permission) on Pro- fessor Keane's language map of Europe in "Stanford's Com- pendium of Geography " .
Russian peasant in costume .
A Georgian woman, Caucasia
Caucasian soldiers ....
A Finlander .....
A Lapp child on reindeer
A Mountain Lapp ....
A family of Lapps ....
A Lapp woman ....
A Norwegian girl in bridal dress .
A liardanger girl ....
Hardanger jieasant women
A Swedish girl in bridal dress
A Telleinarken peasant .
An Icel.md woman ....
A Greek girl in national
A Greek girl .
A Greek soldier .
edlar
A Turk A Tuiki
A Uumaiiiaii bride .... A Rumanian daiiy-maid A Montenegrin .... National dance of Montenegro at tlie present day : dancing the
Bosnian falconers .
A Bosnian belle
A native of Bosnia .
A Busni.an soldier .
A Btthemian woman
Chekhs ....
A Wend (front and back vi
Wend woman in fuU dress
Germans of Soutli Austria
H.inL-n.inn r,r,.n„t, .
A 11m.^..i..i:i
A pure Gypsy, Alsace (profile) .
A pure Gypsy. Alsace (full-face) .
A Bohemian Gypsy girl.
A little German boy
A German lady ....
Three Swiss girls ....
A Swiss man
A young woman of Bern
A S\viss girl in brid;d dress .
^n Italian man ....
The tarantelle in Naples An Italian shepherdess . An Italian monk Young women of Valence An Italian peasant-girl
wedding-dress . A fisher-woman of Portel An old Frenchwoman . Two French peasants A French fisherman A Brittany boy .\ Gy])sy of Granada .A Spanish funcia nr/o, Granada .\ Spanish ladv Two Portuguese boys . .\ Portuguese woman A Danish bride A Danish couple A Danish fisher-girl A Belgian peasant woman and her
draught-dogs A native of the Ardennes A Belgian man and his wife,
Ardennes
A family grpup of Marken people A Dutch married woman, North
Holland
A Dutch man, Volendam
A Dutch peasant woman, showing
head-di-ess
.A maid-of-.-vU-work, Holland .
A Derbyshire yeoman .
A Lowestoft smacksman
A type of Knglish beauty
An English girl . . . .
A group of fishermen, Devonshire
vaif
A Welsh woman at her spinning- wjieel
A Newhayen fishwife
In a Slietland crofter's home
An old Scot salt ....
Two old men of Skye .
A native of Jlourne
An old Irishwoman at her spinning- wheel
An Irish peasant-girl
-A type of Insli beauty .
Greenland Eskimo in the snow .
A party of Greenland Eskimo
Eskimo, with their sleighs and kayak
An Eskimo man ....
An Eskim.. woman.
I h ; .III.. I 111,, children . \ I . I I i i;r>indmother
1 ii-i I . ■ I ■11,1 and North
An K..kn.„. t'l.i and child .
A party of Eskimo, with their tent
of seal-skill and bear-skin -A North American Indian in full
A group of North American Indians A North American brave North American Indian chiefs, with their wives and children -A Chippewa Indian ... Ma-gi-ga-bow (chief) A Chippewa chief .... "Cut-nose," a Sioux criminal A North American Indian (pro-
A North American Indian (full- face), with pipe-tomahawk
A North American chief, with feather head-dress .
A D.akota-Siouan chief, thirty -eight ye.ars of age, with piiie-toma-
A North American Indian chief (profile)
A North American Indian, show- ing mocassins . . . .
An American Indian and his wife
Indiiin " sun dance " (the making of a brare)
A group of North American Indians in full dress ....
North American Indisins dressing.
.\n Indian chief and his squaws .
.-Vn Indian hunter, with wapiti skull
North American Indians prepared for a journey ....
An Indian tent in winter, with .squaw carrying papoose (child)
A woman of Kiawa
A North American Indian smoking tomahawk-pipe . . . .
Indian squaw and papoose (child) .
m;.
541
AgrcHip ■ \ \ ,:nilndi.ans 543 A Mail, i III Ih.ii.in 111 European
dre>,-, 544
North American Indians in camp 545
Guanajuato water-carriers, Mexico 546 A Hopi bride . . . . .547 Guatuso women and child, Costa
Rica ... . . 548 A Carib woman of Dutch Guiana,
with leg-bands . . .549
A Carib or Ackawoi woman (pro- file), with spikes in lower lip
and ears 550
A Carib or Ackawoi woman (full- f.ace), with spikes in lower lip
and ears 551
\ Carib man 552
A Carib woman .... 553 A Peruvian Indian, with orna- ments in the lobes of the ears 554 Natives of Peru .... 55.t A Gaucho of La Plata ... (356 Map showing distribution of South
American Indians . . . 557 A group of Sanapana men of the
Paraguayan Chaco . . . 558 A group of San.apana women of
the Par.aguayan Chaco . . 559
A party of Botocudos . . . 560
War Indians of the Lengua tribe 561
Lenguas of the Pai'aguayan Chaco 562
An encampment of Lengua Indians 503 A group of Lengua children,
Par.aguayan Ch.aco ... 564
Araucanians and tlieir children . 565
An Araucanian man . . . 566
A witch-doctor of Araucania . . 567
Civilised Araucanians . . . 568
A Chilian native and his wives . 569
An Araucanian beauty . . 570 A Tebuelche wDman and children,
dressed in guanaco robes. . 571
Mapuche natives of Ar.aucania . 572
A Fuegian man .... 573
A Tehuelche man . . . . 574
A Fuegian woman .... 575
Fuegians 576
CHAPTER XIII.
THE NEGRO IN GENERAL— THE BANTU NEGROES.
a. THE NEGRO IN GENERAL.
For the purposes of this chapter we shall accept the term Negro as the name of the dark, frizzly- or woolly-haired peoples who occupy most of Africa, from the Sahara to the Cape. Their range is interrupted by the scattered groups of pygmies in the Equatorial region and the Bushmen in South-western Africa, and by immigrant tribes of other races who occupy North- eastern Africa and extend southward along the coast to and beyond the Equator.
The main physical features of the Negro are his dark-coloured skin, woolly hair, and long massive skull, with receding forehead and projecting jaws. The colour is not black, as is so often stated ; for the blackest Africans are some Soudanese tribes, who are hybrids, and the Somali, who are not Negroes at all. The predominant colour is dark brown, varying from dark copper-coloured to yellowish brown or dark leddish brown. The colour in the same individual varies from time to time, according to his condition of health, and as a rule it darkens with age, new-born c'l-^dren being quite light in colour. The hair is generally short ; in transverse section it is elli^jtical and not circular, so that it naturally coils into short curls ; it thus appears woolly or frizzled. In most tribes the hair is very short, but in others it grows to considerable length, and is twisted ..., . .,
into very elaborate designs. The hair on the lower part of the face is inconspicuous; the beard is Sparse or absent, and the moustache represented by a few hairs above the corners of the mouth. The skull and head characters are very
-ical of the Negroes, though f vary greatly, owing to the uence of intermarriage with
_.er races. The skull as a whole IS massive, and the bones are firmly fused together, so that the
•^m-es between them are in- di. inct. The skull is long and broadest at the back ; the forehead receding; the nose is broad-based and the nostrils are widely open. 80 that it appears wide and flat. The body is well built, and the height averages about 5 feet 7 inches. The proportions of the limbs vary with the mode of life
OVA-UEliEKU WOMEN.
290
The Living Races of Mankind
and habits of the different tribes. Their muscular development is good, and on work which depends onlv on muscle they excel the average Em-opean ; but in anything requiring judgment they are easily beaten. The nervous system is not very sensitive, and the appreciation of pain is dull. Operations can be conducted without anaesthetics which would be fatal to Europeans even with their aid. Johnston describes a scene after one of the battles in British Central Africa, in which "operations of the most terribly painful character are being carried on, and the patients are smiling, with an occasional wince or grimace, but meantime plaiting grass with their fingers or watching the application of the surgical implements with positive interest."
Dress varies from absolutely nothing, as in some of the people of Kavii-ondo, to the complete clothing of the better-class Suahili. As a rule the dress is very simple : children are usually nude ; women mostly have a narrow petticoat, covering from the waist to about the knees ; men wear a narrow loin-cloth, which they frequently discard. In cold, wet districts, as
5 by Mr. B. E. Fripp.
OVA-HKREKO WOMIl
in the inland plateaux, a short skin cloak is used, which is hung over the shoulders to protect the lungs. The skins worn by the Negi-oes are untanned, but are rendered soft by scraping and beating. In South Africa the untanned hide of cattle is the principal material used for clothing. In Northern Africa and along the coast skins are replaced by cotton-cloth. Some of the Equatorial tribes make fabrics of plaited grass. Sheets of fig-bark, hammered until they are soft and supple, are used in Uganda and some neighbouring countries.
The ornaments are as varied as the clothing; they mostly consist of iron and brass rings, worn round the arms or legs, in the ears, nose, or lips. Brass beads hammered fi-om wire and cowry-shells are sewn on the skin garments or on straps; rings of ivory are worn on the muscles of the arm among some tribes, while head-dresses of feathers and fur are common, especially among the warriors. The medicme-man of the tribe is generally fantasticaUy arrayed in assortments of the most eccentric articles available.
"The body is decorated by colom'-tattooing and scar-tattooing or cicatrisation. True or
Photo hij a. ir. Wilson]
A SWAZI GIltL.
292
The Living!: Races of Mankind
coloui'-tattooing is eflected by making small cuts in the skin, and then rubbing in some dN'e or j^igment, usually charcoal- Cicatrisation, which is more common, is caused by repeated cuts at the same place, so that the skin in healing becomes thickened, and forms a projecting lump. These scars are usually in simple lines, but are sometimes worked into elaborate designs; in their simplest form they are caste or tribal marks ; but where best developed, as among the Bangala of the Congo, their object is personal adorn- ment. The lobes of the ear and the lips are often greatly extended by the insertion of wooden disks, and the teeth filed to points or some of them removed.
The typical Negi-o weapon is the sjiear ; it varies from the light, barbed tluiiwiiiL^-a^segai of the Zambesi tribes to lilt' iiia»iM'. long-bladed, two-edged, heavy t hru-t iiig->pear of the Masai. Bows and arrows are widely distributed, and the aiTows are often poisoned. Clubs and knobkerries are used for war, civil execu- tions, and hunting.
The dwellings are mostly huts of bent sticks or poles, covered with thatch or laced palm leaves. They ai-e usually small, but the palaces of the chiefs of A KAFFiB WOMAN, NATAL. the more Organised tribes may be very
large. The huts are mostly beehive- shaped, but may be oval, square, or oblong. The nomadic tribes rely on temjjorary reed screens or bivouacs, or huts of jDoles covered by skins. Where the Negroes have fallen mider the influence of other races, stone buildings are sometimes erected. The huts are usually built on the ground ; but in swamjjy districts they may be raised on piles, and where white ants are troublesome the food-huts are perched like dovecots at the top of a single pole. The huts are typically cii-cular ; but some square or oblong houses occur among the Guinea Negroes and in East Africa.
The food of the Negroes consists mainly of vegetable products ; the chief cereals are the native grains eleusine and sorghum or dhurra, and various introduced grains, such as millet, rice, maize, and occasionally wheat; tubers, such as yams, sweet potatoes, and cassava or manioc, and various pumpkins and beans are also largely used. Some tribes live almost entirely on plantains and bananas, and others on the coast are largely dependent on the cocoanut. The pastoral tribes have large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, and live on meat and milk ; and some of them are forbidden by religious scruples from eating vegetable food. Along the gi-eat rivers fish is an important article of diet, though some tribes avoid it on considerations which are now religious, but which originally were probably sanitary. Cannibalism is widely spread among the African Negi-o races, as it is among the Negroes of Papuasia. The use of human flesh as food is almost confined to the Congo and Ogowe Basins; but it is eaten as medicine or fetish over a much wider area ; as in such cases it is taken secretly, it probably occurs more widely than is thought. Cannibalism, in fact, probably arose
The Negro in General
293
from suijerstitious motives. As Sir Harry Johnston says, " INlen will eat the flesh of lions to make them brave, and the heart of a brave enemy is cooked and devoured by those who wish to share his courage."
The social organisation of the Negi'oes is primitive, and usually patriarchal. In many cases the people live in independent families or in isolated village communities, with an elder over each. Groups of villages may unite under a committee of elders or under a chief. Many chiefs may be subject to a principal chief or king, whose power may be upiield by a feudal system or be an absolute despotism. In either case slavery is nearly always an important element in organised states.
The character of the Negro is marked by extreme contrasts, the agricultural tribes differing from the warrior castes of the organised military states. The Negroes are generally described as indolent ; but they are capable of great exertion, and where they are protected they will work steadily in their own way. They are certainly usually avaricious, but on an impulse will act with noble generosity ; and their selfishness does not debar them from great feats of self-sacrifice and devotion. As soldiers their sanguine disposition renders them naturally brave, but in cases of reverse they are liable to panic; and though usually kind-hearted, in times of excitement they are capable of fiendish cruelty.
The Negro industries belong to a low stage of civilisation. Even as agri- cultm-ists their methods are crude. Thus the ground is cleared by fire, is never manured, and is broken up by small iron hoes or pointed sticks. Weaving is carried out among the more ad- vanced tribes, and most of them extract iron by simjjle hand-forges from grains of oxide of ii-on collected from stream-beds. Tanning is unknown, except where it has been learnt from Berlier tribes, and the pottery is all of the most primitive type. Wood-carving is done with knives, but the designs are crude and the objects made are always simple, except when affected by non-Negro influence.
The religion of the Negroes is typically fetish- ism, though it may be very slightly developed. Ap- parently all Negi-oes have some idea of a supernatural being, even if their ideas be vague ; and they apply their word for god to rain.
294
The Living Races of Mankind
storms, and other natural phenomena, or to anything unexjiected. But all Negroes seem to have a lively faith in the existence of spirits, and generally regard" them as very numerous. Negroes refer to these spirits in explanation of otherwise inexplicable events. They believe that every natural agency has its own individual spirit. Fetishism thus originates as a form of Nature-worship, and is based on the attempt to explain natural phenomena by attributing in- dwelling spirits to all external natural agencies.
Such worship soon leads to the use of material objects as symbols of the various natural agents; and, as Bui'ton says, " Of course the symbol is con- founded with the thing symbolised; and the statue or picture, which the enlightened look upon as they would a portrait or memento, becomes amongst the vulgar an object of absolute worship."
Thus Nature-worship gradually leads to the use
of fetishes and fetishism. But the Negro respect
for fetishes is due to the belief that they are the
BicHDWAs abode of some spirit who can do its owner good or
harm. Fetishism varies greatly in the extent of its
influence on ditieient tnlies In East \frica it is less widespread and powerful than in West
Africa, wheie it is geneial, its puests ha\e great authority, and its ceremonies are accompanied
by human <;aciifices
The faith in spirits is the basis of the typical African judicial system — ordeal by poison or torture. The test is theoretically an appeal to the spirits to decide a case when the elders of the tribe have not sufficient knowledge of the facts to give a verdict.
The African Negroes may be divided into four groups. The Negroes living south of the line from the mouth of the Juba on the east coast to the Rio del Eey near the mouth of the Niger on the west coast are grouped together as the Bantu, on account of the general resemblance between their languages. In West Africa, from the Eio del Key to Senegambia, are the Guinea Negroes, who are continued eastward by the Negroes of the Soudan, these being much affected by Hamitic influences. Between the northern Negroes and the Bantu are a group of Equatorial Negroes, including the Kikuyu, Niam-niam, JMonbuttu, and Fans. The fourth or Nilotic group occupies the upper basin of the Nile, and now extends south-east to Kiliiua Njaro, owing to the southern advance of the Jlasai.
wHAMA CHILJ
THE 15ANTU AND HOTTENTOT NEGROES. 1. THE HOTTENTOTS.
At the period of the first European intercourse with South Africa the Hottentots were one of the most powerful tribes in Cape Colony ; but they, like their allies the Bushmen, have been steadily losing ground under the pressure of other tribes and European colonists. Now the Hottentots — or, as they call themselves, the Khoi-Khoi— are numerically unim- portant, being confined to a few small areas in South-western Africa. Their numbers are estimated at about 40,000, which, however, includes many half-breeds. They occur in Griqua- land East, in Griqualand West and British Bechuanaland, in Namaqualand, and sporadically in Cape Colony. They belong to four surviving clans— the Namaqua on both sides of the mouth of the Orange River, the Koraqua of the Xaal River and Upper Orange River, the Griqua of Griqualand ^^'est around Kimberley, and the Gonaqua on the western borders
The Hottentots
?95
of Kaffraria. Of these four groups the Xamaqua are of the Hottentots. The termination -qua, it may be added
The physical appearance of the Hot- tentots is very distinctive. They have a r yellowish-brown complexion, woolly hair, a long head and triangular face, with a small nose, high cheek-bones, and pointed chin. They are of less than medium height, the average being about 5 feet. The limbs are slim and the bones small, so that the build is rather efi'eminate ; and the body has usually very fleshy, projecting buttocks.
These characters present a combination of those of the Negro races and of the Bushmen, the Hottentots being allied to the latter by their colour, their broad faces, small chins, and prominent cheek-bones. They differ, however, from the Bushmen by the general form of the skull and the character of the hair. The Hottentots are accordingly regarded as descendants of the original Bushman race, modified by inter- marriage with the Bantu.
The dress of the primitive Hottentots consists of a string or belt of leather wound round the waist, from which are hung strips of fur and strings of beads and shells, and of a kaross, or cloak of untanned skin. Sandals are used on long marches. As ornaments the women wear leg-rings of leather, armlets of ivory and iron, brass or shell earrings, and necklaces of shells, beads, or fragments of ostrich eggs. Their original weapons consisted of the assegai, which had a 6-foot shaft and 6-inch iron blade, various forms of knobkerries or throwing- clubs, bows, and poisoned arrows. The domestic utensils are clay pots and basins, iron knives, horn and shell spoons, and bone needles.
The huts are beehive-shaped, and built of bent sticks covered with mats made of rushes. They are arranged in circular series, or kraals, the space inside being kept for the sheep and cattle. The main industry of the Hottentots is cattle-breed- ing, milk forming an important element in their food. This, however, they sujjplement by growing maize and yams, spearing fish, hunting, and collecting wild roots and herbs. They are daring hunters, and face lions single-handed and armed only
the purest living repi is the masculine plural
esentati suffix.
'^HE"
BROTHKR.
296
The Living Races of Mankind
with an assegai. They formerly smoked dakica, a species of wild hemp, now mostly replaced by tobacco.
The customs of the Hottentots are often the same as those of the Kaffirs — as, for example, most of the ceremonies connected with the birth of children ; thus they carefully bury the placenta, the mother undergoes certain rites of purification, and the infant is smeared with cow-dung. Circumcision is performed when boys are about nine years of age. ISIarriages between near blood-relatives are forbidden ; the woman's consent is asked, after which the affair is settled by purchase between the bridegroom and his fut ure father - in - law. Polygamy was once prevalent. The burial customs are interesting: the corpse is sprinkled with blood, sewn up in mats, and buried in a sitting attitude facing the east in an excavation made on one side of the grave. In filling up the grave, the earth is therefore not thrown on the corpse.
These rites and the folklore of the Hottentots show their lively faith in a future life and in the existence of spirits. Their folklore is extremely rich in tales of the " Uncle Remus " type. Their language is allied to that of the Bushmen, but it contains only four regular clicks. Its structm-e is very specialised ; for it has a gender, and shows whether nouns are masculine, feminine, or neuter by the aid of suffixes ; it also has three numbers. But, as in some other linguistic groups, the meaning of many words varies according to the tone of expression.
1 (.J/ G. ir. trrhon.
2. THE BANTU OF SOUTH AFRICA.
The Ova-IIerero.
As we have seen in the last section, the most powerful and most typical race of Hottentots are the Namaqua of the lower part of the Orange Eiver. They have been reduced in numbers by a struggle with a northern race, the Hereros, who are now the dominant people in German South-west Africa. Between these two peojJes there was once a buffer tribe, known as the Hill Damara, who were hybrids between the Namaqua and their northern foes ; but they were
298
The Living Races of Manlvind
%
^.
l)I)IN(. I ARl \
weak and disunited, and were powerless to resist the southward encroachment of the Hereros. They now Hnger only in a few mountain retreats. The disappearance of the Hill Damara has left the Namaqua and the Hereros face to face, and dm'ing the present century the native history of the region which is now known as German .South-west Africa has been the story of the fight for mastery between these tribes.
The Hereros are clearly a Bantu race of northern origin ; they invaded German South-west Africa about a century ago, and now occupy the whole country from Ovam})oland to Walfish Uay, with the excejition of the mountain recesses occupied by the Hill Damara. Their numbers are estimated at about 70,000. Their southward progi-ess was stopped by the Namaqua, with whom the Hereros have waged a long series of wars, with varying fortunes. In the middle of the century the Hereros were defeated and one tribe annihilated; but after 18G0, by the aid of some English eleiDhant-hunters and the advice of some German missionaries, the tide of war turned in their favour.
The Hereros are a well-built race, and have been described as showing Caucasian features. The skull is of moderate length ; the hair, though woolly, is rather long ; the nose is comparatively narrow, the cheek-bones are not prominent, and the lips comparatively thin. The characters of the head therefore show some foreign influence. The original mental peculiarities of the people are masked by the result of a century of desperate war. They are said to be sullen, cowardly, and suspicious, but to be less changeable and emotional than the Hottentots.
> The clothing of the tribe is of leather, nudity being legarded with extreme aversion. The clothes of the women are a leather petticoat and a small mantle thrown over the shoulders : both garments are decorated by bead, shell, and wii-e ornaments. The waist is encircled by a girdle of leather strips ; on the legs and arms are rings of beads and wire ; while the head is covered with a circular cap, with a series of wing-like ornaments like those on a berserker's helmet. The weapons of the tribe are assegais, bow and arrows, and the knobkerry. The huts aie of the beehive-shaped type, and are covered with skins. They are light and portable, for they are moved frequently. The main industry is cattle-raising, but goats also are kept ; while
The Bantu of South Africa
299
some sections of the tribe have taken to agriculture, and collect wild roots and herbs. They have many superstitions regarding food, and a strong horror of salt: they believe in witch- craft ; and, like many of the Ivjuatorial Negroes, ha\ e a highly develo]iC(l tree-cult.
'i'lie (hainpo of Nortlii'rn (icrinan South-west Africa are a less interesting race. They are Hantu, and are well built, tall, and intelligent. They are agriculturists in the main, but own some cattle. The tribe numbers now about 100,000.
The Kaffirs.
The name Kaffir is now used by English wi-iters in Cape Colony for any South African N'egro. liut the name is used historically and ethnographically for the Ama-Xosa or Ama-Kosa, I he leading Bantu nation living south of Natal. The word Kaffir is of Arabic origin, and means "infidel."' It was applied by the early settlers of the eastern part of Cape Colony to the warlike natives of that region, just as it has been given in India to one of the turbulent hill [leoples of the nortli-wcstern frontier. Kaffraria — which, like the Kaffiristan of India, means "the country of the Kaffirs" — is bounded on the south-west by the Great ICei Kiver, which enters the Indian Ocean near East London, and on the north by the southern frontier of Natal, and thus includes the districts known as the Transkei, Tembuland, and Pondoland. The Ama-Kosa, who inhabit this region, are a typical Bantu race. They are muscular but slim, and well jiroport idued ; they stand about 5 feet 10 inches high. They are dark brown in colour, ha\e wodlly hair, a broad nose, and thick lips. Intellectually they are brave, intelligent, submi.ssi\e to discipline and quick pupils.
They dress in skins or blankets, and adorn their hair with feathers, strings of corals, and metal beads. One section of the nation dresses the hair into a kind of cap: a grass ring is jilaced over the crown of the head, and the hair is fastened to it by gi-ease ; as the hair grows the ring is raise<l from the head, like a cap.
c,> i,ii.i4MJISU COEX.
300
The Living Races of Manl<ind
The chief Kaffir weapon is the assegai, but the men are expert also in use ol the knohkerry. They jirotect themselves with large oval leather shields.
The Kaffirs dwell in temporary conical huts. They were mainly pastoral, and lived largely on milk ; but they now gi-ow crops of maize, millet, and yams.
They believe in spiiits, and are said to worship those of their ancestors ; but they do not apparently believe in any one supreme spirit or god.
Of the sub-groups of the true Kaffirs the most important is that of the Pondo, who live on the borders of Natal in Northern Kaffraria. They are now settled and peaceful; their numbers have accordingly increased greatly, and the tribe is now estimated at over 200,000.
Photo by a. W. Wilson]
THREE ZULU GIRLS.
I.i\ing among the Ama-Kosa is a people whose exact affinities are uncertain. They are the Fingo of Fingoland — i.e. the southern part of Kaffraria, just north of the Kei l\iver. In 1835, however, when they first placed themselves under British protection, they were settled by Sir Benjamin d'Frban in their present home, between the Great Fish Eiver and the Keiskaniina, and thus sa\ed fiom the Zulus, who were threatening to "eat them up." They have no projicr tribal name, Fingo, imposed on them by the Zulus, simply meaning "Vagabonds."
The Beciu'anas. id is a vast tract of country, bounded to the south by Cape Colony, to the north
Bed man
by the Zainbcfi, to the west by the Kal the Transvaal, and the Orange Iviver ("olo the country, but ethnographically the tern
hari Desert, and to the east by Southern Rhodesia, y. These are the existing political boundaries of includes parts of the adjacent territories, extending
riwlo (ly G. II'. IVilson]
A BASUTO GIRL.
302
The Living Races of Mankind
i
eastward across the Trans- vaal and northward be- yond the Zambesi. This country was once in- habited by Bushmen, who have been dispossessed by the invasion of a number of Bantu tribes fi-om the north, who are grouped together as theBeehuanas. At the pi-esent time the most powerful tribe of Bechuanas is the Bamang- k t^^KLJB aa^i ^M^Hl Jj^^V^ wato, who are ruled by
r I^B^P^" SH W^^m^^^^^^ Ji 1 the well-known chief
Khama.
The various Bechuana tribes are no doubt closely allied in descent, but in jiliysical appearance they differ considerably. The history of the various tribes is a long record of war and migration, during which the tribal differ- ences have been confused by intermarriage and the influence of different modes of life.
'Ihe most remarkable point on which all agree is the maintenance of the totem system. Even on the disruption of a tribe nmobi/G. w. ir,(.,o«] [Aba-.i.tn the new clan sometimes
TWO ZULU ciiiLs. adoj^ts a new totem.
Thus the Bamangwato tribe was established as an offshoot from the Bakwena, whose sacred animal is the crocodile, or kiuena. The founder of the Bamangwato was a chief named Kari, the great-great- grandfather of Khama. Kari led off' a party of Bakwena, and they adopted as their totem the small duiker antelope. (Similarly the Bakatla have as their sacred animal the Icalla or monkey, the Barotsi the baboon, and the Batlaro the elephant.
The Bechuanas belong to the same group as the Kaffirs, but they are a smaller, less muscular, less active race, with a darker colour; they are more peaceful, though when attacked they have defended themselves with great bravery and skill. Thus the Barotsi have more than once defeated attacks of British and Boer armies; and on the last occasion, when the jMatabili invaded the country of the Bamangwato, they were defeated with heavy loss. The Bechuanas are mild and kind in disposition, but they have on occasions committed massacres equal in cruelty to those of the Zulus and Ama-Kosa. The early travellers described them as intelligent, honest, and most industrious; but some later visitors to Bechuanaland have been less favourably imjiressed by them. One recent traveller complains that " they are the stingiest, most begging, grasping, and altogether disagreeable set of people that it is possibly ^p imagine. Although
■mj^
i>^^'
A^*^^
The Bantu of South Africa
303
possessing large herds of cows and goats, they will i;ot give a stranger a drop ot milk until he pays for it."
The national dress of the Bechuanas is a skin cloak, or kaross ; women wear in addition two or more skin aprons. They have elaborate ornaments of strung teeth, and beads, and armlets of grass.
The chief weapons of the Bechuanas are the barbed assegai and oval hide shield ; but they also use a two-edged dagger and knobkerries, and their wars with the Bushmen have forced them to adopt the bow and arrow. The wooden handles of their daggers are beautifuUv car\ed ; for in woodwork the Bechuanas are very skilful. They make spoons and cups, engra\ed with animals and arabesque designs. Their pottery and basket-work are also superior to that of most of the South African Bantu. The hut.s are conical, with extinguisher-shaped roofs
Photo by B. W. Caney^
IPEBn S WIVES, ZDLDLAND.
placed on low walls. The roof overhangs the wall considerably, and its outer margin is supported by poles. In some of the huts these poles are connected by a lattice-work, so that the huts are double-walled.
The main foods of the Bechuanas are the meat of cattle and goats, milk, and maize.
Marriage is based on purchase. The efiforts of the Cape Government to abolish this system have been resisted by both sexes, and especially by the women, who are flattered by the feeling that they are worth paying for, and fear that they would cease to be considered and cared for if they could be had for nothing. As is the case with most tribes who believe in totems, there are many restrictions on marriage, and the miion of cousins is j^rohibited.
After this brief sketch of the general customs of the Bechuanas, we need only consider the distribution of the isrincipal tribes. The most southern representatives, the Batlaro and the Eatlapi, live in the districts of Kuruman and Vryburg, north of Griqualand. To the north
3C54
The Living Races of Mankind
of Vryburg, on both banks of the Molopo River, which divides Cape Colony from the I'echu.uialand Protectorate, is the tribe of flie Kaiolong; their chief settlement is at M.ifekmg, and they extend far to the west into the Kalahari Desert. In the same district, hnt extending eastward into the Transvaal, is the home of the Barotsi, which is still in- liihited by one section of that tribe, though !no--t of the existing B.irotsi live north of the Zambesi. North of the jNIolopo IJiver md west of the Transvaal boundary are the r. mgwalvetsi, and the Bakwena, or crocodile 1 1 (iple, m whose territory was Livingstone's Mii-Mon station at Kolobeng. Nortli of these IK the Bakatla, or monkey people; and I I \()nd them is the territory of the powerful iiilio of Bamangwato, with their chief towns I Miobhong and Palapye. Aroimd Lake N.^imi 15 the clan of the Batwana, who are iij ofTslioot from the Bamangwato, and are iiou --lid to be blacker in colour.
'Ihe Bisuto are a section of the Bechuanas,
w ho now occupy the area between the Orange
l.i\er Colony, Natal, and the eastern extremity
I if ( ape Colony. In the mountain fastness
t I haba-Bossigo they were long able to
' Icit the attacks of the Boers and British.
The country was annexed to Cape Colony in
1871, but after a long war was transferred
^'^ <• ^ , ,"8 *'^ ^''® Imperial Government in 1884, and
, , ' """ I- now ruled by a chief named Lerothodi,
A /I i.\- >, . ,, ,,-,.,„ ,,,,. gmded by a British Administrator. The tribe
has given up its old political organisation
and tribal divisions, and has settled down to agricultural pursuits. The territory of Basutoland
is about 10,300 square miles, and the i:opulation was 220,000 at the census of 1891.
Closely allied to the Basuto are the Tonga of Tongaland, the country between Zululand and Portuguese East Africa. The area is about 2,000 square miles, and it is occupied by some 40,000 Tonga, who were subject to the Zulus until they recovered their independence after the Zulu overthrow in 1879. A section of the same tribe lives in Portuguese territory north of the Limpopo, where they were for a time subject to the Swazi of Gazaland. The Tonga once ranged much farther northward than they do at present.
TuE Zulus.
Between Tongaland on the north and Natal on the south is the home of the important tribe of the Zulus, the most warlike of all the Bantu and the most powerful nati\e race in South Africa before their conquest in 1879.
Physically the Zulus are a robust and well-built race ; they are above the medium height, light, active, and excellent runners. The jirevaihng tint is a dark chocolate brown.
The ordinary dress of the men consists of some strips of fur tied round the waist, while the women wear a short skin petticoat. But the gala and royal dresses are very elaborate.
A ZULU GIBL. 305
3o6
The Living Races of Mankind
The Zulu weapon is the assegai, a light thrusting-spear, of which several are taken to the field by each warrior. The body is protected by a long ox-hide shield, which is coloured according to the regiment of the owner.
The ]\Iatabili.
In the territory of the British South Africa Company the most important tribe is the Matabili, which occujdes the southern part of the region, now known as Rhodesia, around Buluwayo.
In jihysical features the ^latabili are of the Zulu type. The men are powerfully built, muscular, and about 5 feet 10 or 11 inches high. According to Selous, " the Matabili girls are very pleasant to the eye, having most good-tempered-looking face.s, and fine, upright, well-developed, dark chocolate-coloured figures." In political organisation, dress and domestic customs, and in their handicrafts the jNIatabili also resemble the Zulus. Thus, according to Selous, the costume of the women consists "of a small flap of goat- or antelope-skin in front and another behind, or of a little fringe of umhentla (a soft fibre extracted from a kind of grass) in front, and nothing at all behind." He adds that the Matabili huts are built on the Zulu plan, with doors only about 2 feet broad and under 2 feet in height.
The chief festival of the Matabili (a great dance known as Inxwala, and celebrated at the beginning of harvest) is worth describing. Selous, who was present on an occasion when 4,000 warriors took pai-t in the festivities, writes thus : " The men were all clothed in their splendid war-dress of black ostrich-feathers, which consists of a sort of cajje of black feathers, sewn closely together, covering their chests and shoulders, and built up over their heads in
Photo hy Mr. If. Elhrton Fry.
MATABILI WARRIOKS.
The Bantu of South Africa
307
MAbllONAS BAKTtKI>.C.
the form of a Highlander's bonnet, leaving only their faces exposed. From their waists hung quantities of leopard and tiger-cat tails or monkey-skins, which with the indunas form such a thick skirt that you cannot see their legs at all. Some of the indunas, instead of the bonnet of feathers, wear a roll of otter-skin across their foreheads, in which is stuck a crane's feather, which waves gracefully in the air. This feather war-dress is most becoming, and makes even an undersized, ugly sa\'age look well ; and as the greater j)art of the Matabili are physically a fine, tall race of men, they look magnificent. The young girls wear round their hips the brightest-colom'ed calicoes that they can manage to get hold of, which never, however, reach to their knees, the rest of their persons being nude. With their merry, pleasant faces, and upright, stately figures, they formed the prettiest, if not the most imposing, portion of the spectacle.
"The dancing lasted three days, during which time a great many oxen were slaughtered for the assembled people, and immense quantities of beer were drunk. The third day was the most interesting. In the large outer kraal the 4,000 beplumed warriors stood in a large semicircle about six deep, all of them continually humming a slow chant, and every now and then bringing then: right feet in unison to the ground with a stamp. At intervals, amidst applauding shouts, some well-known brave, after being called upon by name, would rush out of the ranks and show how he had killed his enemies, going through a jiantouiime of how he warded off the hostile blows with his shield, and at last delivered the death-stab with his fatal assegai. Every dowiiward thrust made with the assegai represented a life taken, and at every stab the warriors all hummed out with one accord the word iee. One man I watched had seventeen lives to account for, another fifteen, and so on.
"At last the king came from the inner kraa,l, and, advancing into the circle, stood in the midst of his warriors, dancing quietly by himself. He was dressed in monkey-skins and black ostrich-feathers, and really looked a king. His favourite sister, Ningengnee, was also within the circle, splendidly got up for the occasion, being covered with a profusion of beads, coloured calicoes, brass armlets, and silver chains. As she was immensely fat, her gambols were more grotesque than graceful; and she was so short-winded that she was coqtinnally obliged to
3o8
The Living Races of Mankind
stand and rest with her hands on her thighs. Presently the king walked in the midst of his plumed army to the open giound outside the kraal, and performed a portion of the ceremony, which consists in throwing an assegai and then running forward and picking it up again. As he did this all the warriors ran forward as well, striking the insides of their shields at the same time with the butt-ends of their assegais, and producing a noise literally like thunder."
The Mashonas.
The only important tribe in the British South Africa Conn)any's territories south of the Zambesi which has survived the Matabili invasion is the Mashona. Thanks to the abundance of safe retreats among the granite hills of their country, they have escaped the partial extinction that has befallen their neigh- bours and cousins, the Banyai and Makalaka ; but they have been so greatly reduced, that. though they occupy 100,000 square miles of territory, they only number about 200,000 persons.
The Mashonas are peaceful and indus- trious; they are laborious agi-iculturists, and raise large crops of grain, including maize and rice. They keep herds of small cattle, flocks of goats, and large numbers of fowls. Their bouses are circular thatched huts, which are perched for safety in the least accessible places on the kopjes or granite crags : for the ]\lashonas were weaker than their enemies the Matabili ; and as they had no military organi- iwo M\-iin\A MKN. sation, but lived in small communities under
local chiefs, and never combined for defence,
they had no chance of successfully resisting the JMatabili raids.
The Mashonas are skilled smiths, and make excellent iron assegais, battle-axes, and hoes.
They play a musical instrument like the marimba of West Africa : the Mashonaland form of
this " piano " contains twenty iron keys on a small board, which is placed inside a calabash to
act as a sounding-board.
The Mashonas kill elephants either by hamstringing them when they are asleep with a
broad-bladed axe, or by stabbing them between the shoulder-blades with a very heavy assegai
from an ambush in a tree.
The People of Lorenzo Marquez.
Portuguese territories in East Africa south of the Zambesi are occupied by four groups of Negroes. The dominant people are the Gaza, who are a clan of Zulus. They take their name from a Swazi chief named Gaza, who was sent with a Zulu army to drive the Portuguese from Delagoa Bay. In this attempt he failed. As he dared not return to Zululand, he led his
The Bantu of British Central Africa 309
army northward, cajiturfd Inhaiiibane, and attacked Sofala. He and his men then settled in the Portuguese dominions, dispossessed the aboriginal Tonga, and formed the Gaza tribe. The second section is now known as the Tonga, in which are included all the tribes of the southern part of the Portuguese territory who are not Zulu in origin. These Tonga clans are all allied to the Basuto, whereas farther to the north between the Tonga and the Zambesi are the tribes of jSIutandi, Atavara, etc., who are allied to the Mashonas. The fourth section is the tribe of the Balempa of Manicaland, who are said to owe their peculiar features, including aquiline nose, red eyes, and fiery eyebrows, to the influence of Semitic blood.
3. THE BANTU OF BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA.
The region north of the eastern half of the Zambesi is occupied by a great number of Bantu tribes, who have several marked featiii-es common to themselves and striking ditt'erences from the Negroes of Southern Africa. They may be divided into four groups — viz. the immigrants from the south, the natives of Nyasaland and Mozambique, the Bantu of German East Africa, and the Bantu of British East Africa.
The Southekn Immigrants — Anuoni and Makololo.
Of the immigrants from South Africa the most important are the Angoni, who now live on the western side of Lake Nyasa. They are hybrid Zulus, who settled in their present home early in the nineteenth century. They were never pure Zulus, but an allied Kaffir clan, which was subject to the great Zulu king Chaka, but retained its own chief. But at length the Zulu tyranny became intolerable, and the whole tribe fled northward ; it crossed the Zambesi just below the junction of the Luangwa, and marched up the valley of that river, west of T^ake Nyasa, to the country south-east of Tanganyika. There the tribe settled, and thence
CHIEF UMGABE A_ND HIS FOLLOW
3IO
The Living Races of Mankind
at various times it sent out bands in difl'erent directions : one of these bands settled beside the Victoria Nvanza, and its descendants are known as the Watuta : another struck south- eastward to the eastern side of the Nvasa, where, mingling with the Wangindo, it formed the tribe known as the Magwangwara. Later the main body of the Angoni moved southward, and settled in the country along the western shore of Lake Nyasa. They conquered the original Bantu inhabitants, over whom they rule as a military caste. They maintain then- old Zulu raiding habits, and as such have been a very distm-bing element in Nyasaland.
" These Angoni were the terror and curse of all this country," says Lugard. " Swooping down by night in their fantastic garb of war, with the unearthly yells, grunts, and groans with which thev accompany their attack, they would fall upon villages and loot e\erything — sheep, goats, fowls, and crops. Sometimes they would carry off captives of war. At othei
times they seemed possessed with a lust for carnage only, and killed man, woman, and child without distinction, leaving not a living soul behind on the scene of their brutal attack. These awful bm-sts of savage slaughter, combined with their character for invincible corn-age, the appalling sounds they utter, and the garb they wear in war, have struck such terror into the smTounding tribes that resist- ance is rarely offered to an Angoni raid. ^^'hen the dread cry is raised that the Angoni are coming, a blind panic seizes the helpless villagers, and each thinks only of flight and concealment, unless, as more often happens, the surprise is complete by night, and there is no time for escape."
It was mainly the liojie that they would act as a check to the Angoni that led to the establishment of the ]\Iakololo in the Shire country. The INLakololo were mostly Bechuana and Boloi people brought by Livingstone from the Upper Zambesi and settled at Tete in 1856. At first there were only twenty-five; but they were reinforced two years later and armed by Livingstone, so that they might protect the peaceful natives of the Shii-e district from the raids of the Yao and Angoni. The Makololo soon made themselves chiefs of the district, and under their organisation and leadershij) the encroachments of other tribes and of the Portuguese were successfully resisted. They were at first friendly towards the British, but after their chief had been treacherously killed by a Emopean they became hostile to all white men.
Photo by Mu
TWO NYASAI.
The Natives of Nyasaland.
The Bantu tribes of Nyasaland are now fairly well known, thanks in the main to the careful studies of Sir Harry Johnston. The main tribe is the Wangindo, which includes many sub-divisions.
The general characters and mode of life of the Nyasaland Bantu agree fairly closely among the difi'erent tribes. The average height of the men is about 5 feet.''6 inches, the women being about 0 inches shorter than the men. The head is tvpically Negro in type, and cases of the
Phot, I J S /J„ _ J
NATIVES OP EAST CENTRAL AFKICA IN FULL-DBESS COSTUJIE.
311
312
The Living Races of Mankind
f^' mongoloid, oblique, upturned eye, common ,j4^ among northern tribes, are here very rare. Though free from intermixture with the non- >.'egro races of Northern Africa, some of the tribes show signs of Arab influence by the considerable size of the beard.
Clothing among the jieople of this group is very limited. Many of the tribes go jiractically naked ; the men wear only a brass ring round the waist, the women a tiny bead work apron. But these tribes behave modestly, and are moral ; whereas the more extensi\ely clothed Wayao practise obscene rites and dances, and are very immoral.
Among personal ornaments, the most conspicuous among the Bantu of Southern Ivist Equatorial Africa is the petele, a disk of wood or bone about an inch or more in diameter, which is worn in the upper lip, causing it to jmijcct forward like a bird's liill. This is not found south of the /..nnlii'si, except in a slightly developed foil 1 1 among the Kanyai, who are no doubt (ilt'-li(Mits of the Nyasaland Bantu, although they now speak Mashona.
The Nyasaland natives are among the ablest agriculturists in Africa. The main crops are bananas, jilantains, and beans ; various forms of grains ; and also cassava or manioc, sugar-cane, melons, and pumpkins. Tobacco and hemp are grown for smoking ; simsin and castor oil afford the chief supply of oils.
The belief in fetishism and witchcraft is widespread in East Africa, and is indicated by the funeral rites.
Death is attributed, according to Johnston, to one of three causes : (1) the direct act of God by some sudden accident or a widespread epidemic or some well-known and clearly natural disease ; (2) death in warfare or by murder ; (3) by witchcraft, where the malady is obscure or a man has been killed by some wild beast. The animal is said to be either possessed by the witch or to be a human being in disguise. Sir Harry Johnston quotes one striking instance of the native faith in such disguises. During the war with Mankanjira, a famous Yao chief, a truce was arranged, so that the natives might consider the terms of peace offered by Major Edwards, who was in command of the British forces. The Yao held a council to consider the proposals, which were vigorously denounced by one of the councillors, who advocated war to the bitter end. The conference was being held in the bush, and this jingo speech was interrupted by a wild bull-buffalo charging into the party. The buffalo singled out the spokesman and inflicted on him mortal injuries. The Yao declared that the buffalo was Major Edwards himself; the terms were rejected, and war resumed with greater bitterness on account of this supposed breach of the truce. Even after burial the body is not considered safe from witchcraft, so that the grave is enclosed by a strong wooden fence, to protect it from the witch who has caused the death, and who may come in the form of a hyena to devour the body.
One interesting feature of Nyasaland burials is that the corpse is not allowed to touch the ground of the gi-ave. The body is swung like a hammock from sticks at each end of the grave, and is protected above bv a roof of sticks.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE BANTU OF EASTERN AND WESTERN AFRICA.
a. THE BANTU OF EASTERN AFRICA.
THE PEOPLE OF MOZAMBIQUE.
East of Nva^aland is the provi possessions in East Africa. This Makua, who are closely allied to The Wayao, the Ajawa of I Lujenda valleys, but have no\^ spread widely, are the domi- nant people in ]Mozamhi(|ue. I'hey have crossed into German territory and Nyasalaiid, and are steadily growing in jiow er. The Wayao are intelligent and industrious, but aggressive and cruel, and they sometimes practise cannibalism ; they are, however, faitliful. and Li\ ing- stone's devoted serwant Chuma was a member of a Yao tribe. The IMakua are a group of clans, and are older settlers in Mn/ambique. They are as industrious as the Wayao, but are hea\ier, more sluggish, and less intelligent. Their family sense is strong — another point in which they differ from the Yao, who have almost a community of women.
2. THE B.\NTU OF GERMAN EAST AFraCA.
The Wankonde.
North of Nyasaland and Mozambique is German East Africa, which is occupied by many tribes, most of whom are typical members of the East African group, wear
nee of Mozambique, the northern part of the Portuguese province is occupied by two dominant peoples, the '^'ao and those of Nyasaland. .ivinsjstone, who oriL,'inallv bved in the I pper Kiiuima and
WAGANDA SCHOLARS.
314
The Living Races of Mankind
the pelele or lip-plug, and speak Bantu languages. The Wankonde, though now in- cluded in German East Africa, were originally studied by British travellers, who have given detailed accounts of them. The word nkonde means a b.ar.ana, and the name was given to the people on account of the great extent of their banana plantations. Colonel Lugard, who waged a long war against the Arab slavers at Karonga. hirgely to jirotect the Wankonde, has given the following description of the tribe : " The country is densely populated. The men go naked, and the women also, save for a few inches of bark-cloth. The people (who from their word of salutation are often called ' Sokilis ') are very friendly ; but their familiarity is sometimes rather trying — as when a savage, out of pure goodwill, wanted to take my pipe out of my mouth to have his turn at a smoke, or when my visitors insisted on my sharing their snuff. However, I defeated these by giving them white pepper as the white man's equivalent ! The villages are \'ery large, and nestled for mile after mile among groves of bananas. The huts are beautifully and very ornamentally built, and are scrupulously clean ; even the banana groves are clean swept around the villages. The soil is very rich. Like the Waganda, these Wankonde, though jiossessing great herds of cattle, are largely agi-icultural, and live mainly on bananas, roots, and gi-ain. They owned enormous herds of cattle, and for a few inches of the commonest calico milk by the quart or gallon could be bought; eggs and fowls, and even goats and cattle, were excessively cheap."
The courage of the Wankonde is remarkable, though they are not able to face in the open the firearms of the slavers. But, says Lugard, " on two occasions it transpired that a single individual had gone by night, and, digging under the enemy's stockade, had pulled out one or two poles, under the very noses of their sentries, and, squeezing through, had abstracted a cow from inside and driven it off."
The Wankonde believe in fetish, and attribute all natural deaths to witchcraft. Accord- ingly everybody, unless killed in battle, is subjected to a post-mortem examination, in order to discover from the arrangement of the blood-vessels in the mesenteries to what form of witchcraft the death was due.
s'UBIAN POLICE, UGANDA.
Wanyamwezi.
The Wanyamwezi are the main tribe or group in German East Africa, and owing to their industry and commercial enterprise one of the most useful peoples in Eastern Africa, The name is apparently of Sualiili origin, and is now said to be applied to a group of tribes living in the highland country south of the Victoria Nyanza.
The Wanyamwezi as a race are tall and muscular. The colour of their skin is a dark sepia-brown. The hair is 4 or 5 inches long, and is twisted into ringlets, or may be shaved off except for a fillet in front and a tuft behind ; the small beaid may be retained, but the moustache, eyelashes, and eyebrows are pulled out by the roots. The two front teeth are
The Bantu of German East Africa
315
chipped away to leave a triangular depression. The lobes of the ear are enlarged, but the lip-plug is not worn. The typical tribal mark is a row of scars down the cheeks from the outer ends of the eyebrows : a third row may run down the middle of the forehead to the bridge of the nose.
The common di-ess consists of skin or cloth tobes and a short kilted petticoat. The principal ornaments are necklaces of beads, shells, or disks cut from hippopotamus teeth, and armlets of brass. The weapons are bow with barbed arrows, spears, assegais, knobkerries, and small battle-axes.
The villages consist of oblong huts, with sloping thatched roofs continued as projecting eaves. The walls are built of a kind of wattle and daub, supported by strong beams, which are often carved and painted. The main articles of furnitm-e are a bedstead, a series of clay pots for corn, grass mats, and corn-mill. At each end of the village is a large hut, known as the iwanza, which are used as a kind of common rooms — one by the men, the other by the women.
The Wanj'amwezi keep considerable herds of cattle, sheep, and donkeys, and they grow crops of grain, sweet potatoes, and cassava. Their main food is jjorridge. They weave cloth and baskets, and cut wooden bowls for milk.
At buth there are no ceremonies of special interest or significance. iNIarriage is by purchase, and burial consists in throwing the body into the nearest waste land, to be devoured by the hyenas and vultures. When the Arabs first entered the Unyamwezi country, there were constant feuds over this rule, owing to the effort of the natives to prevent the pollution of the soil by the burial of tlie dead.
The Wazaramo. The Wazaramo occupy a tract of country, about 100 miles across in each direction, near the
Pkoto by Mr. A. B. Fishtr.
UGANDA MAM AND WOJIAN IN NATIVE STYLE.
3>6
The Living Races of Mankind
coast of the mainland opposite Zanzibar. They were described by Burton as " an ill- . nnditioned, noisy, '"'isterous, violent, Hill impracticable race," and as being for long " the ])rincipal obstacle to Arab and other travellers enter- ing into East Africa." He describes them as having a lozenge- shaped face, with oblique eyes, a flat nose, prominent jaws, and thick projecting lips. They train the hair into numerous small knobs, held together by clay and wAKWAFi MEN OK KAviRciNDo. castor oil. Their Only
garment is a cotton L-loth, stained yellow ; but the chiefs wear a long white Arab shirt and an embroidered cap. The weapons of the tribe are spears, bows, i)oisoned arrows, doubled-edged swords or simcs ; muskets were introduced, but are now i)rohibited. The houses are oblong, and are compared by Burton to " the humbler sort of English cow-house or an Anglo-Indian bungalow." The walls are made of canes puddled with clay or of bark fastened against timber and bamboo : the roof is thatched with grass, and has wide projecting eaves.
The main industry of the country is agricultural. Land is cleared by fires ; it is weeded and lioed and seed planted before the rains. During the wet season copal-digging is the main occupation of the people.
loin-
The Wadoa.
West of the Wazaramo is the land of the once powerful tribe of the Wadoa, a peoj)le intere.sting as the easternmost of the Equatorial cannibals and for their remarkable linguistic ability. Like most of the coast natives, their physical characters are variable, owing to inter- mixture of foreign blood. They range in colour from black to light chocolate, and in size from large and muscular to small and wiry. Their tribal mark is a pair of scars down both cheeks, from the temple to the jaw. Many stories are current of their former cruelty and brutality. Thus, according to Bmrton, " with each man are interred alive a male and a female slave, the former holding a billhook wherewith to cut fuel for his lord in the cold death-world, and the latter, who is seated upon a little stool, supports his head in her lap." But such customs have been supjpressed since the German occupation of the country.
The Wakhutu, Wasagara, and Wagogo.
Close neighbours of the Wadoa and Wazaramo are the Wakhutu and Wasagara, who in most respects resemble the Wazaramo. To the west of this gi-oujj live the Wasagara. a type of the mountain tribes of the East African highlands. They are a tall, sturdy race, and vary in coloiu- from nearlv black to chocolate. Their method of wearing the hair is interesting, as
The Bantu of British East Africa 317
it resembles that of the ancient Egyptians. Most of the head is covered with small stiff ringlets, while what Burton called a curtain of pigtails hangs down behind. The warriors fasten in their hair the feathers of vultures and bright-coloured birds. The lobes of the ear are distended by the insertion of a disk of wood or metal ; and this is carried to such a length that the loop may touch the shoulder. The clothing consists of a cotton loin-cloth or a kilt of softened goat-skin : the wealthier women, like the Suahili of the coast, wear a long tobe, reaching up to the arm-pits, and fastened tightly down across the chest.
Occupying the country for five marches west of the Wasagara are the Wagogo, a powerful race, with most of the same characters. The distension of the ear-lobes is still more marked. Burton describes them as " not an uncomely race ; some of the younger race might even lay claim to prettiness. The upper part of the face is often fine, but the lips are thick and the mouth coarse ; similarly the body is well formed to the haunches, but the lean calf is placed peculiarly high up the leg. The expression of the countenance, even in the women, is wild and angry ; and the round eyes are often reddened and bleared by drink. The voice is strong, strident, and commanding." The members of this tribe are inquisitive and bullying, but hospitable. They are expert thieves and very lazy, getting all the work of their fields done by slaves.
Their clothing is more elaborate than that of their eastern neighbours, but their ornaments of brass wire, beads, and ivory armlets are much the same. Their chief weapon is the spear, which has a long and broad head, and a long tuliular neck for the insertion of the handle. Two-edged swords, broader near the end, and bows and barbed arrows are also carried. The huts, as usaal in this district, are square, and divided up by partitions into several rooms.
3. THE BANTU OF BRITISH EAST AFRICA. The Suahili.
The eastern part of British East Africa is occupied by a series of Bantu peoples of many different tribes, of which we may consider four examples as types of the rest. On the coast is the race of the Suahili, who range on the mainland from Somaliland to German East Africa, and occupy the oif-lying islands from Patta near Lamu to Zanzibar. The Suahili are
GROUP OP SUK.
3i8
The Living Races of Mankind
not a definite tribe, but a hybrid race formed by the intermarriage of Arab settlers with the original coast natives and with the Kegroes brought from the interior as slaves. The name is derived from the Arabic word sahel, a coast.
The Arab influence in East Africa has been the gradual growth of perhaps 2,000 years. Phcenician and Arabian merchants sailed down the East African coast in prehistoric times, and no doubt established stations at various points of call. Seven centuries ago there was a civil war in ^luscat, the south-east corner of Arabia ; the defeated faction, the Nabahani, were expelled, and settled in the archipelago of Lamu. Three centuries afterwards the Portuguese arrived on the coast, and began to establish stations and annex the country. Their encroach- ments were resisted by the Nabahani, who waged a long conflict with the Portuguese for mastery along the coast. In this struggle the Arabs were continually reinforced by fresh arrivals from Arabia, and the new-comers settled in the country. In process of time the Arabs intermarried with the coast Negroes, and their offspring formed the Suahili race. The Negro element was much the larger, and was represented by so many different tribes that the Suahili do not form a homogeneous people. The one important element of union is the language, which is the lingua franca of Equatorial Africa, is known by members of most of the inland tribes, and is intelligible to the Bantu peoples as far west as the Congo Basin. It is probably the most important of the Bantu languages, and a few words may be devoted to it as a type of the group. The first character that strikes a European is that the
beginning of the word is altered in declension instead of the end. Thus the words ngema, jema, tvema, vyema, etc., are all different forms of the word for "good." Similarly the present, past, and future tenses of the verb "to get" are mapata, napata, and tapata. A " man " is mtu ; the plural " men " is loatu. The second feature of the language is the " concord," according to which all the variable parts of speech in a sentence are modified by the ado[)tion of a prefix similar to that of the noun. A third character is the combination of several words into one, so that a short sentence may be fused into a single word, as in the Suahili riddle Hausimiki- hausimami.
The Suahili are iMohammedans ; but they are
very tolerant, and one of their proverbs asserts that
^ / J^, ^^^^^^^HH^H a useful infidel is better than a useless believer.
J^ 9^_,^S0^^^^^H '^"^^ headquarters of the Suahili are the coast
jjfly ,^M^^"~ ' "s^^f^H towns, including Zanzibar, Bagamoyo, Dar-es-Salaam,
^^ "^^ t? ^ ^ "^^ ,'^w^ ]\l(inibasa, Lamu, and Melindi, and on the Somali coast
if "*».'. '^^^ai l\i-inayu and Mogadoxo. The better-class Suahili
are merchants, and it is they who are mainly responsible for the slave-raids in Eastern Tropical Africa south of the Equator.
TiJE Wagikvama.
As ;in example of the primitive East African coast triljes we may take the Wagiryama, who live in the hilly uplands between Mombasa and the Sabaki. As a race they are tall and slim, but strong. They are agriculturists and not at all war- like, and until recently had to leave their best lands untilled, as they could not defend them from the
Photo by Mr. Ernest atdgc] [Ludboroiij/li.
Y'SDK WAREIOB, KAEANIOJO.
The Bantu of British East Africa
319
3 by Father Oaboniel
WABENI SCHOOL-GIRLS.
raids of the Masai. They live in strongly stockaded villages, frequently situated in a patch of forest. Tlieir huts show a trace of Arab influence, as, unlike those of the ordinary East African Bantu, they are often built with a gabled roof. The men wear only a small loin-cloth, made of the tyjje of calico known as " Mericani " ; the women have a double-flounced petticoat fastened round the waist and round the knees. Their ornaments consist of strings of red and blue beads, anklets and neck-rings made of brass and iron wire and light steel chain. Their main industry is agriculture, as they sell their produce in the coast towns for the calico, wire, beads, and implements which they require.
They are a superstitious tribe, and fetish-worship is more conspicuous among them than other British East African Bantu. The entrances to the fields are usually through an archway hung with fetishes; small fetish-huts occur in most of the villages, and some conspicuous trees are surrounded by a sacred belt, which the women and children are forbidden to enter.
The country is very liable to drought, and in places the people store up water in the shells of a large snail common in the district. In the dry seasons the people sometimes devote the whole night to fetching water from distant pools.
The Wapokomo.
The high plateau at the back of the belt of country inhabited by the Wagiryama is occupied by the nomadic scattered families and small villages of the Wanyika and Waduruma. The mountains that rise above the scrub-covered deserts of the Nyika are occupied by the Wateita.
The scrub-covered coast plateau of British East Africa is broken by the valleys of the Sabaki and the Tana rivers, along the latter of which dwell the Wapokomo, who represent a
320
The Living Races of Mankind
third type of British East African Bantu. They live only on the banks of the Lower Tana; and as they are protected by the vast swamps of that valley, they have kept free from foreign influence. As a race they are tall and \'ery powerfully built ; but they are cowardly, and dare not defend themselves against the raids of the coast Suahili or the dangerous Somali tribes to the north.
The dress of the j)eople is more limited than that of most of the coast natives. The men wear a narrow cloth tied tightly round the loins ; the women wear a petticoat of many flounces, covering from the waist to the knees. As a protection against the cold and wet they keep the body anointed with castor oil, and the men colour themselves bright red by mixing ochre with the oil. The principal ornaments are armlets and leg-rings of brass wire and long strings of white beads. The hair is abundant ; it is dressed with mutton fat and oil, and is twisted into curls about three inches long, which hang round the head lilie the ends of a mop.
NATIVES OP LUMBWA.
Every Pokomo is armed with a broad-bladed spear, which is used for killing crocodiles, reed-rats, and lizards. It is also used as a i)addle for propelling their dug-out canoes.
The tribe is agricultural, their only domestic animals being fowls and sheep. Their principal foods are the plantain, cassava, beans, and maize; they also gi-ovv castor oil, simsin oil, pumpkins, tobacco, and sugar-cane. From the last, and still more from the wild fig which gi'ows along the banks of the Tana, they prepare an intoxicating beverage ; and when this is in season, the population of whole villages may be found in a state of drunken stupor.
The Pokomo religion is a fetishism of which the rites are secret. Every man carries about with him a charm, and every village has a fetish-shed, under which is bm-ied, as a protection against the Somali, some such article as an empty bottle or an old meat-tin. The elders of the villages form a secret society, something like those of the West African Negroes ; the Pokomo society is known as Ngadsi, and it rules the tribe and keeps it on fi-iendly terms with the di'eaded spirit "the Old Man of the Woods." The people make offerings of food
The Bantu of British East Africa
3?^
to this spLrit, which are appropriated by the chiefs of the order. They ujihold theur di-ead of the spirit by a drum, of wliich the sound is louder than the roar of a lion ; this, they say, is the voice of the Old Man of the Woods. They have a certain faith in a future life, though they think it will not be so pleasant as the present.
The position of women in this tribe is unusually favourable. They ha\e been described as monogamous, and marriage occurs much later than with the coast tribes. The Pokomo have a proverb that the weak- ness of the Suahili is due to the birth of children by children. The women s}iend most of their time in the villages, and do little work in the fields and on the ri\er. During seed-time and harvest they help the men ; but they take the lighter part of the tasks. When travelling on the river, the paddling is always done by the men. terms with the men.
The women, however, join in the dances on equal
The Wakamf
The Wakamba are the leading Bantu tribe along the line of the Uganda Eailway. The original home of the tribe was in German East Africa ; but it migrated northward and settled in the hills of Kikumbuliyu, Iveti, and Kitui. The Wakamba are a well-built race, tall, muscular, but slimmer than the Pokomo. They are brave, though not aggiessive ; with their light spears, bows, and poisoned arrows, they have held their hills against the attacks of Masai, Kikuyu, and Somali. They are keen traders, and not only enjoy bargaining with passing caravans, but send trading expeditions to the coast. They take down grain, tobacco, ivory, gum, cattle, and sheep, which they exchange for beads, brass, cloth, and tools. In trading they use many of the Suahili methods : for example, they measure the cloth by the " hand " or by the length from elbow to finger-tip of an average man.
The Wakamba wear little clothing : the younger men wear only a flap of skin over the shoulders; older men and women have a longer, loose mantle of cotton-cloth or skin. The body is generally kept rubbed with oil and decorated with streaks of paint, usually a white band across the face, enclosing the eye, and stretching from ear to ear. The upper incisor teeth of the men are filed into pointed fangs.
Bows and poisoned arrows are the main weapons, but spears and si7ne8, or double-edged swords, are also used. The chief ornaments are made of brass wire and big blue beads. Agricultural work is mainly done with wooden implements, the ground being dug up with pointed stakes and the clods broken by curved sticks. The people Uve in rectangular huts with vertical walls and thatched roofs. These huts are collected into kraals, each of which contains practically a family group. Each kraal has its own plantations, the boundaries of which are marked by hedges, heaps of stone, or irrigation channels. In the plantations are grown beans, plantains, pumpkins, maize, dhurra, and especially millet, which, boiled into porridge, is the staple food of the tribe. Tobacco is grown for snufif; but smoking has been learnt at the coast, and the practice is spreading.
The weapons and ornaments are made by a class of smiths. Grains of iron oxide are collected from the stream-beds, smelted in charcoal furnaces, and wrought into spear- and arrow-
41
322
The Living Races of Mankind
heads and knives. Brass is purchased from trading caravans, and worked into beads, earrings, and bracelets. A small circular brass disk about an inch in diameter is usually worn on the middle of the forehead.
The produce of the plantations of each kraal is the common property of its members : a share for food is served out to each household and the rest sold, the goods received in exchange belonging to the whole kraal. Private property is said to be limited to clothes and weapons.
The tribe is governed by meetings of the elders, and though there is a chief over each district his 1 lower is limited. Punishments are only given after conviction by a jury of elders, after the accused has been confronted with his accuser and allowed full opportunities for defence. Capital punishment is in- flicted only for very serious crimes.
The religion of the Wakamba is jiriinitive. There is a vague belief in a great spirit, known by the Masai name Ngai. In times of drought offerings of plantains, gi'ain, and beer are i:ilaced under sacred trees. Circumcision is practised, but not as amongst the .Masai and Kikuyu. All the Wakamba carry a charm, liut they do not appear to have wooden human images like the coast tribes. The medicine-men appear to exercise comparatively little jjower.
THE PEOPLE OF UGANDA AND THEIR ALLIES.
On the north-western shore of the Victoria Nyanza is the kingdom of Uganda, which is remarkable among the states of Equatorial Africa for its central- ised government and organised political institutions. The main basis of the people of Uganda is Bantu ; but in Uganda there are scattered gi-oups of a race known as the Waluuna, who are Hamites allied to the Gallas. The political organisation of I.Tganda is no doubt due to the conquest of this region by a race of Wahuma invaders. Thus Speke, the first Eurojiean to visit Uganda, reported that " the government is in the hands of foreigners, who had invaded and taken possession of the country, leaving the agi-icultm-al aborigines to till the ground, whilst the junior members of the usurping clans herded cattle." The conquerors no doubt came from the north-east, as appears from the evidence of theii- physical structure and language.
Speke was so impressed by the resemblance of the Wahuma of Uganda to the Abyssinians that he maintained that both those races and the Gallas were the same. And Lugard reports a remark by Dualla Idris, the greatest of native caravan headmen, to the effect that the Wasoga resemble the Abyssinians in dress and in many of theu customs— as, for instance, their method of salutation.
The eastern origin of the Wahuma is, moreover, directly affirmed by native traditions. Baker describes a remarkable Unyoro custom which survived until the coronation of its last independent ruler, the now exiled Kabaregga. Before a new king succeeds to the throne he has to sleep for two nights east of the Nile, and then march back by the path used by the
Ploto hy Mr. Ernest Gaten]
AN KI-GON CHIEF.
324
The Living Races of Mankind
invaders. On reaching the river, he crosses by boat to the exact landing-place " where the original conqueror first set his foot upon the frontier."
The Wahuma invaders conquered not only Uganda, but a large tract of country west of the Victoria Nyanza. There they established the empire of Kitwara, which has long since been broken up into the recently independent states of Uganda, Unyoro, and Toru ; while its political influence can be detected over a still wider area, as in Usoga, to the east of the Nile, and in the Monbuttu (Mangbattu) country, west of the Albert Nyanza.
The Wag an da.
Uganda is the central and most important part of these Kitwara states. It is situated to the north-west of the Victoria Nyanza, and its old capital of Mengo is now the administrative centre for the much vaster region known as the British Protectorate of Uganda.
The population of Uganda has been estimated at from 800,000 to 5,000,000. The former figure is probably the nearer the truth. ]\Iost of the people are typical Bantu Negroes, the Wahuma being numerically insignificant. The Wahuma characteristics are recognisable only in the chiefs or in some clans of cattle-herds living to the west of the Nyanza.
As a type of the Wahuma caste we may quote Speke's description of jNItesa, who was king at the time of that traveller's visit :—
"The king, a good-looking, well-figured, tall young man of twenty-five, was sitting on a red blanket spread upon a square platform of royal grass, encased in tiger-grass reeds, scrupulously well dressed in a new mhugii [i.e. bark-cloth]. The hair of his head was cut short, excepting on the top, where it was combed up into a high ridge, running from stem to stern like a cockscomb. On his neck was a very neat ornament — a large ring, of beautifully worked small beads, forming elegant patterns by their various colours. On one arm was
another bead ornament, prettily devised ; and ~- on the other a wooden charm, tied by a string
covered with snake-skin. On every finger and every toe he had alternate brass and copper rings ; and above the ankles, half-way up to the calf, a stocking of very pretty beads- Everything was light, neat, and elegant in its way ; not a fault could be found with the laste of his 'getting up.' For a handkerchief lie held a well-folded piece of bark, and a [liece of gold-embroidered silk, which he con- stantly employed to hide his large mouth when laughing, or to wipe it after a drink of plantain wine, of which he took constant and copious draughts from neat little gouid cups, administered by his ladies-in-waiting, who were at once his sisters and wives. A white dog, spear, shield, and woman — the Uganda cognisance — were by his side, as also a knot of staif officers, with whom he kept up a brisk conversation on one side, and on the other was a band of inchiuezi, or lady sorcerers.
" The king's gait in retiring was intended to be very majestic, but did not succeed in conveying to me that impression. It was the traditional walk of his race, founded on the
i
Photo by Richard Bvchta.
AN UNYORO GIRL (FULL-FACE).
The People of Uganda and their Allies
325
DNVOIiO CIKL (I'UOFIIE).
step of the lion ; hut the outward sweep of the legs, intended to represent the stride of the noble beast, appeared to me only to realise a very ludicrous kind of waddle, which made me ask if anything serious was the matter with the royal person."
The dress of the Waganda consists of /
long robes of cloth made by beating the bark , of a species of fig-tree with wooden hammers. But imported cotton has of late years been ,' superseding the native material. Over the bark-cloth mantle was worn a robe made either of cattle or of small antelope-skins sewn together. The whole body is covered, and under Mtesa's rule the punishment for being seen out of doors insufficiently clad was death. In the court, however, the wonaen in irame- y diate attendance on the king were all quite \ nude. Ornaments of beads and brass wire \
were extensively used ; but the ornaments have changed, owing to increased communica- tion with the coast. Tattooing and the filing or extraction of teeth are unkno^vn. The old weapons, bows and an-ows, ha\e been exchanged for muskets and rifles.
The Uganda houses are large beehive- shaped structm-es of thatch supported by posts. The roof is double, which keeps the temperature lower than it otherwise would be.
The staple food is the banana, which is broken into flour and eaten as gruel or unleavened cakes. Sweet potatoes, maize, millet, beans, and pumpkins are also largely used, while the Arabs hare introduced tomatoes, papaw, and rice. Coffee is grown, and the berries are chewed.
The national religion is fetishism, but JNIohammedanism and Christianity have been introduced and been widely adopted. The Christian missionaries belong to three parties: the White Fathers of Algeria, a French Eoman Catholic mission ; the Mill Hill lathers, who are English Catholics; and the Protestant missionaries, belonging to the Church of England. The missionaries have been very successful in educational work. Before the introduction of Christianity and Islam and the establishment of British control human sacrifices were extensively offered for religious motives, while much life was squandered by the caprice of the king.
Though the lives of strangers in Uganda were regarded as sacred, all the early tra\ellers to the country were horrified by the waste of life. Thus Speke assures us that " nearly every day, incredible as it may seem, I have seen one, two, or three of the wretched palace women led away to execution, tied by the hand, and dragged along by one of the body-guard, crying out, as she went to premature death, ' 0 my lord ! my king ! my mother ! ' at the top of her voice, in the utmost despair and lamentation ; and yet there was not a soul who dared lift hand to save any of them, though they might be heard privately commenting on their beauty."
The king was an absolute despot, and was regarded as almost divine. Hence attendance at court was almost a religious duty. It is, according to Speke, " the duty of all officers, generally speaking, to attend at court as constantly as possible; should they fail, they forfeit their lands, wives, and all belongings. These will be seized and given to others more worthy of them, as it is presumed that either insolence or disaffection can be the only motive which
326
The Living Races of Mankind
would induce any person to absent himself for any length of time from the pleasure of seeing his sovereign.
" All acts of the king are counted benefits, for which he must be thanked : and so every deed done to his subjects is a gift received by them, though it should assume the shape of a flogging or fine ; for are not these, which make better men of them, as necessary as anything? The thanks are rendered by grovelling on the ground, floundering about, and whining after the manner of happy dogs, after which they rise up suddenly, take up sticks — spears are not allowed to be carried in court— make as if charging the king, jabbering as fast as tongues can rattle, and so they swear fideUty for all their lives."
The Wasoga.
Several of the tribes adjacent to Uganda also show the influence of a Wahuma caste upon a subject Bantu race. Thus east of Uganda, on the other side of the Nile, live the Wasoga, who agree in most resjjects with the Waganda, but are blacker in colour, and contain a larger proportion of Negro blood. They resemble the Waganda in stature and physique, in the absence of bodily mutilations, and in the use of bark-cloth garments and of the banana as the staple food. On the other hand, they ofifer a striking contrast to the naked people of Kavirondo, their neighbom-s to the south-east. Lugard, in describing the Wasoga, remarks on their superior type, adding that " their quick eyes and high foreheads bespeak a higher intelligence tlian tlie Wakavirondo."
The Wasoga dress in long robes of bark-cloth, made by hammering the bark of fig-trees. The costume consists of a long flowing mantle, which stretches from the shoulders or the waist
to the ankles. But, as is so often the
case with African tribes, morality does not
coincide with decent dress. Polygamy is 23revalent, and the chiefs number their wives by the hundred.
The \illages are large and open, and consist of circular huts, with high, conical, thatched roofs : in the largest huts tlie roof is sujiported on vertical walls, but in the huts of the peasants the thatch-cone rests upon the ground.
The main industry is agi-icultm-e, and the staple food is the banana, which also furnishes the chief native drink, a banana beer or pomhe. Hemp is grown and smoked in small clay i)ipes.
The Wanyoro.
t)n the side of Uganda opposite Usoga is Unyoro, the country of the Wanyoro, who are also a race of Bantu Negroes modified by Wahuma influence.
Baker, coming from the north, was as much impressed by the contrast between the chaos of the Nilotic Negroes and the feudal organisation in Unyoro, as Stanley, coming from the south, was fascinated by the difl'erence between the petty Bantu
^IS^^
Photo by Hid ill I
A PElNCtbb Oi L.N^ORO (1 ULL-KACE),
The People of Uganda and their Allies
327
^^■Millli
communities and the centralised govern- ment of Uganda. Every district in Unyoro was governed by a chief, responsible to the king, and controlling a number of sub- chiefs and a series of lower officials. In the event of war every governor could apiiear at the head of his contingent at short notice.
The Wanyoro appear to have been less altered by the Wahuma than the Waganda, for they retain the widespread Negro custom of extracting the front teeth in the lower jaw ; and they practise scar-tattooing, the tribal mark being two rows of scars across the forehead. They are a shorter race than the Waganda, of a lighter and generally redder complexion. Baker's description of Kabaregga, who was king at the time of his visit, shows the general characters of one of the ruling caste. Kabaregga was said to lie the sixteenth king since the conquest : —
"Kabaregga was about 5 feet 10 inches in height, and of extremely light com-' plexion. His eyes were very large, but projected in a disagreeable manner. A broad but low forehead and high cheek-bones, added to a large mouth, with rather' prominent but exceedingly white teeth, complete the description of his face. His hands were beautifully shaped."
In general culture the people resemble the Waganda, but are in some respects inferior. Their huts, for example, are not so well built, and are beehive-shaped, thatched houses, sujaported on a central pole. The chief town, Masinde was described by Baker as composed of several thousands of such huts. The national weajion is the spear, instead of the bow and arrow; and the dress consists of robes of bark-cloth.
The marriage system, as in Uganda, is unlimited polygamy, and tlie closest blood-relatives may marry. Mohammedanism has been introduced and has made considerable progress, and will probably limit this system. The national religion is fetishism, and human sacrifices were recklessly offered, especially at the death of a king. The burial rites are described by Baker as follows : " The body of the king is mummified by being roasted over a slow fire, and is then laid out in state in a large hut. His successor plants his spear at the right hand of the corpse as a symbol of his succession and victory over rival claimants. A huge pit is dug and lined with bark-cloth. During the night before the burial the king's own regiment seizes a number of people and brings the captives to the graveside. The body of the king is placed upon the knees of a group of his wives, who sit at the bottom of the pit. The legs and arms of the captives are broken with clubs, and they are thrown into the pit on to the top of the king's body and wives. Earth is shovelled in and sttimped into a compact mass by thousands of the people, while the shrieks of the victims are drowned by drums and shouts. The mangled mass is buried and trodden down beneath a tumulus of earth, and all is still. The funeral is over."
Photo by Richnrd Bnchta.
A PKIKCESS OF nNYORO (PROFILE).
The Monbuttu, or Mangkattu. West of Unyoro, in the basin of the Ubangi, the great north-eastern tributary of the Congo, dwell the Monbuttu (Junker's Mangbattu), who are allied by some of their physical features
328
The Living Races of Mankind
and bv their political system to the Waganda group, but who by their language and by many of their customs are akin to the Nilotic Negroes. The Monbuttu were first visited by Schweinfurth, who estimated their numbers at about 1,000,000 and their territory at nearly 4,000 square miles. But their kingdom was overrun by Arab raiders, and they are now subjects of the Congo Free State.
In physical character the Moiilmttu are remarkable for their light brown tint, light greyish hair, long curved nose, and the somewhat Semitic form of the skull. Schweinfurth described the king as a man with " small whiskers and a tolerably thick beard ; his perfectly Caucasian nose offered a remarkable contrast to the thick and protruding Negro lips. In his eyes gleamed the wild light of animal sensuality, and around his mouth lurked an expression of avarice, violence, and love of cruelty that could with the extremest difficulty relax into a smile." The king was autocratic, and the political organisation of the country similar to that of Uganda before the British annexation. " The Monbuttu," says Schweinfmth, " are subject to a monarchical government of an importance beyond the average of those of Central Africa; and in its institutions it appears to correspond with the descriptions of Negro empires long
since passed away." At the time of Schwein- furth's visit the king held his court in a palatial hall 100 feet long by 50 feet wide, and with a vaulted roof 40 feet high ; he sat at one end on a throne, surrounded by his comliers, officials, and marshals. He received taxes from his subjects, and had a monopoly of the ivory.
The dress of the ^lonbuttu is simple : the women have only a plantain leaf hanging down from a narrow girdle ; while the men are wrapped in a mantle made from the bark of a fig-tree. The hair in both sexes is worn as a cylindrical chignon. The women have bands of scars cut across their breasts and back, and ai-e painted in \arious designs. The ornaments worn consist of chains of teeth and steel rings and copper neck- laces. The weapons are curved swords, long-headed spears, knives, daggers, bows and arrows. The tools used include the spade for agricultm-al work, axes for tree-felling, and adzes for carpentry and hollowing out canoes, which are sometimes 40 feet long by 5 feet wide. The ordinary dwelling-huts are two-roomed buildings 30 feet long by 20 feet wide : the roofs are overhanging, and are lined with plaintain leaves. The huts are placed in rows on the banks of the numerous streams.
The staple food of the country is the plantain; but various grains, cassava, yams, ground-nuts, and tobacco are also grown. The food is mixed with oil obtained from the oil-palm and sesame. Tobacco is largely grown, and its foreign origin is clearly indicated by its name, eh tobboo. Meat is obtained by hunting and fish by poisoning the streams with the juice of the Tephrosia. Cannibalism was practised extensively. Schweinfurth reports that while he was in the Monbuttu country a child was kiUed every day for the king's meal.
Weaving and tanning are miknown ; but the people are very skilful metal-workers and wood-carvers; while the pottery, like the black earthenware of Uganda, is very superior to that of the average African native.
The whole of the agricultural work is done by the women, who are treated by the men on
terms of equality. But polygamy is the rule, and the king's wives are numbered by the hundred.
Though many of the habits and institutions of the Monbuttu are similar to those of the
Photo by Richard Bu
JBUTT0 NKGRESS.
t-fM.
COXGO XATIVES.
42
330
The Living Races of Mankind
Wagaudu aud Wanyoro on the eastern side of the Nile, their language belongs to the group sjjoken in East Soudan. The probable explanation of the characters of the jMonbuttu is that they are Negroes allied to the Niam-niam, but altered by Wahuma influence. Though they are therefore not Bantu, they may be included as the westernmost of the Kitwara states.
b. THE BANTU OF WESTERN AFRICA. The west coast of Africa from the angle of the Gulf of Guinea southward fn Haniaraland is occupied by Bantu tribes, who may be divided into two groups— the people of Angnla. and the Bantu of the French Congo and the Cameroons. Inland is a third group — the tribes of the Congo Basin.
The natis'es of the coast lands of the Portuguese province of Angola have been greatly altered by foreign influences. The Angola tribes belong to three groups. The northern part of the country for 120 miles south of the Congo is occupied by members of the race of the Bakongo The southern coast legion is inhabited by the Abunda. The south-eastern or uihnd section of \ngola is 0CLU[)i(.d by i gioup of tubes known as the Ganguella, or st immeiei these danguelli mhdnt the bism of the I iba, a tributary of the Zambesi;
md
.tion (}f the 1 lee kiuwn ^s
the 1 ill
id I IS dominant in the Kasai, the great southern tributary of the Congo.
The Bakongo, who occupy Northern Angola, give their name to the Congo Ivuei along which they extend far into the mteiior. The Bakongo are divided int ) se\(ral sections; close to the coast th( u lie the Kabinda to the north of the ( n^o md the Mushikongo to the south
I it Inland they reach Stanley Pool, hi \ II 1 which they are replaced by the 1 111(1 liud Bantu of the interior. Joliii-
I 11 pe lilts out that there are two different
I \ ] I among the Congo peoples : one of : man. with
we'll- shaped
1..S,.. beard, op of hair;
oosely-made li ca'lves, a
I hair about
^ liead close
md eiisply curled. The farther you go
II t the interior, the finer the type be- iiu Such men as the Bayausi of Bolobo
lie pel feet Greek statues in the develop- iiiei t and poise of their forms, and two ] lilts about them contrast very favourably with most of the coast races — namely, I hill lighter colour, generally a warm chocolate, and theii- freedom from that oflensive smell which is supposed, wrongly, to characterise most Africans. INIany other details show the comparatively high status of the Upper Congo races — their small
J |
'A |
1 |
whieh IS "a fine. tall, dell. it. 1\ Miiall hands r. et I hue face, liigh. |
upright and thin n |
\ |
}t |
Ill u t I he. and a ple'iil the .(h,r an ilhslia |
itlll cr,: pcd. h |
|
> |
h^UK with splay \'rr leti. itmg chill, blubber the flee and the wool |
t. hi-li lips.iio |
The Bantu of Western Africa
33^
hands ami feet, their well-shaped le<js with full calves, and their abundant IickN of liair."
But if the c..a>t nu'iiilicrs ,,f i; .■ Congo tribes are ])liv>ically inlciini the natives of the intcriur. tht>\- t-nnn" n- sate for this by intelligence. Stanley describes them as excejitionally shrewd in trade. He purchased the site of the Congo Free State station at A'ivi from some of tlie Kabinda, and found they drove a hard bargain.
"In the management of a bargain," said Stanley, "I should back the Congoese native against Jew or Christian, Parsee or Banyan, in all the round world. Un-, thinking men may ].iThajis say cle\erness at barter and shn'udiicss in 1 1 ade cunsort not with their un>uplii>ticalr(i condition and degraded customs. 'Unsojihistieated' is the last term I should ever ai)ply to an African child or man in connection with the knowledge of how to trade Applv the term, if vou please, to yourxlt oi to a Ked In.hni but it i^ utt( il\ mtpjih, dil, t,> 1,1 \fn, 111 ind thi^ i.
him I 1m\, .(111 hild ,.t ( ight .lo
m<a( tin! s ..t ti id, in in hoiu thiu th,
cle\eiest ] uiojk m tinlii du thi (<iii_,
could do m I month ilieit i- i hill
boy at Bolobo iged m\ mined I nigeiiji
who would make more pioflt out of il
worth of cloth than an English boy of
fifteen would make out of £10 worth.
Therefore, when I write of a Congo nati\e,
whetlier he is of the Bakongo, Bayanzi,
or Bateke tribes, remember to associate him with an almost
shrewdness, and power of indomitable and untiring chaffer."
The tribes at the mouth of the Congo have been subject to foreign iiiHiipnces for so long a time that they are less interesting ethnographieally than the more primiti\e races of the interior. Between Stanley Pool and the coast races are the Bakongo. whom Jolmston has described as intermediate between the pm-e Bantu of the interior and the Kaliinda: "Their skin is not the dead coal-black of the coast tribes, but is often a warm chocolate or ruddy brown. They do not practise much personal adornment, either by cicatrisation, tattooing, or painting the skin with divers pigments. They are naturally a hairy race, especially about the face — some of the chiefs wearing copious beards, whiskers, and moustaches — but on the body the i^ile is jilucked out from the age of puberty, otherwise their bodies would be partially covered with short curly hair. The two front incisor teeth are occasionally chipped; but this is not a regular custom, as it is farther up the ri\er. In character the Bakongo are indolent, fickle, and sensual. They dislike bloodshed as a general rule, and, save for certain superstitious customs, are rarely cruel, showing kindness and gentleness to animals. When their passions
inconceivable amount of natur;
JJ'
The Living Races of Mankind
are excited, liO\ve\er, bv fear of witcheraft or a wish to re\enge graxe injuries, thev caii become very demons of fanatical rage ; and the people, that in their calmer moments will shudder at an abrasion of the skin in a friend or neighbour, will, when he is convicted of sorcery, leap and shout with frenzied joy around his fiery stake while he frizzles alive."
The Bakongo ai-e often known as the Bafiort (properly Bafiot), which, howexer, is not a clan or even a tribal name, but merely an epithet meaning " Black," applied to them by theii- Bakongo neighbours. The name Bafiort is well known, owing to its adoption by Dennett in his works on the folklore and customs of these peojile. The Bakongo tribe is imj)ortant in connection with Negro religion, as it constitutes the fourth of IMiss Kingsley's four schools of West African fetish. Its fetish "is mainly concerned with the worship of the mystery of the power of the Earth." Every normal death is attributed to witchcraft ; some one is chai-ged by the medicine-man, and the accused is compelled to submit to the poison ordeal. Phallic worship is included among the rites of the tribe, and the transition from boyhood to manhood is marked by a prolonged and elaborate series of initiation rites.
Passing from the Lower to the jMiddle Congo, we enter a region occupied by tribes of pure Bantu stock. The chief tribes are the Bateke. about Stanley Pool ; the Eayansi or Byyanzi. above the junction of the Kasai ; the Eangala, between the Ubangi and the Congo; and the Balolo, in the great bend of the Congo. These people, says Johnston, "are pure Bantu, and consequently greatly resemble other unmixed races of the same stock, such a.i the Ovambo, the Balunda, and the jjeople of Tanganyika and Nyasa. They differ from more JS'egroid Bakongo in having skins of a chocolate brown, and abo\e all, in their abundant growth of
hair. The beard, whiskers, and moustache are always present, but are generally, in common with the hair of the eyebrows and the eyelashes, plucked out, from a prejudice against cultivating hair an\^vhere but on the top of the head." The body is extensively decorated with cicatrisation. The characters of the skull vary considerably, suggesting that even here there has been a considerable intermixture of races. The nose is usually flat, with widely opened nostrils, Init 2)eople with a high nose are not unknowii. The lips, again, are often thick and turned out- ward, like those of the conventional " nigger," liut some of the people ha\e thin lips. The cliin mav be prominent and lieavy, or weak iiiul receding.
In mental characters the ^Middle Congo natives are also more attractive than those of the Lower Congo. The medicine-man is unimportant or unknown : the people are not haunted by poison ordeal or " pestered with initiation cere- monies." In character, says Sir Harry Johnston, " they are kindly, light-hearted, and full of sensi- bility to beauty. Tliey are fond of colour and of music, and indulge in dancing that has much nif.miiiL; ami gi'acc. They are decidedly amorous in (li>|Hi-ii inn, but there is a certain poetry in tlii'ir let •! nigs which ennobles theii- love above mere passion. Husbands are fond of their own wives as well as thofc of other people, and many a pretty family picture may be seen in their
CONGO MA.V AND WOMAN.
The Bantu of Western Africa ^t,;^
homesteads, when the father and niutlier rcinip with their children, or sit together in a munching group round the supper-pot."
Clothing among the jNIiddle Congo tribes is very simple, consisting of a little gi-ass-cloth. Ornaments of feathers and fur, shells, glass, and metal beads, are worn, and the skin is decorated by stripes of paint or an extensive sei-ies of cicatrices. Sometimes this scar-tattooing is decorative and covers the body, as among the Bangala : other peoples use it only as a tribal distinction, such as the horizontal series of scars across the cheek-bones of the Eateke, or the band across the forehead of the Bayansi. The dressing of the hair is very elaborate. One favourite design, which is illustrated in a drawing of the head of an Mboko shown on page 329, is an imitation of the horns of the bnllalo.
Tlie ordinary huts of the natives are formed of mats wo\en from a reedy grass or the fibres of plants. That of the chief is constructed more skilfully of palm leaves, and is encircled by a fence of reeds. The household furniture and utensils are of the most primitive type.
It is, however, by their arts and indastiies that the Middle Congo Bantu especially excel. Herein they are superior to any of their neighbours. Their weapons are of tirst- rate workmanshii). Their knives and spears are of well-tempered steel : the handles are excellently carved, and inlaid with brass and metal slips. Th.eir furniture consists of stools and ]iillows car\ed from single blocks of wood. I'heir pottery, though hand-moulded, is gi-aceful in form. They are devoted to music, and play the drum or tom-tom, trumpets made from antelope horns, the marimba or primitive piano, and a tive-stringed lyre. Their knives are varied in shape, some being either throwing-knives or retaining traces of the shape ot that weapon. Battle-axes are not used, but the weapon survives in a much decorated and useless form as a symbol of authority.
All along the rivers the natives use canoes, which are often of great size. They are used for war, transport, and iishing. The Congo and its tributaries abound in iish, and the natives
334
The Living Races of Mankind
are \erv expert in eatehiiig them ^vitll nets, spears, traps, and lines. The Bavansi carry on a great trade in smoked fish.
The main food, however, is vegetable, especially the banana and plantain. Cassava, maize, and sweet [lotatoes are also extensively grown. The domestic animals are few, incUuling the goat, dog, pig. fowl, autl rarely slieep.
South of the Balolo, who occupiy the region within the gi-eat bend of the Congo about the lower course of the Kasai and some of the other southern affluents, follow the great nations of the Bakuba, Bakete, and Baluba. The Bakete are probably the oldest settlers in the district. They were broken up first by the invasion of the Bakuba from the north-east: this direction is indicated by the traditions among the Bakuba, and is confirmed by many points of re- semblance with the tribes of the North-eastern Congo Basin. The Baluba. on the contrary, came from the south ; they were the latest arrivals, and are the dominant race in the Kasai Basin. They have been (Icsrrilicd in ill-tail by \\'i<siiiunn. The nation may be ili\iili'd iut.i two M'iti.in> : the Western Baluba, known as the Bashihuige, are we:iker, more ugly, and more mixed than the P^astern Baluba; the relation lietwcen the two groups is analogous to that of the Western and Easteiii I^ikongo. The main point of interest about the r.a-liihm-v i< their cult of hemp ; the great secret or religinus .-orii-ty in this nation is known as the Bena-lviamba, or caste of the " sons of hemp."
This association apjiears to have gi'own out of a general political and social movement which had its rise about the year 1870, when a large section of the Bashilange (properly Tushilange) became divided into two hostile factions on the question Portuguese from the west, Zanzibar Suahili from the east) into their territory. The king having sided with the young or progressive party, the old people, here as elsewhere "Conservatives," were defeated with great slaughter and driven eastwards beyond the Lulua. Thus the barriers of seclusion were broken down, commercial relations were established with the outer world, and the custom of riumba (bhang) smoking, already prevalent on the Zanzibar coast, was introduced with many other innovations. it was thus that the Tushilange justified the description given of them by Wissmann, who called them "a nation of thinkers, with the interrogative 'why' constantly on their li[is."'
Social arrangements among the Upper Congo tribes depend on the conditions of public safety. Polygamy prevails, every man having wives according to his wealth and rank. There <are no nuptial ceremonies, and marriage is by pm-chase or captm-e, the bridegroom often arranging the alliance by making his father-in-law a present, providing the bride with her marriage outfit, and bearing the cost of a family feast. Funei-al rites are simplified by the extensive practice of cannibalism : this is especially prevalent on the UpjDer Congo, where the ■dead are nearly always thus disposed of. Chiefs are as a rule formally buried, and the body is supplied with various utensils, and a quantity of cloth, beads, or other article of currency. These goods are broken or damaged either to ensure their dying and going to the spirit-world,
of admitting foreign traders (Ani.
■>.=ir>:T^' ^ i. _
^6 The Living Races of Mantcind
m
6BOBP OF COXGO NATIVES DIIESSED
or else, when deijosited on the gi-ave above-ground, to prexent them from being picked up as " miconsidered trifles " by passing wayfarers. Several slaves are often killed and buried with the chief, so that he may have the assistance of his former servants. Not infrequently the bodies of the dead are desiccated by roasting, and then buried in the huts which they formerly occupied. The interment is often delayed for a year or more, in order that all the relatives may be present at the "wake."
CHAPTER XV.
THE EQUATORIAL AND NILOTIC NEGROES.
a. THE BANTU OF THE FRENCH CONGO. Western Equatorial Africa, between the basins of the Congo and the Niger, comprising the regions of the Ogowe, the Gabun, and the Cameroons, was probably once inhabited only by Bantu Negroes. In the Protectorate of the French Congo the main Bantu tribes are the Ashira, Okanda, Apingi, Apono, Ishogo, and the Ashango, whose numbers have now been reduced by the invasion of the Fans, a people of doubtful Negroid affinities.
The tribes in this area belong to what JNIiss Kingsley calls the Mpongwe school of fetish, in which the main idea is by the aid of charms to secure increased material prosperity.
The Ashira. The Ashira, Okanda, Apingi, and Apono are closely allied tribes or sections of one great nation occupying the upper basin of the Ngunie River, one of the tributaries of the Ogowe. The Ashira live the nearest to the coast, and have been rapidly adopting the customs of the coast tribes. Their original grass-cloth garments have been superseded by thin cotton-cloths, which rapidly become dirty and ragged. Their main food is the plantain, which is grown in plantations of great extent : du Chaillu estimated that one at the village of Angouka contained some 30,000 trees. Each tree bears a bunch which ranges in weight up to 120 lbs. The general customs of the tribe are the same as those subsequently discovered among the Okanda and Apono, who live farther inland, and have doubtless preserved the primitive systems less altered. But owing to their closer intercourse with the coast tribes the western Ashira are less shy, and more is known of their religious beliefs. They, of course, believe in fetish, and their firm faith in immortality is shown by their bm-ial customs. The cemeteries are just outside the villages, and the body is placed in a sitting posture on the ground. In the case of a chief who died while Paul du Chaillu was crossing the district, the body was wrapped in a European coat and placed beside an umbrella, both of which articles had been begged from du Chaillu. In addition there was a chest containing plates, jugs.
338
The Living Races of Mankind
cooking utensils, the chief's favourite pipe, and some tobacco. A fire was kept burning beside the body for some weeks, and a plate of food was provided daily.
The marriage limitations of the Ashira are interesting. All unions between blood-relatives are prohibited ; but a man may marry all the wives of a deceased uncle or his step-mother.
The IsnoGO.
The Ishogo are described by du Chaillu as a tribe of fine men, superior in physique to the Ashira and in mental qualities to the Fans, whom they resemble in bodily structure. They live in the French Congo, on the mountains around the upper part of the Rembo River, south of the Ogowe. They inhabit large villages of about 150 huts, arranged in well-planned streets. The huts are large, and divided into several rooms ; they are provided with low wooden doors, painted with coloured designs. The dress is limited to a small petticoat of grass-cloth. The body is coloured red with a powder obtained from a native wood, and is ornamented by an elaborate series of scars; the main tribal mark appears to be a few pea-shaped scars raised between the eyebrows and the cheeks. Formerly the practice of pulling out the two middle upper incisors and tiling the others to points was universally adopted. The most remarkable personal adornments are the women's chignons, formed by plaiting the well-gi-eased hair on to a cylindrical grass-work tower : the chignon is about 9 inches long, and rises from the head either vertically or horizontally backward ; the rest of the head is shaved. The men have the hair worked into flat flaps hanging round the sides of the head, while the crown is sha\ed. In both sexes the eyebrows and eyelashes are all removed. The chief metal ornaments are neck-rings and armlets of brass and iron, while the women also wear long strings of beads. The Ishogo are very peaceful, and usually go unarmed ; the sword is their chief weapon, but they have in addition spears, bows, and arrows. They are agriculturists, and live mainly on plantains. Their chief industry is the weaving of palm fibres into grass-cloth in primitive hand-looms and the plaiting of baskets. They grow tobacco, which is smoked in pipes, and an intoxicating drink is made from jialm sajx
TBEAT\-JIa::i>C, KIKHI
The Bantu of the Frencli Congo
339
Like all West African Megroes, they believe in fetishes, and have a fetish-hut in the centre of the village beside a sacred fig-tree. This tree is planted at the foundation of the village ; when it dies, the site is aban- doned and a new village founded else- where. The language of the Ishogo is distinct from that of their neighbours the Ashira, but is the same as that of the Apingi.
The Ai'ono.
The Apono are tlie most inland members of the Ashira group. They are close neighbours of the Ishogo. They seem to have retained more of the primitive characters of the tribe than their western allies. Like most of the adjacent Negroes, they orna- ment the body with a system of scar- tattooing, their peculiar tribal mark being a lozenge-shaped group of nine prominences the size of peas, placed between the eyebrows. The villages of the Apono are large, well planned, and clean. The people are brave and warlike, and at the same time they are industrious. They dig and smelt nodules of iron ore, and work the metal into spear-heads, triangular arrow-points, and curved sword-blades.
Their spears have long, lance-shaped heads, and are used for thrusting and not throwing. The arrow-heads are poisoned and loosely attached to the shaft, so that the latter falls off, while the barb remains in the body. The chief weapon of defence is a round shield made of wicker-work.
Like the other sections of the Ashira, the Ajjono weave grass-cloth for clothing, and twist their hair into elaborate horn-like or tower-like projections. They are mainly agricultural, and have large groves of plantains, lime-trees, and palms. Their domestic animals include the goat, fowl, and pig. They prepare great quantities of palm wine, and while the supply lasts they habitually get drunk and are very quarrelsome, and their dancing and drinking festivals are described as scenes of wild uproar.
BROTHKR CHIEF, KlKl
The Apingi.
The Apingi are a smaller and less sturdy race and are lighter in colour than the Apono. They pull out two of the upper incisor teeth, and file the others and the lower incisors to points ; but the custom is said to be slowly dying out. They have the same habits as the Ashira, but are less industrious. Their methods in surgery, according to du Chaillu, are drastic ; he describes an operation on a woman who was sufl'ering from leprosy and lumbago. In order to cure the latter disease the woman's back was cut in many places with a knife, and quantities of lime juice and pounded cayenne pepper vigorously rubbed into the wound. It is recorded that the pati<^nt screamed, but not that she was cured. In another case an efl'ort was made
340
The Living Races of Mankind
surrounding trees.
to cure a chief by marking his body with chalk made from the bones of his ancestors, spitting on the affected parts of the patient's body, and touching them with a burning grass torch. Du Chaillu regards this medical use of fire as a kind of fire-worship. The same author has given a graphic account of an ordeal at which three nephews of the Okanda chief were compelled to drink poison on suspicion of having bewitched the chief. The accused men said they were not afraid to drink the poison, for they were not wizards and would not die. The poison was accordingly prepared, and the people of the village assembled to watch its effect. " When the poor fellows were brought into the middle of the circle of excited spectators, it was horrid to see the ferocity expressed in the countenances of the people; it seemed as though their nature had entirely changed. Knives, axes, and spears were held ready to be used on the bodies of the victims if they should succumb under the ordeal. A breathless silence prevailed whilst the young men took the much-dreaded cups of liquid and boldly swallowed the contents; the whispering of the wind could be heard through the leaves of the But it was only of short duration. As soon as the poison was drunk, the
crowd began to beat their sticks on the ground, and shout, ' If they are wizards, let the mboundou kill them ; if innocent, let it go out ! ' repeating the words as long as the sus- pense lasted. The struggle was a severe one ; the eyes of the young men became bloodshot, their limbs trembled convulsively, and every muscle in their bodies was visibly working under the potent irritation. The more acute their sufferings became, the louder vociferated the ex- cited assembly. I was horror-stricken, and, al- Ph..h,7^,7h'.^.Z.i ,,^'daa ■ ^ though I would gladly
A GRonp OF NiAM-NiAM NATIVES, tiave fled from the place,
felt transfixed to the spot. I knew that if they fell I should have no power to save them, but should be forced to see them torn limb from hmb. At length, however, the crisis came — a sudden shiver of the body and involuntary discharge — and the first intended victim had escaped. The same soon after hai^jJened to the second and to the third. They gradually came back to their former state, but appeared very much exhausted. The trial was over, and the doctor closed the ceremony by himself drinking an enormous quantity of the jjoison, with a similar result to that which we had witnessed in the young men, only that he appeared quite tipsy ; in his wild and incoherent sayings he stated that the bewitchers of Mayolo [the chief] did not belong to the village — a decision which was received with great acclamation. Mayolo rejoiced that the wizards did not belong to his own people, and the whole peojale were wild with joy ; guiis were fired, and the evening jiassed with beating of di-ums, singing, and dancing."
i,:j^
The Ashango. Tlie Ashango are the dominant tribe in Ashangoland, a district in the French Congo, south of the Ogowe. They are neighbours of the Ishogo, and have many of the same
342
The Living Races of Mankind
customs and similar physical structm-e ; but they speak a ditferent language, which is that of the Ashira. The Ashango are described as a less peaceful and industrious tribe than the Ishogo. Thus they always carry their swords, and usually also their spears and poisoned arrows. They do not make any of their weapons, which they buy from tribes farther inland. They make brass ornaments out of wire, but do not smelt iron. Their houses are larger than those of the Ishogo, but the villages are less well arranged. They are less particular over their hair and ornaments, but wear more clothes. They cultixate vast crops of gi-ound-nuts, and nearly every hut has one or more hives of bees. They keeji flocks of poultry and herds of goats, but the women and girls are not allowed to eat the flesh of these animals. The people make palm wine and smoke tobacco in pipes which are 3 feet long. Their fetish rites have been studied by du Chaillu, who has described a festival he was allowed to attend in the village of Niembouai : "The idol was a monstrous and indecent representation of a female figme in wood, which was kept at the end of a long, narrow, and low hut, 40 or 50 feet long and 10 feet broad, and was painted in red, white, and black colours. When I entered the hut, it was full of Ashango people, ranged in order on each side, with lighted torches stuck in the ground before them. Amongst them were conspicuous two mbiiiti men, or, as they might be called, priests, dressed in cloth of vegetable fibre, with their skins painted
grotesquely in various colours, one side of the face red, the other white, and in the middle of the breast a broad yellow stripe ; the circuit of the eyes was also daubed with jiaint. These colours are made by boiling various kinds of wood, and mixing the decoction with clay. The rest of the Ashangoes were also streaked and daubed with various colours, and by the light of their torches they looked like a troop of devils assembled in the lower regions to cele- brate some diabolical rite; around their legs were bound white leaves from the heart of the palm-tree ; some wore feathers, others had leaves twisted in the shape of horns behind their ears, and all had a bundle of palm leaves in their hands. Soon after I entered the rites began. All the men squatted down on their haunches, and set up a deafening kind of wild song. There was an orchestra of instrumental performers near the idol, consisting of three drummers with two drumsticks each, one harper, and a performer on the sounding-stick, which latter did not touch the ground, but rested on two other sticks, so that the noise was made more resonant. The two mbuiti men, in the meantime, were dancing in a fantastical manner in the mitldle of the temple, putting their bodies into all sorts of strange contortions Every time the mbuiti men opened their mouths to speak a dead silence ensued. As the ceremony continued, the crowd rose and surrounded the dancing men, redoubling at the same time the volume of their songs, and after this went on for some time returning to their former posi- tions. This was repeated several times. It
The Negroes of the Equatorial Belt
343
seemed to me to be a kind of village feast At length, wearied out with the noise, and being unable to see any meaning or any change in the performances, I returned to my hut."
6. THE NEGROES OF THE EQUA- TORIAL BELT.
Scattered along the Equatorial zone between Mount Kenya on the east and the Gabun on the west is a group of isolated Negro tribes, intermediate in character between the Bantu and the Nilotic Negroes. The typical and central tribe is that of the Niam-niam, of the north-eastern corner of the Congo Basin ; their allies probably include the Kikuyu of British East Africa and the Fans of the Gabun.
The Kikuyu.
On the southern slopes of Mount Kenya, and extending south-westward to the edge of the great Rift Valley that traverses British East Africa, is a belt of undulating volcanic country, once densely covered with forests. This is the home of the Kikuyu, one of the most powerful and successful of the agricul- tural tribes in British East Africa.
They are a powerfully built, muscular race, brave, but excitable. In general physical characters they resemble the Masai. Their colour is a dark chocolate-brown. They have somewhat round heads, wide noses, thick lips, small j)ointed chins, oval eyes, and high cheek- bones. " The Kikuyu," says Lugard, " are a fine, intelligent-looking race, with high fore- heads and well-formed heads." The dress of the warriors consists of a flap of skin hung over the shoulders to protect the lungs. The rest of the body is smeared with ochre
and oil. The elders wear a long leather mantle; the women usually have on an apron of untanned leather hanging from the waist.
The ornaments of the tribe are earrings — including rings, studs, and short wooden rods in the upper ear — and disks, and elaborate coils and rings of metal, by which the lower lobe of the ear is greatly distended. The men have strong ivory or metal armlets on the ui)i)er arm, which are said to strengthen its muscles. The warriors wear elaborate feather head-ornaments like those of the Masai. Usually most of the head is shaved, but, as with the Niam-niam, a patch of hair is left on the back of the skull ; the hair, if not shaved, is twisted into long tags, which are lengthened by plaiting in vegetable fibres, and the whole is plastered with red clav and oil.
The Ivikuyu weapons are leaf-shaped spears about 9 inches broad, with long wooden
> by Richard Biirf/ta.
A NIAM-NIAM WITOH-DOCTOR,
the women usually have on i
344
The Living Races of Manl^ind
Pnololv K hiid Bii
handles, heavy two-edged swords of the Arab pattern, bows, and barbed or poisoned arrows. Tbe spearmen carry long, heavy, oval leather shields of the same type as those of the Masai ; they are about 5 feet long, and, like those of the Masai, are decorated with heraldic designs. Their huts are well built, and are circular, with high walls and a conical roof.
The main industry of the Kikuyu is agriculture, and they are the most skilful and industrious husbandmen in British East Africa. The extent of their plantations is enormous. "The cultivation of Kikuyu," remarks f.ugard, " is prodigiously extensive ; indeed, the whole country may be said to be under tillage." Their chief crops are beans, millet, dhurra, plantains, sweet potatoes, yams, sugar-cane, tobacco, and castor oil. The Kikuyu once had many cattle, but the Masai and the rinderpest have decimated the herds. They have many sheep and goats, and every village has hives of wild bees, for whom wooden hives made from hollow logs of timber are hung in the trees.
The affinities of the Kikuyu are not well estab- lished. Their nearest neighbours in the south and east are Bantu, and on the north and west the Masai. Their language is Bantu, but is different from that of \ NiAM-NiAM NATivR. their Bantu neighbours. Their nearest affinities appear
to be with the Negro tribes of the group of the Azandeh, or Niam-niani, of the Upper Congo. They may therefore be regarded as an eastern outlier of the belt of Ivjuatorial Negroes, cut off from their western allies by the Masai invasion along the line of the Kift Valley. It is possible that the tribe contains some Hamitic infusion, in which case it may be described as Negroid rather than Negro.
The evidence for the affinity of the Kikuyu with the Equatorial Negroes rests on their physical appearance, their mental characteristics, their general culture, and especially on their religious rites. They circumcise in a remarkable manner, different from that of the East African Bantu and similar to that of the Masai. They are intensely superstitious, and attach great importance to fetish rules and religious observances. The Kikuyu have greater faith in the sanctity of blood-brotherhood than the usual East African Bantu. Strangers are not allowed to enter the country until the path has been sprinkled with the blood of newly killed goats. The rite of blood-brotherhood as celebrated by the Kikuyu is as follows : — The stranger and a Kikuyu elder sit side by side on the ground on a log of wood ; the arm of each is slightly cut, and the blood smeared on to pieces of the liver of a freshly killed goat. The weapons of the two men are placed together over their heads, and a knife is drawn backward and forward along the weapons by a man who sings a wild incantation. While this is being done the men exchange their pieces of liver and swallow them. After such a celebration a stranger is safe from attack from the particular section of the Kikuyu nation with whom the rite has been observed.
The Azandeh, or Niam-niam. The most typical tribe of the Equatorial Negroes is that known as the Niam-niam, Azandeh, or Zandey, which lives about the watershed between the Bahr-el-Ghazl and the North-eastern Congo. They were once a powerful and numerous people, with a reputation for ferocity. In appearance they are very unlike most of the surrounding tribes, for they have a round, broad head and a circular face ; the eyes are almond-shaped and sloping, the nose is
JAL WUMEN OF THH EyUATOKIAL UEGI 345
546
The Living Races of Mankind
VOilEN AND CHILDREN OF EQUATORIAL AFRICA.
Hat and square, the lips very thick, and the chin round. The colour of the skin is of a. chocolate-brown hue. As a race they are remarkably adroit and agile. Schweinfurth stated that "nowhere in any part of Africa have I ever come across a people that in every attitude and ever}' motion exhibited so thorough a mastery over all the circumstances of war or of the chase as these Niam-niam. Other nations in comparison seemed to me to fall short in the perfect ease — I might almost say in the dramatic grace — that characterised their every movement."
Their dress usually consists of a mantle ot untanned leather or undressed skins, and strips of the beautiful black-and-white skin of the Colobus monkey are frequently hung from the girdle. The chiefs wear a head-dress of the skin of leopard or wild cat. The arrangement of the hair among the men is very elaborate ; it is plaited into tufts, ridges, rolls, or knots ; or into rays, connected at the end to a circular hoop. The body is stained red and further ornamented by various scar-jDattems ; but the tribal mark is a set of squares filled with dots, placed on the cheeks or forehead. Their ornaments consist chiefly of strings of the teeth of dogs and other animals and of blue beads.
The Jsiam-niam are armed with lances, two-edged swords, knives, and large painted shields ; but their peculiar weapon is the throwing-axe ; it is made of wood or iron and curved like a boomerang, and is used for killing birds and game as well as in war. The huts are large and well built : the roofs are as a rule simply conical, but they may be double-pointed ; the eaves project beyond the walls, which are decorated with black-and-white patterns. About ten or a dozen huts occur together in a circle round an open space, in which is a pole adorned with trophies of war and the chase.
The Negfoes of the Equatorial Belt
547
The people practise both agriculture and hunting, the women being engaged in neld operations, while the men pursue the quarry. The principal agricultural product is eleusine, which is eaten as porridge, and from which, after malting, is prepared a very intoxicating beer. Crops of cassava, sweet potatoes, and yams, and a little maize, are also raised. Tobacco is grown extensively and smoked in clay j)ipes. Cattle are very scarce, but poultry and dogs abundant.
These food-supplies are supplemented by the practice of cannibalism. Piaggia, the first European to travel in the country, witnessed the eating of the body of an enemy killed in war ; and both Schweinfurth and Junker have collected conclusive evidence of cannibal habits.
Iron-working and the manufacture of weapons, pottery, basket-weaving, and wood-carving are the main handicrafts.
Marriage is not based on purchase, but the chief selects a bride when a man applies for one. The marriage is celebrated by a festival, during which the chief, accompanied by his musicians, leads the woman to the house of her future husband. The chief on these occasions is accompanied by the tribal musicians, who play on a primitive guitar, shake bells, and sing. The burial rites retain a custom which is widely but sparsely scattered among Negro tribes ; for the corpse, after being dyed red and adorned with feathers, is placed in a hole at one side of the grave, so that the earth is not tlirown directly upon it. Men are buried facing the east and women facing the west.
The Niam-niain have a profound belief in goblins and evil spirits, and, like many other African tribes, think they especially haunt the forests. Auguries are consulted on all important occasions.
The Fans.
About the year 1850 the tribes along the Gabun coast heard of the arrival in the interior of a tribe of cannibals known as the Fans. These invaders at first held only a few villages ; but
LIBERATED SLAVES FltOil CE2<'T1{AL AFRICA.
348
The Living Races of Mankind
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CENTRAL AFRICAN CHI
during the following twenty years tliey swept westward, destroying many of the coast tribes, until they became the leading people on the Gabun coast. Paul du Chaillu brought back some of their skulls, which Sir Kichard Owen described as showing greater cranial capacity than the neigh- bouring tribes. Lenz described the Fans again in 1878, and in recent times much light has been thrown on them by the daring journey and accurate ethnological studies of ]\Iiss Kingsley.
The Fans in all probability are allied to the Niam-niam. Sehweinfurth has pointed out tlie many points of resemblance between the tribes in physical appearance, dress, tribal organisa- tion, and customs. "They are," sa^'s Miss Kingsley, "bright, active, energetic sort of Africans, who by their pugnacious and predatory conduct do much to make one cease to regret and deplore the sloth and lethargy of the rest of the West Coast tribes."
They are on the whole of fine physique, and include magnificent specimens of the human race. " Their colour," continues Miss Kingsley, " is light bronze ; many of the men have beards, and albinoes are rare among them. The average height in the mountain districts is from 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches, the difference in stature between men and women not being great. Their countenances are very bright and exjiressive, and if once you have been among them you can never mistake a Fan. But it is in their mental characteristics that their difference from the lethargic, dying-out coast tribes is most marked. The Fan is full of fire, temper, intelligence, and go ; very teachable, rather difficult to manage, quick to take offence, and utterly indifferent to human life. I ought to say that other peojjle, who should know him better than I, say he is a treacherous, thievish, murderous cannibal."
The huts of the Fans are small and lightly constructed, for the people change their residences so frequently that they may be regarded as almost nomadic. ]\liss Kingsley has described the best hut in one of the villages in which she stayed. The hut was fairly low ; for, as she says, " I was as high as its roof-ridge, and had to stoop low to get through the door-hole. Inside the hut was 14 or 15 feet square, imlit by any window. The door-hole could be closed by pushing a broad piece of bark across it under two horizontally fixed bits of stick. The floor was sand, like the outside, but dirtier. On it in one place was a fire, whose smoke found its way out through the roof. In one corner of the room was a rough bench of wood, which, from the few filthy clothes on it, I saw was the bed. There was no other furniture in the hut save some boxes, which I presume held my host's earthly possessions. From the bamboo roof hung a long stick with hooks on it, the hooks made by cutting off branching twigs. This was evidently the hanging wardrobe, and on it hung some few fetish charms."
The huts are usually placed in two opposite rows, the ends of the street thus formed being closed by a guard-house ; but in villages with a river frontage there is a single row of huts along the bank.
The main industries of the Fans are pottery, net- and basket-weaving, and iron-working.
Pholo bij IcWtjmti i' O'o.J
MOXFU WOMAN.
35°
The Living Races of Mankind
They especially excel in the last. They have clay furnaces and charcoal fuel, blown by a pair of double bellows. The forge is a round cavity scooped in the gi-ound ; the anvil is a large piece of iron ; and the hammers are solid iron cones, like pestles.
The Pan method of hunting — which Miss Kingsley has graphically described — is unsportsmanlike. A herd of elephants is driven into an enclosure of felled trees, or such an enclosure is made round a herd when it is at rest. The walls of the enclosure are smeared with an evil-smelling mixture, the odour of which the elephants find so repellent that they make no effort to bm-st through the enclosure. The elephants are then suj^plied with poisoned plantains, or the pools in the enclosure are also poisoned. The poison is not fatal, but it makes the elephants weak and drowsy. When it has had sufficient time to do its work, fires are lighted round the fence, and the hunters steal into the enclosure and climb into trees, from which the} shoot the elephants as they run past them.
The mun tiade aiticlei, of the Fans are rubber, which they collect in the forests, and ivory. 'lhe\ lii\e an mteiesting coinage of iron imitation axe-heads, the circulation of which
is limited within the tribe.
Marriage is a matter of purchase ; but there are many limitations, as blood-relatives are for- bidden to marry.
Why they have no funeral rites is explained by the prevalence of cannibalism, which is certainly practised by the tribe. Miss Kingsley remarks that, "although a prevalent habit, it is no danger, I think, to white people, except as regards the bother it gives in preventing one's black companions from getting eaten. The Fan is not a cannibal from sacrificial motives. He does it in his common-sense way. Man's flesh, he says, is good to eat, very good, and he wishes you would try it. Oh dear no, he never eats it himself, but the next-door town does. He is always very much abused for eating his relations, but he really does not do this. He will eat his next-door neighbour's relations and sell his own deceased to his next-door neighbour in return ; but he does not buy slaves and fatten them up for his table, as some of the jNIiddle Congo tribes do. He has no slaves, no prisoners your own conclusions."
Pholo bv Till
of war, no cemeteries, so you must dr
c. THE NILOTIC NEGROES. In the basin of the Upper Nile, between Fashoda on the north and the Uganda Protectorate and the Congo P'ree State on the south, dwell a series of Negro tribes who have been included as the Nilotic group. They were originally regarded, from the supposed characters of their language, as allied to the P\ilah of the West Soudan and to some Nubian tribes. These races were, therefore, once associated as the Nubar-Fulah group. But Professor Keane has proved that the physical characters of the people as well as their speech show that this association was artificial, and the old group has been dismembered.
The only close allies of these Upper Nile Negi-oes outside the Nile Basin live in British East Africa. They are the INIasai, Njempsians, and their allies, and the people of Ka\irondo, on the north-east side of the Victoria Nyanza.
The Nilotic tribes may be considered in four groups : (1) the peoples of the Bahr-el- Ghazl, including the Dinka, Dyur, and Bongo; (2) those of the main Nile Vallev and its
The Nilotic Negroes
eastern triDutaries, including tlie Bari, Sbilluk, Latuk, and Turk:i and (4) the Masai and their allies.
. ; (3) the Kavirondo triDeo ;
The Dinka.
The Dinka are the most northern of the Nilotic Negroes, living in the basin of the Bahr-el-Ghazl, the great south-western tributary of the Nile. They occupy the country around the famous port of Meshra-er-liek, and range east and west of that place for about 400 miles. They were once a powerful, numerous people ; but, like most of the tribes of that region, their numbers have been terribly reduced by war and famine since the overthrow of Egyptian rule in 1884.
The Dinka are a muscular, well-built people; their colour is a very dark brown, although they often appear quite black, as they cover themselves with jiowiJered charcoal mixed with oil. The head is of the orrlinarv Negro type, long and narrow, contracting to the top and back; the jaws are powerful and promi- nent, and the lips thick and projecting. They have not much hair, and the head is generally shaved, a single tuft being left, to which some feathers are often attached. Some of the men, however, comb out their hair and train it into stiff tufts, which stand out from the head like spokes. The people have a reputation for cruelty and bloodthirstiness ; but Schweinfurth retnarked many instances of tenderness and compassion, and of family affection and devotion.
The women are clad in a couple of aprons of untanned skin, which cover from the hips to the ankles, but the men go completely nude. Both sexes break off the incisor teeth in the lower jaw, while the men only are scar-tattooed. The tribal mark is a series of raised lines radiating from the top of the nose over the forehead and temples. The women wear iron rings in ears and lips, and heavy iron rings round their legs and arms. Schweinfurth saw women who were '"'"'
each adorned with half a hundredweight of these ornaments. The men wear massive ivory rings
round the biceps of the upper arm, bracelets of hippopotamus hide, and tails of various animals. The men also wear head-dresses of ostrich feathers and caps made of white beads.
The favoiu-ite weapons of the Dinka are clubs and a bow-shaped instrument for parrying the blows of their opponents' clubs. They have also spears, but no bows and arrows.
The Dinka live in large circular and conical huts about 40 feet in diameter ; the roofs are made of straw and thatch, supported by a central tree trunk, and low walls of chopped straw and clay. The huts are not grouped in villages, but in small clusters beside, the sheds and tethering- grounds for their cattle, of which they have large herds. The cattle are humped, have small horns, and are mostly white ; the other domestic animals are sheep, goats, and dogs — and one might almost add snakes, which are protected and allowed to live in the roofs of the houses. The presence of the snakes is possibly the explanation of the absence of poultry.
The principal vegetables cultivated are dhurra, yams, ground-nuts, tobacco, and simsin, which is grown for oil. The food is ])re])ared with great care, and the Dinka are famous as cooks.
iKL ^profile;.
The Living Races of Mankind
The 1)yvr.
South-wf^t of the Dinka country lies the territory of the Dyiir, who are clearly a branch of the Shilluk, and retain many of the characters as well as the language of that people. Dyur is a Dinka term, meaning "wild men"; for the Dinka regard the Dyur with contempt, as they possess no cattle. The Dyur are a peaceful and industrious tribe, and are skilled workers in iron. Physically they are tall and slim, and the jaws are less prominent than in most Is'egi-oes. Their dress is limited to a short flap of .-kin, which hangs down the back, and is susjjended from a string round the waist. Their hair is cut short. The principal ornaments are rings of brass and iron, worn in the nose, ears, and lips, or on the limbs ; some of the last are large and elaborately ornamented : the men wear a massive ivory ring round the upper part of the
Tlieir weapons are long lance-headed spears. The iron is obtained by smelling in a small conical clay furnace, in which the ore is melted by a charcoal fire. The fire is maintained by natural draught, as bellows are not used. This work, as well as the fishing and hunting, in both of which they are experts, is done by the men ; while the women do all the agricultural and domestic woric, and make the pottery and wicker-work vessels.
The Dyur are an atfectionate race, and nurse their babies in long basket-work cradles. The dead are buried in mounils or tumuli. Spitting, as with the Masai, is the principal salutation, expressing friendship.
The Bongo.
South-west of the Dyur is the home of the great Bongo
nation, who formerly occupied a tract of country, 175 miles long
liy 50 miles broad, between lat. 6° and 8° N. They are a purely
agricultm'al peojjle, divided into a large number of independent
'■''"'"''■"^"•'""' '"''"■ village communities and clans, so that they were unable to olfer
A SHILLUK GiKL. much oppositlon to the old Arab slave-raiders against whom the
Dinka were long able to hold out.
The Bongo, as a rule, are of a reddish colour ; their average height is 5 feet 7 inches.
Their heads are short and round, their hair short, curly, and black, and kept short or in small
tufts se^jarated by shaved sjjaces. One striking feature in the Bongo women is the fatness of
the buttocks, similar to that once regarded as characteristic of the Hottentots and Bushmen.
The clothing of the tribe is very simple. The men wear a narrow girdle, from which there usually hangs a strip of cotton-cloth or a flap of softened leather. The women content themselves with a leafy twig or bunch of grass hanging from the girdle. At dances and festivals the men wear a feather head-dress. Both sexes wear elaborate strings of beads, teeth, claws, copijer rings, or fragments of roots. The women expand the lower ear and the lip by the insertion of wooden disks, the size of which is gradually increased until the lip ^s five or six times its normal width.
The weapons of the tribe are barbed and jagged lances, bows 4 feet long, and arrows with 3-foot wooden shafts and tips poisoned by the juice of the giant Euphorbia.
The huts are built with great care and skill ; they are conical, and up to 20 feet in diameter; they are made of plaited faggots, bamboos, grass, and clay. The entrance is very low, and is closed by a swing-door. The floor is of beaten clay, and the people sleep on skins.
The Nilotic Negroes
353
On the extreme top of tlie lint is a straw platform, whieli oan be u.sed as a look-out post over the stockiule by wliirli the flusters of huts are suri-onvided.
The Bong(j are agricultui-ists, and grow sorghum or dhurra, maize, and tobacco ; tliey also eat the fleshy leaves of various shrubs, roots, and many varieties of fungi, which grow wild in the rainy season. They hunt by beating and driving into snares and trenches ; but the sup[)ly of game is limited, and the elephants have been exterminated. In the winter they capture fish in nets and fish-pots. As a substitute for salt they collect an alkali from the ashes of Grewia wood.
Their domestic animals are poultry, goats, and dogs.
The most skilful accomplishment of the B(jngo is their iron-working. They smelt iron in charcoal furnaces blown by bellows. The iron is worked by a stone hammer on a stone anvil, and is held dm-ing the process by a pair of green wood tongs. They prepare spear- and arrow-heads, iron rings, belts and other ornaments, knives and razors, pincers for extracting the eyelashes, and flat iron disks which had an extensive circulation as money. The Bongo are also adepts at wood-carving.
Polygamy is allowed, but the number of wives is limited to tliiei'. Marriage is by pui-chase, and any wife who proves barren may be divorced, and [lart of her ]iurcliase-money may be reclaimed by the husband.
The biu-ial rites are interesting. The corjise is placed in a sack in a sitting jiosturc in a grave of about 4 feet deep. Women are buried facing the south, and men looking toward the north. The site is marked by a heap of stones surrounded by posts, many of which are carved into human figures, while others have hom-like points. A similar system holds in Madagascar. On the stone jnle is the drinking-vessel of the deceased. This fiict and the intense fear of spirits and witches suggest a belief in immortality, which Schweinfurth. h(i\vc\cv, denies. He further explains the wooden human images as memorial figures and not as ietishes; but the accuracy of this suggestion is also doubtful.
The Latuka.
the eastern side of the Nile dwell sevei-a! trilii's. ranging south-eastward from tiie
0
Nilotic tribes.
Shiihik <if the Lower Sobat and Fashoda to the tribes of Karanioyo and Kamasia, on the western wall of the East African Kift ^'alley.
One of the best known of these tribes is tliat of tlie i.atnka. who inhabit the upper part of tlie hasiii (if the Soliat. They have been well described Ijy Sir Samuel Baker, who says that "the T.atuka are the finest savages I have ever seen.'" Their average height, according to Baker's measurements, is 6 feet all but half an inch ; and their muscular development is powerful. Baker considered them different in appearance in the form of the head from any other race of the Nile Valley, and it is possible that they contain some intermixture of Hamitie bhiod. For, according to Baker, "they have high tuicheads, large eyes, rather high cheek- liiiiies, mciiiths not very large, well shajjed, and the lips rather full. They all have a remarkably pleasing cast of countenance, and are a great contrast to the other tribes in civility of manner. Altogether their appearance denotes a Galla origin."
SHILLUK MAN.
45
354
The Living Races of Mankind
FAJELU MEN ASI
Their chief town, Tarran- golle, contained about o,OuO houses, which are either bell- shajied or consist of a high conical roof on a low, vertical, circular wall. Each house is surrounded by a stockade, and a larger stockade svirrounds the whole town. The passages between the different com- pounds are just wide enough for the cows to pass in single file ; so that, in case the outer wall of the town is rushed, the enemy could only drive off the cattle slowly and along paths which could easily be defended and closed. The Latuka have large herds of cattle, which are driven into the towns every night, where they are protected from flies by the smoke of fires.
The dress of the men con- sists only of a helmet, which is made by interweaving some unravelled bark with their hair until it forms a thick felt 1?^ inch thick. The front of this hair helmet is strengthened by a band of copper, and another strip forms the crest. The surface is then decorated with beads and the edge completed by a row of cowry-shells.
The women, on the contrary, wear the hair short. Their ornaments are strings of beads, a fur tail, large earrings, and a long cylindrical crystal ornament, worn hanging from the lower lip. The four front teeth of the lower jaw are extracted. Scar-tattooing is practised, the tribal mark being a series of radial gashes over the forehead, temples, and cheeks. The men do not tattoo.
The tribal weapons are the spear, an iron-headed mace, a spiked bracelet with projecting knife-blades 4 inches long, and a sword. They carry hide shields 4| feet long by 2 feet wide. Polygamy and purchase are the rules of marriage. The funeral rites are more characteristic. The body is buried outside the man's hut, but inside his comjiound. Funeral dances are held for some weeks, after which the body is exhumed, and the bones cleaned, packed in an earthenware jar, and then placed in a cemetery near the town.
The Masai.
In the districts around the Latuka dwell other Nilotic tribes: to the west there are the Bari, in the main Nile Valley; to the east there are the Turkana, between the Latuka and Lake Rudolf; to the south-east are the Karamoj'o and Kamasia. These tribes are all people of large stature, and according to Wellby the Tmkana frequently exceed 7 feet in height.
These people, however, are less important than the famous tribe of the jNIasai, who have forced their way southward from the home of the Nilotic Negroes along the Rift Valley to the slopes of Kilima Njaro in German East Africa. They now extend from that mountain for about 300 miles northward. The jNIasai have been studied in detail by many observers, among the earliest of whom were Fischer, Thomson, and Johnston. Thomson gave a graphic sketch of the habits of the Masai, while to Johnston we owe a precise account of their physical structure and language.
356
The Living Races of Mankind
"The physical appearance of the imregenerate robber Masai," says Sir Harry Johnston, "is splendid. It is a treat to the anthropological student to gaze on such magnificent examples of the fighting-man. It is an example of one side of our multiform nature pushed to an exclusive and supreme develojiment. The Masai warrior is the result of the development of man with a beautiful animal. To call him God-like, as we do the Greek ideals, would be silly and inappropriate — as much so as seeing divinity in a well-bred race-horse or an Aldemey cow. To compare him with the statues of Apollo is unfair to the one and the other. If you could find Apollo represented with huge-lobed ears, fang-like teeth, high cheek-bones, and a woolly crop, not to mention other peculiar and ungraceful developments, then you might aptly compare bis ideal representation with the living Masai. The full-grown Masai of pure blood is generally 6 feet in height by the age of seventeen, though at that time he is often a spindly and cumbersome and ungi-aceful hobbledehoy. Three years, however, of an exclusi\f diet of milk, blood, and half-raw beef-steaks, combined with a rigorous training in warlike and athletic exercises, have developed him into a sinewy, muscular man, of admirable proportions, broad of chest, with a smallish head, a graceful neck, and limbs whose muscles seem hard as iron. There is no fat on his body. I cannot say that his hands and feet are always well shaped. Their faces are somewhat Mongoloid in look at first sight. The rather narrow, slanting eyes, the prominent cheek-bones, and the pointed chin suggest that impression. On the other hand, the nose is often beautifully shaped, with high bridge and delicately chiselled nostrils, which obey sensitively the passing feelings of their owner, quiver- ing and dilating with pride and rage, or widening and relaxing with good-humour. Their heads are often singularly round and broad for Africans. The hair is certainly longer and less frizzly than among the true Negi-oes, though at the same time this may be only due to the careful and continual combing out it undergoes, and its straightening with a thick paste of clay and fat. It is after all a Negro's wool, and is not longer nor more abundant, certainly, than the regular Papuan crops of hair which the Bantu people of the Upper Congo have been found to possess."
The ears are large, and the lobes are distended by ivory or wooden disks, loops of iron chain, or brass wire coiled like Catherine-wheels. The lips are thin, and there is a triangular space filed between the upper incisors. The colour is a dull chocolate- brown; but babies when first born are yellow.
The dress of the women and elders consists of long capes of untanned, softened leather; but the warriors go naked except for ornaments. Like the Kikuyu, the warriors may wear a flap of skin over one shoulder and across the chest and upper part of the back, probably to protect the lungs. They generally wear skin sandals, except when in a turf-clad district. When going to war, the warriors wear a head-dress of ostrich feathers arranged like an aureole. T of the black-and-white fur of the long-haired Colobus monkey round narrow strips of it round the waist and knees. They always have placed their sword and knobkerry.
The commonest metal ornaments of the ^Nlasai are loops of iron long spirals of wire along the lower arm, or great Catherine-wh-
Photo by Richard Buchta. A BARI WOMAN (SIDE VIEW).
ey often have flaps
the shoulders, and
leather belt, in which are
ain round the neck,
1-like coils standing out
from the neck. The earrings are short loops of chain or small Catherine-wheel coils of brass
The Nilotic Negroes
357
wire. Bead necklaces are sometimes worn, but beads are more often used for ornamenting the edges of their leather clothes. Anklets of iron wire, often with bells attached, are worn when dancing.
The hair is generally twisted with short pigtails over the back of the neck, and shorter tail-like processes over the rest of the head, with two larger tails hanging over the forehead.
The main weapon of the Masai is a huge, heavy thrusting-spear ; the head is long and lance-shaped, the wooden handle is short and about 18 inches in length, and the head is balanced by a long 4-foot spike at the lower end. The warriors are also armed with short swords and a knobkerry made from rhinoceros horn. They defend themselves with an oval shield about 4 feet long, made of buffalo or rhinoceros hide, which is painted with some heraldic pattern.
The houses are simple huts, formed by wattled stakes, plastered with mud, and covered by skins. They are gi-ouped into circular or roughly rectangular kraals, in which the cattle are herded at night. The kraals are often large, and several may be grouped together, especially during the dry season, when the Masai assemble beside a lake or round a water-hole.
jNlilk and meat are the main food of the Masai. The warriors are never allowed to touch vegetable food, and they acquire the necessary salts by drinking the warm blood of living cattle. An ox is stunned by a blow on the head ; a vein is opened, and the young warrior drinks the blood as it spurts from the wound. In the treatment of milk the Masai are very particular. To boil milk in the Masai country is a deadly offence. And the warriors are never allowed to mix their diet of meat and milk. They live on meat at one period and on milk at another. Before they can cjjange from one to another they must fast for a short time and take a strong purgative to clear the system of any trace of the other food, so that the milk may not be defiled. The food of the elders and women is less restricted, and they are allowed to take vegetable food when they can get it from their agricultm-al neighbours.
Their domestic animals are cattle, both of the Asiatic humped variety and the South African race without the hump. They have large herds of donkeys, which drag their goods during their periodical migrations. They have also sheep and goats.
Marriage is a matter of purchase, and, as among the Zulus, is forbidden to the warriors. The elders generally have a couple of wives. The unmarried women, known as dittos, live with the warriors in kraals, where free love is the rule.
The Masai recognise the existence of various spirits, of whom the chief is known as Ngai.
Burial is generally under a tree in a sitting position, with the chin resting on the knees. The body is covered with stones; but the cairn is weak, and the hyenas soon scent out the corjise and pull it from its tomb. A certain belief in a future life is indicated by burial of a calabash of milk beside the corpse, and by the fact that the name of the departed is never mentioned, lest the spirit should regard it as a call and come back.
The political constitution is patriarchal. The men are divided into two classes— the elders, or el-moru, and the warriors, or d-momn. The latter are trained for war-raids ; they have a known series of war-paths, and they roam to enormous distances in order to capture the cattle
oio by Hiehard Buchla. WOMAN (FRONT VlliW).
358
The Living Races of Manlvind
of Bantu tribes. In the villages they implicitly obey the elders, who govern the community. Over the elders there are two chiefs— the Laibon, the great medicine-man of the tribe, and the Beijan, or political chief. In their absence the kraals are managed by a kind of committee of elders, of wliom the superior are the lygonani, or speaking-men.
The Njempsians.
On the islands of Lake Baringo and around its shores dwell a tribe of people who are usually regarded as Masai altered by the loss of their cattle, just as the Bushmen of the Cape were once thought to be Hottentots whose cattle had been taken by the Dutch. Similar tribes of agricultural peojile allied to the Masai occur in other parts of Masailand, as on the slopes of Kiliina Njaro. Such people are called Wakwafi. Those of Kilima Njaro are said by Johnston to ditier from the Masai only in mode of life, except when the tribe has been affected by the adoption of Bantu women as concubines. These Kilima Njaro Wakwafi are therefore probably agricultural Masai ; but in regard to the natives of Njemps it is more probable that they are the remnants of an older tribe, which has been broken up by the .Masai invasion.
The Njempsians were described by Thomson as "singularly honest and reliable," and as characterised by "their honesty, their unassuming ways, and their charming unsophisticated manners." The Njempsians are taller and slimmer than the Masai, but have the same general features, high cheek-bones and fore- heads, and often oblique eyes. They dress in long leather cloaks, and wear brass armlets, bracelets, and leg-rings; they have elaborate earrings similar to those of the Masai and Kikuyu, and are armed with spears with short, broad blades. Their language, though allied to that of the jNIasai, differs materially. They have some similar religious beliefs : for in.stance, they will not eat zebra or allow any part of the animal inside their villages while the seed of their crops is in the ground. The writer was once camped outside Njemps during a period of famine, when his party had to be fed on zebra meat ; the people accordingly refused to allow any of the men to enter the village until they had fasted for several hours. But the Njempsians are less fastidious in food than the jNIasai, for they eat fish and even rats.
The Njempsians dwell in huts gi-ouped together in villages, defended by a powerful stockade, and entered by a narrow gateway that can be easily closed by a heavy beam. Their stajile food is dhuiTa.
The Negroes ok Kavirondo.
In Kavirondo, on the eastern shore of the Vict(jria Nyanza. is a group of tribes who are often grouped together as the Wakavirondo, but who have been shown by Mr. C. W. Hobley to include a considerable number of different races, including Bantu and Nilotic Negroes. Hobley enumerates sixty tribes or clans in this group, and says there are more. The peojile in the western part of the country, along the shores of the lake, mainly belong by Richard Buchia. to the Nilotic group, and are most nearly related to the ShuU.
A madi man. The people of the Nilotic g^oup are generally naked : the
The Nilotic Negroes
359
men near nothing but a few ornaments, of which the most conspicuous is a spHt canine tooth of a hippopotamus tied across the forehead ; the women wear two small fringes of fibre hanging from the waist. As is so often the case with African tribes, morality accompanies nudity. "The people," says Hobley, " are very moral in their domestic relations," and they are remarkably honest. The women's ornaments are necklets, armlets, and anklets of iron wire and beads, brass wire being restricted to the chiefs.
The weapons are a thrusting-spear, ;i small throwing-spear, a large round or oval shield of untanned hide, and a two-edged sword, wider near the end ; bows and arrows are comparatively rare.
The main industries of the people are cattle-breeding and agriculture. Millet and eleusine are the two chief cereals. The tribes grow beans and castor-oil seeds, and in some places bananas. Tobacco and hemp are grown for smoking. Iron-working is practised by some tribes, who make iron hoes, which, in addition to their intrinsic use, serve as a currency. A cow is usually worth twenty hoes. Pottery, basket-weaving, and the prepa- ration of mats from papyrus stalks are the other chief handicrafts.
After a child is born the medicine-man is called in with his drum to ensure its good luck, probably by frightening away evil spirits. Four or six days after birth — the former in the case of a girl, and the latter i \ i %
for a boy — the baby is carried from the
village by its mother and left on the road outside. The child is then picked up and restored to its mother by another woman, who thereafter acts as its god-mother. This custom is probably a survival from a period when infant exposure was practised ; the rite is adopted earlier in the case of girls, as they were probably the earliest to be abandoned. The birth of twins is welcomed and celebrated by great dances. One of the Bantu tribes, the Wakisesa, circumcise, but otherwise this rite is not practised. Some of the front teeth are extracted as soon as a child can speak.
Marriage is by purchase, and half the price of the bride is returned by the father-in-law, should she die young. Polygamy is general, and each wife has a separate hut and plantation.
Burial customs vary greatly: the Bantu tribe of Ketosh simply throw the body into the bush; whereas the people round the station at Mumia's bury the dead in a sitting position below the floor of the hut, with the head above-ground and covered by an earthenware pot. The grave is watched day and night for a month. After some years the grave is opened, the bones are ceremoniously washed, and then reburied on the borders of Ketosh, whence the clan is supjwsed to have come.
Among the peojjle of Kabras, according to Hobley, peace is ratified by the sacrifice of a dog, which is tied to a post ; each end of the animal is held by one of the two parties to
36o
The Living Races of Mankind
the agreement, and a chief cuts the living dog in two, assuring the assembly that any one guilty of breaking the peace will suffer the same fate.
The Laxgo Nation.
One of the chief nations of the late kingdom of Unyoro are the Lango (^Langgo, Longo) people, who, although often grouped with the Nilotic Negroes, are really of Galla stock and speech. They form, in fact, an important link in the chain of Hamitic peoples who extend from Galla- land through Unyoro and Uganda south- wards to Lake Tanganyika. Their territory, which occupies both banks of the Somerset or Victoria Nile between P'oweira and ISIagungo, extends eastwards beyond Unyoro proper to the valley of the Choi, one of the chief upper branches of the Sobat. They still preserve their Galla mother- tongue amid the surrounding Bantu and Negro populations, and are distinguished by their independent spirit, living in small family groups, and recognising no tribal chiefs, except those chosen to defend the common interests in time of war.
Tlie Lango peojile are specially noted for the care bestowed on their elaborate and highly fantastic head-dress. The prevailing fashion may be described as a kind of helmet, in which each lock of hair is separately interwoven with diverse coloured wools, the whole terminating in an imposing superstructure of plumes, tufts of feathers, wreaths of shells or glass beads, or curved projections which resemble trumpets, but are intended to represent buffalo horns. Whole years are spent on these sumptuous head-dresses, which even when finished have to be constantly touched up and kept in repair by the native barbers. On the other hand, the Lango women, who are amongst the finest and most symmetrical of the Equatorial lake region, wear little clothing or embellishments beyond waist-bands, necklaces, armlets, and anklets.
A LANGO CHIEF, SHOWIXG PECDLIAR HEAD-DRESS.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE SOUDANESE AND GUINEA NEGROES, AND THE ABYSSINIAN AND ETII IODIC GROUDS.
a. THE SOUDANESE NEGROES.
The Soudanese Negroes occupy a belt of Africa between Senegambia and the western watershed of the Nile; the area includes most of the Niger Basin and the Atlantic coast-lands from the Senegal River to Calabar. The boundaries, however, are not sharply defined. To the south the Rio del Rey divides the Soudanese Negroes from the Bantu; but the former group is represented by colonies in the backwoods of the Bantu region. To the north-east the Soudanese Negroes gradually merge with the Hamitic races, and to the north they become inextricably mixed with the Berber tribes of Senegal. Even on the southern slopes of the Atlas ^Mountains in Morocco there is a wide-spread people known as the Haratin or Black Berbers, which shows that the Negro influence has extended even north of the Sahara.
The Mandingo, Timni, and Kru.
The Sarakole are interesting as Mandingo, a race of Eastern origin, Liberia. The Mandingo are clearly Negroes; they have a Negroid face, flat broad nose, widely open nostrils, high cheek-bones, and projecting jaws. They are active, intelligent, and in- dustrious ; and, like the Haussa of the Niger Basin, they have managed to acquire commercial supremacy over the other tribes. Again, like the Haussa, they were once also politi- cally predominant, but have lost their [)o\ver owing to Fulah inroads ; locally, however, they still retain their former position — as, for instance, among the Serers of Senegal, where the chief families are all INIandingan.
As an instance of Mandingan intelligence may be cited the fact that the Vei language, which belongs to this group, has a written alphabet comprising over 200 characters ; it has been claimed that this script was in- vented in the present century, but tlie recent inquiries of Delafosse show that it is at least several centuries older.
the most northern members of now spread over the region between
the great tribe the Senegal
of
and
3 by Mr. Aldridge.
THE MANDINGAN 361
362
The Living Races of Mankind
One of the best-known tribes of the jMandingo are the Mendi, who live in the pro- tectorate of Sierra Leone. The inhabitants of the town and actual colony of Sierra Leone are, however, mainly Timni or Timneh; but the population is unusually mixed, as the colony was founded in 1787 as a home for freed slaves. The original settlers belong to many different tribes, and the variations in feature among the present Sierra Leonese are extreme. The mixture of races has even affected the neighbouring Timni, wVio, according to Clarlc, vary in colour " from jet black to light yellow, the intermediate shades being principally a coffee or in- different black colour."
The secret societies, or porro, which are widely scat- tered and most typically de- veloped in West Africa, though they also occur in East Africa, are especially powerful among the Timni, and much of the reliable information regarding the aims and methods of these societies has been obtained by a study of this tribe.
South of Sierra Leone is the State of Liberia, still in- dependent, although partly dismembered by France. This state was founded as an asylum for the freed American slaves, but its success has not been so satisfactory as could have been wished. Eobinson, who visited it in 1894, declares that "the history of Liberia would indeed be a most entertaining farce, were it not also a most significant tragedy." He remarks that "the Liberians excel perhaps all the other inhabitants of the globe in their amazing self- conceit," and tells us that their rulers had recently assured the French that they had decided to remain neutral in the next European war. The main function of Liberia has been indeed to supply good stories of Negro methods of administration, as when during the cholera scare in Egypt they placed a ship in quarantine because it was going to an infected port.
The most important element in the native Liberian population is the Kru or Grebo, who live along the Grain Coast, north-west of Cape Las Palmas. The name Kru is an abridgment of Kru-boy, which is a corruption, not of " crew-boy," but of the proper native name of Grebo. The Kru are among the most vigorous of Negro races, and they act as boatmen and cargo-lifters all along the west coast, and are commercially invaluable. Thomson gave them a bad name, but some later travellers and west-coast residents are loud in their praise.
NATIVE CARRIERS, nPPER MKNDI.
The Guinea Negroes
363
6. THE GUINEA NEGROES.
From Senegal to Liberia the Negro races have been so greatly influenced by contact with EuroiDeans, especially English, French, and Portuguese on the one hand, and by Mohammedan and Fulah invaders on the other, that they are ethnographically less instructive than the Negroes of the Guinea Coast lands between Liberia on the west and the Eio del Rey on the east, which, as shown by Sir H. H. Johnston, is the boundary between the Western and the Bantu Negroes.
These Negroes of Guinea are the typical Negroes with thick lips, woolly hair, broad flat
noses, wide open nostrils, rece- ding foreheads, projecting jaws,
and prominent powerful teeth.
The attempt has indeed been
made to restrict the name Negro
to the natives of this part of
Africa.
The natives of the Guinea
Coast may be divided into three
groups — the Tshi, the Ewe, and
the Yoruba-speaking people, who
have been described in three
separate monographs by Sir A.
B. Ellis.
THE TSHI TRIBES.
The 1''anti and Ashanti.
The Tshi, or, as Miss Kings- ley would propose to spell the name, the Cheuwe- speaking people, form the westernmost grouj), living mainly in the Cape Coast Colony and the Ashanti Protectorate. The two most important tribes are the Fanti, who dwell on the coast, and the Ashanti, who occupy the hinter- land. The Fanti are chocolate- coloured, muscular people of j_ medium height ; they have round '"'""" ''-" -"' -■"•'"•'y
heads, with a long face, and a ^^ cppeb mendi chief.
nose less flat than that of most Negro races. Dress is simple, consisting of a brightly coloured loin-cloth, which among married women is increased to a wrap that covers from the breast to the ankles. The women have elaborate arrangements of the hair, which is worked into a knob-shaped chignon, a pair of horn- shaped projections, or a single spike like that of a unicorn.
The Ashanti, though in most respects closely resembling the Fanti, are less strongly built ; but being more warlike and courageous, they are jjolitically more powerful. Whereas the Fanti live in small villages, among the Ashanti there are some large towns, of which the chief is Kumasi, or Coomassie. The P'anti are a tribe of village communities, whereas the Ashanti formed a state with a centralised government, and were ruled by a king.
The religion of both Fanti and Ashanti is fetishism. Circumcision is practised, but not
U Aidridgt 3PPER MENDI PRINCESS.
3^4
The Living Races of Mankind
universally ; and cannibalism exists only as a religious rite, as when the heart of a brave enemy is eaten in order that his courage may be inherited. Traces of moon-worship are recorded by Ellis ; while totemism, which is widely distributed in Afiica, is strongly developed. The Tshi people are divided into families, named after some animal or plant ; there are the Leopard Family, Bush-cat Family, Dog Family, Parrot P'amily, Plantain Family, etc. The members of these families are prohibited from eating their totem, or animal after which they are named, though, owing to the importance of the plantain as food, the coast natives do not recognise the rule as applying in that case.
There are many interesting customs regarding birth, marriage, and death, but want of space prevents us enumerating them.
THE EWE TRIBES.
West of Ashanti and the Fanti is a
region occupied by a group of tribes who
^^^^_^_^^ __ ^peak Ewe (pronounced Efe or Eh we).
.Most of the Ewe tribes occupy the German Protectorate of Togoland and the French temtory of Dahomey; but some, such as the Awuna, Agbosomi, and the Krikor, dwell under British protection round the mouth of the Yolta Kiver.
The Ewe-speaking tribes are more in- telligent and advanced than the Tshi ; for in addition to local deities and spirits, like those of the Tshi, there are some gods who are worshipped throughout the Ewe district.
.1/1-. Aldridgt. UPPER MESDI CHIEF IN WAR-COST
The Dahomeyaxs.
The chief people of the Ewe group are the Dahomeyans. Burton, who visited Abomey, the capital of Dahomey, in 1864, describes the king, Gelele, as a tall Negro, 6 feet in height, " lithe, agile, thin-flanked, and broad-shouldered, with muscular limbs, well-turned wrists, and neat ankles, but a distinctly cucumber-shaped shin. His hair, generally close shaven, is of the peppercorn variety ; the eyebrows are scant, the beard is thin, and the moustachios thinner. He has not his father's receding forehead, nor the vanishing chin which distinguishes the multitude; his strong jaw renders the face 'jowly ' rather than oval, consequently the expression is normally hard, though open and not ill-humoured, whilst the smile which comes out of it is pleasant. His nails are allowed to attain mandarin length. His sub-tumid lips disclose white, strong, and sound teeth, the inner surfaces being somewhat blackened by tobacco. The nose is distinctly retrousse, quasi-Negi'o, anti-aquiline, looking in fact as if all the lines had been turned the wrong way ; but it is not much flattened, nor does it wholly want bridge." He was tattooed with the Dahomeyan tribal mark — three parallel cuts beside the eyebrows. His dress was simple, consisting of short purple silk drawers reaching only half-way down the thigh, and a loose white cotton-cloth edged with green silk. He wore gold-embroidered
366
The Living Races of Mankind
I late MUs Mary KingsUy. NATIVES OF TH
■.'IGEB DELTA.
Moorish sandals, and a short cylindrical straw cap, with a band of purple ribbon round it. His ornaments were a human tooth and a blue bead on a thread round his neck, an iron ring round the right arm, and five iron bracelets above and below the elbow.
The most striking feature in the military system of Dahomey was the corps of Amazons (for photograiih see page 3G9), which was raised in 1729 owing to the gallant behaviour of a number of women who had been armed in order to increase the apparent size of a Dahomeyan army. At first the Amazons were criminals, but Gezo and Gelele improved the status of the force by en- rolling in it women who pleased them. The women among the Dahomeyans, thanks to their having done the work of the tribe for generations, are as muscular and strong or even stronger than the men. Ellis
>i^^-. estimated their number in 1890
jfll' at about 3,000.
The Amazons were divided into five corps : the blunderbuss- women; the elephant-huntresses; the razor-women, armed with a hinged sword about 18 inches the infantry or line's women ; and the archeresses, small knife. The last company
long that shut into its scabbard like a razor;
armed with a bow, a qui\'er of small poisoned arrows, and
was said by Ellis to be already extinct in his time.
Burton did not take the Amazons very seriously. The infantry, the main body of the force, he describes as follows : " They are armed with Tower muskets, and are well supplied with bad ammunition — bamboo fibre, for instance, being the only wadding. They have but little ball practice. They manoeuvre with the precision of a flock of sheep, and they are too light to stand a charge of the poorest troops in Europe. Personally they are cleanly made, without much muscle ; they are hard dancers, indefatigable singers, and, though affecting a military swagger, their faces are anything but ferocious — they are rather mild and unassuming in appearance. They fought with fur}' with Gezo before Abeokuta because there was a jealousy between them and their brother soldiers, and because they had been led for many years by that king to small but sure victory. They fled, howe\-er, with the rest, when a little perseverance would have retrieved the fortunes of the day."
Like the Fanti and Ashanti, the Dahomeyans have been notorious for the practice of human sacrifices. Especially was this so during the last century. Captain Snelgrave in 1727 saw 400 prisoners executed in honour of the conquest of the ToiTo country ; the prisoners had their
The Guinea Negroes
367
hands tier! behind their backs, and they were led on to a stage, wliere a priest laid his hand
on their heads, uttered some words of consecration, after which the victims were decapitated by
a single sweep of a heavy broadsword. In the same year Whydah was conquered, and 4,000
natives were sacrificed as a thank-offering. Human sacrifices were also offered in Dahomey
at the Grand Custom, held
after the death of a king,
and were intended to supply
him with an adequate spirit
retinue, and at the Annual
Custom, intended to send the
dead kings some fresh slaves.
The last Grand Custom was
on the death of Gezo in
1858, when the sacrifices
lasted from July to October,
and 500 people were slain.
Most of the victims were the
king's personal attendants,
his chief eunuch, his wives,
and a supply of soldiers,
Amazons, and slaves. The
skulls were collected and
piled into pyramids, or used
to decorate the walls of the
palace. The corpse of the
dead king was buried in a
mausoleum, of which the clay
was kneaded with rum and
human blood. His relics are
treated with the highest
reverence.
In the present century the number of the victims has been diminished, and the Annual Custom took different forms in alternate years. One year there was an Attoh cere- mony, in which the victims were stunned by being hm-led from a high platform ; they were then executed, and their bodies thrown to the mob, who mutilated and smashed them with clubs. On the next year there was a So-sin ceremony, in which horses were slain as well as men.
The Ewe religion is not only practised in Guinea, but has been carried across the Atlantic by slaves, and some of its rites survive in Ha}'ti.
368 The Living Races of Manlcind
Its West Indian title of Vaudoo is of Ewe origin, the name meaning a superhuman spirit. The Fanti worship of the python, and the superstitious awe of the silk-cotton tree as the favourite abode of spirits, and other features of Ewe religion, are now firmly established in some of the West Indian islands.
THE YORUBA.
The third of the great groups of Guinea Negroes are the people of Yoruba si^eech, whose territory extends from the Niger Delta to Dahomey. The race, according to its own traditions, has descended from fifteen people who migrated from some eastern country and settled at Ife. The Yoruba are more civilised and juhanced than the Tshi or Ewe tribes, and their culture -liows abundant traces of Haussa or Fulah influence. Until the beginning of this century there was a powerful Yoruba kingdom, which was overthrown by a Fulah invasion in 1820.
Toe Egi!a.
One of the leading tribes is that of the Egba or Egbado, of whose physical features Burton has given a detailed description. According to Burton, the type is Negroid — that is to say, Negro altered by Hamitic inter- mixture— rather than true-bred Negro. The skin is usually copper-coloured, but sometimes black, while some of the chiefs are almost light-coloured. The lips are not thick ; but the gums are blue, and the jaws are very projecting. The nose is broad, with exjianded nostrils; but sometimes it is hooked. The cheek-bones are high. Blue eyes, so often seen among the Tuaregs, are unknown. The hair is short, scant, and, as Burton describes it, grows over the head like peppercorns. The women dress it into a series of thin longitudinal ridges. The dress of the Egba consists of loose cotton drawers fastened above the knees, while the body is wrapped in a mantle thrown over one shoulder. The poorer people may wear only a loin-cloth. Caps of various shapes and materials, including large hats of palm leaflets, are generally worn.
Among the Egba the most noticeable ornament is a plug of coral in the left nostril. Scar- and colour-tattooing are both in use. Burton describes some of the children as marked "from head to foot with little gridirons of cuts, dyed dark blue by means of native antimony." Scars are raised for the tribal mark, which among the Egba is a gridiron-shaped set of three cuts or a multiple of three on each cheek. The free women have one, two, or three narrow lines from the wrist up the back of each arm and down the back. The Yoruba mark is a set of perpendicular lines running downward from the temple. The Efon have a large blue patch between the cheek-bones and the ear.
The chief town in the Yoruba country is Abeokuta, which once included 100.000 inhabitants. It is still a large city of narrow, irregular streets, intersecting at every possible angle : some of the thoroughfares are broad and shady, and they are used for markets. The houses are of stamped mud, with high-pitched roofs of thatch. At each angle there is a high, sharp gable
DAHOMEYAN BABT.
The Abyssinian and Ethiopic Groups
369
to throw off tlie heavy vain. The plan of the houses is a hollow square, containiug a series of court-yards for the sheep and goats. ]\onnd each court-yard is a verandah, where the fires are placed and cooking is done. There are from ten to twenty rooms in a house; each room is from 10 to 15 feet long and about 7 or 8 feet broad. There are no windows, which would let in the sun's glare and heat as well as the light. The number of inhabitants in these compound houses is often large, amounting, according to Burton, to sometimes as many as 500. The furniture is simple, consisting of wide cots and settees, rough eartlienware jiottery, grass bags, and usually a gun.
In culture the Yoruba are intermediate between the Coast Negroes and the more skilled natives of Haussaland. Their religion and domestic rites agree in the main with those of their Tshi and Ewe allies. They have the same multiplicity of gods, and have special gods for their trade castes ; thus the blacksmiths and armourers are under the protection of Ogun. Shango is their lightning god, and, as among the Ewe, a fire supposed to have been caused by lightning must not be put out. Burton tells us that at Abcdkula, a tiii^ due to carelessness was attributed to Shan go ; accordingly an old man in the building wuuld have been allowed to be burnt to death, had not a European, defying sacrilege, rushed to the rescue,
c, THE ABYSSINIAN AND ETHIOPIC GROUPS.
The Negro tribes occur only to the south of a line from the mouth of the Senegal River in lat. 16° N. on the Atlantic coast to tlie mouth of tlie Juba on the E(inator in Eastern Africa.
J^%
Uts< 8 ytgrtlti. cL Zamhi aj
I he Living Races of Mankind
The Negro tribes along this dividing-line are altered liy the intermixture of northern Caucasian races, and are therefore spoken of as Negroids instead of as Negroes. Striking instances of these mixed Negroes occur in Senegambia, where they are formed by the intermingling of Negro and Berber peoples, and also in East Africa, where the Waganda are a Bantu tribe altered by a band of Wahuma conquerors.
The Ctai.las.
The Gallas, ur, as they jiroudly call themselves, the Oromo — i.e. " men," or " brave men " — once dominated East Africa from Abyssinia to ^lombasa ; but they are now broken up into a series of separate tribes of little political importance. These tribes occur in a belt neaiiy continuous round South Abyssinia, and extend across the plateau east of Lake Rudolf into the valley of the Tana.
The Gallas. warlike pastoral nomads, form the most numerous branch of the Eastern or Ethiopic Hanntes.
Tliat the Gallas as a race are Caucasians and not Negroes is clear from their physical features. The forehead is similar to that of many Em-opeans ; the nose is thin and sometimes aquiline, while the nostrils are straight; the chin is small and slightly pointed ; the lips, thouc;h usually thick, are thinner tlian in Negroes; the hair is long and frizzly; the expression of the face is proud and intellectual ; in fact, but for the very dark colour a Galla would pass unnoticed in a European crowd.
The Galla women are fsimous for their beauty.
"'° ^ "" '" '' and they fetched the highest prices in the slave-
A riAHOiiEVAN uAiiRinR. marts of Cairo, Khartum, and Zanzibar. The men
are also handsome, but, owing to the style in which
tlipv dress their hair, appear wild and ferocious. Thus Harris, who studied the Gallas of Shoa,
described them as "tall and athletic, wrapped in a toga, their features fiery and savage, and
rendered still more ferocious by the thick bushy hair arranged in lotus-leaved compartments, or
streaming over the shoulders in long raven plaits." Krapf, who knew the Southern Gallas before
their overthrow, describes them as people of "a manly appearance, large and powerfully built,
but with savage features, made still more savage-looking and fierce by their long hair, worn
like a mane over the shoulders. They are principally of a dark brown colour."
The clothes of the Gallas are a long leather robe, which in the women is fastened round the waist by a girdle decorated with coloured beads. The weapons of the tribe are spear, two-edged sword, and round hide shield. The houses of the Southern Gallas are conical huts of thatch ; but in the north the huts are surrounded by a low stone wall, and in the to^vns they are mainly of stone.
The inhabitants have large herds of cattle and horses, and flocks of sheep and goats. They are also agriculturists, and gi'ow maize, rye, and wheat ; and instead of the hoe of their Bantu neighbours they use a wooden, iron-shod plough drawn by oxen. The staple foods are meat and bread, and the be\"crages are beer and mead.
The Abyssinian and Ethiopic Groups
371
Coffee of excellent quality is grown in the district. The best-known industry of Harai is its weaving of tobes, cotton garments, and sashes. These, according to Burton, " as fai surjiass in beauty and durability the rapid produce of Euroi)ean inanufactoiies as the perfect hand of man excels the finest machinery."
The Gallas are mainly Pagan.s, though the Wollo and some of the other northern clans have been converted to Islam. The primitive religion was a fetish- or spirit-worship, including veneration for serpents. The Gallas have a firm faith in omens, which are derived from the examination of the entrails of slaughtered cattle and sheej). The auguries are drawn from the arrangement of the intersecting lines in the layers of fat and membrane. Traces of Mohammedan and Jewish traditions are found amongst the Gallas, partly no doubt derived from their Abyssinian and Mohammedan neighbours. But amongst the Gallas of the Tana Valley, who are further removed from these influences, there are traditions of the creation of the world, and of a first man nameil Zadami (i.e. Adam), which may be part of their primitive folklore.
The lowland country along the south-western border of the Red Sea, stretching inland from the shore to the foot of the Abyssinian highlands, is the home of the Danakil, or Afar. They are a Hamitic people, allied to the Gallas, to the Agau of Abyssinia, and to the Somali, forming with them and the Beja the Ethiopic branch of the Hamitic race. They are a tall, slim, handsome race, with especially beautiful women. They are brave and warlike, and have practically always maintained their iti- dependence, which was threatened by an Egyptian invasion in 1875; but the invading army under Mun- zinger I'asha was annihilated.
The Danakil dress is a loin-cloth and a tobe, or toga. They frequently leave- off the latter, for which they have the excuse of living in almost the hottest area on the globe.
Their country is barren, and contains many salt lakes, which provide the main Danakil revenue ; for the salt is worked into small cakes and exported to Abyssinia, where it passes as currency.
The Danakil.
- P"
r
^M ^
riioto by K dunlhtr)
DAHOMEYAN MAU
372
The Living Races of Mankind
The assumed Arabian origin of the Danakil is true onl}^ of some of the chiefs, who have been connected witli AraViia, and were at one time subject to the Slieikh of Mecca. But these facts lend no support to tlie mistaken view that the Danakil and kindred Uallas are of Arab (Semitic) descent. All are of Hamitic stock and sjiecch.
The Somali.
The peninsula to the east of the Galla country is inhabited by the Somali, who occupy the whole of the " Eastern Horn of Africa," the great projection south of the Gulf of Aden, and range southward^ as far as the Tana River. The Somali are allied to the Gallas, and are clearly a Hamitic rare ; Imt to a limited extent tlie description of the Somali as a half-caste race of Gallas and South Araliians is correct, although the Hamitic is unquestionably the larger constituent element.
For an African race the Somali are decidedly handsome. The head is long and the forehead lofty and noble ; the eyes are large and expressive ; the jaws, though prominent, are not heavy ; the lips, though thick, are thinner tlian among Negroes. The cheek-bones are high, and the nose straight, with a well-developed bridge, and the nostrils are small. The men are
tall and extremely slim, the limbs being especially thin and bony. The women are broader, shorter, and more muscular, and they do most of the manual work of the tribe. The colour of the skin is very dark, and is some- times coal black. The hair is long, hard, and wiry, and grows in stiff ringlets, which are dressed with butter made from camel's milk, and often trained into an enormous wig, ex- tended out on each side of the head. The first travellers who came in contact with the Somali gave them a very bad character, owing to their supposed treachery, fickleness, and cruelty. This reputation has been supported by the following oft-quoted passage from Buiton, whose experi- ences of the Somali were unfortu- nate : " They have all the levity and instal)ility of the Negro character; light-minded as the Abyssinians — ilcM-iilu'd liy (i(il)at as c.instaiit in
and atf.'riionalc souls, Hiey [lass with- out any apfiarent transition into a slate of fury, when they are capable of terrible atrocities. At Aden they appear happier than in their native country. There I have often seen a Mian clapping his hands and dancing, ciiildliki-. aliine to relieve the exuber- ance of his spirits ! Have they be- come, as the jNlouiJols and other
The Abyssinian and Ethiopic Groups
373
pastoral peoples, a melancholy race, who will sit for hours upon a bank gazing at the moon, or crooning some old ditty under the trees ? "
But the injustice of the early reports of Somali fanaticism and hostility to strangers is now gener- ally adinitti'd ; and though they have on occa>i(iiis cDmmitted acts of dia- bolical cruelty and are very excitable, later travellers have been impressc<i by their merits. The Somali are certainly intelligent, skilful artisans, devoted to men whom they trust, and tolerant of discipline.
The weapons of the Somali are a large spear with a leaf-shape blade, a small throwing-javelin, a two-edged dagger about 18 inches long, a club, and a round hide shield about 18 inches in diameter. The spear is the main weapon : it has a wooden liandlc 4 or 6 feet long, which ends bclciw in a jioint, a ferrule, or a short irdu spike ; the head is from 2 to 4 iiiclio wide, about 8 inches long, with a shaft, about a foot long; the liladi^ is often blackened by being made red hot and then rulibed with a piece of cow's horn. The northern Somali sometimes fight on horseback, and their horsemanship is excellent.
Most of the Somali are Moham- medans, and adheif with fanatical devotion to a somewhat corrupt form
of that religion. They wear the Moslem rosary of ninety-nine beads, and carry charms. One of their devotions takes the form of a dervish dance round a fire, which they continue till they throw themselves into the flames in frenzy or fliU into them in a mesmeric trance. They will not eat meat unless the animal has been killed by a Mohammedan, or dedicated to Allah by a prayer said over it in its dying moments ; and they have been known to starve to death rather than touch Christians' food.
Their religion is, however, mixed with fetishism; for they swear by stones, they have holy places and sacred trees, and trust justice to ordeals, making suspected criminals pluck cowry-shells out of a pot of boiling water, walk over hot ashes, or drag a heavy red-hot iron weight from a fii-e. The \'erdict is given the day after the ordeal, according to the appearance of the burnt scar.
Polygamy is usual, and the men marry between the ages of fifteen and twenty. A man usually marries a woman from another clan, as he thus gains protection from blood- feuds with his wife's peoj^le. The women do all the menial work of the tribe, and some of them usually accompany caravans on the march to make the grass huts, cook the food, and load the camels. The men act as camel-drivers, hunters, and warriors.
Bm-ial rites are simple, especially since, being Mohammedans of the Shafeite sect, they
; TroSwvr of Anthropology, Natural HUtory Mu^eu A YORUIiA MAN.
374
he Living Races of Mankind
a more handsome type. The Hahr (i; descent from Sheikh Ishak. They havt against their common enemy the Isa.
say no prayers over the dead. Corpses are often buried in a sitting position under stone cairns. There are two main divisions : the Hasiya, comprising the Alijertins, Habr Gahr-Haji, Habr Awal, Gadabursi, Isa, Habr Juni, 111 id others; and the Haxvija, of wliich the chief members are the Habr .Taleh, Habr Gader, Bad- liailan, and Rer-Dolloh One of the best known are the Isa, whom lUirton describes as "childish and docile, cunning and deficient in judgment, kind and fickle, 4i"id-humoured and irascible, u arm-hearted and infamous for tiuelty and treachery. ' Traitorous as an Isa ' is a proverb at Zayla, where these Bedouins are said to oiler a bowl of milk with the left hand and stab with the right."
The Gadabursi are allies and
ncighbom-s of the Isa Somali,
li\ing between Zayla and Harar.
to the south-east of the Isa
-i,.,o/o„. i/ciuntry. They were said by
IJurton to be as turbulent as the
Isa, but less bloodthirsty, and of
llaji, who live to the south of Berbera. claim direct
blood-feud with the Halir Awal, but unite with them
The Abyssiniaxs.
The kingdom of Ethiopia (Abyssinia) is traditionally named after Ethiops, one of the mythical twelve children of Gush, a grandson of Ham and great-grandson of Noah, who is supposed to have migrated after the Flood from Ai-abia to Abyssinia. He settled at what is now the sacred city of Axum, where his son Ethiops was born. This tradition probably has a certain basis of truth ; for the nucleus of the Abyssinian people are Semites who crossed from Southern Arabia and settled in the highland plateau of Abyssinia. There they acquired such influence that they welded the various tribes of that region into a powerful confederation. The mixtm-e of races in the Abyssinian peojile is illustrated by their name, which comes from Hahcsk, an Ai-abic word meaning '• mixed." No name could be more appropriate ; for the Abyssinians are partly Semitic, partly Hamitic, and partly Xegi-o. The dominant race has usually been Semitic. Since the death of King John in 1888 the headshii) has been held by a Hamito-Semitic people. On the western slopes of Abyssinia are some Negro tribes, such as the Shangallas ; in the plains to the north of Abyssinia are the Beni-Amer, a mixture of the Abyssinian Tigrians and the Nubian Beja; in the maritime plain around ^lassowa dwell the Shoho, who are Harnites and speak a Danakil dialect ; in Central Abyssinia dwell the Ealashas, who are said to be Jewish in race, as they certainly are in religion ; finally, in the forests to the south are a dwarf tribe, the Doko, who may be Negrilloes. The .\i-abs rightly named the Abyssinians the " mixed."
The kingdom of Abyssinia was founded at a verv early date. According to the national
37G
I he Living Races of Manl^ind
tradition, the Queen of Sheba who visited Solomon was the Abyssinian Queen Maqueda. As a result of that visit the Queen gave birth by Solomon to a son, who was named Menelik David. He was sent to Jerusalem to be edu- cated, and thence returned with a party of Jewish priests, under Azariah, son of the high priest Zadok, with tutors and servants, whose descendants still live in the country as the tribe of the Falasha. This enterprising Menelik David brought back other treasures ; for finding the gates of his father's temple open on the day of his dej^arture, he walked off witii the Ark of Zion and the Tables of the Law ! In accordance with this tradition tlif "Negus Negusti " or "King of Kings" of Aliyssinia has for his second title "The Li(in of the Tribe of Judah," and is regarded as a descendant of Solomon. It does not malter whether the ruler be a Semite oi a llaiiiite; the king acquires his ancestors when he acquires the throne.
The great antiquity of the Abyssinian kingdom is proved by still existing inscrip- tions ; for some of the monuments at Axum are inscribed in Greek and Himyaritic. The rude wealth of the early Abyssinian Court is known from classical writers. An embassy to tiie country was sent by the Eoman Enqjeror Justinian in the sixth century. Ac- cording to Uibli'iii. "the Negus, arrayed in barbaric pomp of gold chains, collars, and bracelets, and surroundeil by his nobles ami musicians, gave audience to the ambassador of Justinian seated in the open field upon a lofty chariot drawn by four elephants superbly caparisoned."
The original basis of the Abyssinian population was probably the Agau, a Hamitic race driven southward from Nubia before the days of the Semitic invasion. These Agau survive in some scattered communities, of which the largest lives to the south of Lake Tsana. The Falashas, or " Abyssinian Jews," according to some authorities, are an Agau race ; but this origin is claimed with greater probability for the Bogo of Northern Abyssinia, who worshijD serpents, sacrifice to rivers, and amongst whom no man is allowed to look at or speak to his mother-in-law. Politically, the most inqiortaiit people in Abyssinia are the Amliara, who live mostly in the central region around Lake Tsana. In modi-in times they haxe generally been the predominant nation, and their language. Amharic. is widely spnkcn liy cither tribes, such as the Agau. At present, however, since King John was killed in battle witli the ^hihdists. the Shoans, a southern race, have held the reins of power.
Historically, the chief rivals of the Amhara have been the Tigrians, whose capital is Adowa. The Tigrians speak a dialect of Ghez, a primitive Semitic language introduced from South Arabia in prehistoric times. The language is maintained in its archaic form by the Abyssinian Church, and it is spoken in what is said to be a fairly pure form by the Haliabs, who live on the Red Sea shore north of IMassowa.
The typical Abyssinians are the people of Amhara. They are a tall race, with a long narrow head, an oval face, a high forehead, a thin and often aquiline nose, bright oval ej'es, a pointed chin, a well-formed mouth, with thick and sometimes pouting lips, long frizzly or
SOMALI MAN.
The Abyssinian and Ethiopic Groups
^11
A SOMALI MAN AND UIS WIFF
silky hair, and small hands, feet, and limbs. The colour varies from light yellow to dark brown. The race is tyi^ically Semitic ; but the occasional occurrence of a flattened nose, Negro lips, and a jet-black skin shows that the Amharans are not free from Negro intermixture.
The Amharans are intelligent, and have bright, animated faces ; the main fault of the people is that they are quarrelsome and inordinately vain. Some tame lions are kept loose in the court of the Negus as a symbol of the power of the king.
The national costume of the men in Abyssinia is a long piece of cotton-cloth folded round the body like a toga; under this is a loin-cloth or a pair of loose drawers ending a little
48
378
The Living Races of Mani<ind
above the knee. The coast tribes wear a long shirt with the drawers. The women have a wide-sleeved chemise, tied round the waist by a narrow girdle, and a long tobe or sheet ol cotton-cloth wrapped round the body.
The ornaments of the women are large studs of wood or metal in the ears, massive silver bracelets and anklets with silver bells, necklaces of blue- and gold-colom-ed beads, and a string of charms. They generally carry a twirling fan. The women paint extensively ; they remove the hair from the eyebrows and mark there a line of dark blue ; the cheeks are coloured to the eyes with a rouge made of ochre and fat.
The women usually wear the hair in rows of small curls ; and the men devote much attention to their hair-dressing, frequently varying the arrangement. According to Harris, ••many hours are daily expended in arranging the mop into various and quaint devices. At one time it is worn hanging in long clustering ringlets over the cheeks and neck, at another frizzed into round matted protuberances ; to-day fancifully tucked and trimmed into small rows of minute curls like a counsellor's peruke, and to-morrow boldlv divided into four large lotus-leaved compartments." The hair is, however, sometimes worn quite short.
The old weapons are a curved, sickle-shaped sword, spear, and shield ; but firearms have been introduced, and are now the national weapon, at least in the army. Slings and stones are used in war ; throwing- clubs are used for hunting small game, while lions are killed with the spear. Leopards are trained for hunting antelope.
The architecture varies greatly. The simplest huts are circular frameworks of twigs plastered with mud. In the Alpine regions of Simen they are of thick thatch surrounded by a thorn fence. In Sanafe the houses are long and rectangular. The better class of houses and those of most of the towns are built of stone cemented by mortar; such houses are circular, built in two storeys, and are all of stone, thatched with straw. Some of the older builrlings are finer than any now built by the native Abyssinians. Thus in Gondar, the chief town in the province of Amharp,
r|t^^/^jHfl^HH|B| are the remains of a seventeenth-century foitress which has vj^y^B^l^pHHI been called " the Windsor Castle of Ethiopia." This, however, ^'//l^^^^B was liuilt by an European architect of red sandstone, with
|^^^« fif^^^^^^M battlements of black basalt, and contains a high central keep
1^^^^ H^^^^^B^ ^^^ ^ number of round towers connected by long galleries.
^^f^^ figT^^^^^ ' '^^ The most remarkable dwellings in Abyssinia are the mono-
WESI Ju\ ■"- »IB4ri|l lithic temples, which are hewn, out of single blocks of rock.
j^^w^jjj I At Lalibala there are several eh lurches cut in blocks of basalt;
and at Sokota, the chief town in the province of Wag, is a similar church in granite. Monolithic columns occur in \arious parts of the country, as in Wag, and at Axum, where there is one 83 feet in height.
Agi-ieulture and the industries are neglected and pi-imitive,
though better conducted than in most of the Negro tribes.
As with the Arabs and the Gallas, the fields are jirepared for
sowing by a wooden plough, armed with an iron knife or lance-
liead, and drawn by oxen. The main products gi-own are
^^^^^^^^^ cereals, including barley. The grain is eaten as jjoifidge,
i^^_, ^^^^HBl-„ - °'" '" ^owc cakes or unleavened bread. Kaw meat is the
*^^^^^^ ' ' favourite food, and it is preferred when eaten warm from the
slaughtered beast and flavom-ed with its gall. As is known
fiom the accounts of Bruce, confirmed by later travellers, steaks
are cut from the flanks of live cattle, and the wounds are
AN ABYssrNiAu GiBL. healed. Beer brewed from barlev and mead from wild honey
Hi/ pennissioii of Ihc PrvfL^mor of Antkropologi/, JSatural /hstoiy Muacuiit, Pans.
A NATIVE OF ABYSSINIA. 379
38o
The Living Races of Mankind
-2:^1 .J. '^ r^'~i
\ f 1< I I C)l \M^M
are the chief intoxicating beverages. The Alivssinians are forced to abstain totally from the use as drinks of either milk or cotfee, which grows wild. The use of tobacco is also forbidden, and some rulers have discouraged smoking by cutting off the li[is of people found indulging in that habit.
The most characteristic industries are filigree metal -working, leather-work and embroidery, and the plaiting of straw mats, baskets, and bowls, which, as with the Gallas, are woven sufficiently close to hold milk. Poetry is compiled by a class of minstrels who sing the praises of the nobles. Pictures, usually highly coloured, decorate the churches. The style of painting is Byzantine, and one remarkable featm-e is that good people are never rejiresented in profile, which is reserved for demons, enemies, and Jews.
The ceremonies in connection with births are mainly remarkable for the union of Mohammedan and Jewish rites ; for Abyssinian babies, when eight days old, are subjected to both baptism and circumcision.
Marriage is a civil contract, though a religious ceremony is often added : a great feast is indispensable. The father gives the bride a dowry, which remains her property, and unless previously spent is retained by her if she be divorced or separated. jSI orals among the jjeople are lax, and adultery is not uncommon ; if discovered, the woman gets a whipping. Polygamy and concubinage on an extensive scale exist among the wealthy classes.
Burials are attended by a great feast, provided, as in some West African tribes, by presents of food to the bereaved relatives. All the contributors expect invitations. Among the Shoho, who are inveterate beggars, the hand of the corpse is left- outstretched above the grave.
The State religion of Abyssinia since the fourth century has been Christianity. The Church
The Abyssinian and Ethiopic Groups
381
is a branch of the Coptic Church of Egypt, and its head is the Patriarch of Alexandria. He appoints the Abuna, or Prelate of Abyssinia, who must be a Copt. Ijut his influence is controlled by the Echegheh, a native dignitary at the head of the religious orders. Both live in Gondar, which is the ecclesiastical centre. The priests are allowed only one wife each, and are not allowed to remarry. The creed of the Church is monophysite — that is, it holds to the single and not the dual natiu-e of Christ. It also believes in the three births of Christ — viz. His proceeding from the Father, His birth by the Virgin Alary, and His reception of the Holy Ghost : that the last was a birth was settled by a sanguinary civil war. Fasting is one of the iiractices of the <"liurch; and the priests are supposed to fast for nine months of the year.
The political organisation of the country is theoretically a despotism, limited by the weakness of the central authority and the slowness of communications. There is a paid standing army of about 70,000 men, with an unpaid militia of about 140.000 more. Nearly all the men have rifles of some sort, and the army has eighty mountain guns.
The criminal code dates from the time of Constantine, but it appears to be arbitrarily and sometimes cruelly enforced. In the time of King Theodore criminals at Magdala were crucified, flayed, or hurled over a elilT. But the rule of the present king, Menelik of Shoa, appears to be very superior to that of his predecessors in the administration of justice.
As an example of the Abyssinian Negro races we may take the Shangallas, who live in the plains to the north-west of the Abyssinian plateau. They are a fierce, warlike race, and are described by Plowden as people with light, slim legs, but powerfully built from the waist upward. Their food is meat and wild honey, and they eat the carrion of animals slain by Abyssinian ivory-hunters. They live in large caves in the rainy season, and at other times bivouac in the scrub. Their religion is fetishism, and they are guided by omens drawn from the flights of birds.
382
The Living Races of Mankind
The P'alashas.
One of the most remarkable races in Abyssinia
are the Falashas, who live around Lake Tsana in
the central provinces. Their name, which comes
from the Ethiopian word Falas, means " exiles."
They claim to be the direct descendants of the Jews
sent to Abyssinia as the retinue of Menelik, son
of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, reinforced by
those who fled from Palestine after the overthrow
of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. The Falashas were
once a powerful tribe occupying Simen, the high
mountain region of Abyssinia, and the adjacent
plains of Dembea. They were a turbulent race,
and a source of per^jetual trouble to the Tigrians
and Ainhanins. They were therefore driven from
tLie plains; but under a succession of Gideons and
Judiths they held their own in the mountains. In
the tenth centm-y, under a beautiful and ambitious
By pmahsionof Bcrr viidauj; na,nb,.rg. leader, Priucess Esther, they nearly subverted Chris-
A HAUssA WOMAN. tiauity throughout Abyssinia, and compelled the
Legitimist jirince to fly to Shoa. At length in the
seventeenth centm-y they were finally defeated, driven from the mountains, and compelled to settle
as a subject race in the provinces of Dembea, Gojam, and Woggera. They were estimated
in 1862 to number about 250,000, but according to later rejjorts there are only from 10,000
to 20,000 of them. Stern, who visited the tribe as a missionary, says that *-in physiognomy
most of the Falashas bear striking traces of their Semitic origin. Among the Tirst group we
saw at Gondar there were some whose Jewish featm-es no one could have mistaken who had
ever seen the descendants of Abraham either in London or Berlin. Their complexion is
a shade paler than that of the Abyssinians, and their eyes, although black and sparkling, are
not so disproportionately large as those which characteristically mark the other occupants
of the land."
The Falashas are very exclusive : intermarriage with members of another tribe or creed is rigidly prohibited, and any intercourse with a Gentile entails elaborate penance and pm-ification. They maintain the Jewish customs as prescribed in Leviticus. They observe the Passover with the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb and the use of unleavened bread. They celebrate the feasts of Pentecost, of Trumpets, and of Tabernacles by taking ofiferings to their synagogues, where they hold commemorative services. Their synagogues, or tnesquids, are placed in the middle of the villages and surmounted by a red earthen pot ; the building is divided into three courts, entrance to which is regulated by the Levitical Law. The entrance faces the east, and on the opposite side is a small enclosure containing the altar of sacrifice. The priests undergo a long com-se of ascetic training. According to Stern, the Falashas are in many ways superior to their neighbours. He describes them as " exemplary in their morals, cleanly in their habits, and devout in their belief, and also industrious in the daily pursuits and avocations of life. Husbandry and a few simple trades — such as smiths, potters, and weavers — constitute the sole occupations in which they engage : commerce they unanimously repudiate as incompatible with thefr Mosaic creed."
In connection with the claims of the Falasha peojjle to be regarded as of Jewish descent, it may be stated that none of their priests have at present any knowledge of the Hebrew language. Their Bible is the Gheez or Old Ethiopic version, which was made probably in the fourth century, and is common to all the Abyssinian Christians.
.Apart from their peculiar religious rites and traditions, the Falashas differ little from the
384
The Living Races of Mankind
. J. W. Kolaiid.
GROnP OF HAUSSA.
surrounding Agao, Khamta, and other Hamitic peoples, who still speak rude dialects of the old Hamitic tongue, and form the substratum of the heterogeneous Abyssinian populations. Of these the most primitive are the Wito (Vaito), fishers and hunters of the hippopotamus, who dwell round the shores of Lake Tsana, and present physical characters quite distinct fi'om those of both the Karaites and Semites, by whom they are despised as outcasts. Their chief distinguishing features are a retreating head, with the outer corners of the eyes and eyebrows slojjing upwards, an aquiline nose curved like a hawk's beak over the upper lip, enormously long chin, pointed ears, short woolly hair — altogether an aggregate of discordant characters such as scarcely occur in any other known race. Yet the Wito women are described as really beautiful, even according to Em-oiiean ideas. They are a harmless people, who keep aloof from their neicrhbours. and live in little conical huts made of reeds taken from the lake.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE HAMITIC AND SEMITIC RACES OF NORTH AFRICA.
a. THE PEOPLES OF THE SAHARA AND SOUDAN.
The vast desert of Northern Africa, bounded by the Atlantic, the Mediterranean states, the Nile Valley, and the Soudan, is the most sparsely populated region in Africa. Most of it is a barren, waterless waste, where cultivation is impossible. But in places there are oases around springs and wells, which render some regions habitable and trade routes practicable across the deserts. The habitable areas are divided between two groups of tribes — the Tibbus in tlie east, and the Tuaregs in the west.
The TIBBU.S. p:thnograi)hically the Tiblni is the less important group. Its headquarters are among the rockv fastnesses of the Tibesti Mountains, east of the caravan road from Fezzan southward
386
The Living Races of Manl<ind
to Lake Chad; but. its members roam (j\c'r the eastern desert, and have settle- ments in Fe/.zan on the north and in I'xirku and Kanem to the south.
According to Denham's account, the 'I'lhhus of Gando are "never above the middle size, slim, well made, with sharji, intelligent, copper-coloured faces, large pioiiiinent eyes, flat noses, large mouths, .:iid teeth regular but stained a deep red lioin the immoderate use of tobacco. '11 le forehead is high." The combination of a flat no.se with long crisp hair, a fairly fall beard, and high forehead suggests that the race is mixed. Most of it is probably Hamitic. But the language belongs to a group spoken by the Negi-o peoples of the Soudan, and the tribe has many customs in common with the Nilotic Negroes ; thus it uses the same pattern of scar-tattooing, a series of lines across the temples, as do the Shilluk, and, like the ]Masai, it holds iron-workers in supreme contempt. The Tibbus enforce the j^rohi- 1 lit ion of communication between a man and his mother-in-law, which is widely spread among Negro tribes. On the other hand, they practise female circum- cision, like the Somali and the Negroes
of the Slave Coast, which appears to be rather a Hamitic rite.
The men cover their faces with the Arab veil, but the women go half or more than half
naked. The main ornaments of the Tibbus consist of a series of charms. Their weapons are
spears and a knife shaped like a bill-hook. They ride camels, and the camel liarness shows
Ai-ab influence.
The Tibbus dwell mainly in roek-shelters, caves, or rough huts made by resting roofs of
twigs and palm tliatch on boulders. Tlieir staple food is dates, flour of dhurra, the stringy
innutritions fruit of the duin-palm. and goats' milk. But the food-supjily is generally
insufficient.
The Tuaregs.
The western tribes, which form the group of the Tuareg, belong to the Berber race, like the Kabyles of Algeria, of which they are the purest representatives. They are intellectually and numerically greatly superior to the Tibbus. The Tuaregs range westward from the Bilma salt-pans on the Fezzan-Chad caravan road, between Twat on the north and the Niger on the south, to the border of the Arab belt that runs south along the Atlantic coast from jNIorocco to Senegal. The tribe is divided into three main groups : the Asgars, the most important section, in the east ; the Haggars, in the west ; and the Kelowais of Air, who have been altered by Negro intermixture, in the south-east.
The Tuaregs suffer from a bad reputation, owing to the massacre of the Flatters Expedition and of some PVench missionaries who were thought to have completely won their confidence. Some travellers, however, have found them friendly and honourable. Lieutenant Hourst. their latest champion, remarks that "faults, many faults, of course they have. They are pnnul,
The Living Races of Mankind
they are fierce, they rob, and they beg. One of their peculiarities makes it very difficult to deal with them — they are very ready to take ofl'ence. They are, moreover, in constant dread of being subject to servitude, and fear invasion above all things. Siile by side with all this, liowever, many nol)le \irtues must also be placed to the cicdit of the Tuaregs. Their courage is proverbial. The defence of a guest is with them, as with the Arabs, a positive religion ; whilst their steadfastness of character is well known, and their jiowers of endm-ance are absolutely indispensable to their very existence. Lastly — and here I know what I say is contrary to the generally received opinion — the Tuareg is faithful to his promises and hates petty theft. ' Never promise more than half what you can perform ' says a Tuareg proverb, and even in the opinion of their cnnnies this is no idle
Physically the Tuaregs are typical Berbers, and re- semble the peoples of Southern Em'ope. The men are tall and slim, and their complexion is fair until tanned by ex- posure to tlje sun and sand glare. Blue eyes are not un- common. The women agree in most respects with the men, except in figure, which is altered by artificial diet. According to Hourst, the won\en "are pleasing, sometimes even very pretty. Delicate features, big eyes full of exinession, and very long black hair, parted in the middle and plaited together at the back of the head, give them a charming ap)pearance ; but tliey have absolutely no figures — they are just one mass of fat ; their arms are like the jellies exposed for sale in pork-butchers" shops, and the less said about the rest of their bodies the better."
The Tuareg dress consists of a tunic of lilack cotton reaching nearly to the ankles, a
l,\i;u TYPE, BERBER AKD NEGRO RACE, SAHAR.4
Photo by Lekegian d- Co.]
'i90
The Living Races of Mankind
Photo hy M PieiiePetU)
icspect to strangers: the men, on tlie other hand, never take it (itt, even at meals or dm-ing -1( 1 1< The hair is shaved, l)tit tht- men leave a ridge or ..MkM,,nih t.i keep tlie veil 1 u^ed oti' the head.
The main ornaments of the I'liaiegs are small leather bags (i>nt lining charms, which hang 1(11111(1 the neck. They also >vear iH ( kl K-es of copijer beads. A lone ring, usually of serpentine, I i>itened on the left arm above tUe wrist, is an ornament which is also useful in hand-to-hand hghtmg. The main weapon of the Tuaregs is the dagger, hung on the left wrist by a leather loop in war they carry a double-edged sword, an iron lance, used either for thrusting oi throwing, and a round leather shield. Some of the \\ I stern Tuaregs use bows and allows.
The horses are small but strong; their saddles are made of wood covered with h-ather; the stiiruiis are very small, and only the big toe rests in them. The camel is a more imjjortant domestic animal than the horse.
The dwellings of the Tuaregs are mostly of skins resting on a light woodeu framework ; but straw huts are also used. They have a few towns, especially in the south. Thus most of the people of Say are Tuaregs. But Say, though a large town, is very inferior to those of the Haussa. The houses are mere straw huts with pointed roofs. There is but one mud house, which is occupied by the chief. The stockade round Say is said to be also made of straw. Some other Tuareg towns are better built : thus Ghat, which is five miles iir circumference, consists of houses made of mud and date-jjalm timber.
The military system of the Tuaregs is feudal. Each head of a district has to maintain a force of armed retainers ready for service whenever called for.
A Tuareg marries only one wife. The preferences of the women are consulted in mari-iage, and a woman may refuse any suitor for whom she does not care. After marriage her position is one of freedom, which is never abused, and of influence, which is always on the side of refinement. The women are more cultured than the men ; and among one group, the Asgars, most of the women can read and write. The men are generally attached to their wives, and a good deal of the native poetry is devoted to the praise of women. Women, moreover, hold property in their own right; and as they are not bound to contribute to the household expenses, they are usually richer than their husbands. Daughters inherit an equal share with the sons in the ordinary property of theLr parents, while whate\er has been captured in war falls to the lot of the eldest daughter's eldest son.
Tlie domestic virtues of the Tuaregs are also illustrated by their treatment of their slaves, a Negro caste known as the Bellates. According to Lieutenant Hourst, the slaves are so attached to their masters that the French have not succeeded in detaching a single
The Peoples of the Sahara and Soudan
391
Bellate from lii.s allegianre : wlien taken prisoners, they escape back to their bondage at the first opportunity.
The Tuareg religion is Islam modified by fetishism. The Tuaregs are very superstitious, believe in demons and spirits, and never speak of the dead except as those who have disappeared. They regard the cross as a sacred symbol.
The Fulah.
The physical characters of the Fulali race show that they are not Negroes, and they have even been regarded as Malays, and some striking coincidences with Malayan culture exist in the West Soudan. But the P'ulah are jimbahlv a Ilamitic race of Berber affinities, and possibly are allied to the Tuaiegs.
Thev piesent an mterestmg comhni it Km of ]ih\^uil featuie^ The colour, as implied
>^f^^
Photo by Richard But
by the name Fulah, oval, the nose is sti straight or grows in In mental chavuc
ight ciiestnut. The nd delicate, and the
reddish, varying from reddish brown to a
lit and often aquiline, the lips are thin
M- ri„.,dets.
s thi'V differ no less markedly from the Negroes. Barth caUs them the
most intelligent of African races. All were formerly pastoral, but many have now settled down to agricultural and industrial pursuits, in which they succeed by their shrewdness, pertinacity, and diplomacy. As soldiers they are brave and disciplined, although Lieutenant Hourst tells us that the Pulah of Fafa on the Niger, like the rest of the sedentary peoples whom he met, live in abject fear of the Tuaregs. But their courage and discipline are demonstrated by the fact that, though they are a minority of the population in Sokoto, they are politically supreme. Their army is large, disciplined, and well equipped.
The Fulah language is described by Keane as " of distinctly Negro type." It uses
39^
The Living Races of Mankind
sutExes iu declension and adopts two genders, which are the "liunian" and the '-not human," instead of the usual divisions of male and female.
The two chief Fulah states are Sokoto and Gando, to each of wliich there are \arious subject states, which have an even smaller percentage of Fulah people. Thus Eide and Nupe on opposite sides of the Niger above the confluence of the Benue, and Borgu on the west bank farther north, are subject to Gando. And the pro\'inces of Kano, Katsena, and Zaria to the east and south-east of Sokoto, and Yakoba and Adamawa still farther to the south-east, were formerly tributary to Sokoto. Blost of these groups are now comprised in British Nigeria, the rest in the French Soudan or the German Kamerun.
The Haussa. The Haussa are essentially a nation of traders ; they live in large populous towns, where they carry on their numerous industries and handicrafts. The products are distributed over most of Northern Africa. The Haussa language has become the medium of intercourse between the different races of the "West and Central Soudan. It is spoken throughout the greater jjart of the Niger Basin; and in most of the i:)rincipal commercial centres of Tunis, Algeria, Senegambia, and the British west coast protectorates there are traders who know the language.
The Haussa language has been studied by many workers, including Dr. Eat and Dr. Schcin. who compiled the first grammars and dictionaries, and Canon Kobinson, who has investigated Haussa litei-ature. In the language about a third of the words are Semitic, including all but one of the pronouns and most of the terms in commonest use; but owing to its structure the language is believed by Robinson to belong to the Hamitic group, whereas Professor Keane considers it to be Negi-o altered by Hamitic influence.
The relations of the three gi-eat languages of the West Soudan are admiralily expressed
by Cast in the remark that Arabic, Fulah, and Haussa are respectively the languages of religion, conquest, and commerce.
Though industrious and enterprising, the Haussa are said to be cowardly. This stateuient may be regarded as inconsistent with the reputation for valour of om- West African Haussa police ; but the men in tliat force are not Haussa, but only Haussa- >lii-al<ing Negroes. When some real Haussa wi'ic once by mistake engaged for service iu the Congo Free State, their natural tiniidity was only too well illustrated.
Owing to then- lack of courage, the Haussa were easily conquered by the Fulah, who now rule over then\. The two races an- easily distinguished. The Haussa are darker in colour, shorter in statm-e, have lunaijer noses, and more woolly hair- than I he I''ulah. But in culture both peoples are on the same grade, which for Africa is very advanced.
The people dress in cotton, especially in the blue-dyed cotton of Kano. The chief garments are a long loose shirt reaching to the knees and a pair of baggy trousers. The men wear a straw cap, a turban, or a fez. The head is generally
Photo by Hichard Suchta.
A NUBIAN DANCING-WOMAN.
The Peoples of the Central Soudan
393
Bhaved, except a tuft at the back ; but the beard is long and worn full. Leather sandals of Moorish type are made at Kano and Katsena. Ornaments of embroidered leather, rings and trinkets of gold and silver of tasteful design, and decorated jjottery show the artistic sense of the people. The chief weapons are a long straight sworil, which tapers steadily to the point, and a long lance, with a handle 8 or 10 feet long; battle-axes, throwing-knives, knuckle-dusters armed with knife-blades, bows and arrows, are also used. The P'ulah wear suits of quilted armour.
The houses are usually circular, and built of mud walls with a conical thatched roof; each house is placed in a court-3'ard or compound. The wealthier merchants and chiefs dwell in two-storeyed houses, comprising several rooms, with a flat roof and wide verandahs. The jJalace at Kano, which is several acres in extent, was designed on this plan ; it consists of a series of buildings made
of hardened mud, surrounding a large court-yard. The houses are collected into large towns, which are the most remarkable feature of Haussaland. Each town is surrounded by a wall, sometimes from 20 to 40 feet in height, pierced by gates and defended by towers.
For the purposes of trade there is a shell currency, the recognised medium of exchange being cowries, of which 2,000 are equivalent in value to about eighteenpence. The religion of the Fulah and of most of the Haussa is Islam; but it is not followed with fanaticism: in Kano, for example, there is but a single mosque, which is small and neglected. In some places, unfortunately, the religion has not saved the people from intemperance.
iN nLED-NAjfl, (ALGERIAN TYPE).
b. THE PEOPLES OF THE CENTRAL SOUDAN.
West of the " empire "' of Sokoto are the four states of the Central and Eastern Soudan, Bornu, Baghirmi, Wadai, and Uarfur, which extend eastward from the Niger to the edge of the Nile Basin in Kordofan, but have retained a mere shadow of their political independence.
The peoples of the four states are of very mixed origin. The main basis of the population is Negro, mixed with Arabs, Berbers, Tibbus, and various half-breeds. The Arab influence is greatest in Wadai and in the plains of Darfur, whereas the Negro element is strongest in
50
394
The Living Races of Mankind
W'adai, Baghirmi, and Bonm. The most typical of the Soudanese are the people of Bornu, a Negro nation with a strong Tibbu strain.
Bornu is ethnographically the most im- I>ortant and interesting of the four states. The ruling people are the Kanuri, who are clearly Negroes somewhat modified by interminglings, especially with the Dazas or Southern Tibbus. They were conquered by the Fulah, but re- covered their independence in a holy war stimulated by the preaching of a native Mahdi.
They have been described as timid and peaceful, "with large unmeaning faces, fat Negro noses, and mouths of great dimensions, with good teeth and high foreheads." The men generally shave their heads, but the women wear their hair formed into three rolls, one on the top of the head, and with two smaller rolls hanging down over the ears. The tribal tattoo-mark is a series of twenty scars running from the corners of the mouth to the angle of the lower jaw and cheek- bone. The national weapons are the spear, shield, and dagger.
The country houses in Bornu are circular in shape, and made of straw, woven grass mats, or clay walls thatched with straw. But most of the peojile live in towns, where the houses are larger and better built. The houses of the better class consist of several walled courts, round which are the apartments for the slaves ; the wives of the owner live in an inner court, where there is a thatched hut for each of them. From this court a staircase leads " to the apartments of the owner, which consist of two buildings like towers or turrets, with a terrace of communication between them. The walls are made of reddish clay as smooth as stucco, and the roofs most tastefully arched on the inside with branches and thatched on the outside with gi-ass."
The towns are surrounded by walls 20 feet thick and from 30 to 40 feet high. The wall^ are pierced by four entrances, closed at night by massive wooden gates.
The people have few industries except agriculture. They grow grain croj)s, especially millet and dhurra, which, boiled into porridge, is the staple food. Beans also are largely grown. Fish is abundant in Lake Chad and the rivers which flow into it.
Baghirmi, to the south-east of Lake Chad, is the Soudanese state with the most Negro blood in the people ; the population consists of Bornuese, Fulah, and Arabs, greatly altered by the large class of Negro slaves.
In Wadai the Arab type is strongest, and it is mixed with Negroes, Fulah, and some Tibbus. The people of Wadai are more fanatical and warlike than those of the other states of this group. In addition to the usual weapons, the lance or spear, knife, and dagger-shaped sword, the natives use the gun and revolver, and are protected by quilted armour like that of the Fulah.
In the hills of Darfur live the Fur Negroes, who have adopted Islam, but retain their old fetishes and Negro superstitions ; but unlike the Nilotic Negroes, to whom they are allied, they neither tattoo nor remove the front teeth from the lower jaw. They are a brave race, as the Egyptians learnt by experience.
l-koto l>y Keurdun Frcra]
AN ULED-NAlL WOMAN, BISKRA.
396
The Living Races of Mankind
c. THE PEOPLES OF EGYPT AND NUBIA.
Egypt, as might be ex- pected from its geo- graphical position, is inhabited by a mixture of races. The basis of the population consists of Copts and Fellahin, who are tbe lineal de- scendants of the ancient Egyptians.
The Coprs.
The Copts now live mostly in Ui>per Egypt, especially near Assiut and around Eake Birket- el-Qurun in the de- pression of Fayum. In this district many villages are occuj^ied solely by Copts, who live as agriculturists ; whereas in Lower Egypt the}' are artisans, traders, and scribes. As the Copts are Christians, they have been brought into less intimate asso- ciation with the Arab section of the popula- tion, and thus have re- mained less altered than the Fellahin by inter- mixture of Semitic blood. But though so religion and race the Copts have remained pure, in customs and spirit they have been greatly altered. Thus Klunzinger tells us that " the modern Copt has become from head to foot, in manners, language, and sjiirit, a iSloslem, however unwilling he may be to recognise the foct. His dress is like that of the rest of the people, except that he prefei-s darker materials." He wears a black turban ; in church he keeps on his head-covering and removes his shoes ; in praying he faces Jerusalem, " and mumbles out psalms by the yard in a regular paternoster gallop " ; he fasts periodically, and will not eat pig, camel, or goose.
The Coptic Chm-ch itself has not escaped alteration by contact with Islam. It arose as an ofishoot from the Greek in the fifth century after the Council of Chalcedon. Its heiui is Patriarch of Alexandria, who is also the chief of the Abyssinian Chm-ch. The usages of the Church have preserved many relics of primitive Christianity. The priests dress like the
h-hoto by Aei
JLED-NAlL
The Peoples of Egypt and Nubia
397
lavmen, and are deiiendent for support on the free-will offerings of the people, which are generally given in kind. iSIarriage is forbidden to the priests after oi-dination, but they are allowed to marry before that event ; and marriage bars their j)roinotion to only the highest posts in the Church.
The Fellahin.
The Fellahin have been more altered by Arab and Berber influences than the Copts, but in physique and cast of countenance the old Egyptian type is recognisable. They are of middle height, on an average about 5 feet 6 inches high ; they have a broad forehead, straight nose, which lacks the Semitic flattening at the tip, large black eyes, and thick lips. The P'ellahin form the bulk of the Egyptian population, especially in the rural districts of the Delta and Lower Egypt. The country Fellah wears a brown woollen sliirt. with large loose sleeves, and usually has also a shawl over his shoulders. On his head is a tight-fitting white cap or a red fez, covered by the turban. The townsmen, on the other hand, dress in cotton instead of wool; they wear a loose cotton shirt reaching to the knees or the feet, and often tied round the waist by a girdle ; beneath the shirt is a loin-cloth or a pair of short drawers. The men of the upper classes have adopted Arab, Turkish, or European costumes. Their women live in seclusion and never appear in public places except closely veiled. Klunzinger has given a full account of their dress and ornaments. He tells us that they blacken their eyelids with antimony and decorate their bodies by tattooing and paint. Their hair is bound into slender tresses, some of which cover the sides of the head, and the rest hang freely down the back. Their ornaments are elaborate and costly, being mostly made of gold. The hair is fastened and adorned by golden pins and combs, and fringed with rows of ducats, tiny
398
The Living Races of Mankind
bells, and gold flakes ; the tresses are tied at the ends by cords of silk adorned with spangles and gold coins. The main article of dress is a loose white robe, which extends from the shoulders to the feet; it has no sleeves, but there are wide side-openings from the arm to the knees. The under-garments consist of a gauze chemise and loose drawers fastened below round the knees or ankles.
The life of the people is regular and uniform. They all rise before the sun, say their prayers, take a cup of coffee, and then hm-ry off to the liazaar or the field. Business is mostly done in the morning. At midday there is dinner, followed liy a long siesta ; work is then resumed till sunset, after which comes the principal meal of the day. The main foods are flat cakes of un- leavened bread made of flour paste baked over a fire, beans and lentils boiled with ghee or butter, fried fish, mutton, beef, or fowls. The women have their household work, which consists principally of cooking, washing, and sewing. They make morning calls on other women, when they smoke, drink coffee, tell stories, listen to songs, or watch dancing. They can only walk abroad veiled or under a canopy, but the large court-yards of the houses afford them plenty of open air. The lives of women in the harem are thus passed neither in harsh slarery nor indolent luxury, for they have their amusements as well as their duties.
Polygamy is of course allowed to the Fellahin. Divorce is easy, and is frequently due to a fit of anger, and is often followed by remarriage. But when the absolute form of divorce has been used direct remarriage is illegal. This can only be effected by the law of mostahill. The woman ^^ must marry another man, who can instantly
I , '■ i^r J divorce her, and then the first husband can
^f: ^.-- Jii'^ remarry her.
Marriage in the first instance is arranged ^^ ^ by the parents at an early age. Girls marry
tiioto ij) Ltgniad] [Algiers. at from twclve to fourteeu, and boys when
A KABYLE MAN. about three years older. The bride and bride-
groom do not see each other until a late stage in the marriage proceedings ; but they can then, if they choose, stop the ceremony. Marriage is not by purchase, but a relic of this system is preserved in the payment made by the bridegroom's father to the father of the bride, which sum is, however, spent on her trousseau.
After birth a child is kept in seclusion for seven days, during which time no man, not even its father, is allowed to look at it, for fear of injury. On the seventh day the baby is placed in a sieve and carried in procession through the whole house, accompanied by lighted
Photo hy Lrgrand]
A KABYLE WOMAN.
400
The Living Races of Mankind
tapers, while the midwife scatters grain and salt as food for the wicked spirits. The child is shaken in the sieve to make it fearless, and it is held up to the sun to sharpen its eyes. If it be a girl, the house will be filled with women invited by the mother ; but if it be a boy, the father also will have asked guests, and the child is carried in its sieve to the men's room, where the father sees it for the first time. There it is christened by the cadi sucking a piece of sugar-candy and allowing the fluid to trickle from his mouth into that of the child, after which he pro- nounces its name.
In addition to these two native races, and to the Berbers, who live in
,x-^^». I ■ : 'feaiJ ., .^K^^-^ ^^^ Siwah Oasis, there are in Egypt
jr-wr V- i I , 3^ P^y ^!tjjjle^Btea. many foreigners, Arabs, Turks,
-^ ' ' ' IB^^^^" ^■^,»o»«a™ Armenians, and Jews. The main
commerce of the country and the principal administrative appointments are held by these people. But, with the exception of the Aralis. these races have remained as foreign ele- ments. The Arabs, however, have fused with the Fellahin to a con- siderable extent, both by the adoption
of Egyptian women into their harems and owing to the influence of Arabised tribes on the
Egyptian borders.
Photo by Leroux]
TWO KABYLE WOMEN, ALGERIA.
The Nubians.
The country of Nubia, between Abyssinia and Egypt, is occupied by a number of Negro, Semitic, and Hamitic tribes, altered by intermixture. The Semitic group occurs mainly in the Nile Valley, while the Hamites range over the plains between the Nile and the Red Sea. As a type of the former we may take the tribe of the Hamran Arabs of the Atbara, who are famous as great hunters.
The Hamrans physically resemble the other "Arabs" of this region, except that they have an extra length of long curled hair, worn parted down the centre. As a race they are neither powerful nor tall, but light and active ; their average height is 5 feet 8 inches. Their methods of hunting have been graphically described by Sir Samuel Baker, of whose account the following is a summary.
Their main weapon is a straight two-edged sword about 3 or 3i feet long. When used in hunting, it has a lashing of cord for about 9 inches round the upper end, so that it can be held by both hands. The Hamrans hunt elephants either on foot or on horseback. In the former case the hunters generally try to stalk the animal during its midday sleejj, and with one blow of the sword cut off the trunk, whereby the elephant bleeds to death in about an hour. Should it be impossible to catch the elephant asleep, they creep up behind and sever the back sinew of the hind leg about a foot above the heel. This injury disables the ele2ihant, and a cut can be given at the other hind leg with greater safety. The animal is
The Peoples of Egypt and Nubia
40 1
then left to bleed to death. Ihmting on horseback is the more common methoil. l^our men usually hunt together. They follow a herd of elephants, and attract the attention of the animal with the largest tusks. It is irritated into a series of charges, by which it is gradually detached from the herd. dm- liuiitcr then rides close up to the head of the elephant, wliich, enraged at such impu<lencf, makes a desperate charge. The hunter allows the elephant to keep almost within reach of his horse's tail. While the whole attention of the ele[)hant is thus absorbed two other hunters gallop close u[) to it ; one of them springs to the ground, and with one blow of his heavy sword, held in both hands, severs the sinew of one of the hind legs. The elephant is disabled liy tlir first prt^ssure of its foot upon the ground, for the enormous weight of its body dislofati'> tin- j.iiiit, and the limb is useless. The hunter who has led the chase then irritates the animal into atteini)ting another charge, during which it is compai-atively easy for the other hunters to cut the sinew of the other hind leg. The animal tlien cannot move, and slowly bleeds to death.
The rhinoceros is killed in much the same wav, thouGfh the chase is even more difficult
UlAB OHILDRE
and dangerous; tor the rhinoceros is swifter than the elephant, and can run well on three legs; so it is not disabled by a single blow.
The Beja and the Ahabdeh.
TJje Semitic race is also represented by the Hassanieh and the Jalin of Khartum. The Arab tribes, however, are clearly intruders, and the main element in the Nubian pojiulation belongs to the race of the Beja.
As an example of the Beja we may take the Ababdeh, who dwell in the hilly district about the frontiers of Upper Egypt and Nubia, between the Ked 8ea and the Nile. They are Hamites, and differ physically from the Arabs of Sinai and Northern Egyj)!, but they show many Semitic traces. Klunzinger describes the Ababdeh as varying in colour from deep brown to black: "The face is a fine oval, not so long as among the Arabs; the eyes large and nery ; the mouth and lips neither large nor small ; the nose straight, and rather
51
402
The Living Races of Mankind
short, hroad ami blunt, than long. The neck is long and thin ; the ears small and roundish ; the hair naturally straight or curled, but not woolly— it is artificially twisted into cork-screw ringlets and worn long and uncovered." Their dress in general resembles that of the Egyptian peasant, consisting of a long coat or shirt and a loin-cloth. The women wear a long white cotton robe, ftistened under the armpits and reaching to the feet, while one fold of it covers the head like a veil. They wear necklaces of glass beads, brass earrings and nose-rings, and buckles on feet and hands.
Their houses are tents of skins placed over poles. They live on milk and dhurra. They keep herds of camels, goats, and sheep, in tending which most of their time is spent. Some have settled on the shore and live largely on fish, and others have settled in the Nile Valley, where they have become agriculturists. The number of the tribe is estimated at about 30,000. They are jMohammedans and speak Arabic.
Among other members of the Beja group are the lladendowa, who live around Suakin,
and the Bishari, who live along the Abys- sinian frontier.
The Nuua and Doxgolawi.
In the Nile Valley the IJeja are replaced by members of the Nuba race, who probably are a mixture of Hamite and Negi-o ; the main Nile tribe of the Nuba is known as the " Barabra," which includes.the Dongolawi of Dongola, the people of the great Korosko Desert, and the inhabitants of the Nile Valley from Wadi Haifa to Assuan.
In structure they have more of the Negro than either the Ilamrans or the Beja : the average Dongolawi, for instance, have very wavy hair, a thin beard, and widely op^^n nostrils. But in many of them the Ilamil ic type prevails, so that the nose is straight and thin, the hair long, and the lips arc thinner than in the Negro. But the Negro characters become increasingly stronger as the Nile is ascended.
These Nile Valley Baralira are a race of peasants, who grow crops of rice and dhurra in the naiTow belt of cultivable land between the river and the desert. They water their fields by tlie shadtif, which consi.<ts of a long lever having arms very unequal in length ; at the end of the longer arm is a bucket, which can be lowered and dipped into the river, and then swung up over the bank. The Nile peasants are a peaceful, gentle people ; but they are more intelligent and active than the Egyptian Fellahin. That they are capable of great achievements is shown by the fact that the Wahdi who in 1884-85 replaced Egyptian misrule in the Soudan by a worse tyranny
The Peoples of Algeria and Morocco
403
was a member of the Dongolawi clan.
d. THE PEOPLES OF ALGERIA AND MOROCCO.
The peoples of Morocco and Algeria may be conveniently considered together ; for though the countries are politically distinct, they an- physically similar and their popula- tions are ethnographically identiral. The majority of the Moroccans and Algerians are Berbers; the rest are Arabs, IMoors, Jews, and Negroes.
The Beubicus.
The Berber is a Ilamitic race which has been partly " Arabised." But as all are Mohammedans and many speak Arabic, they have often been regarded as Arabs, a mistake which has led to political disasters. Some of the Berbers are even re- garded as Shorfa, or descendants of Mohammed, although they are Hamites and not Semites. The Berbers and Arabs are both Caucasian, and physically offer many points of resemblance ; but the differences are important. The Berbers have a shorter, less oval face, a broader nose, which is rarely aquiline, a larger mouth and jaws, a stronger build of body, and a fairer complexion, with sometimes blue eyes and light-coloured hair. They are more industrious, more inquisitive, and less restrained than the Arabs, and their turn of mind is more practical than contemplative.
The Berber tribes are numerous ; they are said to number over 1 ,000 different clans in Algeria alone. These clans are divided into three groups. The first is that of the Kabyles, or Akbails, of the north, including the piratical Riffs. The second group includes the Sus around Mogador and the Shulluhs of the Atlas. The third group comprises the Haratin, or Black Berbers, of the southern slopes of the Atlas Chain.
As a rule the Berbers are peaceful and very industrious ; but there are exceptions. The Riffs of the north-western coast of Morocco are turbulent and aggressive, and were once notorious as pirates. It is said that the greatest insult that can be given to a Riff is to say, "Your father died in his bed."
The costume of the Berbers is simpler than that of the Arabs. The men wear a cloth tunic reaching down to the knees, while the women have a longer tunic fiistened by a girdle round the waist, and a coloured cloth over the shoulders. The Arab veil is not worn. The women are not secluded, and freely take part in open-air festivals and dances. The men
Photo hy Leroux]
KABYLE CHILDREN.
404
The Living Races of Mankind
liiive their liair cut, short, but the heanl is allowed to grow to fair length; they wear a fez, and the women use a looser, fuller cap. The main ornaments are elaborate
and sometimes nose-rings. The tribal weapons are a straight sword, guns of any pattern, and smooth-bore cannon, made by drilling out a cast block of metal. The Berber houses are gener- ally two-storej-ed buildings of stone ; they are often crowded together in the villages, which are surrounded b}' a stone wall or bank. In the country districts the peo2:)le mostly dwell in tents or beehive-shaped straw huts. These huts simply rest on the ground, and are moved about from place to place. Two or three men get inside each hut. lift it up, and then walk otf with it to the new site selected for the village. Colville describes a Berber village on the move as looking like an army of gigantic snails on the march. The Berbers are industrious agriculturists. They grow wheat and barley, which they
cut with the sickle, while the ground is prepared with a wooden, iron-shod jilough ; they also
grow maize, onions, beans and lentils, coS'ee, and various fruits, especially walnuts and olives.
They practise most of the primitive industries; they smelt iron ore, burn clay into tiles, spin
flax and cotton, and weave cotton and woollen fabrics, including carjiets ; they make pottery
and soap.
Politically they are gi-ouped into so/s, or associations, and into great confederations, or
kahails. The government of each community is by a council, or jcuuia, presided over by
an amina, or ma3'or, an office which is olti'ii hereditary.
Though Mohammedans, the Berbers are not very rigid in their religious observances.
Circumcision, for instance, is often neglected. They drink wine made from their own vines,
but abstain from imported liquors ; and they are usually monogamous.
Photo by Lekega
STREET MINSTRELS, CAII
The North African Arars.
The supplementary elements in the population of jNIorocco and Algeria may be grouped into classes, excluding the Europeans and some remains of Boman colonies. The most important intruders are the Arabs, who conquered Algeria and Morocco in the seventh and eleventh centuries. They are still politically predominant in Morocco, and were so in Algeria until the French occupation. The Arabs live mainly in Western Algeria and Morocco. The latter country ranks next to Arabia as the most sacred land of the Ai-atis, and its sultan is head of the Western Mohammedans.
The Arabs are widely scattered in Algeria, but are most numerous in the west. They form numerous clans, most of which are prefixed by the word " Aulad " or " I'led," such as
The Peoples of Algeria and Morocco
405
" Uled-Nai'l," Arabised Beibers living to the west of Biskra. Some Berber clans have, however, also adopted the term, so that it is not altogether distinctive of the Arabs.
The Arabs of Northern Africa retain the physical appearance, customs, and mode of life of their ancestors, and do not call for special remark, except to notice the points of contrast between them and the ISIoors and Berbers. Thus the women differ from the Berbers by their use of the adjar, or veil. The lower-class women wear a loose wide-sleeved linen mantle, tied round the waist by a cord like that of a monk. Out of doors they wear a long robe coming from the head to the feet ; the face is then hidden either by a fold of this garment or a special veil, and usually only one eye is left exposed. They wear a profusion of ornaments, large earrings, bead and coral necklaces, and metal anklets. They dye their hands and nails yellow with henna, and blacken the eyebrows with powdered antimony.
The jMoors.
AUied to the Arabs are the Jloors, or town-dwelling Arabs. They are fairer in complexion tlian the comitry Arabs, which may be ]iaitly exiilaiiifii by the fact that many arc descendants of the Aloriseos expelled from S})aiii, who had absorbed Spanisli lilood.
The floors are a cultured and intellectual race, with far less reserve than is alTected by the Arabs. I>eared describes the lower-class floors as people of extraordinary vivacity and of inexhaustible spirits, with a keen sense of humour and inimitable powers of mimicry.
The national dress is white. Men wear an embroidered shirt fastened down the breast by many buttons and loops, a pair of loose drawers, and a large- sleeved coat. Out of doors a red fez on the head, a pair of yellow slippers, and a long wrap of cotton or silk in warm weather and a thick woollen cloak in winter are also worn. The costume of the women is often elabo- rate, and is described by Gaskel as follows: "A coloured jacket, embroi- dered with gold or silver, is worn over a white muslin chemisette. A pair of wide cashmere trousers, of blue, yellow, or green colour, beautifully worked, meet the vest at the waist, where a handsome silken sash or girdle is folded round them. Sometimes a scarf or an algkbian moobisu gibl.
4o6
The Living Races of Mankind
other drapery, fastened in front, is made to fall gracefully over the lower part of the person behind, forming a train on the floor, leaving, however, one leg, adorned with a massive silver anklet, uncovered, whilst the points of the feet are tijjped with tiny JVIorocco slippers. Half a dozen bracelets on eacli arm are the fewest they wear, whilst the rich deck themselves with pearls, diamonds, and precious stones. Such as cannot afford an expensive parure cover, if they do not adorn, their persons with all procurable pieces of old or even modern coins, gold or silver, which fall in long necklaces as low as the waist. Amongst Turkish money we have seen the effigies of Queen Victoria and his Holiness the Pope. The jingle made at every movement by these bits of metal is music to the ear of a ^Moorish lady. Dyes and perfumes, which are the delight of all women of the East, are in especial favour with the ladies of Algeria. jNloorish women in jjarticu- A MooBisH LADY. ^^^,^ ^^^ couteut with trying to deepen
the colour of the darkest of black eyebrows, are dissatisfied when they do not extend and meet in an uninterrupted line across the forehead— a mistake of nature they correct by the aid of art."
]Moorish architecture is the finest in Africa, and a typical house has been thus described by Colville : " As the house in which I found myself is a fair specimen of a Moorish habitation, I give a somewhat detailed description. The most important feature is the court-yard, which is entered from the street by a narrow passage. It is generally paved with pretty tiles and partly roofed in ; the upper rooms overhang it to the extent of about 6 feet, supported by jiillars. There is always a stream of running water in some pait of the court, often a pretty fountain. Out of the court three or four long narrow rooms open by high Moorish archways. These are closed by large carved wooden gates, having a smaller or postern door in one of them. The floors of the rooms are tiled, and are fi-equently sm-rounded by a tiled dado ; the walls are whitewashed, the ceilings often beautifully ornamented with arabesques in gold and bright colours. The upper floors are reached by one or more narrow dark staircases, usually much out of repair. They are nearly all at different levels, and are very puzzling to find one's way about. One of the rooms in my house could only be reached from the upper floor. The room which I occupied at the far end of the court was overlooked by a gallery, of which, although I wandered all over the house, I could find no entrance. The room to the right of the main staircase was some 12 feet above the level of the court, yet there was no doorway to indicate that any room was beneath it. On the second floor was a doorway opening on to the stahr, or house-top. Here the women sit and talk, safe from male intrusion, for the stahr is tabooed to the lords of creation."
The principal INloorish foods are cakes of barley flour and buttermilk, and a kind of porridge made of flour rolled into small granules like Italian paste ; this is generally flavoured with rancid butter, which is made in a goat-skin bag, tied at the mouth and rolled and
4o8
The Living Races of Mankind
Fkolo by Legrand
kneaded about on the floor until the milk is churned. A kind of sausage, made of minced meat plastered round a wooden stick and toasted over a charcoal fire, is also an imjiortant national food. These sausages are prepared and sold in special cookshops, wldch abound in all the Moorish towns. Bread is mostly used by the women, who are fattened before marriage by being crammed like poultry with finger-shaped jiellets of soft bread. Tliis course of treatment lasts for some twenty days. Tea is the national beverage ; spirits and wine are made from grapes, figs, and dates. Tobacco is smoked.
Leared, for some years a doctor in JMorocco, thus describes a jNIoorish dinner-party : " The company sit in a circle, cross-legged, on the floor. Sometimes, indeed, an apology for a table a few inches in height is placed in the centre. Upon this or on the floor a huge case made of straw sewn together and decorated with coloured leather-work is placed. A conical cover of the same material fits over the case, and when the former is removed a wooden bowl or tub filled with kuskudu [a kind of porridge] is displayed. Before eating every one sa3-s grace for himself by exclniining 'Bismallah ! '— 'In the name of Allah!' Each person then thrusts the fingers of his right hand into the smoking mess, and, taking up a considerable quantitv-, forms it into a sort of ball or lump, and then by a clever jerk tosses it into his mouth, which the serving hand is never allowed to touch. The left hand is never used in eating. From this it will be seen that the etiquette of the ^Moorish dinner-table is quite as exacting as the correspondiag etiquette among ourselves. After each meal water and napkins are brought for the hands."
The JMoors are all Mohammedans, but their creed is not free from Negro superstitions. Thus the word "five" is never mentioned at the Morocco Court, the number being expressed as " four plus one." The lex talionis, the law of a tooth for a tooth, is still part of the Moorish jurisjirudence. An English merchant at Mogador, who was accused of having knocked out two teeth from a beggar, was compelled to allow two of his own teeth to be extracted; but as the charge was false, he was compensated by the Government,
CHAPTER XVIII.
EUROPE ;
RUSSIA, OAUGASTA. FIXLAXD. LAPLAND, NORWAY, SWEDEN, AND ICELAND.
RUSSIA.
Of all the peoples constituting the Slavonic branch of the so-called Caucasian type, the Russians are the most conspicuous and the most powerful. They inhabit an empire more than twice as large as Em-ope (ix.ciMling 9,000,000 square miles in extent), with a population estimated in 1897 at 129.211. li:',. ,,f whom about 100,000,000 are in Russia itself. In appearance Russians of the present day <lo not suffer by comparison with any other people in Europe. iMirmerly they were of soiiirwliat heavier build and full average stature, w-ith a swarthy skin, small deep-set eyes, darlc hair, heavy beard, and moustache. Hotli figure and face, however, liave lieen greatly changed and improved by intermixtuii' willi tiir Sraii(liiia\ ian and other races. The Russians are now frequently referred to by etlinologists as sup[ilying some of the best examples of tlie highest Caucasian tvpe.
The peasants are remarkable for thi-ir power of <"iiiiiuing both extreme cold and extreme heat. When a coachman takes his master or mistress to a theatre, he never thinks of going home and returning at the appointed hour. He does not even walk about, stamping liis feet and swaying his arms to keep jiinisclf warm, as English cabmen do ; hour aiter hour he sits placidly on his box. Though the cold be of an intensity never approached here, even in our severest winters, he can sleep as tranquilly as the idle lazzaroni in Naples at midday.
Once a week the Russian indulges in a vapour bath, an occupation usually reserved for Saturday afternoon. In some parts of the country the jjeasants take then vapour bath in the large household oven in which the family bread is baked. The temperature is raised to the extreme limit of human endurance, such as few English people could boar.
Sir ]). .Macki-nzie WaUace, describing among liis exiioricnces in Russia a vajoour bath, says : " I only made the experiment once ; and when I informed my attendant that my life was in danger from congestion of the brain, he laughed outright, and told me that the operation had only begun. jNIost astounding of aU," he continues, " the peasants in winter often rush out
4IO
The Living Races of Mankind
RUSSIAN COACHMAN.
of tlie bath and roll themselves in snow ! "
jMuch of the sentiment and disposition
commonly regarded as ^lart of the national
character is due to outside influences, and
does not appear to be inherent. His cunning.
indolence, intemperance, instability, and
reckless prodigality are the outcome of a
^ j^ — ^ S^^^^m too rapid change from a simplicity which
mt ^ ^^^^^1 ^^® quite patriarchal to a higher stage of
^-^Bt ^ ^l^^^^l civilisation, which is often of a very artificial
."^^^ISbi ^, J^^^ ^m^^B character. Broadly speaking, the Russian of
\ 1 ^ht f^" nitSSiVk ^H tlie interior, where the truest types of the
race are to be found, is simple-minded, of a cpiick disposition, by nature more prone to good than to evil, with unlimited faith in (iod, almost as strong a belief in fatalism or chance, and a remarkable trust in the wisdom, power, and rectitude of the Czar. In spite of the Nihilists and their sensational linings, the revolutionists are but a very Muall minority of the people. The Russian is strongly attached to old customs and established institutions. He is naturally conservative, and to that cause his loyalty to the Czar is largely due.
Living in towns develops the seamy side of the Russian character; it weakens respect for the sovereign, and breeds discontent. These feelings are foreign to the bulk of the peojile, who are the more typical Russians. They see in the Czar the " ftither " of his people as well as their master. They submit willingly, even gratefully, to a despotism which would move others to rebellion. They like to be ruled firmly, and the Czar who excites their genuine admiration must be as absolutely autocratic as Nicholas I. when he decided how the railway from INIoscow to St. Petersburg should be constructed. During the preliminary survey for this undertaking the Emperor heard that the officers entrusted with the task had received inducements to make it wind about so as to enhance the value of several estates and reduce that of otliers. It seemed almost hopeless to decide on the most practicable route. The Autocrat of all the Russias determined to cut the Gordian knot in true Imperial style. When the minister laid the maps before him, and explained that certain long detours were necessary owing to natural difficulties in the way, the Czar took uj) a ruler, and, placing it on the map, drew a straight line from one terminus to the other, 400 miles apart ; then in a tone which precluded discussion he said, " You will construct the line so ! " The line was so constructed, and remains a magnificent monument of his power.
The Russian is a sociable being; but he is also impro\id('nt. and accepts with comparative indifiVrence the smiles or frownis of fortune. Long-continued work on one task he dislikes. His gi'eat desire is to finish the work on which he is engaged as quickly as possible, that he may the sooner enjoy himself in dancing, sleeping, doing nothing, or perhajjs even in getting drunk. Thrift and economy have no place in his moi-al system. The gravest defect in the Russian character is dishonesty. Highway robbery and murder are indeed rarer in Russia than in some countries claiming to be more highly civilised ; yet greed for other's property, so often glaringly revealed in official classes, jjervades nearly all gi-ades of society. Turning to the bright side of the Russian character, one finds that the peasants of the north commonly
Russia
411
display an enterprising, independent, and self-reliant spirit, which proves that they arc by no means the submissive automata they have been frequently held to be.
Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace, K.C.I.E., relates that he was once waiting at a post- station for the horses to be changed, when a boy appeared, dressed in a sheep-skin wrap, with a fur cap and gigantic double-soled boots. All these articles had been made on a scale adapted rather to future requirements than to present needs. He must have stood in his boots about 3 feet 8 inches, and could not have been more than twelve years of age; but his appearance showed that he had already learned to look on life as a serious business. The boy wore an important air, and his little brows were as anxiously knit as if the cares of an emjiire weighed upon his young shoulders. He filled the responsible office of driver of the ^lost-car, but found it necessary to leave the putting in of the horses to larger and older specimens of humanity. He watched closely, however, to see that everything was done properly. When all was ready, he climbed up to his seat, and at a 'signal from the station- keeper shook the reins, artistically flourished the whip, and dashed off at a pace rarely attained
The Living Races of Manl<ind
I'koto by J. Dazuiio] IMosvow.
SERGEANT IN THE RUSSIAN ARMY.
by post-horses. He had the faculty of emittuig a peculiar sound — something between a whir and a whistle — that aj^peared to have a magical effect on his team. The road was rough, and at evei-y jolt the young driver was shot upwards into the air ; but he always fell again into his proper position, never for a moment losing either his self-possessinn nr his lialance, and at the end of the jom-ney it was found that they had Ijeen carried over the rugged way at the rate of fourteen miles within each hour.
A remarkable instance of the energy and enterprise claimed fill the Russian working classes of the north was supplied to an lMiL;lish traveller in the country just after he had expressed a (liiulit as to their industry. He was in the province of Kostroma. One part of it has a special reputation for tm-ning out carpenters and stove-builders. Another part, he was sm-prised to learn, sends yearly to Siberia — not as convicts, but as free labourers — a large contingent, consisting almost entirely of tailors and workers in felt. A bright-eyed youth of sixteen or seventeen, who was among the apprentices accompanying one of these liands, informed him that he had already made the journey twice and intended to go every winter. " Because you always bring home a i)ile of money, I suppose?" inquired the traveller. '■ Nitchtvo I " gaily replied the young fellow, with an air of self-confidence and pride. ('■ Kitchevo," it may be remarked, is equivalent to the phrase " Right you are, sir," which would liave been used by a British working lad to express emjjhatic assent.) '-Last year," the youth continued, "I brought home three roubles!" "There! Can you now say our people are not industrious?" exclaimed the Russian to whom the English- man had exjjressed that opinion a few minutes before. " A Russian peasant goes all the way to Siberia and back for three roubles and his food ! Could you get any Englishman, young and strong, to work at that rate ? " " Perhaps not," the traveller replied evasively. He could not help thinking, how- youth were required to go in the depth of winter from Land's id back again, jjerforming the double journey in cai'ts and on foot, time and labour, something more than three roubles, or.
ever, that if an Engl
End to John o' Groat;:
he would expect, as fair pay for h
in our money, seven and sixpence.
A people numbering as man}' millions as the Russians must of course differ widely in characteristics. In Russia, as in most other countries, wealth has a demoralising tendency. The even temper, kind heart, and loyal disposition, which seem to be his natural characteristics, are apt to disappear as the viovjik rises in the world. The Russians are tolerant of strangers in their midst, but not imitative. A Russian village in the middle of German villages does not appear inferior in the eyes of a Russian. To him it is as natural that Germans should live in larger houses as that the bii-ds should live in nests. It never occm-s to him that he should build on the German model. The other is German ; he is Russian — and that is enough.
The Russians first appear in the light of history about the middle of the ninth century. The exceptional energy and vitality of the race will be seen by comparing their present position with their state at that period. Then they were comprised in a few small tribes on the banks of the Elbe, the Danube, and the low country lying south of the Baltic. They were frequently assailed by more powerful neighbouring tribes. In order to escape extermina- tion, they offered the leadership of their clans to three brothers, members of a warlike
RUSSIAN SCHOOL.
414
The Living Races of Mankind
Scandinavian family in friendly relations with the Slavs. Rurik and his brothers willingly accepted the posts offered. Under their command the Russians beat back the tribes which invaded their lands to drive off the flocks and herds at that time forming their sole wealth. Gradually they acquired power and overcame the neighbouring jieoples. They absoi-bed within their own society the tribes they defeated, annexed their lands, and constantly carried on the slow but certain process of extension till their empire reached its present size.
Others affirm that the Russians were practically slaves until the emancipation of the serfs. The Russians themselves declare that serfdom was in no sense slavery ; that the nation did not in the past, and could not possibly in the future, submit to slavery ; in short, that slavery never existed in Russia. It is impossible, however, for any one who considers the subject dispassionately to avoid the conclusion that the serfs were to all intents and purposes domestic slaves — chattels sold and bought in open market within the 2)resent century. Sir D. JMackenzie Wallace quotes from The Moscow Gazette of 1 801 : " To Be Sold : three coachmen, well ti'ained and handsome ; and two girls, the one eighteen and the other fifteen years of age, both of them good-looking and well acquainted with various kinds of handiwork. In the same house there are for sale two hairdressers: the one, twenty-one years of age, can read, write, play on a musical instrument, and act as huntsman ; the other can dress ladies'
Russia
415
and gentlemen's liair. In tlie same house are sold pianos and origans." Tliis advertisement is- undeniably suggestive of slavery as an institution of the country. A little further on in the same paper a first-rate clerk, a carver, and a lackey are offered for sale. The reason assigned by the vendor is superabundance of the articles named. In some instances human beings were classed with cattle : " In this house one can buy a coachman and a Dutch cow about to calve." The style of the advertisements and the frequent recurrence of the same address- show plainly that there was at that time a regular class of slave-dealers openly carrying on business in liuinan beings — Eussians buying and selling their fellow-countrymen, and in Russia.
The ciistuiiic worn by men in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and other large cities is like that of London. Pai-is. ami tlic centre and west of Eamiic i^i'nerally. It is not specially characteristic.
In the more retircil pro\inci's. hi)\v('\ci-. tlic ) pic si ill cling to what may be regarded as the
national garb. Tin- comuKincst iicad-ciivcring is a black or grey fur cap, with a brim drawii down so low on the forehead as frequently to touch the eyebrows. The whole body is covered by a long, loose, shapeless dark blue or brown great-coat from the shoulders to the heels. The favourite outer garment of the peasantry is made of shee^^-skin, which is greasy enough to keep out rain or snow, and woolly enough to preser\e warmth ; while the feet and legs are encased in heavy top-boots that reach to the knees. In some cases the wearer desires more ease than he can enjoy while closely covered from chin to feet. Then, beneath the folds of the great-coat, you may catch sight of the red blouse or the broad red sash and velvet breeches which were common among the people in the country districts before town fashions tabooed the picturesque in favour of ugliness. As a rule, the dark, long outer ganuent conceals everything else on the person of the ordinary Russian. ]\Ien who have attained any grade in society above that of constant labour evince a passion for uniforms. Nearly all who can be classed as gentlemen appear in some specially regulated dress, either military or civilian. Even they, with hardly an cxcc-pl imi, wear over all the heavy riding- cloak, without wliicli a gentleman's dress is held to be incomplete. In the hottest days of summer, as well as during the Arctic cold of a Russian winter, rich and poor, old and young, encumber themselves, as far as their means will allow, with large fur cloalvs and caps, which they constantly wear.
The Russian peasant's food is generally of the simplest kind, and seldnm ini-liidcs flesh. It is not that he dislikes animal food ; but such luxuries as beef, mutton, and pork are too expensive for ordinary use. The Russian is hospitable, and takes pride in a reputation for the quantity and quality of the food he occasionally sets before his guests. On a holiday there is always as great a variety of dishes on the table as he can afford. In the house of a thriving peasant will be found not only the universal greasy cabbage soup, and a dish, made from buckwlieat, called kasha, but also mutton and piprk— perhaps even beef. During the meal light lieer is supplied in unlimited quantity, and vodka, a distilled spirit representing to the Russian every exhilarating drink from champagne to gin, is frequently handed round. When the repast is at an end, all at the table rise together. Turning towards the jiicture or small statue — the icon of the house— on its little triangular shelf or shrine in the corner, tliey bow gravely,
) by J. Daziaro] [Mo.
A RUSSIAN NURSE.
The Living Races of Mankind
crossing themselves repeatedly. Thus do they give thanks to God for the good things en- joyed. The guests then say to their host, " Spasibo za khleh za sol " (" Thanks for liicad and salt") — the customary acknowledg- iiH'iii of hospitality in Eussia. The host rcspiiuds, "Do not be displeased. Sit down once more for good luck." All comply with this request, as an expression of their friendli- ness and goodwill. The vodka is handed round again, and in all probability the feast will be supplemented by an intemjjcrate carouse. The Kussian misses no ojiport unity to drink deep and drown trouble in the flow- ing bowl.
The use of tobacco is universal in Eussia. Both sexes smoke. No public, and hardly any private, dining- or drawing-room is free from tobacco. Ladies, when travelling, will draw from pocket or satchel a little cigarette- case, and have no scruple in asking the first male stranger they meet to " oblige them with a light." Princess Gagarine, however, denies tliis ; she says, " It is generally thought that in Eussia all women smoke. As a matter of fact very few do, and those few are nearly all middle-aged. Their generation thought it was the thing to smoke. In the 'seventies the writings of Tolstoi, Tourgueniev, Dostoievsky, who were then at their best, produced some quite unexpected changes in society."
In spite of the stories of Eussian ferocity and inhumanity, repeated and generally believed for more than half a century, no people are more humane than the Northern Slavs, and none are more generously hospitable. A stranger is entertained with pleasure, and all is done to make him feel one of the homely family circle. The beggar, the benighted tra\eller, the fugitive from the tyranny of a too oppressive master — all are made equally free of what the household has to offer.
The Eussians are a religious people. The Orthodox Greek Chm-ch is the State Church; but dissenters from its teaching, as well as Eoman Catholics, Mohammedans, Buddhists, and ■others, are tolerated to a certain limited extent. Eeligion is supposed to be absolutely free. The Czar is the political head of the National Church, and membership of that Church is accordingly almost identical with nationalit}'. Hence the public observance of rites and ceremonies by Eussians of all classes. That people may not be prevented from i:ierforming their devotions by having to walk too far, there are little chapels open, like shops, at the street comers, often facing one another in the same street. In Moscow these open chapels are more numerous than beer-houses and gin-iaalaces in London. In addition to the chapels there are 4cons, put up in nearly every wall, over many doors, in the bazaars, the exchange, every public ■office, and almost every shop. These are beset with worshippers nearly every hour from morning till night. ]\Ioscow is an exceptionally pious place, as the Eussians there, more purely Slavonic than the inhabitants of St. Petersbm-g, are more pious than Eussians elsewhere.
In Eussia marriage does not disqualify a man for the office of priest. It is true that a fitringent law of the Greek Church forbids a priest to marry. A man cannot legally take unto himself a wife after he has been admitted to clerical orders, but a married man is as eligible for ordination as an unmarried man.
ITLE RUSSIA.
Caucasia
417
CAUCASIA.
To-day the Caucasus is still full of races diffeiing in religion, language, aspect, and character ;
but it will only be jMssible to mention here the more im[iovtant tribes.
The Svans, or Svanithians, inhabit the Upper Inghur \'alley in South-western Caucasus,
forty miles long by about fifteen in width, shut in ou all sides by glacier-crowned ridges.
The only access from the outer world is by a narrow, and at times impassable, ravine, or over
lofty mountain passes. Nominally subject to Eussia, as are all the Caucasians, these people are
practically independent, and left to govern themselves as they jilease. Though only 14,000 in
number, they successfully resist in their mountain fastnesses every attempt of the Kussians to
collect taxes fi-om them. This is the more remarkable when we remember that they are in a
.state of jjerpetual feud with one another, village against village, family against family. There is
no Organisation among them ; each man rules over his wife and children, and cares nothing for
his neighbour. Doubtless the nature of their country
has contributed to form the wild and savage character
of this people. Herr Eadde, the eminent botanist,
who spent several weeks among them, thus sums up
the result of his experiences : " Amongst the Svans
intelligent faces are seldom found. In their counte- nances insolence and rudeness are prominent, and
hoary-headed obstinacy is often united to the
stupidity of savage animal life. Amongst these
people individuals are frequently met with who have
committed ten or more murders, which their standard
of morality not only permits, but in many cases
commands."
The appearance of the people does not create a
favourable impression on a stranger. Their clothes are tattered and shabby, the Caucasian style being uu-
distinguishable in the collection of rags. INIen are seen wearing sheep-skin caps turned inside-out — an arrangement which, while it shades their eyes, adds to the ferocity of their appearance. The women are said to be uniformly ugly, and their costume a mere shapeless bundle of rags.
The men and women, even small boys, are all armed with daggers. ]\Iany have pistols attached to their belts, or guns, in sheep-skin covers, slung acios> the shoulder. The children run about nearly naked. Some of the girls have faces more savage in appearance and expression than those of the boys.
Wives are bought, or if the intending husband is too poor, the bride must be carried off by foice. Eemains of churches found here and there testify to the effort of Queen Tamara to introduce Christianity in the twelfth century, but her work has not left much mark on the character of the people. They aie highly superstitious, and believe that some of their number have the power of foretelling the future.
The Lesgkians inhabit Daghestan, on the north- photo by a. jso-^amasm] ist. t^enomy.
eastern side of the Caucasus main ridge, and extend a Russian beide of the better class
53
Caucasia
,41.9
to the Caspian Sea. Including some minor allied tribes, they number not less than 590,000.
Physically the Lesghians are one of the finest races in Caucasia. As the Caucasians hold the highest rank in the ethnological divisions of mankind, the Lesghians are consequently one of the finest races in the world. Their long and fierce wars with Russia amply prove that thej' are courageous. At the same time there is a proneness to abuse all the power they possess or may acquire. They gained the greatest distinc- tion they have won in modern times by the heroic resistance they offered to the advance of Russia for over twenty years. Their leader was the warrior-prophet Bhamyl (Samuel), who was a Lesghian, and not a Circassian, as has been generally believed.
There is nothing specially striking in the dress of the men. The chodka, or close-fitting fi-ock-coat, extending below the knee, and usually confined round the waist with a belt, is almost universally worn. Its grey colour is relieved by trimmings of fur. The general head-covering is a cap of cloth or fur, some- times shaped like a hemisphere, and sometimes of fantastic height. Socks knitted in tasteful patterns, and often with a gold thread running thn^ugh them, and leather slippers with pointed t(»'s. are part of, the costume of the well- dressed. The women also wear a close-fitting coat, with long baggy trousers, gaudy in colour. A blue shift and low cap like a fez form part of their attire.
The Lesghians are naturally most abstemious. The conditions under which they live would not admit the use of luxuries, even if their inclination tended towards them. Though badly fed and poorly clothed and generally bare- footed, these mountaineers are hardy and strong. Sickness and fatigue are almost unknown to them.
Although Christianity is said to have been their religion at one time during the IMiddle Ages, they are now fanatic; Their women, however, rarely veil the face.
The Georgians, who occupy the centre of Transcaucasia, are the principal, and till the arrival of the Russians they were the dominant, race in the country. It has long been generally admitted that, of all the Caucasian peoples, the Georgians, whom the Russians call Grusians, most nearly correspond to the ideal type of physical beauty. They have tall, powerful figures, are clear-skinned, with brown or black hair, and dark or grey eyes. Their physiognomy is strongly marked, owing to the broad, low forehead, jarominent nose, and full, oval face. " They are certainly a splendid race to look at, these Georgians, both men and women," says INIr. Bryce, recounting his impressions during a visit to Tiflis, their
Photo by the P/,oloUi,ome Co ]
RUSSIAN PEASANT IN COSTUJIf
jMohamniedans.
420
The Living Races of Mankind
capital. Every one has heard of the Georgian beauties. Regular, finely chiselled features, clear com- plexions, large, liquid eyes, and erect carriage, combining natural dignity with voluptuousness, are their general traits. They are numerous and influential in all the harems of the East, and their blood flows in the veins of Turkish, Egyptian, Persian, and Tartar grandees. The Georgian ladies are, however, deficient in vivacity and expression. The men are sufficiently good-looking, but with a shade of effeminacy in their faces, expressive of their moral character. The Georgians are sim[ile and hospitable people; they love ease, and will not weary mind or muscle unnecessarily.
Georgian intelligence is not high. Their brains are generally befuddled with excessive wine- drinking. Few of the humbler classes are able to read and write ; many even of the higher are in the same state of ignorance. Pic- turesquely attired, they lounge away their time with music, dancing, and idling.
The Circassians ceased to A oMiivi.iw \MiM\s c\Lc'\.>i\ exlst as an independent nation
when their country was occupied by the Eussians in 18G4. Before that time they numbered 300,000 in the valleys and defiles of the Western Caucasus, east of the Black Sea. i^ow, owing to emigration, they cannot muster more than 123,000.
It has long been an axiom of ethnology that the Circassians are a magnificent race. Poets and writers of romance have made the charms and virtues of Circassian ladies the subject of their art. Mv. Barkley, however, formed a less favourable opinion. He saw nothing to admire in the women except their hands and feet. He acknowledged, however, that the men are magnificent, and are to the rest of the human race what Arab horses are to humbler steeds. " Just as a pretty Circassian girl is rare, so a plain Circassian man is seldom to be met with. No people have more beautifully shaped heads, more perfectly chiselled features, or sharper, more intelligent, and yet bolder expressions. They are quick and active in every movement, and as restless as a weasel (an animal they greatly resemble in character) ; but the most notable parts about them are their hands and feet. I observed hundreds of them, and never saw one that an English girl of sixteen might not envy for shape and size."
The Circassian is energetic in his movements. He is always in a hurry. He never saunters, but goes so rajaidly that he may be known at a distance by his short, sharji step, erect carriage, and general bearing, suggestive of gi-eat vitality. Tliough energetic and active, he hates work. He has no scruple in helping himself to the fruits of other people's labour.
sss
T1Q&
^ ^/'^
7.V
>u»^c .*:.^T;aff.Hi»aiarii»rtf. «» 'fie
atmmm--mmrrr -j^
422
The Living Races of iVlanl<ind
Robbery is not regarded a'- i crime among the Circassians, but as an honoiu-able calling lor <i free man. The Bulgarian^ and others among whom the\ sctthd soon found it necessarv to t ' strong measures to prot( c t 1 1 i crops and flocks.
The Circassians aio inc i]i- able of intellectual exeition It follows that science, hteuituu, and art were, and still <iie iin known to them. The \ii^dom ol their sages preserved from genti i tion to generation in ])io\cih- maxims, and stories, the Ic^encU preserved in verse, and the practical knowledge each man could acquire during his lifetime constituted all the knowledge the race possessed. The bo\s and youths were taught to ride, '^hoot, fence, and hunt, but not to respect truth. Audacious, hiiig was regarded as a useful aicom- plishment. The sole end of education was to train tlu \()Uiijf for the perils and haiMKhips of a mountaineer's life.
Turning to marriage cu-toms, we find that the bride w i^ genci- ally bought and carried oif bv force from her parents. ]Man\ ot the girls were sold into the h lum- of Eastern pashas and prince^ It is said that the Circassian mmkus welcomed this practice at <i meui> of escaping from the liie of tod and hardship which would otherwi religion of the race.
^^m
nw
.-CYMi
>e have been in store for them. Mohammedanism
the
The once prevalent idea that nearly all the European peoples belonged to the various branches — Teutonic, Celtic, Slav, Hellenic, Italic — of the Ai-yan family has long been exploded. We now know that account must also be taken of several non-Aryan groups, notably the Finns, who form the bulk of the inhabitants of Finland, and were formerly widely diffused over the greater jDart of Northern and Eastern Europe.
Finland, a grand duchy of the Eussian Empire, has a population of 2,000,000 full-blooded Finns, besides nearly 500,000 Russians, Swedes, and Lapps. The P'iuns are accounted a stalwart people, blond in general and with blue eyes. The Teutons, through the Scandinavians, have influenced them for centuries, and it is to the Scandinavians that they owe their first knowledge of the metals bronze and iron. Thi-re is a great deal of Swedish blood in the
Finland
423
people, and many speak the Swedish language. Their own national tongue is, however, being rescued from the obscurity into which it had been forced in tlie centuries during which the f'inns were Swedish subjects.
The Finns are not wanting in intellectual vigour. This is seen from the important contribution they have made to the world's literature in the Kcdevala, an epic poem, embod^'ing their ancient mvths and traditions, preserved in Runes, or ballads, which have been orally handed down from times long prior to the dawn of history. In the first quarter of the iiresent century Ldunrot undertook the collection of the Runes, sifted the miscellaneous and often fragmentiuy material, and put together the national heroic poem, which is now classed by some enthusiasts with the works of Homer and the great epics of India and Persia.
The early J'inns were chiefly hunters and fishermen. The dog was their most important domestic animal, although they were acquainted in early times with the reindeer, horse, and ox, but not with the pig, sheep, or goat, which were introduced about a.d. 1000. Their agriculture was limited, barley and rye being the only grain crops cultivated. They lived in tents made of hides stretched on poles, and in huts consisting of holes dug in the earth, with only the roof above-ground, many of which are still common sights in Finland to-day. They wore skins, which they stitched together, using as needles small, sharp bones ; they also had sledges and snow-shoes.
With regard to religion, though a few belong to the Greek Church, the bulk of the people are Lutherans. Though they are clear-minded and intelligent, among the lower classes Christianity has not entirely driven out old superstitimis and belief in sorcery and magic. A curious veneration of the bear is general among them. Frsus takes rank as a kind of divinity. He is lord of all the spirits, and endowed with sui)ernatural power and wisdom. The sorcerer is credited witli power to make good or bad weather by spells and incantations, and is half
nolo b,i the Ph
A LAPP CHILD O.N' KE
The Living Races of iVlanl<ind
man, half woman. lie can take his eye out and eat it, or allow a bullet to be shot tln-ough his head and feel none tlie worse ! We are told " his demeanour is that of a maniac ; his utterance becomes vel le- nient ; he foams at the mouth, and his hair stands up straight," when the spirit possesses him. If is surprising to find such licliefs common among people who are exceptionally intelli- gent, who have schools throughout the land, a national press, and are industrious, shrewd in trade, polished in manners, and prosperous.
LAPLAND.
The country of the Lajips, which belongs partly to Russia and i^artly to Sweden and Norway, lies almost wholly within the Arctic Circle. Though few in number, they are a distinct race, and interest- ing for two reasons. In the first place, their origin is so ancient as to be hardly trace- able ; secondly, they still live under primitive conditions which have undergone little change during the last thousand years. At one time they enjoyed a great reputation for witchcraft, and English seamen used to go to Lapland to " buy a wind " from the natives. Some writers derive the name from Lap, or Lapp, an old Swedish word for "enchanter." The latest estimate of the population puts it at between 28,000 and 30,000; but it is impossible to ascertain the precise number of a people of whom half are wanderers. Statistics show that, of the estimated total, 25,000 live in Lapmark and Finmark, which are provinces in the extreme north of Sweden and Norway respectively. That would leave about 4,000 to inhabit Eussian Lapland, including the Kola Peninsula in the Arctic Sea.
It was the custom some years ago to speak of the Lapps as dwarfs. This is not quite the case, although they are certainly the shortest people in Europe. It appears, from a large number of measurements that have been made, that the average height of the men is about 4 feet 11 inches, and of the women 4 feet 7 inches. A striking feature among the Lapps is the shortness of their legs and arms. Small feet are universal. The shape of their faces
MOUNTAIN LAPP.
Photo by Valentine d: Sons, Ltd.}
426
The Living Races of Mankind
LAPP WOMAN.
helmet on
reveals certain ]\Iongol characteristics, and it is now generally admitted that, originally of ^longol stock, the characters of the yellow race have been largely obliterated by cross- ing with the Caucasian type. Professor Keane says, "The Lapp still retains the round, low skull, prominent cheek-bones, and somewhat flat features of the Mongol." Yellow and reddish tints are noted in the colour of the skin. No other coloured race contains so many men of very light hue as the Lapps, ^lany of the women have deHcate complexions and rosy cheeks, and Du Chaillu describes the appearance of freshly washed specimens as positively dazzling. The Lapjj language is a member of the Finnish branch of the Mongolo-Tartar family.
The diliereut tribes are bound together by hardships which are the common lot. Some are hunters, some fishermen ; others, again, herdsmen of deer. All have to struggle equally hard for existence. They are, however, cheery and contented. They endure with indifference and even manage to enjoy hard conditions of life under which more civilised peojiles could not possibly exist.
The dress of the Lapps has now almost lost its old Arctic character, and assumed that of the northern Europeans with whom alone they communicate. Coarse woollen stuffs are gradually but certainly taking the place of skins. But in winter both men and women wear reindeer-skin with the hairy side in. The men's head-gear is a huge, four-cornered cap ; while that of the wooden frame. In summer men and women
women somewhat resembles are clad only in a long shirt of ivadmal with sleeves reaching to the wrist, and as a rule the old national costume is better preserved by the Mountain Lapps than by those of the seaboard. In summer they wear tight-fitting trousers of reindeer-skin, shoes of leather turned up at the toes, and a woollen shirt. They are nomads, and on their journeys wear a strong belt with a knife in it. This belt is occasionally adorned with bear's teeth after a successful hunting expedition. They carry leather bags on theu- back for provisions. Where Em-opean influence is most strongly felt, the dress becomes more like that of the Norse peasant, the women wearing a woollen under-garment, and over that another reaching to the knees, with red and yellow stripes on its lower border. An ornamental belt, with knife and scissors, girds the waist; and the dress is completed with blue stockings.
The weapons of the Lapps who do not live by fishing are the bow, knife, and bear-spear. The bow, about 6 feet in length, is usually made of bii'chwood and fir, fastened together with fish-glue, and is further secured and strengthened by being bound all over with birch- bast. Some of the bows are thick, and show none of the elegant work which other semi-wild peoples lavish on their weaiions. They use blunt arrows for shooting fur animals
Norway
427
when it is desired not to injure tlie skin. The bear-spear has a strong blade, and is stoutly made, so as to contend successfully with the strength and ferocity of the game against which it is used.
The dwellings of the Lapps are still most primitive. Those of the Coast Lapps are often mere earth-huts, made of turf with a few sticks in support, or of timbers leaning together covered with turf, without windows, and with not a foot more sjjace than is absolutely necessary. In some of the more permanent settlements on the coast they live in log-huts modelled on those of the Norwegians. The nomad Lapps, who depend for support on the reindeer, pitch their tents wherever pasture can be found. The skins formerly used to cover these tents are now replaced by a coarse woollen stuff, which, being loosely woven, allows a little ventilation, and is very durable, lasting twenty years and more. The cloths, in two pieces laced together, are stretched over a frame of poles, the door being formed liy a piece of sail-cloth. In the tent, which often covers only 70 square feet, the inmates, with their dogs, huddle together on the reindeer-skins strewn on the floor, in the middle of which is a fire of juniper- wood under a kettle hung by an iron chain. The fin-nitm'e is scanty, but always includes one or two skin sacks, to hold small articles for domestic use, besides reindeer-paunches, and reindeer-calf or goose- skins, in which are kept coagulated blood and a prepa- ration like sausage-meat.
The reindeer and the dog are the only animals they use. The former is easy to tame, gives little trouble, and is allowed to pasture at will ; but the females do not pro- duce much milk. The Lapps make only a little butter, but a good deal of cheese. The reindeer is the most valuable of their possessions, since it is used for drawing sledges and riding, and also supplies food and clothing.
The Lapps are Christians. They impress strangers by their sincere devotion; but, as in the case of the Finns, their religion has not entirely freed them fr-om belief in magic.
NORWAY.
The Norwegians, with the Swedes, Danes, and Icelanders, constitute the Scandinavian or Norse branch of the Teu- tonic stock, which belongs to the Caucasian type. Though inhabiting the same peninsula
Photo by Soitrene Peraen]
A NORWEGIAN
IRL IN BRIDAL
428
The Living Races of Mankind
^ A \^'
P» ^HH||HHHH|HI|[^^^^H|HB9| and under the same sovereign as the Swedes, n^^SHBkR^^^^S^^^^B^^^HJ|B the Norwegians are in many ways different. ^^^^^^H The population of Norway was 2,135,500 in «o<)^HHP|H 1897. The best authorities no longer hold ■^ '"flK^"^ ' the view that the whole of the Scandinavian Peninsula once belonged to the Lapps, who were driven north by the Scandinavians.
The Norwegians are not of exceptional lieight, but are thickly and strongly built. The bonde, or farmer, who may be taken as fairly representing the Norse character, is manly, self-possessed, and brave. Beneath his rough exterior he has a kindly heart. Outwardly cold, he is easily moved to anger or affection. He is kind to his family and considerate to his beast. Being industrious and resourceful, he is clever at all kinds of handicrafts. When building his house, he fells his own trees in the forest, and is his own carpenter. As occasion requires, he can turn tanner, harness-maker, blacksmith, shoemaker, or miller. Along the coast the Norwegian can build boats, and is an expert fisherman. In the mountains he hunts the bear, wild reindeer, and brings down the [itarmigan.
Like other nations in Northern Europe, the Norwegians imitate the styles of London and Paris in their dress. But fashions do not change so rapidly as in warmer climates, and a style which once becomes popular may last for generations.
For the men the characteristic dress is a short round jacket, much like that known to us as the " monkey-jacket," buttoned below the neck only. It is ornamented with two rows of metal buttons, which, in the case of well-to-do peasants, are often made of silver. The material of the jacket is thick homespun cloth. They have waistcoats to match, with smaller buttons, and knee- breeches, at one time invariably of leather, but now of homespun cloth. Their legs are covered with coarse woollen stockings, and the shoes are generally ornamented with buckles. The head-dress is usually a round skin cap; but in some parts of the interior they wear tall, cylindrical felt hats, strikingly like those till recently worn by Welsh women.
The full costume of the women is distinctly national and jjicturesque, though it is now rarely seen except at fancy-dress balls and on similar occasions. It consists of a dark skirt of green or blue, and a bodice of scarlet, edged with ribbons or gold lace, over a muslin shirt, with full sleeves, and much pleated in front. The married women have caps of exquisite white muslin, but the unmarried go bare-headed. Round neck and waist are worn specimens of fine, old filigree silver-work, heirlooms which have often been in the possession of the same family for many generations.
Du Chaillu gives an interesting description of the peculiar dress worn by the people of
Photo by the Photochrome Co.]
A HAEDANGEIt GIRL.
43°
The Living Races of Mankind
Saetersdal, a valley in the south of Norway. They are not typical Norwegians, being the tallest and most powerful people, not only of Norway, but the whole peninsula. Their average height is 5 feet 10 inches, but men who exceed 6 feet 2 inches aie perhaps more often met with than in any other part of f^candinavia. Their food and accommodation are of the plainest kind. The men wear pantaloons ex- tending up to the arm- pits. Above these, and covering only the upper part of the breast, they wear a short vest adorned with silver. The women
^^^_^_M ^^ -"^mi^^mms. ^ , have the shortest dresses
^^B^^i J L^ "^ W^^ ^"^^EHtolte ''' Norway. Their dark
^^^^F,^ m JB^r M ^7 ^^^^W J blue-black woollen skirts,
^Br f J fiPyt / "^ffljldi trimmed with three or
^K 1 1 ttiflP^ ^^B ^''^^'^ brightly coloured
HT <<^\^ / w ■ -^ bands, end just below the
W ±4||^ * 4 =i knee. This costume shows
F 1 ^/Fy^V ^^ ^ -_ ' >■ the well-shaped limbs, of
which they are very proud. The bodices are trimmed with bright metal orna- ments, frequently of silver. Sometimes they have round their waists hand- somely worked belts of burnished copper. These people, however, often sleep on sheep-skins without a particle of clothing over them.
In no country in Europe are the duties of hospitality held more sacred than in Norway. Even beggars are not allowed to go away without an offer of food. It is a curious custom of the Norwegians that a guest shall eat alone. In the room devoted to his use the table is covered with a fine white cloth, and the best forks and spoons are set out. After the meal is served, the mistress of the house, who waits ujion the guest, leaves him alone, returning once or twice to m-ge him to jjartake heartily of the food. Should the guest, after a day or two, insist on breaking the national rule, he will be allowed to eat at the plain board with the family and farm-hands. He may then decline to use the sUver sjsoon, and ask for a wooden one. The Norwegians take pride in these rude spoons. Each member of the family has his or her own, with the owner's initials carved on the handle. The guest may, like the others, plunge his spoon into the large dish of grod^ or porridge, made of barley-meal or rye-meal, the Norwegian's daily dish, and helj) himself to the accompanying sour milk. Potatoes are also a staple of daily food. Fish, which is plentiful along the coast, and butter and cheese are also freely eaten.
k.^5f'>eiai
SWEDISH GIRL IN BRIDAL DRESS.
Sweden
431
In the Norwegians, who are nearl religious sentiment is deep and sincer
all memliers of the Established Lutheran Church, the without fanaticism or bigotry.
SWEDEN.
The Swedes, who occupy by far the larger portion of the Siuik
in 1898 nearly 5,063,000, and are steadily increasing. 'I'lirv :irc
The Swedes are physically a fine race, and are said to lia\e
any European nation. The typical " good old English gentleman
iiia\ian Peninsula, numbered >f Teutonic origin, he highest average height of has been described as a fair
representative of the Swede in face and figure. The Swedes have not taken much part in the military and commercial activity of the great European Powers during the present century. Their comparative isolation has probably tended to develop the national character and preserve their physical characteristics imchanged through successive generations.
Their dress is in essentials like that which is common throughout Europe between the forty-fifth and the sixty-tiitli degrees of latitude. The costume of the women, however, has an individuality of its own. Until recently hat or bonnet was unknown to the ladies of the interior. Even now at a country church on Sunday one may fail to see a single hat or bonnet among the women of the congregation. A black silk handkerchief is the favourite wear for ordinary use. In winter this may be replaced by a knitted three-cornered woollen tippet. Black, indeed, is the hue genei'ally adopted for church dress in the country, and it sets off to advantage the fair hair and skin of the wearer.
The food of the Swedes is simple and wholesome. Soil and climate are unfavourable to the cultivation of wheat, but rye grows well, and rye-bread is the statf of life for the Swedes. It is found everywhere, on the king's table as well as in the jieasant's hut. Sour milk, solid and firm as jelly, is second only to the rye-biead in importance as an article of diet. It is placed in the centre of the table in a large wooden disli. The creamy surface is sprinkled with lirown sugar and ginger, and the family and guests, if there are any, mark out with their big wooden spoons in a V-shape what each considers a fair projDoi-tion. A few words of grace are said, and the meal begins.
An interesting institution has been established among the Swedes from remote antiquity, and is still common. It is called " foster-brothering," and in some respects reminds one of the comradeship of the ancient Greeks. Two men, in- spired by ardent mutual esteem, desire to be as brothers to each other. A pro- posal is made by the elder or the more important socially ; and when the other assents, the ceremony is performed. Each pours out a glass of drink. They then stand up ; vow that from that liour each
A TELLEMARKEN PEAS
432
The Living Races of Mankind
will regard the other as himself, promote his interests, protect him, and avenge his injuries; and declare that no difference of fortune shall interrupt their true brotherhood. Clasping the left hands together, they touch glasses, and drink simultaneously. This act is considered as solemnly sealing the compact.
ICELAND.
nthropo(0(jical Collection hi the M: AX ICELAND WOMAN.
I
^■^ ^ftb^aiSIJ^^^^L. ' ■^ '^"^ inhabitants of Iceland are Scandinavians,
1^ ^,^ISB/B^nj^^^^^ ■'^Jm being descended from Norwegians who occupied
W ^Sr^^^St^^^^^Kj^ "--^^S ^^® island early in the tenth ceiitmy. They
^"^^ "V^^^BB^^^^^^^ V .ii#«W therefore belong to the Teutonic branch of the
Caucasian family, of which they are amongst
the purest representatives. Their speech also
is the most archaic of all living Teutonic
tongues, having changed little from that of the
early Norse settlers.
It is somewhat difficult to present a cor- rect description of the Icelander. In physical characteristics he does not compare favourably with his fellow-Scandinavians. The face is round or square rather than oval; the forehead often rises high ; the malar bones stand out strongly, while the cheeks fall in. Perhaps his most characteristic feature is the eye, which is nearly always hard, cold, and expressionless. The stony stare has caused the women to be described as generally ill-featured. The colour is clear grey or light blue, seldom brown, and never black. The younger people have a fresh, pink-and-white complexion. The hair has seldom the darker shades of brown, but in different persons shows all shades from decided red to pale yellow. The Icelanders have thick, clumsy bodies, apparently too long and heavy for the legs, which, if short, ai'e sturdy, while the feet are large and flat. The tread is heavy and the gait ungainly, although women, when young, are sufficiently light-footed and graceful.
The people are reserved and dignified in their intercom'se with each other as well as with strangers, but cannot be described, with some hasty observers, as morose. How-ever distant in appearance, the temperament is really both cheerful and even animated, combined with a frank, unstudied manner, which, however, often betrays an almost excessive self-esteem. Their directness in criticising and ridiculing other people's weaknesses has, in fact, created an imjiression that they are boorish and ill-natured. They have strength of intellect, joined with penetration and shrewdness. Lovers of liberty, hospitable, truthful, they are exempt from most vices, except the national failing — drink. In their secluded, insular home they have preserved many usages and traditional beliefs, betraying in this respect a conservative spirit comparable to that of the Hindus. The Icelanders have emigrated largely during recent years, and the energy, industry, and intelligence they display in American cities and other places are highly creditable to them.
The men dress in breeches, jackets, and vests of strong cloth, with from four to six rows of bright metal buttons. The fishermen wear overalls, coarse, smooth waistcoats, and large paletots of sheep-skin or leather made waterproof by coating with grease or fish-oil. There is nothing specially remarkable in the women's costume.
The food of the Icelander consists, now as ever, mainly of fish. In summer he fares on cod's head boiled ; in w^inter, on sheep's head soused in fermented vinegar, or sour milk, or in juice of sorrel. Wheaten bread he eats only on high days and holidays ; the ordinary bread is of dark rye-flour, which is procured mainly from Copenhagen, and kneaded into broad, thin cakes.
CHAPTER XIX.
GREECE AND ISLES, TURKEY, BULGARIA, RUMANIA, SI^RVIA. MONTENEGRO. BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, THE GYPSIES.
GREECE AND ISLES.
Greece forms the end of one of the peninsulas i^rojecting from the south of Europe into the Mediterranean. It is naturally divided into three parts, — the mainland portion, bounded on the north by Turkey ; the Peloponnesus, or Morea, connected with the mainland by the narrow isthmus of Corinth ; and the islands which mainly lie east and south-east of the peninsula, with the Ionian Islands on the west. In 1896 the population was 2,433,806, distributed over an area of 25,000 square miles.
The modern Greeks have been the subject of much dispute among ethnolo- gists. It is generally admitted, however, that the coast and island Greeks of Asia Minor have kept their blood comparatively pure. By some writers it has been main- tained that the Greeks of the present day are Slavs speaking a corrupt form of Greek. Slavonic settlers advanced into the Peloponnesus from time to time, and have left their influence in dress and cus- toms. They were, however, swamped by the inhabitants, and it is much more probable that the Greeks hellenised the Slavs than that the Slavs slavonised the Greeks. Another race influence which has been exaggerated is the Turkish. In the days of their supremacy the Moslems filled their harems with Grecian beauties, but in this case also Greece may be said to have influenced Turkey rather tlian Turkey Greece. After the War of Inde- pendence many of the Phanariot * Greeks of Constantinople, who were remarkably pure specimens of their race, returned to Greece. The classic type may still be seen in many parts of the country, such as Patras, and especially in the islands.
In appearance the average Greek is of medium height, spare, and well pro- piwto by a. nkmnaueti lAthem.
portioned, with oval face, long straight a greek girl in national costume.
* The Phanariot Greeks were so called from Phanar, the suburb of Constiintinople chiefly inhabited by them.
4.33 .=;.'>
434
The Living Races of Mankind
nose, white regular teeth, eyes full of animation, short upper lip, and small hands and feet. He is clever and energetic, and of a cheerful tempera- ment, but has an unenviable reputation in matters of business, and his name is often regarded as synonymous with "cunning rogue." His faults are in no small measm-e due to a long period of sul> jection to the Turks. The Greeks take a passionate delight in politics, and are intensely proud of their nationality, a trait which has helped to preserve their racial purity. They are hospitable, temperate, and thrifty. The moral tone, however, is low ; and although many of the m-ban populations are well ulucated, illiteracy still largely prevails in the luial districts. In 1896 about 30 per cent, of the leciuits could neither read nor write, and 15 per tent, could read only.
The spoken language of Greece differs con- ■-iderably from the classical type, and Slavonic influence has made itself felt in the introduction of new words and forms. In writing, however, scholars and literary men do their best to follow classical models. A well-written newspaper article is quite intelligible to an English reader who has not forgotten his school or college teaching. It is naturally in the more distant villages that the manners and customs specially characteristic of the Greeks are to be found. The national dress, which has been adopted from the Albanian, consists of a short white kilt. Round the waist is worn a wide leathern belt, with a pouch containing pipe, tobacco, flint and steel, and a long knife. The poorer countrymen wear white woollen leggings, descending like gaiters over the shoes. Over the shirt, which has loose hanging sleeves, is worn a short jacket, and a red cap with long silk tassel knot a handkerchief round the hair. The di-ess varies in small details in different localities. The costume of the peasant women is also of the Albanian type. They wear a short white jacket, with wide sleeves, plain or embroidered with silk, over which is a long sleeveless coat, reaching to the knee, of white wool, trimmed with red, blue, or black cloth, and embroidered with a similar colour at the corners. The skirt is also white, and has extra embroidery of wool or silk for feast days. A yellow handkerchief is knotted round the face on working days; but veils of silk and muslin, with a string of coins across the forehead, are worn on full-dress occasions.
The social life of the Greek peasants abounds in symbolism and ceremony. The newly born infant is washed with an infusion of myrtle leaves in lukewarm wine, and then generally covered with a layer of salt. In the island of Rhodes an elaborate ceremonial is practised. On the eighth day after the birth the child receives a final aromatic bath of the wine and myrtle infusion, and is then placed by the midwife in a cradle surrounded by lighted tapers. Another child, who must be the eldest of a family, goes up to the babe, touches its lips with honey, and says, " Be thou as sweet as this honey." In Cyprus, when an infant's first tooth ajipears, the friends of the familv assemble. Songs are sung to celebrate the event, and the child is
jmpletes the costume. Some simply
Greece and Isles
435
bathed in water and boiled wheat. Thirty-two of the boiled grains are then strung upon a thread and stitched to its cap or bonnet, to promote the safe cutting of the other teeth. In Athens, among the poorer classes, it is customaiy to cover the new-born babe with a dress made from one of the father's old shirts. Under the pillow, if the child be a boy, are placed a black-handled knife, a gold coin, and a gospel. In the case of a girl ornaments and jewels are placed instead of a knife. These articles are significant of the gifts it is hoped life will bring — courage, wealth, and piety.
There are numerous observances in connection with marriage. In one district after the feast the newly wedded pair stand on a wooden press or on the sofa, while the rest of the company surround them, singing or making speeches in their honour. Eice and cotton-seed are thrown after them as they leave the bride's house to go to the bridegroom's cottage. His mother, standing at the door to receive them, holds a glass of honey and water in her hand. From this the bride drinks, in order that her words may thenceforth be as sweet as honey. The lintel of the door is smeared with the remainder of the liquid, that strife may never enter that dwelling.
There are several interesting burial customs. For example, in the funeral procession several bearers walk in front, carrying the coffin with open lid, and with the corpse exposed, propped up on a pillow, and dressed as if for a festival. Boys carrying the cross and banners of the Church follow. Then come the priests in their bright robes, and one or two pro- fessional mourners in jjlain clothes, who sing a sort of low, wailing lamentation
as they pass along. Until a few years
ago high digiaitaries of the Church
were borne to the grave sitting erect
on the episcopal chair, and dressed
in the full canonicals of their office
This would seem to indicate the high
antiquity of the custom of bm-ying
the dead uncovered. At the grave a
pillow filled with earth is put under
the head of the corpse, and the lid of
the coffin, which is made of the lightest
material, is put on, when the body is
lowered into the grave. In Cyprus tlie
pillow is not stuifed with earth, but
with flowers and leaves of the lemon- tree ; and a dish of flour or grain is
interred with the deceased, as a pro- vision for the last, long journey. When
the earth is filled in, the wooden bars
on which the coffin is carried by the
four or sis bearers are stuck upright in
the ground, and a candle is left burning
on the gi-ave. After a death the house
is left unswept for three days, and it
is important that the broom which is
then used should be burned immedi- ately. In Northern Greece the women
of the family in which death has oc- curred dress in white for mourning,
and keep the head uncovered, with the
GREEK SOLDIER.
436
I he Living Races of Mankind
hair hanging down. The doors of the house where the body lies are left open, and the neighbours come in and out as they please.
Our sjiace will permit of but a very few words on the Albanians, who are remotely akin to the Greeks, being a ninnant of the Thraco-Illyrian i^ioup. To the Turks they are known as Arnauts, a corruption of Arvanites, which is the By- zantine form of Albani ; but the national name is Skipetar, i.e. "Highlanders." There are two main divisions, the northern Ghegs, and the southern ToSKS, the former the ruder and finer race, the latter more cultured, and more akin to the Greeks in speech and religion. Most of the Ghegs are Mohammedans, the rest Catholics of the Latin rite, and these come more in contact with the Slavs than with the Greeks. As a race the Albanians are handsome, with high forehead and well- cliiselled features. Their women and children also have a reputation for remarkable beauty. They are active and hardy, as might be expected ^ TURK. of a mountaineering people,
and they supply valuable recruits to the Turkish army. As enemies they are cruel, but as friends they are true and hospitable. Thev are independent and intractable, but have never attempted to develop an organised state, being still constituted in small tribes or clans without national cohesion.
Their dress varies according to local divisions; but the chief features of the national costume are a gold-embroidered vest, bright sash, leathern pouch, containing pistol and yataghan, and the national kilt. The Albanian women wear a good deal of gold embroidery on their dress. They are for the most part veiled. The Mii'dites, a sub-division of the Ghegs, are Eoman Catholics, but despised by the rest of the clansmen as traders and hucksters. Their position under the Tm-kish Government has been compared to that of the Jews in mediaeval Europe.
TUKKEY. The European Turks are chiefly confined to Constantinople and the neighboming maritime di.stricts, where they number probably not more than 2,000,000. They belong to the Osmanli
438
The Living Races of Mankind
branch of the widesjiread Turki people, who undoubtedly formed originally one of the main divisions of the Mongolo-Tartar family. But by fi-equent admixture with Caucasian races the European Turks have lost nearly all their iSIongolic characteristics, and may be classed in the sub-division of the Caucasian type which is distinguished by dark complexion and dark hair. They are of full build, with stately carriage and grave and dignified manner. The peasants especially are well built, strong, and possess great capacity for endurance.
In temperament the Turkish peasant is quiet, submissive, and generally ignorant and imijrovident. His mode of life is simple, and he is sober in his habits, his coffee and chibouque being almost his only enjoyments. His house, though clean, is badly built and comfortless. The peasant women, some of whom have regular European features, do nearly all the household and much of the farm work.
The Turks of the upper class have almost entirely adojited the ordinary European style
A RUMANIAN BRIDE.
of costume. A frock-coat buttoned up to the throat, trousers, and fez form their usual attire, the fez alone representing an Oriental element. The peasant still wears his prodigious turban, and seldom exchanges it for the fez. As a rule, he is worse clothed than the Christian peasant.
As among the Greeks, many curious customs are observed on the birth of a child. They are mostly directed to averting the ill effects of the hazar — the evil eye. Charms, amulets, prayers, and incantations are all employed for this pur- pose. If cloves, thrown into a brasier, should burst, the evil eye has evidently exerted its influence; and to avert the threatened danger some hair from the head of the mother and child must be cut and burned, and the mother and child fumigated with the smoke thus pro- duced. The slightest indisposition in children is put down to the evil eye.
Early marriages are the rule among tin- Turks. Men marry in their eighteenth year, and girls at twelve or thirteen. Polygamy is almost unknown among those of the poorer class.
JJIANIAN DAIRY
Bulgaria
439
and they seldom seek divorce. An old maid is absolutely un- known among the Mohammedans in Turkey. The preliminary negotiations for marriage are undertaken for the young people by their parents. The dowry is given by the bridegroom, the bride being expected merely to furnish her outfit. The husband has no right over his wife's property. The Turk has only to say, " Cover thy face ; thy nekyah [marriage contract] is in thy hands," when she ceases to be his wife and must leave his house instantly. Her dowry still remains to her, and this is a safe- guard against hasty divorce. The marriage contract is religious as well as civil, and is made verbally. When concluded, the bride and bridegroom are not allow-ed to see each other till after the duhiin, or celebration of the wedding feast, which may extend over a few weeks or even months. No messages or communications of any kind are allowed to pass between the wedded pair. When at length the duhun is ended, they meet possibly for the first time. A .MuML-\i..ji:i-\.
The iMoslem regards the approach of death with stoical indifference. Kismet (destiny) and eJjel (which menns the time of death) are decreed unchangeably by Allah. The dying man appears perfectly resigned to his fate, which no power can alter. The Turks do not keep their dead long miburied. The eyelids of the corpse are pressed down and the chin bandaged. The body is then undressed and laid on a bed called the " couch of comfort." with the hands stretched by tlie side and the feet tied together. A veil is then laid over the body ; and if it be that of a man, it is can-ied on a stretcher into the court-yard to be washed. This is a religious ceremony, and is performed by an Imam and two subordinates. The lower part of the body is kept covered, and it must be handled with great care and gentleness, otherwise those engaged may draw upon themselves the cui-se of the dead.
BULGARIA.
The Bulgarians are found not only in Bulgaria proper, lying between the Danube and the Balkan Mountains, but also in Eastern Kumelia, south of the Balkans. Since 1885 the two provinces have been united, and Eastern Eumelia is now known as South Bulgaria. The total population is 3,376,467.
Although they speak a Slavonic tongue and are now ranked among the Slavonic peoples,
440
The Living Races of Mankind
PEKSENT DAY
THE " HORA.
the Bulgarians are, like the Turks and the .Magyars, of ]\[ongolo- Tartar origin, being descended from the Finno-Ugiian branch of that di\-ision. Even the Slavonic dialect, adoi>ted with Chi-istianity in the ninth century, still shows traces of this connection.
The Bulgarians of the present day are on the whole of smaller btature than their neighbours the Servians. They are, however, powerfully built, and carry the head erect. Both men and women are broad-shouldered, wide- chested, and large-limbed. They are dark-skinned, black-haired, and black-eyed. The complexion is muddy, and the features are generally coarse and ill-formed, the Tartar element thus still showing itself in the physiognomy. Their long subjection to Turkish rule has rendered them less aggressive than they were in their heroic age. Indeed, the Bulgarian of the present day is remarkable chiefly for stolidity. He is quiet, but determined. The peasants are fairly prosperous, and are a peace- loving and hard-working folk. They have no great liking for strangers, towards whom they are reserved and undemonstrative.
The prevailing styles in dress are European rather than Oriental, and there is little to remind one that this was till a comparatively few years ago a Turkish country. The peasants dress in sheep-skins, with their legs swathed round with woollen cloth, tied on with strings at the ankles and calves. The women wear a kind of embroidered jacket of many colours, hanging loosely down to the knees. Underneath is an embroidered flannel petticoat, falling almost to the sandalled feet. The head is covered with a turban, bound in folds round the hair. The turban is generally white, and to it are attached two long tails, which stream down the back. Among the younger women the hair is fi-equently decked with strings of coins.
The following account has been given of the best class of houses in which Bulgarians live. Every house is one-storeyed. Inside the wall enclosing the house and gi'ounds are wooden sheds and stables, with plots of open ground, half waste, half kitchen-garden. Pigs, fowls, and ducks strut about round the cottages, where they seem as much at home as the human occujjants. The kitchen is also the living-room, and behind it is a sleeping-room, with a bedstead for the head of the family. The sons and daughters sleep on mats stretched upon the floor, which is of hardened mud ; while the fm-nitm-e consists of wooden tables, benches, and chests, with crockery and household utensils of the commonest kind. There is, however, a good deal of rough comfort. Everything is kept in good order; and the cookery, if plain, is at all events clean and palatable.
On market days the peasants troop into town fi-om the country, with their long heavily laden waggons, formed of a pole with planks on each side, and drawn by oxen or butfaloe.^. Men and women tramp along together, the men in front, the women behind. They seldom speak to each other. The women carry the household burdens, while the men walk unloaded, as did their Eastern forefathers before them. Smoking is not common among the men , and although on festivals they indulge freely in wine, drunkenness is not often seen. The
Rumania
441
Bulgarians are as a rule sober and quiet. Street quarrels, rows, shouts and cries of any kind, are of rare occurrence ; even children in the street play in silence.
The country is governed by a prince, elected by the National Assembly, with a popular legislature. It acknowledges the suzerainty of the Porte; but this is little more than nominal. The bulk of the population belongs to the Orthodox Greek Church ; but there are large numbers of ^lohamniedans, Jews, Uoman Catholics, and Protestants.
RUMANIA.
To the ethnologist the Eumanians are perhaps the most interesting of the Balkan peoples. The kingdom of Rumania, comprising the united provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia, wa;^ recognised as an independent princijDality in 1878, and was promoted to the dignity of a kingdom in 1881. The population is estimated at over .5,800,000, but it must be remembered that this does not include more than half of the Rumanian people ; quite as many of the race are to be found in adjoining territories.
Physically the Rumanians are characterised by dark skin. l)lacl< hair, and black eyes. It may or may not be the case that they have been influenced in this respect by an infusion of gypsy blood. Gypsies are to be found in great numbers in Rumania. The Rumanians are well built and muscular, and are altogether a fine race.
In the cities French manners prevail, and the moral tone is decidedly lax. The people are mostly agriculturists, and in the country they are primitive, lazy, and inclined to be suspicious of strangers, though hospitable. The artistic sense is well developed, and some of the designs of their textile fabrics and household utensils seem to date from Roman times.
The men generally wear a long blouse of coarse, white linen, drawn in at the waist by a number of cords passed round the body or a wide belt. The trousers are made of the same material as the blouse. Some wear boots, but sandals are most usually worn, the cords used to keep them on their feet being wound some distance up the leg. Hats of common felt or cheap cloth are commonly worn, but a high cylindrical hat of sheep-skin is the national head- dress. In winter the coarse linen blouse is replaced by a garment of sheep-skin : and when
%i |
||
^.. |
||
r^ |
hM' |
riotoi 1 1 1 , , ,
442
The Living Races of Mankind
wrapped in this, the Kumanian is impervious to snow or frost. The women usually wear a kerchief folded over the head and fastened under the chin. The upper part of the body is clothed in a loose- fitting jacket or bodice, sometimes white, but often of some showy material. The lower limbs are covered with a skirt, which is generally of a darker material than the jacket, though sometimes bright and showy in colom-. This is the every-day dress of the Rumanian peasant. The Sunday and holiday dress is natm-ally more elaborate in colour.
The Eumanian peasant is frugal in his diet, which consists principally of milk, eggs, maize, porridge, and pig's flesh. Drunkenness is common, however.
The dwellings in some of the rural districts are still of a rude type, consisting in great measure of pits dug in the earth and then covered with more or less art. A large hole is dug deep in the ground. Often it is lined with clay. From the surface of the ground, or from a wall raised a foot or two above the soil round the edge of the pit, a roof is formed of branches and twigs. In the centre of this a hole is left for the smoke. Sometimes a simple doorway at one end gives entrance, and the occupants descend to the floor tt- M ■"•«"■ « U^^ either by steps or on an inclined plane, while at
pf '*f-r'^ •" _^ f ^^ \ tsSl the end opposite the door a window is often
inserted. There are two rooms, in which the entii-e family live ; and as animals share the accommoda- tion, dirt and disease are widespread. ^larsh fever is especially jorevalent. Yet there are some who maintain that these dwellings are not unhealthy. They were originally constructed in this way in order to escape the notice of the marauding bands which from time to time overran the Danubian territories. They were formerly surrounded by trees, which have been cut down for firewood. The spirit of conservatism causes many peasants, otherwise well to do, to prefer these underground dwellings to the modern cottages found in the villages of the higher lands.
The Kumanian women, like the women in several other Continental countries, do most of the work that is done in the fields, and are said to be more industrious than the men. They are even called on to do the work of navvies, and toil with the men in making roads, digging out railway- cuttings, and in heavy labour generally. ISIen may be seen working in the fields with square- bladed spades, while the women use an implement with a heart-shaped blade and a handle as long as a broomstick.
Of the amus?ments of the Eunianians, the most striking is the hora, or national dance.
I 63/ F. Topiq]
A BOSSIAN BELLE.
The Living Races of Mankind
The following description has been given by an eye-witness. After the dancers had gone one or two paces in pairs, moving in a circle, the men separated from the women. The latter then moved singly round the men, as if they were seeking some object dear to them. The men then drew together, and moved their feet like marching soldiers; next, using their long sticks, they made irregular springs and uttered loud cries, as though engaged in battle. The women wandered about like shadows. At last the men with joyful gestures rushed towards them, as though they iiad found them after great danger, led them back into the circle, and danced with joy and animation.
This dance is said to be illustra- tive of the conquered condition of the people. ]\I. de Eichard, whose interest- ing account appeared in 1 805, describes it as a complete poem. "Who knows," he continues, " of what long-forgotten incursion of the barbarians it is pre- served as a reminiscence ? "
SERVIA. As in the case of the Rumanians, the Ser\ians are by no means to be found only in the country to which they give tlieir name. There are Servians in Austria-Hungary, for instance, and in Herzegovina. Servia, which is separated from Hungary by the Danube and Save, has an area of 19,050 square miles, and tlie population was estimated at 2,314,153 in 1895. The Servians are physically a stalwart race. They are hospitable, energetic, and brave. Though proud, quick-tempered, and apt to fight on comparatively slight occasion, tliey are fond of social intercourse, and cling to old customs and old beliefs.
Their dwellings are of the poorest kind, consisting merely of mud-huts, which are usually small, low, and without anything in the way of ornament. The Servian farmer could afford a more pretentious house if he chose. Centuries of oppression under Turkish rule drove the people to conceal whatever wealth they jiossessed ; and this habit, now become a second nature, accounts for the lack of ostentation in the Servian manner of living.
The Servians are thoroughly democratic in their institutions ; each family owns the ground it tills, so that in the country day-labourers are scarce. Few will consent to become house- hold servants, and cooks and men-servants come mostly from Croatia or Hungary. When a farmer is unable, with the help of his family, to gather in all the produce of his land, he ajiplies to his neighbours, who will readily come to his assistance, but would be insulted by the offer of money. They act on the principle of service for service, and expect in a
A EOSMAN SOLDIEU.
^n (fe-
NATIVE OF BOSNIA.
446
The Living Races of Mankind
similar emergency to receive help in their turn. All Servians are proud, and are equal under the King. There is no aristocracy, and the middle class, merchants, shopkeepers, and others, are few. The Servian -who works in the field does not recognise a superior in the better-dressed and better-educated official.
There is no pauperism in the country. The old and sick are maintained by their neighbours in the rural districts, and in the towns by the commune or the workmen's associations.
Education is compulsory and free, and is making rapid strides. There are schools in every village. Not only do children of all classes receive free education, but very poor children obtain a small allowance from the Government to sujjport them during the time they must study in the secondary and higher schools. When they can do so, poor students eke out this allowance by doing work of some kind in the houses of their richer fellow-students. In this way low birth and poverty are no barrier to the attainment of the highest administrative
and official positions.
The Servians are an eminently pious race. The fasts of the Church are rigidly observed, and the peasant never fails in the morning to invoke a blessing on the coming day. Every family in Servia has its patron saint. The care of this patron saint is committed to the sons, and not to the daughters, who concern themselves with the saints allotted to their futm-e husbands. The feast of the patron saint is an ancient custom, going back to the times when the patriarchal family lived together under the same roof. It is prac- tised everywhere even at the present day, the busy towns not excepted, and it lasts several days. The house is decorated with branches and flowers, and the nearest rela- tions meet at a banquet presided over by the head of the family. A loaf made of the finest wheaten flour is set in the centre of the table. A cross is hollowed out in the middle of the loaf, and in the centre is fixed a candlestick with three branches, all of which are lighted in honour of the Trinity. A prayer is said, in which the blessing of God is invoked upjon the
ElIIAJ.' WOJIA>".
Montenegro
whole family. Dessert follows with toasts and songs, and the party give themselves up to merry-making.
]\IONTENEGRO.
The little Balkan state which is known by this name — literally the " Black jMountain " — occupies an area of not more than 3,630 square miles, with a population of about 230,000. Beyond the low and narrow coastal fringe washed by the Adriatic, the country rapidly becomes a maze of peaks, crags, ravines, and gorges. The peaks range in height from 6,500 to 8,000 feet. The mountains are in places heavily timbered, and also afford good pasturage for sheep, goats, and cattle.
The IMontenegrins have been called the flower of the Slav race. They are tall, well formed, and handsome. The women, however. who have to do nearly all the hard work in the home and on the farms, while the men hunt, fight, or idle, .soon contract a worn ami aged appearance, and lose their good looks early in life. The ^Montenegrins are brave and warlike, simple in their manners, and honourably celebrated for their honesty and their chastity. The honour of women is sacred and safe among them. They are polite and hospitable, and may be regarded as one of the most picturesque peoples of the present day.
The people live in little villages consistir there is not a single group of dwellings whicl Cettinje, the capital.
The ijrincijDal business of the Montenegrins for many generations apparently has been to fight the Turk. At the present day the chief occupation of the people is agriculture. They cannot be said to display any keenness in adopting new methods. Farming is conducted by them on very much the same principles which their remote ancestors probalily considered satisfactory. It cannot be denied that the ]\Iontenegrin regards the arts of peace as ratlier derogatory, and a very poor substitute for the livelier pursuit of war. This is a not uncommon trait in half-civilised mountaineers all the world over. One has only to remember the Albanians and the Afridis, for example — not to mention Scotch Highlanders.
The Prince of Montenegro, altliough absolute in theory, is far from being an arbitrary or irresponsible governor. In making new and administering the ancient laws of his little state, he is assisted by a council and ministry of six members. The patriarchal form of government really prevails in the State as well as in the separate families. The Prince decides all matters in dispute, and the tree of justice under which lie sits and dispenses law and equity to all comers free of cost is a well-known institution, A few years ago an English member of Parliament found himself in the course of his travels at Cettinje, and was much imj)ressed by the simplicity and efficiency of this patriarchal mode of legal procedure. The real statute- book is national custom.
The JMontenegrins are making rapid strides in the direction of a higher civilisation.
[ of small stone houses. In all jNIontenegro can be correctly designated a town, except
448
The Living Races of Manlvind
Education is becoming more general, and new roads have Iseen constructed. Every male person above the age of seventeen has to serve in the army, which can muster about 35,000 men. Not more than 150 are on permanent service. These form the bodvguard of the Prince. It is not necessary to maintain soldiers or police constantly on duty in ^Montenegro, where crime is almost unknown.
The Montenegrins have the poetical faculty, but that they are not necessarily a literary people may be inferred from the fact that the first bookshop in this ancient country was opened as recently as 1879. They have always had more to do with the sword than with the pen. " Every man, dressed in the picturesque costume of his tribe, carries his pistol and yataghan in his gii-dle," says one who has lived among them. When war breaks out, the schoolboy and the veteran will be found equally eager for the fray.
It has been said that courage and energy, with other kindred virtues, may be seen in their
highest perfection among the Montenegrins. When a girl is
born, the mother says, "I do not wish thee beauty, but
com-age. Heroism alone gains the love of men." Two incidents
of the war of 1879 illustrate the devoted heroism of which
Montenegi-in women are capable, and the desperate steps they
will take to avoid contamination by submitting to a foe. A
Turk named ]Mehmed Pasha carried away a jNIontenegrin girl,
the beautiful Yoka. They were in the mountains. The girl implored her captor to desist from his endearments, which were doubly disgraceful as they
Photo hy A. Otto] [Alun
WEND (FRONT AND BACK VIEW).
the presence
of the
were
Tmkish soldiers. The road they had to traverse was only a narrow ledge of rock above a precipice. Overcome by emotion, ,, x full dress.
she sank to the gi'ound. Mehmed
seized her in his arms. She embraced and clung to him. Suddenly she tm-ned and drew him to the edge of the rock. Clinging to him with all her force, she dragged him with her over the precipice into the deep abyss, where their bodies were subsequently found. The other incident occurred in a frontier village. The men had left the village to join the main body of their forces. Soon after thek departure the Turks entered the place. The women • took refuge in an old tower, where they defended themselves like Amazons. The only weapons they had were old guns, and successful resistance was hopeless. The women and children heaped the powder- barrels together. When eventually some fifty Turks dashed into the tower, a torch was applied to the powder,
Bosnia= Herzegovina
449
there was a terrible explosion, and the buried in the ruins.
lictorious Turks as well as the heroic women were
The inhabitants of these two Tur many characteristics in common. and speak the same language.
IIOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA.
dsli provinces, which are now administered by Austria, have They are of the same race — the Servian branch of the Slavs —
if tlie 1!,
ruK
Bosnia.
)snians is suggestive of pride, activity, and endurance, uiliiie nose, deep-set bright eyes uiidrr luisliy brows,
at once dignified and handsome. Tlicy arc warlike, and <'iijoy the reputation of being sti-;ugl it forward.
Oriental in their iiospitalhy. From the moment t he is your friend. ]<'rii'nilshi[) is as sacred as often made in church before a priest, or in the
The prevalent physical type Of moderate height, with oval fa,( black hair, and black moustache, ( independent, and jealous of tlicii trustworthy, and sincere, as well you have shared a meal with your ho hospitality. Compacts of friendship are presence of others. The pair then exchange their weapons and give each other the kiss of peace. There is a legend that two of these ado]ited brotliers fell in love with the same woman, and rather than quan-el willi cacli dthcr. killed lier.
Costume differs according to locality. A large white turban, brown vesi Inaided with black, wide-tlowing trousers of a deep red colour, and gaiters form the dress of a well-turned-out man. An almost indispensable feature is the leatlier girdle or silken sash, in which, among other articles, he carries a knife, tobacco, and a long cherry- wood pipe.
The food of the Bosnian peasant consists principally of flour made from maize and a kind of black wheat, mixed with milk. They distil from the fruit of the plum-trees which are to be found growing round the houses of even the poorest a kind of spirit, which is their chief solace in life.
The shops in Brod, an ancient Bosnian town, are typical of those seen in nearly all the Balkan countries. At night they are closed with two large shutters placed horizontally. When a shop is opened, the upper shutter is drawn in, and forms the ceiling. The lower falls oat- germaks of south austhia.
450
The Living Races of Mankind
ward, and becomes the counter. On this the pniprietor takes his seat among his goods, and waits for his customers.
In the to^Tns the houses are square and roofed with wood. When not used as a shop, the ground-floor often serves as a stable. The house is divided into two parts, each with a separate entrance. One part is occupied by the women, the other by the men. The peasants live in mud-huts, which are covered with thatch or lime-tree bark, and consist mostly of one apartment, which swarms with pigs, goats, fowls, and children. There is no chimney, and the smoke gets out as best it can.
There are three forms of marriage. The first is by capture. When he has carried off his beloved, the captor placps her in the women's department of his house ; but she
tkoLo by CiUtleron ex Tarlntj Ji,',i<iji^,<i
HUNGAKIAJJ PEASANTS.
is yet only his betrothed. Preparations for the formal marriage extend over a week. The bride's parents usually appear violently opposed to the match at first, but end by consenting, as their daughter would be disgraced if she returned home unmarried. Another method is called "at sight." The bride- groom is allowed to see the girl face to face at least once before making up his mind. If he decides u> have her for his wife, he sends her a ring, on whiili his name is engi-aved. This amounts to a contract to marry. Festivities are kept up for a week befon' the bride is taken to her husband's home. Tin' third form is merely a business transaction, and obtains only among the rich. The man-iage i- arranged by the parents without the bride and bridegi-oom ever having seen each other. When a death takes jjlaee, the members of the family meet together. The body is washed; the nose, mouth, aiiil ears are stuffed with wadding to prevent e\-il spirit - from entering. The corpse is then buried, wrapped in a white slii-oud, and not enclosed in a coffin.
A SOUTH AUSTRIAN PEASANT.
^"^ ^^H ,.'' 'jK^ |
■x«, |
:i ^g^ |
|
y |
|
B-^^^HI1\ V i |
i^ |
. B |
|
H |
|
■ *^ ^' S^ |
1 |
4S2
The Living Races of Mankind
Till recently most of the Bosnians were ]\Iussnlinans are Orthodox Greeks, 548,000 Moslem, and nearly all The Bosnian Mohammedans do not practise iiolygamy, of the Christian customs which prevailed in the days that of their Turkish conquerors. Should a child fiiU il hastens to the nearest monastery to order masses. W Greek monks to have the Bible read over his head. " "Unknown Hungary," wliere he speaks of Bosnian ciistc secretly conducting a pope to pray over tlio tomb of his
; now (1901) the majority (673,000)
tlie rest (334,000) Eoman Catholics.
and have remained iiiithful to many before they changed their creed for I in a JMussulman family, the father hen he is ill himself, he goes to the
At nightfall," says Victor Tissot in ms. '• one may often see a young bey
father."
Herzecovin.'
Herzegovina province of Bosni
X rockv. limestone region, and of a far more rugged nature than tlie sister The Herzegovinans are tall and broad-shouldered, and generally of darke. complexion and of greater personal bravery than the Bosnians. In form and character they
approach more nearly to the IMoutenegrin tyiie. In the Yalilanitza district especially tho men are of powerful build, independent, and de- liant. Tlieir features resemble those of the Italians more than the (ireeks. The women aie taller than their Bosnian sisters, and they are generally believed to be more handsome
■111.' .Ill— ,,l tlie Herze- go\inHns ir.scniblc's the jNIonte- negrin rather than the Bosnian style.
In Bosnia the walls of the houses and the dividing- walls between fields and gardens are made of wood. In Herzegovina the buihlings I iintain hardly any wood. The I louses in Yablanitza are to a great extent built of black- and-white scorified lava, and are roofed with slabs of slate.
The social customs of the Herzegovinans are similar in most i-espects to those of the Bosnians. The more truculent characteristics of the former are no doubt largely due to the sterner nature of their country.
As in Bosnia, the i\Ioslem has ceased to be the dominant faith. In the Yablanitza district the
JKGAEIAN WOMAN FROM SZIKOK.
Austria= Hungary
453
women have not adopted the Mohammedan custom of veiling the face, although it is strictly observed in other parts of the country.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. The dual monarchy has for the ethnologist no mean- ing whatever. It is merely a political expression. The population, returned in 189G at 41,058,000 (excluding the jieople of Ijosnia-Herzegovina), con- sists of a great variety of races, haxing nothing in common except their allegiance to Francis Joseph in his dual capacity of iMnperor of Austria and King of Hungary. Thus there are 18,704,000 Slavs, including the ('hekhs and Slovaks of Bohemia, i\Ioravia. and llniig;n y. tlie Polos and Hulhenians of Silesia, iiMil (lalicia. I he SI, ,\ ..|i,.s, S.'il.s. and Croats of Siavonia, IJukovina, ("roal la. and 1 »aliiiat ia. There are also 8,628,000 Germans, 7,435,000 Magyars, 2,015,000 Rumanians, and 081,000 Italians.
It will be readily understood that, from the point of view of race, it is out of the question to speak of either an Austrian nation or air Austrian language. The characteristics of some of the peoples whicli make up this political tower of Babel are dealt with elsewhere. Space will allow of only a very brief survey of the leading features of the rest.
Austria.
Under this heading come most of the races just enumerated, Hungary comprising chiefly Magyars, Germims, Rumanians, Croats, and other Slavs. The Austrian of Vienna is of Teutonic stock, and German is the official language. The ju-ople of the cajiital are characterised by lc\ity, ami \'>\r of gaiety may be said to be the pi-evailing note. Their indolence and lack of energy may be attributed partly to the enervating life of a great city and partly to Oriental inlluenees. The women aic celebrated for vivacity anil Iniglifness of di-|io>il ion, and physical beaut y and womanly grace ai'e present in all classes. It is notably among tiie working classes that their good qualities are apparent. A devoted and capable wife is a mim. \i:ian
generally found under the roof of the Austrian workman.
The Chekhs, who belong to the Slav family of nations, may be reckoned among its f^ne^t specimens, and are noted for their high intellectual qualities. Their keen sense of nationality and the stubbornness with whi.'li (hey cling to their language have been a source of difficulty to the Austrian Government. German is tlie otHcial hmgiiage of the empire, but the people of Bohemia have never sulunitted to the disuse of tlieir own, and their rejiresentatives in the Austrian Parliament have always insisted on its use. A few years ago the Eniperor, yielding to their demands for its recognition, caused his ministers to decree that it should be placed on an equal footing with German. The wrath of tlie German party in the State was kindled, and the decree was rescinded. At the moment of writing the Chekhs are once more carrying
454
The Living Races of Mankind
1"'
prcM
on a determined agitation, and it s-eems that the "Langnages question thorn in the side of the Austrian <io\ernment.
The Chekhs are reputed to be in(histrious and excellent workers, and have talented musicians.
The Moravians are so closely akin, in race, language, and customs, to the Bohemians, that they call for no special mention.
The Poles are found jjrincipally in the Russian Empire, wliere there are about 10,000,000; but a large number of them are under the Austrian Crown. They appeared under the name of Lekhs about the seventh century of this era, and by some writers are supposed to have been a Norse tribe which overcame and amal- gamated with a Slavonic people. They may be regarded as one of the numerous sub- divisions of the great .Slav race. rhysically they are of medium height, the Poles of the south being generally of darker comiilexinn than those of the north. The}^ have always been distinguished for braver}', polite manners, and great intellectual gifts. Their women arc handsome and vivacious.
HUNUARV.
Before dealing with the IMagyars, wlm constitute the great majority of this kingdom, a few words ought to be devoted to the in- habitants of Croatia and Slavonia, which form an annexe of the Hungarian Crown.
The Croats are a branch of the Slav race, and are closely akin to the Servians. They differ in being Eoman Catholics and in using the Latin alphabet for their two dialects — the Sloveno-Croatian and the Serbo-Croatian (Brown). The author here referred to, in his interesting account of this people, describes them as having for their physical character- istics black or very darlc brown hair, and greyish or blue eyes, with a countenance suggestive of cruelty and suspicion. They are lazy and intemperate, but good-humoured and hospitable. Their women, who do most of the work, are both ignorant and super- stitious, and do not rank high in the scale
of civilisation. They are noted for the beauty of their costume, which i white tunic, scarlet waistcoat, and red sash or belt of leather with among the various articles of attire, which differ in every village, colours and silver ornaments is displayed every wlicre.
The Slovaks, who are found associated with the Ixuthenians in ^Moravia an carefully to be distinguished from the Slovenes, who are numerous, especially and Slavonia. They are a pastoral people, and are generally regarded as hard contented.
The Magyars sjjring fi-om the Ural-Altaic stock. At the close of the ninth century of our era a horde of mixed Turkish and Finnish origin entered Hungary, and it is from these
i- :;,.., u:,jiucul ColUcUoH in the Mitsium di PURE GYPSY, ALSACE (PROFILE).
usually radiant. The
beautiful patterns are
A love of gorgeous
Galicia. are in Bukovina working and
The Gypsies
455
immignuits that the Hungarians descend. "An indefinalile Oriental air may be noted in most Magyars of good family. The fact that the structure of the jNIagyar language is Ugro-Finnish^ while it contains ISlongol and Turkish words, and has in more recent times borrowed from German and Sla\onic, points to a good deal of mixture in the composition of this people " (Ratzel).
Physically they are accounted one of the handsomest races in Europe. They have a manly, upright carriage and an energetic air. Their frames are tall, athletic, and robust. Their eyes are intensely black, the nose straight, the teeth white and regular, and the hair bushy. Their women are even better-looking than the men. The IMag^^ars have pushed .^^,.^..^,>,.^^,..,.;,..,.^ .- ,11— their way into the front rank of nations by
^^^^^^^^^^ their physical strength, bravery, and strong
^^H^^P^ patriotic sentiment, which engenders a vanity
^^^^^^g liordering on self-conceit. Their hospitality
^^^^^B" ^tflWiPill^ ''^ proverbial, and has brought many wealthy
^^^^HP" ^l^^l^jlUl^k families to the verge of ruin. Trade and the
^^p^^^ ^ ^^ industries have in recent years been greatly
Bp ^m M <leveloped.
E^ Hr '^'iSl* "^ ^^ 1"he national dress is exceedingly pictur-
(■S([np. Its juiiicipal characteristics are the hiniilii, (a lciiit( (inter cloak), long boots, and ^, ~ 3~ spurs. A Hungarian nobleman attached to
Hp the Austro-Hungarian Embassy in London
He ^ attracted universal attention at a levee at
^K *iit ' 'a^^^^/i '^*' •^'^'"^^''^ '■'■ f^^^ years ago by the magnifi-
1^ \ > 2tfy^^ fence of his attire.
^H»|«'!^- , M ^KTM s ^ Hungarian wedding is a remarkable
^HF I Uj) ^BR/^ '^ ceremony. The feast lasts for several days.
^^V m Mt ^Kj^^ " After the wedding ceremony is ended, the
^m M m^ ^^^^hIB bridegroom's friends, headed by a band of
V ^M)^^L. ^^^^I^lb musicians, come to fetch the bride, who, thus
W ^k|^^^M^^^^^^^^^ escorted, goes to her new home ; here, as
f '^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 well as during the ^^rocession to the church,
firearms are discharged and other noisy demonstrations made by the guests, who afterwards sit down to the table and prolong the feast far into the night. It is the custom — and a curiously suggestive one it is — for each guest to dance in turn with the bride, and then to give her a few kreutzers (or pence), in exchange for which he receives a kiss. Each guest also brings a present, which consists of a fowl, a pigeon, some fruit, or other articles of provender. This is duly handed to the bride, who, by accejjting it, binds herself to dance with the donor " (Brown).
The dominant religion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire — or rather of the various races composing it — is the Roman Catholic. The members of this Church numbered, in 1898, 32,240,000. There are also 4,268,000 Protestants, 3,178,000 members of the Greek and Armenian Churches, and 1,870,000 Jews.
PUEE GYPSY, ALSACE (FULL-FACE).
THE GYPSIES.
leave of the peoples of Central Europe, a few words may apjiropriately be
Before tak
devoted to the Gypsies, who are here found in larger numlio
world, over which they wander at large.
than in any other part of the
45^
The Living Races of Mankind
liem fioin
The Gyp-ies are iindDubtedly of Hindu origin, as is clearly shown by the structure of their language. They first appeared in Europe early in the ]\Iiddle Ages, when they were believed to have come originally from Egypt. This theory is now exploded, and survives only in the name by which they are known in some places. Their language bears traces of all the countries through which they have passed at different times, so that it may be said that they have no language and no country of their own. They ha\e adopted whatever country has suited their taste, and have absorbed a little of its speech into their original dialect. Wherever they are found, they are strangers and out- casts, and have no part in the government or national life of their adopted country.
Physically the Gypsy of pure blood is
strongly suggestive of an Eastern origin.
His bright black eyes, oval face, black hair,
and dai'k brown complexion render him
easily recognisable wherever he is seen. His
mental characteristics are not such as to
earn for him the respect of his fellow-men.
He leads a shiftless, vagrant life, and his
propensity for thieving is ineradicable. Of
religion the Gypsies have little, and they
are generally as ready to adopt that of the
country they find themselves in, whenever it
suits their convenience, as to borrow from
its language or its hen-roosts. Although
their moral conceptions are not of a high
order, they have certain beliefs and super-
larbarism.
v in the various regions in wliich they live. Everywhere they
ours in their dress and for glittering ornaments. They have no
heir pursuits are such as can be best carried on in a life of
metal-workers, and in making baskets and brooms, they show
olut(
Their customs (litf dispkiy a passion for bright c. liking for sedentary life, and movement. As tinkers and much skill.
A good description of the Gypsies of Bosnia is given by Tissot, who says : " Their com- plexion is as brown as old leather. They have keen black eyes and oval faces, and their long curly hair falls in oily masses over their shoulders ; their figures are athletic and muscular ; they lead a vagabond and wandering life, braving carelessly the inclemency of the seasons under their tents of ragged cloth, and too often exercising the calling of brigands and thieves. I must tell you further that the Bosnian Gypsy women are often of a rare beauty, and know how to make the most of their charms. As dancing-women and ballet-girls they enter the harems, distracting the hearts of the beys and pashas, and they are often to be met in public places dancing in picturesque costumes on a piece of carpet. The Tziganes were for long the only people who worked the rich mines of Bosnia, but they contented themselves with dragging a fleece of wool in the bed of the torrents, and picking out the spangles of gold wliich in some streains are found in abundance."
CHAPTEE XX.
GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, ITALY, FRANCE, SPAIN, AND PORTUGAL.
GERMANY.
The Germanic or Teutonic stock forms the basis of the Scandinavian, Dutch, and to some extent the British peoples. In the previous chapter we have aheady pointed out that a large number of Germans are to be found in Austria-Hungary. The Teutons form one of the principal branches of the Aryan family of nations. But in the every-day use of language we generally mean by the word "German" a person who owes allegiance to the Kaiser, or Emperor, of Germany. Its significance is therefore rather political than scientific. The German Empire is a confederacy of five-and-twenty states, dating from the year 1871, with more or less independence in their internal affairs, presided over by the King of Prussia, who bears the title of Kaiser, or Emperor. The united provinces of Alsace-Lorraine, annexed after the Franco-Prussian War, now form part of the empire, being administered as a kind of Crown colony.
In the year 1805 the German people numbered 52,246,589, but at the present time
the population is probably not far short of 55,000,000. Kacially the Germans may be
divided into two great branches, corresponding
to the two very different physical divisions of
the land. To the south and west of the
Hartz Mountains Germany consists of high
tablelands and valleys ; to the north and east,
of a vast tract of lowland country, in which
the only important elevation is the Teuto-
burger Wald.
The inhabitants of the southern portions
of the empire are generally known as the
High Germans, while those who dwell in
the low-lying regions of the north are called
the I>ow Germans. The former are also
known as Swabians, the latter as Saxons.
There is a well-marked distinction in the
physical type of these two branches of the
race. The Swabians represent that portion
of the Teutons which, in its early migrations,
disijlaced a Celtic people at one time settled
in the mountainous part of the country.
They are darker than the Northern Germans,
and perhaps this may be accounted for by
partial fusion with the conquered Celts, who ,
had in their turn already absorbed a dark
race of the time of the New Stone Age —
icht |
[Ik |
||
LIT |
TLE |
BEKMAN BOY. |
58 |
458
The Living Races of Mankind
that is. a Neolithic people, to use the scientific term. The Saxons, on the other hand, have for the most part the blue eye.s and light hair which are generally taken as typical of the modern German. The Germans, however, ai-e no exception to the rule that all European peoples are so mixed that none of them can be resolved into their primary Celtic, Teutonic, Scandi- navian, or Slav elements. The Slav element is indeed prominent in Germany, although the purely Slavonic inhabitants are slowly but surely becoming Teutonised. Of these, the Letto-Lithuanic people in the extreme north-east of the empire are a sort of connecting-link between Russia and Germany, as they are found in large numbers in the western provinces of Russia. This race may be described as handsome, well built, and fair, with blue eyes and clear white skin. They are mostly Protestants, and bear a great reputation for piety. It is said that nothing is ever allowed to keep them away from church on Simday. They retain, how- ever, a gi-eat number of pagan superstitions which were blended with their Christianity. The Wends of Lusatia are another survival [Beritn. wliose name, supjwsed to mean " Wanderers,"
has been identified with that of the ancient Veoieti (Venetians). They still retain the however, is destined in time to give way to the German speak. In the provinces of Silesia and Posen there are as many as 2,920,000 Western Slavs, nearly all Poles, with a few of the kindred Cassubs and Mazms. These last, being Protestants, are natm-ally more susceptible to German influence.
About 50,000 Chekhs, on the Bohemian frontier, are under German sway, as are the Schleswig Danes. The P^rench are numerous, especially in Lorraine, where are also a few Walloon communities. Nor must the Jews be omitted, who number about 1 per cent, of the population, and exert a powerful influence on the art, literature, music, and finance of the country.
Before we can arrive at anything like a correct estimate of the mental characteristics and temperament of the typical modern German, it is necessary to take into consideration the immense influence which the State has exercised in modifying the national chai-acter. One of the chief agencies by which this has been brought about is of course the arm}^ ]\Iilitary training is compulsory and universal. The Germans of the upper class devote as much time and serious attention to the profession of arms as English gentlemen do to politics, or the various pursuits of country life, such as hunting, shooting, fishing, or racing. A German officer, as a rule, lives for nothing but his work, and his one ambition is to become as proficient therein as possible. The consequence is that Germany now possesses the finest army in the world. Nor is it by the army alone that discipline is taught; the State controls the education of the citizen, directs the jjost and the railways, and assists trade and commerce by encouraging technical instruction and subsidising gi-owing industries and transoceanic shipping. Everywhere and over everything the influence of the State makes itself felt.
Photo by y. Scheu
GERMAX LADY.
old dialect known as Sorb, which, which they are rapidly learning to
Germany
459
It is perhaps not too much to say that Germany is the most thoroughly organised and completely drilled nation in Europe. It would obviously be outside the scope of the present work to inquire into the advantages or defects of German methods from the stand- points of statecraft and of commerce. Yet their influence in moulding the character of the German citizen is of the utmost importance, as has already been pointed out by more than one thoughtful English observer. In travelling about Germany, the writer has been pleased to note the absence of that rowdy behaviour so frequently seen in the streets of London.
Education, both in the public or national schools and in the universities, is systematic and thorough. It differs from our English system in two respects. In the first place, it is ojjen to men in every rank of life, and the average German has acquired a far greater amount of scholastic knowledge than the average Englishman on leaving school. In the second place, it is directed almost exclusively to training the intellect, and has little or no effect on the
J Iwtu by 1/it Phutachiuiii Cu ]
TliUKii SWisa UIllLS,
460
The Living Races of Mankind
manners or the morals of the pupil — a defect which cannot be justly ascribed to the training of an English gentleman. The masters at our pulilic schools have undoubtedly exercised a strong influence for good on the boys committed to their care, and the same may be said of many of our private schools.
What are tlie mental characteristics of the German? From the excessive militarism of his country he acquires a somewhat brusque and off-hand manner, which is especially marked
in members of the aristocracy. His educa-
|BPV|i^ - tion, with its tendency to specialism at an
I^K early age, makes him learned and naiTow,
^^^L and lacking in the graces which a more
^^^K^^ ,_rr '-^'"~"'^^- —^-MC _^i ' general culture and wider training might
Hjj^^^ ^ V - ^..,«w bestow. The constant interference of the
^_^ ^f ^tif^,__ — ^■Hfll^^l State in his domestic and business concerns
■P^ Ma«»L_ ^T*^^" i^^^^H '^ '^l'* ^'^ weaken his independence and rob
^ la- F^ ^ V ^^HKI him of individuality and character. Behind
hi> acquired conventionality, however, he is honourably distinguished for loyalty to the I'atherland and his friends, as well as for kindly disposition and family aflection. Kot the least attractive characteristic of the German is his fondness for music, which does much to soften his asperity of manners. A strong vein of sentimentality has often been noticed in the Teutonic disposition, although it is kept well in hand by discijjline and training. A cm-ious instance of this was related by the correspondent of an English newsjjaper during the Franco-Prussian War. When the Germans entered Paris, a good deal of looting and violence took place. An officer broke into a house, and, entirely disregarding the trembhng occupiers, sat down at the piano in one of the rooms and ran his fingers over the keyboard. Presently he broke out into a plaintive melody which celebrated the charms of his lady-love. The performance affected him to tears. He was able, however, to master his emotion sufficiently to call in his orderly and direct him to have the instru- ment packed up and sent to Germany ! He then left the house without so much as a word to his unfortunate hosts. The Germans are, as a rule, frugal and unostentatious in their habits. jNlere wealth has less social jjower among them than in England. It will not buy the entree into high society. Class distinctions are well marked, and even the jioorest nobleman of a long line is recognised as a far superior being to the wealthiest parvenu. In this respect Germans take themselves very seriously. To omit the von, denoting gentle birth, before the name of an untitled gentleman would cause him to feel much aggrieved. Even official titles are guarded by their possessors with the same strong jealousy. Wives are addressed in such a way as to show that they share in the official title— e.g. " Mrs. General " or " Mrs. Stationmaster."
[Xufktoiu
SWISS MAN.
YOUNG WOMAN OF BERN.
462
The Living Races of Mankind
: Photochr: A SWISS GIRL IN
while the lenui
are by creed and exti
Domestic life in Germany is apt to strike the stranger as decorous, but distinctly dull. Women are by no means badly edu- cated, but they are not expected to share the intellectual or business interests of their husbands. Their proper sphere, e\en in the ujjper classes, is supposed to be the kitclien and the nursery. jMany are expected to attend a chinrch regularly ; hence the saying one so often hears in Germany, " Kirche, Kinder, Kiiche," which means " Church, childi-en, and kitchen." Although, on the whole, German wives are well treated by their husbands, they are often little better than a kind of upper servants. A German gnl is not expected to have a higher amliition in life than to become in due time an efficient Hausfrau. The Germans are fond of amusement, although their pleasures are of a mild nature. In youth, howe\er, they are much given to fencing and other gymnastic exercises. Even duelling is encouraged in the highest quarters, being still a noticeable feature of student life. The present Emperor, however, has checked it to some extent among the officers of the army, owing to the scandalous frequency with which thc-e •■affairs of honour" occm'red. In holi(la\ time they throng the public gardens and listen to the excellent military bands for which Germany is famous. Here they will sit for hours at the small tables which hold the e\ ei-re[)lenished glass of Munich, Pilsener, or other beer, and smoke cigars made in Germany, and therefore inexjjensive.
It is reckoned that about 63 per cent, of the inhabitants of the empire are Protes- tants and oG per cent. Koman Catholics,
SWITZEKLAM). The union of the Swiss people as a nation is entirely political, and in an ethnogiaphical sense there is no such thing as a Swiss nation. Then- country has an area of only 15,976 square miles, and in the year 1898 the census showed a population of rather less than 3,120,000. In this small compass, however, three if not four distinct nationalities ha\e their home. In the vaUey of the Upper lihine as far as Basle (or Bale), and in the vaUey of the Ijijier Rhone as far south as Sitten, the people are of Teutonic stock, speaking a German patois. They are sprung from the Alemanni, one of the Teutonic tribes which descended on the Roman Emp)ire. The German Swiss are by f;\r the most numerous, being about three-sevenths of the entire population. Part of the Upper Rhine Valley and the slopes of the Jura in the west are known as French Switzerland. Here the people are descended from the Biu-gundians.
Switzerland
463
Though the Burgundians were also one of the German tribes which coiitributeil to the break up of the power of Rome, their descendants now speak the French tongue in tlie district which comprises Neuchatel, Geneva, the Valais, and the Pays de Vaud. In the basin of the Po — canton of Ticino — the people are Italian and speak the Italian language.
Besides these three main groups there is a small fragment which may be described as an ethnical survival, destined in language, at any rate, to disappear before the German or Italian elements by which it is surrounded. This fragment comprises the Rhaeto-Eomance people, living in the Grisons and the hilly region between the upper tributaries of the Rhine and the banks of the Upper Inn. They are believed to be descended from the Rhnetians, an ancient tribe which had settled in the district before the German or Teutonic migration, and even before the Romans, who had already conquered and mixed with the primitive inhabitants. Their language is the Rumonsh, which has two dialects, the Rumonsh proper, spoken on the Vorder Rhine and in some parts of the Hinter Rhine, and the Ladin of the Engadine and the valley of the Inn. Both represent in a somewhat modified form the Latin spoken by the Roman peasant of the time of Livy. But however interesting the Rumonsh-speaking race may be from the ethnogiaphical point of view, its members are numerically unimportant. According to the latest returns (1898), 2,150,000 of the inhabitants of Switzerland were of German, 700.000 of French, 170,000 of Italian, and 38,000 of Rumonsh speech. While French is stationary, Italian appears to be encroaching on the German and Rumonsh territories.
The various nationalities found in Switzerland are held together by a con- federacy, or union of twenty-two cantons, each of them quite independent in its local administration, somewhat in the manner of the United States of America. It follows, from what has been said, that the Swiss must present a variety of types, both physically and mentally. Not only have the racial differences to be taken into account, but also the difference in character and manners which we should expect to find in a country where every little commune is practically free to go its own way without interference from its neighbour.
Physically the Swiss may be described as well built and hardy, with a vigorous physique, due to plain living and mountain air and an outdoor life. They are sober, frugal (quite as much from necessity as from choice), cleanly, and fairly honest, except where rich English and American tourists offer an irresistible temptation to ask exorbitant prices. The late Mr. Ruskin spoke in his " Modern Painters " of the sad deterioration that had taken jjlace already at that date in this respect ; and his wise words of warning might be equally applied to Scotland, or even Norway. Education flourishes, and technical instruc- tion is well attended to. The C^anton an Italian man.
464
The Living Races of Mankind
Vaud has been called the paradise of peasant-proprietors, and here the agricultural Swiss may perhaps be seen at their best. In contrast with their French neighbours the Vaudois are thrifty and intelligent in their husbandry. Their cottages are not only picturesque, but scrui:)ulously clean. They supplement the living they obtain from the soil by such industries as clock- and watch-making. In this business they have shown their extraordinary aptitude for delicate and minute workmanship. In La Vallee, the centre of the industry, the inhabitants are said to have taken to this employment on account of the hard winters and short summers, which made a purely agricultural life rather precarious. Agricultm-e, which can alone be carried on in the valleys, is not sufBcient to support the whole community; and even with the rapid growth of their commercial industries the Swiss are obliged to go abroad in large numbers and look for employment in other countries. As servants, coiuriers, hotel-keepers, and waiters, they are found in nearly every great city of Europe and America. In the summer months the country is invaded by a large army of tourists, who contribute largely to the supjjort of the people. In spite, however, of their financial difficulties the Swiss are free from pauperism as it is known in England. They set a good example to the rest of the world by assisting each other in times of distress. Every commune has its fund out of which the children of parents who have died have their education paid for, and the old folk who are past working are maintained from the same soivrce. The smallness of the commune makes it easier for public opinion to enforce a high standard of self-respect.
Each canton has its own manners and its own institutions. Taken as a whole the Swiss are undoubtedly democratic. As in Greece, there are no hereditary titles, and the only trace of anything approaching to an aristocratic state is to be found in the canton of Bern. Here many of the citizens are descended fi-om the lords of Bern who ruled that republic in former days with the majesty of the doges and princes of Venice and Florence. These are held by their less illustrious brethren in great honour. But although a democratic people, the Swiss are conservative in clinging to old customs. The little commune of Gersau, now incorporated in the canton of Schwvtz (from which Switzerland takes its name), was at one time an
466
The Living Races of Mankind
AN ITALIAN MONK.
luimi to take iii
18.57, when
independent state. The memory of its grander days is kept alive by an interesting ceremony which takes place annually. On a certain Smiday in May the people meet together under the presidency of the chief magi.strate (wlio is glorious on this occasion by reason of being girt with the sword of state), elect the various administrative functionaries, and dis- cuss generally the affairs of the commune.
Tlie Swiss have always been ])ron(l of their independence, and have clung teiiacionslv to their liberty. In this they were aided by tlie conformation of their country, which offers a natural barrier to invasion. Wlien tirst forming part of the Holy Koman Empire, I he forest cantons re\olted against the Emperor Albert in 1313. From motives of prudence subsequent sovereigns favoured their spirit of indejiendence. It was not until their defeat of the forces of Charles the Bold in 1477 that the Swiss attained to a full conscious- ness of national existence. The Emperor .Maximilian made a final elfort to reduce their growing pride, but after a protracted struggle he was forced in 1500 to recognise their [iractical independence by treaty, aUhoiigli it was not until the Peace of 'NN'estphalia in 1(148 that the Swiss Confederation was recognised liy the world at large as a sovereign inde- pendent state. That the Swiss are still pre- pared to guard and, if necessary, fight for their freedom is shown by the attention jjaid to military training, which is obligatory on every male subject of the State. The last occasion on which the Swiss were nearly being called a war with Prussia seemed by no means
By the Tieaty of Menna the Prussian Crown retained certain rights of sovereignty over the canton of Neucliatel, and ajipointed its governor, although in all other respects the peo2)le of Neuchatel enjoyed the full liberty of Swiss citizenship. This anomaly gave rise to a consider- able amount of friction, which ruliiiiii;i( cd in a threat on the part of the King of Prussia of a military occupation of the canton. This the Swiss Confederation would have certainly resisted. The matter was. however, ultimately settled without recourse to arms.
The legislative power of the Confederation is vested in a Federal Assembly, which consists of two chambers — a National Council of 147 members, and a Council of States of forty-four members. The executive power is in the hands of a Federal Council composed of seven members. This body, which is elected by the Federal Assembly, is pre.sided over by the President of the Confederation, who is the head of the State for the time being, and holds office for a year only. Some idea of the modest scale on which the Swiss pay their national servants may be gained from the fact that the highest salary, that of the President, is only £540.
In Switzerland the adherents of the Koman Catholic Church are estimated at 40 per
Photo hy Livy Bros.]
YOUNG WOMEN OF VALENCE.
468
The Living Races of Manl<ind
Photo by Pilotti J: Porpel\
AS ITALIAN PI A^'^N
cent, of the population, and the Protestants as 59 per cent. In 1888 the Jews numbered 7,400. Geneva, long noted for its manu- factui-e of watclics. was (he home of Rousseau and Neeker, and has been a chief stronghold of Calvinism since the sixteenth century.
ITALY.
To some extent the political relations during the last three decades have been much the same in Italy as in Germany. Before 1870, when its unity as a kingdom was first achieved, it was divided into a number of separate states. Italy at the present day comprises the states of Sardinia, the Two Sicilies, the Pontifical States, tlie Lombard and N'cnctian pio\inces formerly belonging to the Austrian Empire, the duchies of Tuscany, Parma, and Modena. With a total area of 114,410 square miles, it has a population estimated in 1900 at 31,856,000.
'""» It would be hoiieless
to attempt to arrive at a just estimate of the racial
scrib.e him as Latin would merely be a classical name. When Italy first
me of a number of tribes destined wliicli I lie people of Latium gave
inipdiiii'.il of these early inhabitants.
elements of which the modern Italian is composed. To an easy means of getting o\-er the difficulty by giving hi emerges into the light of history, it is seen to be the afterwards to be absorbed in a grea,t linguistic family their name. Ihe Umbro-Sabellian group were the mos although their arrival in Italy was comparatively late. The Latin race, with which the Greek was closely allied, was probably the advanced-guard of the great Aryan migration into Southern Europe. The Etruscans were established in Italy some time prior to the arrival of the Latins, and have left a deep impression, both as regards physical character and mental culture, on the Italian race. In later times they were associated more particularly with the portion of Italy now known as Tuscany, but there can be little doubt that they once extended over a much wider area. They were a non-Aryan people, and have been classed by some writers with the Iberians, as a survival from Neolitliic times. Others have put forward the untenable view that the Etruscans were a In-anch of the Finno-Tartars. In appearance they seem to have been small and dark-. They attained to a high degree of
Italy
469
culture, and reuiains of tlieir inscriptions and monuments have been found in abundance. Thev gave a good deal of trouble to tlie Roman people in early days by their warlike habits and character, but in the end were conquered. Even the Gauls had at an early date settled in X<3rth Italy. The Ligurians are considered to have been an older non-Aryan race. In the south and in Sicily the (ireek element has combined with another pre-Aryan race, the lapygian, while Phcniician settlers from Africa helped to I'reate still more variety. When the Eoman Empire fell to pieces, Italy was swept by havbarie Irilies whieli brought Slav and Teutonic blood into the nation. Huns, Bulgars, and others of ?di>iig(>l and Ugrian origin gave an Oriental touch to the blend. In her later history the land has seen foreign dynasties, Spanish, Austrian, and French, exercising their sway. How far these waves of foreign immigration have modified the physical and mental attributes of the old Italian people it is iiu[)Ossible to say. That they must have influenced its moral character is practically certain. Taking the Italian as he is to-day, we naturally expect to find dift'erences of type in the various states which have been but lately welded into one. Space, however, will admit of our noticing only so:ne of the more important characteristics.
The Italians are a remarkably handsome race, with well-formed, symmetrical features and limbs. An average Italian makes a better model for the painter than the average member of any northern race. Owing to Celtic and Teutonic influences, the Italian of the north is of a lighter complexion than his brother of the south. hi Genoa blond representatives of et with. The dark hair and rich colouring of the Southern
the race may frequently be Italian are generally accepted The Italians are an ag: dispo>ition, they have been pi (■<sit lilies of bad government, "jipr high taxation into a state of |h misery. In the north the cultivat olive and the silk industry are tli means of supporting life, and peasants are industrious, and ha\ character for steadiness and sobriet
iiltural
g tl'P ieoi)le. niged by ssioii, and \erty and on of the ' principal here the ■ a belter ' than the
ue Latin ty^ie. Thougli natur
perful and patient
fickle southerner. The Lombards weie at one time celebrated for commercial and industiial energy, and this character the jieople of to-da> still retain. In Milan the townsfolk aie more reticent and thoughtful than the idle people of Naples. The lot of the i)edsant throughout Italy is extremely hard He has received no assistance in the sha])e of intelli- gent government in his el'lbrts to (ope with difficulties. The Campania, which in . I issi, il times was a rich tract of corn land, h is on account of neglect, become maishy and malarial, and its unhappy cultivators find their rough sheep-skin garments afford but scanty protection against the poisonous night air. It is perhaps in Naples and Sicily that the degradation of the people from maladminii-- tration is most apparent. Things are much better now than they were under the Lourbon
rule, but the conditions both in town and
country are still far from what they ought phoioby m. nenhaKd)
to be. In Naples the visitor may see little a fishu:
IAN OK PORTEL.
470
The Living Races of Mankind
but what is picturesque and pleasant, but in the poorer quarters of the town disease, pestilence, filth, and dirt exist in their most repulsive forms. Sicily barely conceals beneath the smiling exterior of her fair vineyards and orange-groves the extreme destitution of her peasantry. It is here that secret societies like "La Mafia" flourish.
If ItaHan morals compare unfavourably with those of colder northern races, one can easily perceive some of the causes at v?ork. Although passionate and deceitful, the Italians are warm-hearted, generous, and hos^Ditable. For a good-natured people, their cruelty to animals is, at first sight, extraordinaiy ; but it must be remembered that the bigoted and uneducated Latin of the lower orders, whether Italian or Spaniard, regards it as superfluous to bestow kindness on beasts which have no souls to be saved. Italians of all classes are noted for their charming manners, keenness of wit, and vivacity of expression. The intellectual gifts of the race are considerable, but they do not exhibit any of that stolid earnestness which we associate with the Teutonic peoples. Facility is one of their chief characteristics. In dress they show a natural instinct for arrangement and effect. In matters of diet they are extremely frugal. But little meat is eaten; polenta (maize porridge), with bread and vegetables, forms the staple meal of the northern peasantry. A genial climate enables the southerner to exist for an incredible time on a little fruit and some bread and wine. The Italians are fond of amusement, and tlie carnival still forms one of their national institutions.
The -State religion of Italy is the Roman Catholic. The fusion of the PaprJ dominions in the secular kingdom of Italy has deprived the Pope of all territorial power; and although he still rules over the Vatican, his jiosition in Home is only that of a foreign prince. There
is a Protestant community of Waldenses, numbering about 'J0,000, in the district of Pinerolo in the Cottian Alps.
FRAKCE. The French people are connected geographically and by language with tlie Italians. In the year 1896 the population of France was 08,517,975, and the annual increase is so slight that these figures are probably not far short of the actual number of inhabitants at the present moment. In early historic days the land was peopled by the Ciauls, a branch of the Celtic stock. Some older race was there before them, the race which erected the wonderful stone circles, dol- mens, and avenues of upright stones seen in Brittany. Archaeolo- gists are inclined to think that these prehistoric builders are re^jre- sented at the present day by the Basques or Iberians ; but these questions cannot be discussed here. The reader who wishes to follow up this subject may refer to the present writer's " Prehistoric Man and Beast."
AN OLD FBKNCHWOMA.N
TWO FKE.NCU FEASi 471
47-
The Living Races of Mankind
After Ciesar had invaded aud fonquered Gaul, Komau civilisation transformed the country. It was not the policy of the conquerors, however, to fuse with the conquered, and from Kome France received only her language and her laws. France was afterwards overrun by tribes of Teutonic stock, Goths, Burgundians, and Franks, from the latter of whom the French have acquired the name they now bear. Later came the Normans, a Scandinavian people. Thus it will be seen that the French are a Latin people in language only, while the ethnic basis is undoubtedly Celtic, with a tinge of Teutonic and Scandinavian elements in their composition, fn tlie south-east of France Greek colonisation had gained a slight footing centuries before
the Roman conquest, filarseilles, Antibes, and Nice were, with one or two other places, the sites of their settlements.
Two physical types have been noticed in France. In the north there are people of tall stature, light hair, light eyes, and o\al-shaped head. These are generally taken to represent the purely Celtic Gaul unmixed with the pre-existing inhabitants, though possibly they owe these character- istics to the Teutonic and Scandinavian elements that have been mentioned. South of the Loire the average stature is lower, the head rounder, and the eyes and hair dark. This phenomenon is ex- phiined to be due to the persistence of I lie Ilicriiui type. It must be admitted, however, that the highly civilised races of Western Eui'ope have undergone so many racial transformations that it is imjiossible to analyse them with minute
.Mentally the French are characterised by the vivacit:y and quickness which are the typical traits of the Celtic intellect. They share with the inhabitants of Southern Europe generally tlie habit of temperame in diet, which is due in a large measure to the lighter strain under- gone by the system than it is subjected to in the more bracing climate of the North.
It is from the lionrgeoisie — the great middle class — and the peasantry that we get the most typical Frenchman. In the various political catastrophes that have befallen France the aristocracy have 2)ractical]y disaj)peared as a social force. The jwssession of a title is of little assistance to its owner in obtaining State employment, and the few remaining rejjresentatives of noble families, for the most part impoverished and retired, exercise hardly any influence on the character of the country at large.
The bourgeois, however — a name which co\'ers professional men, merchants, tradesmen, and public functionaries — is the central figure in French life, at all events in the towns. Frenchmen of this class are by no means wanting in alert intelligence and the power of forming independent and shrewd judgments They are, however, terribly afflicted with a
France
473
desire for uniformity, at any rate in outward conduct. Their li\es are regulated entirely with a view to observing les convenances, which means that they are more conventional and subservient to the opinions of their neighbom-s than e\en the corresponding classes in our own country. Thrift is one of their most important characteristics. They have a horror of debt, and it is almost second nature to a Frenchman to economise and live within his means, however small. This trait in their character sometimes appears ridiculous, but it has done much to restore France to the great position among nations which she came near to losing altogether after the Franco-Prussian War. Ostentation in dress or style of living is rarely seen. On the other hand, the French are generous in setting before strangers the best they have to ofi'er. Consequently the tempting variety of the dishes and the simplicity with which they are served, combined with the good taste and absence of stiffness sho-svn by his hosts, procure for the guest in a tyjiical French house far more enjoyment than he would experience in a more showy mansion.
We are rather apt to suppose that the frequency with which the French have changed their forms of government is due to fickleness and levity of disposition. This, however, is not altogether true. The ordinary Frenchman troubles himself very little about politics, and makes the best of whatever reijime he may happen to be living under for the moment, lie as far too much concerned in the care of his small fortune to wish for social upheavals. Polities he leaves to the professional politician and the journalist.
Until 1882 France was badly ofi' in the matter of education, and this accounts to some «xtent for the lack of depth and knowledge dis- played in the easy rattle of French conversation. Now, however, education is general and com- pulsory. Primary instruction is given in the -communal schools found everywhere throughout France, while secondary education is j^rovided in lycees or colleges. Higher education of the kind afforded by English universities is to be obtained in the "academies," of which there are sixteen. Technical training is also supplied, and the whole system of education is under the direction of a Minister of Instruction.
The lycee is eminently a republican institu- tion. Boys of all grades meet on a footing of equality. They wear; a plain, dark uniform, and their life is conducted on semi-military principles. Although the teaching is of excellent quality, there is none of the training in manners which is found in English public schools. The State ■does not aim at turning out gentlemen, and recognises no class distinctions. Lycees and compulsory service in the army supply the country with a monotonous type of citizen, and establish a cut-and-dried pattern to which everybody and everything must conform. The college, on the other hand, is slightly more aristocratic in its methods. It is the last stronghold of clericalism in France. Instruction is given by priests, and the sons of the nobility are generally sent to a brittany boy.
CO
Photo bu Wtilaal.
474
The Living Races of Mantcind
these schools. ^lore attention is paid to manners, and the pupils are more strictly looked after than in the lycees. The rela- tions between the sexes are regulated with less freedom among the French than in most civilised countries. Girls and boys do not come much into contact with each other. Until she is married, the young girl is kept in strict seclusion. Marriages are arranged by the parents of the young cou])le, and are generally business trans- actions. When a young man wishes to marry, his parents look out for a suitable wife among their friends, and arrange the matter of the lady's dowry for him. Every girl is expected to bring something into the common stock of married life. Although it must not be supposed that these marriages turn out badly as a general rule, there can be no doubt that the system tends to make French women rather insipid. Until marriage their minds are almost a blank, and even after it their conversation, full of sparkle and Celtic gaiety as it often is, lacks depth and character.
The P^-ench peasant must next occupy our attention. France is the largest wheat- producing country in Europe, and the land is held by a vast number of small i>yo- prietors, each farming a minute portion. This arises from the system oi partage for<}L At the death of a proprietor his property is divided among his children, so that it is seldom possible to find large holdings- anywhere. Even if a man by saving and diligence add to his small estate, the in- exorable laws of nature — and the Eepublic — soon reduce it to tiny proportions. The French peasant is industrious and frugal. He is, as a rule, intensely ignorant of every thing that goes on outside his little sphere fe, which is of tiie narrowest and most conventional type imaginable. Such intelligence as lie has— and he is not without considerable native shrewdness — he concentrates entirely on his life-long struggle to win a scanty subsistence from the soil. His ownership of his little plot gives him a sturdy independence which saves him from the degradation in which the agricultural classes of other countries are so often sunk. His dwelling is .of the poorest description — an unplastered hut of at most two rooms, bare and frequently far from clean. Meat he seldom tastes. Life is chiefly supported on a soup made of vegetables and scraps of bacon, and on bread and milk.
The blue blouse is the universal dress of the French lower classes, even in to-i\nis, where the postman goes his rounds usually dressed almost exactly like the peasant in the fields. Education is doing much to raise the intellectual level of the peasants, and before very long
JYI'SY OF GRANADA.
of
Spain
475
the narrowness of their outlook may be expected to disappear. The brigliter members of the family often become priests, and this tends to raise the standard of culture throughout the class. Like the bourgeois, the peasants form a very stable element of the community; and political changes, of which they are often entirely unaware, find no sympathy in them. They are conservative to the backbone; and so long as they are left to go their way undisturbed, empires, monarchies, and republics may succeed each other without affecting the character of the people. It is only when their life is made absolutely intolerable by oppression and taxation that they stir themselves to political activity, ^^■hat they are capal^le of when roused in this way, the Kevolution of 1789 has shown the world.
In religion the French are generally Eoman Catholic, the peasants, especially in Brittany and Normandy, being devout and rather superstitious. The old noble families are Roman
A SPANISH -'FANDANGO,'
Cathohc; but among the bourgeoisie, whose educatio good deal of indifference to religious forms, and free-t 660,000 Protestants, and the Jews numbered 87,000.
is almost entirely secular, there is a iking is common. In 11)00 there were
SPAIN.
To the same extent and in the same manner as the French the Spaniards are a branch of the great Latin family of nations. The Roman conquest gave to Spain her language and her institutions, without peireptihly inodifying the physical attributes of the population.
Sjmn occupies, with I'ditiigal, the great peninsula south of the Pyrenees. The lion's share, at least five-sL\ths of the whole tract, falls to the former country, with 17,550,216 inhabitants, according to the estimate of 1887.
Although it is now under one king and government, Spain formerly consisted of a
4/6
The Living Races of Manlvind
number of separate kingdoms, and even at the present time the people of the different pro\'inces have their distinctive dialect, customs, and national characteristics. Before glancing at these subdivisions, it will he well to give some account of the racial elements found in the country.
According to a generally accepted theory, before the Aryan migration there existed in Europe at a p)eriod known as the Xeolithic Age a race of small, but sinewy, dark-haired people. These were the Iberians. Wilhelm von Humboldt, who originated the theory, believed that they were scattered throughout Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, Southern France, and the British Isles. Spain was the last stronghold of these people, who were conquered by and fused %vith the immigrant Celts, and thus produced the Celtiberian race. The Basques, who are found principally in the north-west of Spain, although there are a few over the French side of the Pyrenean border, are considered to be the direct representatives of these Neolithic Ibei-ians.
Taking the ethnic basis at the time of the Eoman invasion to be Celtiberian, we find that Spain has been influenced by considerable admixture with other races. Greece and Carthage both established colonies on her shores. Teutonic invaders gained a footing —
Alani in Catalonia, Suevi in Galicia Vandals in Bsetica, and Visigoths in Castile — though of course their influence must not be confined by too hard and fast a rule to jwi'ticular localities. It is, however, in the long dominion of the Moors that we find the most important modifica- tion of Spanish characteristics. The Arabs and Berbers who crossed to t'pain from Africa under the name of ]\Ioors (the ]\lauri of the Koman v.riters) intermarried with the jieople, and have left their traces on the art and rich architecture of the country. The Moors were finally driven out, but their blood still shows itself in the people of certain districts. These are the descendants of the Morescoes, the Spanish ]Moors who escaped the terrors of the Inquisition by adopting the creed of their Spanish mothers. Tlie Gypsies have also contributed to the ethnical amalgam.
The people of Andalusia in the south are muscular, but incorrigibly idle. They are good-natured, con- tented, clever, and distinguished for gallantry to the fau sex. The Cas- tilians may be taken as the repre- sentatives of the proud hidalgo of history and fiction. They are digni- fied and solemn, and the mainte- nance of an intense ceremoniousness may be taken as their most notable characteristic. Too proud to work, they are past-masters in the art of
GYPSY OF GRA^
SPANISH LADY.
478
The Living Races of Mankind
starving pompously. The Aragonese, being reserved and suspicious, are accounted hard to govern, though of a less re\engeful nature than their ^'alencian neighbours. The Catalonians in the north-east, are enlightened and energetic, and make good jtractical tillers of the soil. The con- sideiable element of Teutonic blood in their composition mav ha\e made them more vigorous than some of their less mdustiious neighbours. Thi' iiilialiitants of the Balearic Islands aie of mixed origin, with a language like that of Catalonia, Valencia, and Provence in France, being a blanch of the Langue d'Oc. Their literatm-e is rich, especially in poetry ; but the language is being gradually displaced by the Castilian dialect. They are remarkably honest, courteous, and hospitalile.
It IS, however, in the north-western provinces of Spain that we hnd the most vigorous physically of the Spanish latp. 01 lather races. The Asturian makes a good house- hold --eixant, is accommodating, and markedly honest. The Galuian, who has been called the helot of the peninsula, is uncouth and unjiolished, but always ready to undeitake rough work of any kind. As labourer, aitisan, coachman, groom, or porter he is invaluable, being clean, sober, hard-working, and faithful to his employer. n\(i idiiucuisi i(i\s jj^g Basques, who have already been mentioned as a
probable pre-Aryaij survival, are slim but wiry, and are a hardy mountaineering folk. In temperament they are lively and independent, but extremely hospitable and courteous. They make excellent farmers, and those who have settled in America, l)articulaily in the Argentine Eepublic, have shown themselves good colonisers. The Basque wonifii are exen more handsome than the men, and possess, as a rule, attractive features and a graceful carriage. The language of the Basques is peculiar to themselves, and is unlike that spoken liy any other peojjle. The ditficulty of learning it is increased by its great variety of forms.
Allowing for the local variations, we may describe the physical type of the Spanish people as consisting for the most part of a medium-sized but compactly built frame, capable of more endurance tlian it would at first sight appear to possess. The hair is dark and the complexion olive or sallow. In disposition the Spaniards are brave, gay, and quick to anger. They are inclined to take life easily^ and generally ready to make the best of things. Their manners are pleasing and gracious. Quarrelsome and ready with the knife as they often are, their wrath will generally subside if they are not goaded into ungo\'ernable passion by a needless fanning of the fuel of contention. Perhaps the least attractive feature in their character is the cruelty disiilaycd in the treatment of animals. As has been suggested in the case of the Italians, a narrow and bigoted view of their religious obligations may have much to do with this. Fanaticism and superstition play a much larger part than intelligence in the religion of the lower classes especialW. All classes, however, show their indifi'erence to animal suffering in the enthusiasm evoked by the national pastime of bull-fighting, in which bulls are worried to madness, horses disembowelled, and sometimes men killed, without any protest from the public ojjinion of the country.
Spanish ladies are kept in more seclusion than anywhere outside the Eastern countries. Bright eyes and pleasant voices are generally to be numbered among their charms. Their beauty, which comes early to maturity, is not so lasting as that of their northern sisters. Their lives lack variety, and a natm-al indolence, coupled with a \ery superficial education and much ignorance, makes prolonged pleasure in their conversation inipossilile.
Portugal
479
y for developing the irrefore, that the work lie share of attention, 1 in a country where itial robbiner of the
The entrance of more vigorous nationalities into the arena of competition has ousted Spain from the great position she once held as an imperial power. The war with America in 1898 may be said to have brought her colonial history to a close. Cuba, Puerto Kico, and the Philippine Islands were given up to America ; while in the following year the Ladrone, Caroline. and Pelew Islands were ceded by purchase to Germany. Her over-sea possessions now consist only of Fernando Po and Annabom in the Gulf of Guinea, the Canary Islands, a strip of territory on the west coast of the Sahara, and some settlements on the north coast of jMorocco. Sjjanish influence will, however, long lie felt all over the world. The language is spoken ove"- a lai-ge portion of the earth's surface. Nearly the whole of Central and about half of South America are Spanish in speech, and to some extent in blood. The Spaniards have amalgamated freely with the black races with wiiicli they have come into contact, and it must be acknowledged the result has not, on the whole, made for the moral improvement of the human family.
In their own country the Spaniards of the lower classes are sunk in poverty and ignorance. Their methods of agriculture are antiquated, and their lot is made harder by burdensome taxation. The solution of economic and social problems is scarcely attempted by their rulers. The Spanish Parliament is filled with politicians who make speeches of extraordinary eloquence to one another. If a counti-y could be governed by rhetoric, Spain would be among the most fortunate. Oratory is a gift in which the Spaniard is seldom wanting. He is by nature an incessant chatterer, and parliamentary life gives him an i rhetorical art of which he gladly avails himself. It is not sur| of administration, with its prosaic details, should receive less tl amid all this clamour of fluent tongues. Bribery and corrupt i( the officials are poor and depend largely for their living Government and the governed. If the country is backward, howe\er, there are signs that the low-water mark has been reached and the tide is beginning to turn. The spread of railwavs has done much to quicken the trade of Spain, and foreign capital and foreign enterprise have been largely introduced of late years. France and Great Britain, and more recently Germany and America, have been thus instrumental in awakening the Spaniards from their economic slumber. The land is being brought more and moi-e into cultivation ; and its mineral wealth — lead, copper, and iron— is being more actively developed. It is unlikely that the Spaniards will again take so j^rominent a place among the nations as they formerly held ; but with improved education and more intelligent development of their material resources there is no reason to suppose that "the decadence of the Latin races," which they are popularly held to typify, is so irre- trievable as it appears at first sight.
PORTUGAL.
The Portuguese occupy a narrow strip of land on the western side of the Iberian Peninsula, amounting only to about one-sixth of the whole territory which lies south of the Pyrenees. In 1890 they numbered 5,082,247, in- cluding the inhabitants of the Azores and Madeira.
The division of the inhabitants of the peninsula into two nations, Spanish and Portuguese, is historical and political rather than ethnical. jMuch of what has been said of the former will apply to the latter people. As with the Spaniards, the basis of the Portuguese is Iberian,
480
The Living Races of Mankind
rOBTUGUESE
afterwards modified by fusion witli the Celts into Celt- iherian. The Greeks and Carthaginians doubtless formed sporadic settlements in the west as well as in the east 01 the peninsula. The Eomans spread their institutions and language here as AYell as in Spain, and the Teutonic tribes mixed their blood with the Romanised Celtiberians of Portugal as well as with the Romanised Celtiberians of Spain. The jMoors have influenced the Portugue.se quite as much as they have the Spaniards, and many of the e\ery-day phrases heard in Portugal are dii-ectly traceable to an Arab source. One element in the mixed composition of this people deserves especial notice. In the days of liei colonial activity Portugal had an extensive trade with \fiica and India, and slaves were largely imported into tlie country. A pronounced Xegro type has been frequently noticed among the Portuguese in certain districts, and this im\ be attributed to the readiness of the Portuguese, no le»s than the Spaniards, to mix with the inferior races with which they have come into contact. How far the Jews may be said to have influenced the physical charac- teristics of the race it is diflScult to say, but travellers have remarked on the prevalence of the Jewish type of features in Portugal. In spite of mediaeval oppression the Jews have flourished amazingly in the peninsula, and at the present day the Spanish or Portuguese Hebrew is looked on as the aristocrat of his race. Physically the Portuguese cannot be said to be as handsome as the Spaniards. Their features are generally irregular and their frames ill-knit. The complexion is sallow and dull. In the north the peasants are much darker than in the south, and their hair is often jet-black. On the other hand, many impartial observers are inclined to think that the women are more attractive than their Spanish sisters. Theii- eyes are especially fine, being full and lustrous, while their dark hair and regular white teeth add much to their charm.
In charactai-, too, the Portuguese are in many respects the more pleasing of the two peoples. The former possess a kindlier temperament, which shows itself particularly in the treatment of animals.
The Portuguese are of a bright and careless disposition, and are more talkative even than the Greeks or Italians. In this i-espect they are true sons of the South. The guitar is a great outlet for their exuberant feelings, and a good deal of spare time in country districts is whiled away by the soothing strains of this instrument. Frugality is a leading characteristic of the people, as indeed of all the southern races. Dried cod-fish forms one of the principal articles of diet among the peasantry, and the olla-podrida may be said to be the national dish. This consists, as a rule, of pork or ham, olive oil, and onions or garlic, stewed into a savoury, if not altogether nutritious, mess.
Agriculture forms the principal occupation of the people. They are. howe\er, extremely backward and unenterprising. The same methods of husbandry are handed down from one generation to another ; and being for the most part ignorant and uninformed, the j)easants have little notion of making the best use of their fertile soil. Education, however, is spreading and the Government are believed to be alive to the necessity of stimulating the people by general and technical instruction. The manufacturing industries, of which hardware is perhaps the most important, are steadily improving, and the foreign trade is increasing. Of this, about one-third is in the hands of the British. There is a considerable demand for British goods in Portugal, so that we may claim to be more or less instrumental in the gradual awakening of the Portuguese to a more acti\e industrial life.
CHAPTER XXI.
DENMARK, BELGIUM, HOLLAND, GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
DENMARK.
Physically the Danes are a yellow-haired and fair-skinnei Scandinavian branch of the Germanic family; they are of and limbs well jirojiortioned and strongly knit.
Although an otl'shoot of the fiermnnic family of nations, tiie most characteristic intellectual traits of tlie Germans are so much modified in the Danes that tliey fail to be distinct ixo. The Danes are as courageous, iiuhistrious, and persevering as any people in Eurojie. Judicious and practical in the general affairs of life, they are in science solid and earnest thinkers. On the other hand, one finds a quick sus- ceptibility and a degree of vivacity seldom or ne\er apparent in the ordinary phleg- matic Datchnian. who may be regarded as the typical rei)resentative of the racial stock. The celeiirated geographer Malte-Brun, himself a Dane by birth, has sketched tlie character of his countrymen. He cannot be charged with attributing to them imaginary virtues or concealing their shortcomings in his picture. " It may lie," he says, "that the humidity of tlie air and the quantity of flesh and fish they con- sume have contributed to make tliis nation heavy, i^atient, and difficult to move. In former times insatiable conquerors, they are now brave, but peaceable ; little enter- prising, but i^lodding and persevering; modest and proud, but not over-assiduous. They are cheerful and frank among com- patriots, but somewhat cool and ceremonious towards foreigners. Imitators of other nations, we also find them discriminating observers. Constant, romantic, and careful of their cherished aims, they are ca|iable of a rush of enthusiasm, but rarely of Hashes of inspiration. Although bound by strong
peojiie, belonging inm height, wit
482
The Living Races of Mankind
ties to their native soil and to tiie interests of the fatherland, they are not jealous enough of the national glory ; and though accus- tomed to the calm of a monarchy, enemies of servitude and despotism. This is the portrait of the Danes." There is nothing which calls for special remark in the Danish costume. In the towns the people are always ready to follow the lead of Paris in the way of fashion. Consequently the apparel to be seen in a street of Copenhagen is, in make and material, very much the same as that which is generally disjilayed on the houle- \arils of the French capital or in tlie streets of London.
Denmark has made surprising ]in)gress in the last thirty years. Hit loss of territory in the war with Germany has been compen- sated for by the development of her internal resources. Less than a century ago she wa>i one of the ]oorest countries in Europe. In ] roportion to her size she is to-day among the richest, and can boast of possessing the most cultured, tlirifty, and self-reliant peasantry in Kurojje.
Denmark has justly been de- scribed as the [laradise of peasant- proprietors. Nearly two-thirds of her jiopulation make their living from the land, about half being their own masters. A sixtli of the whole area is owned by about 150,000 agricultural labourers, some 35,000 being only small cottars. About a third is in the hands of small freeholders. Landlords with farms of more than 275 acres possess a sixth. The remarkable success of Danish agi-iculture is chiefly due to the excellent system of general and technical education, and to co-operative enterprise. A brief sketch of the leading features of agricultural and educational institutions in Denmark may be of some interest. It will afford an illustration of the way in which the energetic and practical qualities of a nation may be brought out and turned to the best advantage. We have here a lesson much needed in England to-day.
Scattered about throughout the country are butter-factories. Of these there are altogetlier more than 1,200. They are controlled by large co-operative associations. The formers who belong to these associations act under uniform regulations. Eules, to which they must strictly adhere, are laid down for their guidance in the feeding and tending of their cows. The object aimed at is twofold. In the first jjlace, it is sought to ensure excellence of quality in the products of the dairv — milk, cream, and butter; and. secondly, to facilitate the distribution of these articles in the most expeditious and economical manner. The farmers send their produce
Photo by Hansen d-
Denmark
483
nore remunerative manner than as a bonus among the farmers been found to work that it has
to the butter-factories and centres of distribution. The associations tlien undertake to send it to its destination. In this way the individual farmer is spared the waste of needless competition and the co>t of lian>it to the markets, while he is assured of a ready sale for his wares. The expenses of distiibution are borne entirely by the associations, which are naturally able to export butter in large quantities to otlicr countries in 1 agriculturists acting independently. The profits are divid who belong to these associatimis. So well has the systt lately been introdaced with im small success in Ireland.
Education, on sound and sensible lines, supplements the work of the co-operative associations. The foll.-chojd-ula; or peojjle's high schools, play an important part in preparing the Dane for a life of intelligent industry. They are a sort of continuation schools in which young ])eoi)le of both sexes who have passed through the elementary schools may receive instruction throughout part of the year. The sessions are so arranged as not to interfere with their wage-earning work. There are about, eighty of these schools, attended by some 8,000 pupils. These are drawn from the lower classes, and their ages vary from eighteen to twenty-tive and even more. History and gtMii;ra[ili_v, physics and nicclianics, and other scientific Milijects are tauglit in the high scliools. I'fchnical inst nut ion is given, and every effort made to i-ijuip tlie scliolar for the path he has chuM'n in life, lie may, for example, learn much of the science of farming in the butter-f ictory attached to the school. Since the peasant does not, as a rule, seek to leave the class in which he is born, his education is a practical ad\antage, placing him in the front rank of lundpeaii agri- culturists. The course of traininu" uudiMgone in these schools generally lasts for two ses>ions, at a total cost to the pupil of £24. This sum covers all his expenses of living as well as instruction. A small subsidy from the Slate enables these institutions to offer this educa- tion at such a moderate figure.
Throughout the country education, even in the schools of the higher class, is remark- able for its cheaj^nessno less than its efficiency. This is largely on account of the State aiil which it receives. Ileyoml a few of the private institutions, the only schools whirl, are without assistance from the (io\ernni( ni are the friskoler, or free schools. These are so called because the parents are allowed to choose the subjects and course of teachin.; the pupils are to have. The Danish nation is convinced of the value of good tiaiinng for its youth. Every child, no matter what its social position may be, is thus given an opportunity of growing up to be an intelli- gent and capable member of its class, whether artisan, agricultural, or gentle. Taken in the
484
The Living Races of Mankind
aggregate, the Danes may he hoiiourahly distinguished as the best-instructed people in Europe. That amounts to saying broadly that they are the best-educated jieople in the world. It is exceedingly doubtful whether there can be found in the whole country an indi\idual Dane, man or woman, in jiossession of the normal faculties, who is unable to read and write.
Another attribute of these people is their natural prirle. Each man estimates his own worth and his individual rights as high as those of any other member of the community. Yet. though belief in the innate dignity and the natural equality of men is deeply rooted in their minds, they divide society into grades and ranks. Each rank possesses rights and privileges, duties and exemjrtions, the absolute pi-ojiriety of which is not challenged by members of the other classes. The first great distinction established is that between the nobles and the citizens. This severance of the people into two great classes is not dependent on the possession of wealth. The owner.ship of a million kroner would not ennoble one man ; the lack of a single coin would not disrank another. No matter how wealthy a person may be whose family has not been graded with the titled class, he is regarded as distinctly inferior in rank, although the noble may be as poor as the proverbial church mouse. The citizen who owns money, merchandise, ships, enterprise, and skill may gain all kinds of honorary titles, from councillor-at-law to Privy Councillor; his breast may be covered with all the crosses, stars, ribands, and orders of the State, which, though rarely bestowed on commoners, are by no means impossible to attain : even so, he must not, with all these distinctions, entertain any hope of being raised into the ranks of the nobility. Chi the other hand, the nobility, comprising the two grades of count and baron, are \-ery numerous. In by far the gi-eatest number of cases they may be described as pitiably
Plioto by Nmrdein Frcns]
BELGIAN PEASANT WOMAN AND UER DKAUGUT-DuCIS
Belgium
485
poor. Counts and barons in society arc jilcntifiil as pebbles in a brook. One reason for this is tliat every son in a noble's family bears his fatiier's title, even if he do not inherit any of his properly. The penniless inheritor of a barren title hands it on to his descendants. In the same way all the daughters are countesses and baronesses. Similarly the country gentleman, or better class of former, holds himself aloof from the peasant-pro- prietor ; and the people of the towns are also a class apart. These sharp social distinctions have at any rate their good side. Each man is contented with his lot in life, and does not seek to be anything but what he is. The State wisely fosters this sjjiril, by enabling him, as we have seen, to take a pride in the intelligent ])erformance of his work.
At one time the Danish peasants were serfs. In 1788 serfdom was abolished, and pr(l\i^iclns were made enabling the people to accjuire for themselves the land on which they had up to that time worked in a condition little above that of slaves.
Nearly all the Danes are in religion earnest Lutherans. Other creeds are tolerated to the fullest extent, but not 1 i)er cent, of the inhabi- tants lielcmg to any other than the Danish Lutheran State Church.
BELGIUM.
The little kingdom of Belgium has an area of 11,373 square miles, being about one-eighth of the size of Great Britain. It makes up for its
small dimensions by being the most densely populated country in Eurojie. In 1898 the popu- lation was 0,670,000. There is no such thing as a Belgian race of peojile, though there is a Belgian nation. In the days of Julius Caesar the country was inhabited by the Belga?, and formed part of what was afterwards known as Gallia Belgica. The Belga3 appear to have differed in dialect, institutions, and laws from the Celts of the other parts of Gaul. They are described by ancient writers as "fair" Celts. This epithet, as well as their distinctive attributes, would seem to point to considerable admixture with the Germans, if indeed they are not to be regarded as a Celtic-speaking German tribe.
At the present day the population of Belgium is partly of Celtic and partly of Teutonic origin. Tlie Floiiiings are still as clearly Teutonic as they were a thousand years ago, while Celtic characteristics are as unmistakably apparent in the Walloons, who are descended from the ancient Belga-. Both sections are members of the same Church, and have other interests in common. Yet, though subject to one king and governed by the same code of laws, they have not become so thoroughly blended as to jiroduce a distinct national type.
The men are of medium height, muscular, and of upright bearing. The Walloons in the southern provinces are nearly as brisk in deportment and as polished in manners as their French neighbours. The Eleming.s, who inhabit the western and northern provinces, are endowed with greater vivacity than the Dutch, whose land borders theirs and wl)o belong to the same race.
\ 1 X" |
|
] |
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NATIVE OF THE ARDENNES.
486
The Living Races of Mankind
French is the official huiguage of the country. About 45 per cent, of the inliabitants speak Flemish, 41 per cent. French, while 11 jier cent, speak both French and I'leniish.
There is nothing in the prevalent costume of the Belgians to distinguish it from that which may be seen in the streets of London or Paris. Apart from the capital, however, their cities still maintain characteristics which do not change with the caprice of fashion. The observer is forcibly convinced that they grew into existence in the romantic past, when the conditions of life were unlike those that prevail in the nineteenth century. What were held to be the most ]irominent characteristics of six historic Belgian cities were mentioned in monkish verses composed many centuries ago. Those characteri.stics are said to remain to some extent at the present time. The Latin lines, translated, proclaim : Brussels rejoices in noble men ; Antwerp in money ; Ghent in hatters ; Bruges in pretty girls ; Louvain in learned men ; and ]\Ialines in fools. Hatters were said to be characteristic of Ghent because of the frequency with which the king found it necessary to humiliate some of the ever-turbulent citizens, by condemning them to traverse the streets under guard, with manacles on their wrists and heavy iron chains on their necks. The reason for distinguishing the people of Malines as " mostly fools" is the story that once, when they saw the moon shining through the cathedral tower, they thought the cherished building was on fire, sounded the alarm, roused up the watch, and did all they could to extinguish the conflagration by means of pumps, hose, and buckets of water. The Flemings, in what they considered an improved version of the poem, called the luxurious inhabitants of Brussels "chicken-eaters"; the citizens of Ghent "hat-bearers"; the people of Louvain "cow-shooters," because they once fired upon a herd of cows, mistaking them for the enemy ; and the citizens of Malines " moon-extinguishers," with reference to their action in saving their cathecbal from supposed fire.
The history of the Belgians is thickly studded with episodes, each of which illustrates the bold, generous, freedom-loving spirit by which they were animated. The people are
Belgium
487
reasonably proud of their past. The bravery, intelligence, and energy by whicli tliey won distinction when the sword was the arbiter of fortune are strong as ever in the Belgians, but are now exercised under conditions widely different from those of the past. They excel in the arts of peace, as formerly they were proficient in the arts of war. They now present an attractive picture of a prosperous, peacealile, rich, and tlinrouglily comfortable little nation. Belgium is essentially a manufacturing country. .'Machincrv. iron am! steel, glass, cottons and linen, are some of its principal manufactures, while lace is, from its associiition with the name of the capital, perhaps its best-known product. The Socialists appear to be very numerous. and probably the sucial edifice is not very secure just now.
The Belgians still practise at Ostend one of their ancient rites exin-essive of their appreciation of the sources which contribute to wealth and comfort. Ostend is the second port of Belgium, a railway terminus, and station for the Dover mail-boats and London steamers. Several religious and popular festivals are held there in the summer months. The most interesting is the procession on St. Peter's Day, the 29th of .lune. It recalls the ancient ceremony of marriage with the sea at Venice. In presence of a vast concourse of fishermen and their famib'es, and as m;iny of the summer visitors as clioose to witness the imposing ceriMuony, the sea is solemnly blessed.
Education is as backward in Belgium as we have just seen tliat it is advanced in Denmark. In 189G it was estimated that nearly 27 per cent, of the population were unable to read.
The religion of tlie country is Roman Catholic. Nearly all the inhabitants at least nominallv profess this faith.
Fkoto by P. U. Finchuml
A FAMILY GROUP OF MABKEN PEOPLE.
The Living Races of Mankind
HOLLAND.
The Dutch people are mainly descended from the Germanic branch of the gi-eat European families of nations. Teutonic hordes overran the country at different times. The latest of these were the Franks and the Saxons, who became the dominant peoples about the thii-d century. Holland has been the home of freedom from the earliest times to which historic records ascend, and the persecuted in other lands sought refuge there at different periods. Portuguese and German Jews in great numbers found safety there. On many occasions also Britons, Scandinavians, and P'renchmen settled in the Nether- lands in large numbers, and were finally absorbed in the population. The result is that the original Dutch type of race has been so much modified tliat it is now difficult to trace the distinctive [Tht Hacixit. physical traits of the Teuton among the Dutch.
1RTH HOLLAND. Holland is a maritime country, containing
12,648 square miles. The land is flat and low, intersected by numerous canals and connecting rivers. In the Middle Ages it formed part of the Low Countries, and at the present day it has the alternative name of Netherlands. In 1898 its population was returned at .5,075,000, showing that, after Belgium and Saxony, it is the most densely peoj)led country in Europe.
In character the Dutch are brave, stubborn, and honest. Taciturn and cold in their manner, the}' are particularly reserved towards strangers, and at the same time remarkably blunt and outspoken. They are as a rule hearty feeders. Even among the poorer classes starvation is less common than in any other civilised country. Salt herring is one of the most highly esteemed of their articles of diet. Smoked eels may also be mentioned as a favourite dish. They are usually sold from barrows in the street, with pickled cucumbers and hard-boiled eggs. Gin and tobacco are consumed freely, but their ill efifects are counteracted by the open-air life of the people and the hard work they get through. It is chiefly at the kermis, or fairs, which play a large part in the life of the Dutcli, that intemperance shows its usual signs.
The well-known Dutchman of the caricaturist, the man with wide breeches and a build which requires all their amplitude, is nowadays seen more frequently in pictures than in the streets of Dutch towns, although he is far from being extinct. The town-dweller is rather spare of lialiit, but his wife generally makes up in her comfortable proportions for his lack of flesh. The Hollander is fond of his home. A farmer's house can generally boast of good furniture, while the citizens frequently live in a luxurious style.
The Golden Age of Holland was the fir.st half of the seventeenth century. At that time the carrying trade of the world was in the hands of the Dutch, while Amsterdam was regarded as the most important commercial centre. In their long wars with Spain they gradually succeeded to the Portuguese possessions which had fallen to the Spanish. In Cromwell's time and in the earlier part of the reign of Charles II. the English were engaged in a protracted struggle to i)ut down Dutch monopoly. England in turn acquired the supremacy of the sea, and replaced Holland as mistress of a great colonial empire. The Dutch still retain considerable possessions in the East Indies.
With such a past history it is not surprising to find that the Dutchman is fond of travel, and takes a broad interest in the doings of the outside world. He is consequently much less narrow and pedantic than his natural characteristics would lead one to suppose.
Holland 489
The commanding position that Holland at one time held among the nations of the world sun-ounds the stolid Hollander of the jjresent day with a halo of romance. Hallam has said of the Dutch: "A great people, a people fertile of men of various ability and erudition, a people of scholars, philosophers, historians, and poets." When we remember the great names of Scaliger, Grotius, and Rembrandt, we cannot but feel that this encomium is deserved. The late Professor Thorold Rogers was not less enthusiastic in his eulogy. He claimed that the revolt of the Netherlands from the dominion of Spain and the success of Holland were the beginning of modern civilisation, the Dutch, in his opinion, having taught Europe everything which it knows, — surely a jiaradoxical statement !
Many of the old Dutch customs are no longer practised, yet the p)eople still retain certain usages. For example, in several towns the birth of a child is made known by the exhibition of a placard (pink for a girl and blue for a boy), gaily decorated with silk and lace, outside the mother's dwelling. Then the friends of the family as they appear are entertained with mulled wine and cinnamon cakes. All festivities in Holland are attended with a good deal of heavy feasting.
A betrothal is an elaborate affair. Before the wedding comes off, printed circulars are sent to the friends of the bride and bridegroom, and receptions are held, at which the couple are seated on decorated chairs, on a i:>latform under a canopy of evergreens. The parents and near relations sit on each side of them, so as to form a semicircle. The visitors, admitted one at a time to this audience, deliver set little speeches, with appropriate allusions to the coming event, and then retire to partake of the good things provided for their entertainment.
As in other Teutonic countries, the different periods of married life are divided into the copper, the silver, and the golden stages. The first begins at twelve and the last after fifty years of wedlock. Each is celebrated in a pleasing way, by friends offering presents made of the metals from which these epochs are named.
Dr. Brown mentions several curious marriage customs prevailing among the peasants of North Holland. In Drenthe, he tells us, it was usual for the wedding guests to be summoned by two bachelors, who carried wands gaily decorated with ribands. On arriving at each house, they repeated a number of doggerel verses, the burden of which was generally the bill of fare at the coming feast. At one time no citizen was allowed to marry out of his native town, except on payment of a heavy fine.
" When a death occurs in a Dutch family," says the same authority, "aanspreken, a sort of 'mutes,' dressed in black-tailed coats, black knee- breeches, silk stockings, shoes with silver buckles, white ties, and enormous cocked hats, with rosettes at the side, and two long jaieces of ribbon hanging down their backs, go from house to house announcing the mournful news. At the funeral there is usually much feasting, and in the festive province of Drenthe so freely were all comers regaled that the vagabonds collected from all parts of the country, until a death in a wealthy family was invariably followed by a drunken orgie. In some parts of Zeeland a quan- tity of straw used to be iilaced on the doorstep of the house where the sad event had occurred, the size of the heap) being regulated by the j)osition of the deceased. After the interment the straw was burnt, this custom being, it has been suggested, a survival from earlier days, when the dead were
cremated." P*"'" ''.'' ■"• •'■ ■"'• Sleinmmz) ITIu Hagw
The majority of the inhabitants of Holland, a dutch man, volendam.
490
The Living Races of Mani<ind
about three-fifths, belong to the Dutch Reformed Church ; the remainder are Roman Catholics and Jews, these being centred principally in the large towns, such as Amsterdam, where there are 70,000.
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
England.
The reader will hardly need to be told that many races have gone to the making of the Englishman as he is to-day. Much learned controversy has been expended on the question whether the Celtic or the Teutonic element predominates in his comi^osition. The anthro- pological researches of the late Profe.ssor Huxley led him to the conclusion that the English are " vastly less Teutonic than their speech." It will be sufficient for the purpose of this work to give some account of the various peoples — Iberian, Celtic, Teutonic, and Scandinavian — which have left their mark attempting to make any contribution to what
DUTCH PEASANT
the inhabitants of this country, without a very complicated j^roblem.
It is generally conceded that when Julius CiPsar landed in Britain he found a population of Celtic origin and speech, who were supposed to have crossed from Belgic Gaul, and to have absorbed a pre-existing race. This race was a remnant of the Neolithic Iberians, a people characterised by dark hair and short stature, of whom the Basques in Spain and France are regarded as the living representatives. The Celts were, on the other hand, tall and fair. Professor Huxley accounted for the fair and dark types of the modern Englishman by attributing the former to the Celtic and Teutonic races, and the latter to the pre- Celtic inhabitants. The Celtic stratum of these islands may be divided into two sections — the Cymric and the Gaelic. The Welsh and the Cornishmen belong to the Cymric branch, while the Gaels comprise the Erse of Ireland, the Manx, and of course the Gaels of the Highlands of Scotland.
It is from Ca?sar that we get the first authentic account of these primitive inhabi- tants. He describes the Cantii, the people of Kent, as being more civilised than the rest, from their constant intercourse with their brethren of Continental Gaul. He also
England
491
describes the men as painting themselves with woad, wearing skins, and as having moustaches, but no beards.
The Romans themselves apparently did not mix with the Britons. Their position was that of a military garrison, somewhat similar to that of the English in India and Egypt.
Nest in order come the Scandinavian and Teutonic elements. The constant harrying of our coast by northern pirates, Norsemen and Danes, and the recurring hordes of Angles, »Saxons, and Jutes, brought fresh blood into the people among whom they formed settlements. The Norman Conquest added another layer of Celtic and Latin and Teutonic stock. From the reign of Stephen to that of Edward III. Flemings were introduced and settled here from time to time, while Dutch, French, and other refugees sought refuge in this land of freedom. When it is remembered that all these peoples have intermingled in the narrow compass of our shores, it will be admitted that it requires some courage to attempt to resolve the physical and mental charac- teristics of the Englishman into their original racial elements. It is a truism of science that chemical fusion of various substances results in a product which differs materially from its constituents. In the same way it may be said that this motley amalgam of races has pro- duced a type which has well-marked characteristics of its own.
Physically the English are among the finest of the civilised races. Their tall stature they owe to the Saxon and Scandinavian elements in their composi- tion. The fair complexion, blue eyes, and florid aspect so often seen among them are also inherited from the same sources. They are remarkable for vigour of body and power of endurance. Their constitutional energy is probably greater than that of any other people, and shows itself in a fondness for out- door life. The national enthusiasm for sport and athletics is a combination of the Celtic love of amusement and the Scandinavian delight in bodily prowess.
From the Celt the Englishman probably derives some of his mental alertness, sociability, wit and humour. Patience, reserve, love of adventure, and a certain coldness of manner must be ascribed to the Teutonic part of his ancestry. In fact, there are few of his mental characteristics which cannot be traced to one or other of these great stocks. At the same time it must be admitted that the English temperament has moulded the leading qualities of the various races from which it is drawn into a type which is as markedly distinct as the English physique.
The EngUsh character has been largely developed by its historical surroundings. In the days of the Plantagenets England was very far from being the centre of a great colonial
A DERBYSHIRE
492
The Living Races of JVlankind
LOWESTOFT SMACKSMAN.
empire. Her manufactures were then in a state of infancy, if indeed they can be said to have existed at alL Her principal source of revenue was the wool which she exported to Flanders. A writer of the fifteenth century describes the English as " being seldom fatigued with hard labour " and leading a . spiritual and refined life. Indolent and con- templative, the Englishman of this epoch is said to have been pre-eminent in urbanity and totally devoid of domestic affection. England first began to show a little more energy when the Flemish manufacturers transferred their industry to this country, after it had been ruined in the religious wars of the Low Countries with Spain. The discovery of the New World, the adven- tures of the Elizabethan Age, our long wars with Holland resulting in our acquisition of the carrying trade of the world, must all be taken into account, when we examine the mental characteristics of the race. Without these external influences it is prob- able that the Englishman of to-day would not ha\e improved upon the prosaic person he is described to have been by the fifteenth- century writers. On the other hand, his Viking ancestors no doubt supplied him with the physical energy to avail himself of the great ojiportunities which offered themselves. At the beginning of the sixteenth century he seems to have already developed a trait which is regarded with disfa\'our by his critics and with a certain amount of complacency by himself. In the year 1500 a Venetian traveller wrote : " The English are great lovers of themselves and of everything belonging to them. They think that there are no other men than themselves and no other world but England; and whenever they see a handsome foreigner, they say that he looks like an Englishman, and it is a great pity he should not be an Englishman ; and whenever they partake of any delicacy with a foreigner, they ask him whether such a tiling is made in his country." It would appear from this that the indefinable trait in the national character which is aptly described as " insularity " is by no means a recent development. " To see ourselves as others see us " is often wholesome, but seldom pleasant. However, one great critic who made the English character his special study speaks in terms of the highest enthusiasm. Ealjih Waldo Emerson, the American writer, has summed up the race as the best the world has seen. The English love of fair play, common sense, and practical ability are the features that he singled out for praise. " Pretension and vapoming are once for all distasteful. They keep to the other extreme of low tone in dress and manners. They^ avoid pretension and go right to the heart of the thing. They hate nonsense, sentimentalism, and high-flown expression ; they use a studied plainness. Even Brummel their fop was marked by the severest simplicity in dress. They pride themselves on the absence of everything theatrical in the public business, and on conciseness and going to the point in private affairs. But it is in the deep traits of race that the fortunes of nations are wi-itten ; and however derived — whether it was a more gifted tribe or mixtm-e of tribes, the air, or what circumstance, that mixed for them the golden mean of temperament — here exists the best stock in the world, broad-fronted, broad-bottomed, best for depth, range, and equability, men of aplomb and reserve, great range and many moods, strong instincts, yet apt for culture ;
Pholo by Lafayctti
A TYPE OP ENGLISH BEAUTY.
494
The Living Races of Manl<ind
war-class as well as clerks ; earls and trades- men ; wise minority as well as foolish
AN ENGLISH
majority ; abysmal temperament, hiding wells of wrath, and glooms on which no sunshine settles; alternated with a common sense and humanity which hold them fast to every piece of cheerful duty ; making this tem- perament a sea to which all storms are superficial ; a race to which their fortunes flow, as if they alone had the elastic organi- sation at once fine and robust enough for dominion ; as if the burly, inexpressive, now niute and contumacious, now fierce and sharp- tongued dragon, which once made the island light with his fiery breath, had bequeathed his ferocity to his conqueror." Even in the national failing of " insularity" Emerson sees a lilessing in disguise. " But nature makes nodiing in vain, and the little superfluity of self-regard in the English brain is one of the secrets of their power and history. l"'or it sets every man on being and doing wliat he really is and can. It takes away a dodging, skulking, secondary air, and encourages a frank and manly bearing, so that each man makes the most of himself, and loses no opportunity for want of pushing. A man's personal defects will commonly have with the rest of the world precisely that impor- tance which they have to himself. If he makes light of them, so will other men."
Wales.
The inhabitants of Wales belong almost wholly to the Cymric branch of the Celtic race. The Welsh is a distinct nationality, with a language and literature of its own and a population of 1,519,103. When the Saxon invaders of England drove the Celts inland from the eastern coasts, the latter entrenched themselves in the wilds of Cornwall and the mountain-fastnesses of Wales. The Norman conquest of England by no means involved that of Wales, which, from its natural formation, presented a series of impregnable fortresses to the primitive weapons of that time. William the Conqueror had to leave the task of its subjugation uncompleted to his successors. Henry II. and John met with very doubtful success in their i-epeated efforts to subdue the troublesome province. It was not till the reign of Edward I. that its independence was finally crushed by the defeat of its Prince, Llewellyn, in 1283, when the English monarch was aided by the internal dissensions into which the country was thrown. Edward created his son, who had been bom at Carnarvon, Prince of Wales, and that title has ever since been borne by the eldest son of our sovereigns.
Physically the Welsh are, on the average, of shorter stature than the other peoples of the United Kingdom. Dark hair is almost universal with them. These two attributes go far to prove the assertion that the Cymric Celt intermingled freely with the original Neolithic inhabitants of these islands.
In their mental characteristics they possess all the liveliness, romance, and eloquence of the Celtic temperament. The strong sense of nationality by which they have always been possessed has been kept alive and fostered by their separate language and literature. Prizes are given at their annual meetings — the Eisteddfods — for original poems and compositions
Scotland
495
which are recited on these occasions. Cymric is the every-day tongue of the people, and many of them can spealv nothing else. Magazines and newspapers are published in the national language, and scholars and poets encourage the people to maintain it against the invidious encroachment of Enghsh. The Welsh are a musical people ; and the harp, on which they have from time to time iiroduced excellent players, may perhaps be considered their national instrument.
In costume they possess no particularly striking features, unless it be the quaint form of tall hat worn by women in country places.
Large numbers of the people belong to the religious body known as Calvinist Methodists, but the Establishment is a branch of our own Church. Christianity was introduced into Wales not later than the year 400, though the exact date is unknown. British Christians, driven from their homes, sought a refuge in the security of this mountainous country, and at once
ided it into ecclesiastical divisions. The four Welsh Sees of St. David, IJandaft, St. Asaph, 1 liaiigor are thus of great antiquity.
Scotland.
The inhabitants of Caledonia, to use the ancient name of this country, may be roughly divided into Highlanders and Lowlanders, with a joint population of 4,025,647. The former are Celts, while the latter are Saxons, being for the most part of the same race as the P]nglish on the other side of the Border. Shetland and Orkney and a great part of the east coast are Scandinavian. It need hardly be remarked that at the present day a pure Teuton or a pure Celt— or, for that matter, a pure specimen of any of the great original races of mankind — is practically unknown. The most that can be stated with certainty is that the various countries of the world have clearly defined characteristics, which entitle their inhabitants to be regarded as representatives
496 The Living Races of Mankind
of one or other of the great racial stocks, in spite of admixture with other peoples. With this limitation, the North of Scotland may be described as Celtic ; the South, as Teutonic and Scandinavian. In physical and mental characteristics the Lowlander has all the attributes of the stock from which he is descended. He is distinguished for prudence in business transactions, reserve, thrift, and steadiness. With all his admirable qualities he is, however, less interesting from the point of view of the ethnologist than his fellow-countryman in the Highlands. Almost pure specimens of the Gallic type, so far as appearance goes, are to be met with here and there even at tlie present day. According to ancient writers, the Gauls were tall of stature, very fair, and red-haired, or at least fair-haired. Red hair is an almost universal character of the Scotchman of the extreme North, and red- or yellow-haired men form the majority of the population. At the same time people with dark hair, grey eyes, and dark complexion are seen even in the most exclusively Gaelic regions. This is to be explained partly by the absorption of the original Neolithic population, and partly by the intermixture that must of necessity have taken place with later immigrants. The Highlander has also the mental characteristics of the Celt, which declare themselves in his romantic temperament, aristocratic tendencies, and fidelity to the head of his clan. P'amily pride is a pleasing weakness of the Scottish Celt, and he glories in being able to trace his descent fi om some gi'eat chieftain of historical or even mythical origin. Brand-new titles and great wealth unaccompanied by good birth have little or no glamour for him. On the other hand, he will never cease to reverence the head of his clan, however involved his finances may become. In his eyes a laird who cannot afford to live on the land of liis fathers is a grander person than a mere millionaire. The pride of clan is fostered to a certain extent by the great annual i|;itherings which take place in the autumn in diflerent High- I iiid centres, when bag-pipes, reels, and games all testify to the strength of national sentiment. Each of the great clans, too — the Fraser, Stuart, Murray, Gordon, Cameron, and the rest — has its distinctive tartan. JSIany of the great noblemen wear the kilt, and their households and dependants follow suit. The [iresent Duke of Atholl may sometimes be seen on a Sunday morning marching to church at the head of his retainers, wear- ing the red tartan of the Murray clan. There is doubtless *" ' ■ .\^, ",'p '"'°" much that is artificial in these national manifestations. They
are picturesque, however, and serve to keep alive a popular sentiment which has a strong and real basis. Of late years, we are sorry to say, the influence of rich Englishmen and Americans has become greater, and there is a grave fear lest the Highlanders now employed as gillies and mere dependants of rich sportsmen should lose some of their pristine virtues.
The Gaelic tongue is spoken by about 10 per cent, of the Scottish population, but the Gaelic-speaking area is diminishing. The spread of English education is gradually ousting the old language from its place. The Gaelic language has a strong similarity to the Celtic dialect of the Irish. There are certain differences in the pronunciation, grammar, idioms, and vocabulary; but in all essential points the language of the Highlanders bears a closer resemblance to that spoken in Munster and Connaught than Low Dutch to High Dutch.
J'olk-lore, superstitions, and a belief in " second sight " are characteristic of the Scottish Celt. The people are musical, and rejoice in the possession of many ballads. In the Hebrides, the islands off the west coast, ancient forms of land tenure are still extant. The crofters of these islands occupy the land on what is known there as the " run-rig " system. This term is Gaelic for " common-division." A " constable," elected by the people of the town-land, has the duty of looking after the whole community. He appoints the parish shejjherds and herdsmen; he controls the time and the amount of work done by the people; he looks after
Pkoio by the Photochrome Co.]
WELSH WOMAN AT HEK SPINNING-WHEEL. 497
The Living Races of Mankind
the I'diids, and sees that each in- habitant keeps his part in repair ; he sees that the flocks and herds are tended in the common pasture ; and is, in fact, the chief executive officer of the township. The crofter who is chosen for this important office removes his shoes and stock- ings, uncovers his head, and, taking xiine earth in his hand, swears in I lie presence of Heaven to be faithful I 'I his trust. There are various modi- I leaf ions of this primitive system, luit they are all based on a mode of hmd tenure — namely, agriculture III common — which still exists in Millie parts of Ireland, Wales, and even England, in the shape of com- monable rights of pasture, turbary, and the like. They go back to a time when the land was regarded, not as the absolute property of the cliief of the tribe or clan, but as giving sustenance to all its members. Sir Henry Maine, in his work on ancient law, points out that in a patriarchally governed society the eldest son succeeds to the nominal proprietorship of its property, but has correlative duties not involved in the conception of proijrietorship. Koman jurisprudence, like our own law, regarded the possession of property as equivalent to absolute ownership, and refused to take notice of the liabilities which it was formerly supposed to entail.
The Presbyterian is the Estab- lished Church in Scotland, having superseded the Episcopal Church in that position at the Eestoration in H>88. Its members are estimated at about half the whole population of Scotland. Another important religious body is the Free Church, which split off from the Establishment in 1843. It is based on the spiritual independence of the Church, and claims the right of each congregation to elect its own minister. The Episcopal Church numbers over 44,000 communicants.
Pholo bj, Alex. Iiiffl
iWHAVEN FISHWIFE.
IliELAND.
In 1891 the population of Ireland was returned at 4,704,750. The numbers have been rapidly decreasing since the year 1845, when they were almost double of what they now are. Famine and consequent disease, and the great impulse given by stress at home to emigration, are accountable for the decrease. The inhabitants are in great measure of almost pure Celtic stock. The Teutonic element is represented by the English and Scottish settlers in Ulster,
Ireland
499
Leinster, and parts of Minister ; but as their introduction is comparatively recent in the history of nations, and confined to particular localities, they may for the purposes of ethnological classification be left out. The typical Irishman is a Celt, and jjossesses in a marked degree the physical and mental qualities of that race. Food, climate, and changed conditions of life account for the modifications of the racial character, wherever they are found. Many of the Irish of the present day have the red or yellow hair and tall stature which characterised the Celt in ancient times. The black hair seen especially in Western Ireland is generally explained by the persistence of Neolithic blood in the people, who have doubtless absorbed the pre-existing race. Dr. Brown sums up the average physical characteristics of the Celts. They are, he says, rather broad-headed, of great cranial capacity, middle-sized, generally vigorous in constitution, and rather short-sighted, large-chinned, round-faced, with great naso-frontal depression, fresh-coloured complexion, neck rather short, shoulders and chest broad, auburn hair, and eyes with grey iris — though these typical eyes are not often seen — and with a dry, nervous temperament. Many of these attributes are seen in the Irish.
As a race the people are noted for their lively imagination, enthusiasm, and quickness of intellect. They are warm-hearted, and easily roused to anger, but as easily pacified. Their worst enemies cannot deny their conspicuous valour on the battle-field. They are wanting in the capacity for p:itirnt effort and the steady determination of the Teutonic nations. Their mental qualities make rather for individuality of character than for national greatiiess. Ireland has had her full sliare in producing men of mark and distinction in all branches of public life. The question of the capacity of the Irish for self-government has divided English political parties of recent years. It is claimed, on the one hand, that they are incapable of sinking private differences in the common cause. On the other, it is urged that the national sentiment is strong enough to counteract this defect.
The Irish, like the Scottish Celts — and, we might add, in a lesser degree the Welsh
Photo by Valentine d- Sous, L
I.N A SHETLAND CK(
500
The Living Races of Mankind
and tlie Cornish — have spread into every land, and influenced the people of every country among whom they have settled. In America, and especially in the United States, they run rivalry with the Teutons from Ger- many and Scandinavia in supplying the greatest number of immigrants. As yet they have not ceased to be a separate body in the nation, but in time they will amalgamate with the rest of the po[>ulation, and thus form a superior race. To the sturdy good-sense, manly self-reliance, quiet resolution, natural aptitude for self-government and organisation, which characterise the one, are added the quick intellect, the vi\id imagination, the warm feelings, the poetical susceptibilities, and the genuine refinement of manner which are rarely acquired by the Teuton, hut come as a gift of Nature to the Celt.
In our leading colonies, Canada
aiid Australia esjjecially, the Ii'ishman
has taken his place side by side with
other representatives of the United
Kingdom, and is often found in the
legislature and cabinet. Colonial
premiers have sprung as frequently
from the Celtic as from the Teutonic
/■iiotobi,G. II'. II, [Aba-ueen. stock. That the Irish should do so
AN (HI) SCOT SALT. much better out of their country than
at home is a fact which goes far to
show that the admirable qualities of the race only need favourable conditions in which to
assert themselves.
The L'ish peasant is for the most part unenterprising, improvident, and desirous of taking life easily. These traits are partly inherent in his tenrperament. Yet it must be remembered in his defence that until recent years very little has been done to encourage him to cultivate the soil in a more productive manner. His temperament is serene and cheerful under all ditficulties. Throughout Ireland a high standard prevails with regard to the treatment of women, and chastity is a feature of social life of which the Irish may be justly proud.
The Erse tongue, which we have seen to have much in common with the Gaelic of Scotland, is still spoken by a considerable number of the people. In parts of Connaught, INIunster, and Donegal in the extreme north-west, as many as 38,000 of the people were unable to speak English in 1891.
Little is known of the history of Ireland before the fifth century, when it was converted to Christianity. Irish missionaries founded monasteries in the western islands of Scotland, fona is a monument of their religious activity during the four succeeding centuries after the conversion of Ireland. Politically the L-ish Celts of this period seem to have been split up into tribes, headed by various petty princes, without any common leader. Their want of union made them an easy prey to the Scandinavian pirates who descended on their shores, and
Photo hy Valentine d- Sons, Lt<
TWO OLD MEN OF SKYK.
502
The Living Races of Mankind
finally to the English. Even so, the conquest of Ireland, begun in 1170, was not synony- mous with its pacification, and was not really completed till the sm-render of Limerick in 1691. Since the abolition of the national parliament in 1800, the Irish members are returned to the Imjierial Parliament at Westminster.
In his diet the Irish peasant is remark- ably frugal. Under-feeding is general, and stirabout, or porridge, with potatoes and buttermilk, form the chief fare. Tea is drunk in enormous quantities, and of formidable strength. The visitor who enters a cabin in Donegal will generally see a pot of tea simmering on the smouldering peat fire, which never goes out, summer or winter, night or day. Tea is often the only ex- traxagance which the poorer classes in the north allow themselves. They pay a very high i)rice for it, often four-and-sixpence tlie pound. A good deal of the prevalent insanity is traced to excessive tea-drinking.
If a young woman's fiance dies, it is a common practice among the peasantry for lier to solemnly ''give back her promise." "We had given one another a /i«?)f/-promise," said an old woman, speaking of her dead lo\ er. •• and I had to go, when he was dead, an' take him by the right hand, afore witness, to give back my promise." A belief in the fairies, once so prevalent, still lingered on in some parts of the country not long ago. As an example of this kind of folk-lore, we may mention here that the country people used to say that if a man, at his marriage, unbuttoned one button of the right knee, the fairies could not harm him in any way.
In some parts of Ireland — the "]\Iullet of jMayo," for instance — there is a strange survival, namely, the wedding dance with a straw mask, and in pails of Leitrim with a straw petticoat. On this subject the writer consulted the Rev. W. S. Green, an authority on these matters, who writes from Dublin Castle as follows : " The Wedding iSIasks to which you refer are used by the 'Strawboys' (or Clagheras) at weddings. A gang of nine visits the home on the evening of the wedding. The ' captain ' dances with the bride, and the others with the other girls. They leave in a short time, and another gang arrives. It is unlucky if their identity is recognised. In the west of this country it is still much in vogue, but dying out in other parts. I have heard that a similar custom exists in Wexford."
The "wake" is a well-known institution in L-eland. When a death occurs, the relatives of the deceased abandon themselves to several days of extravagant grief, ending in an equally extravagant orgie, in which they are joined by their friends.
The Irishman, like the Afridi, loves a fight for its own sake, quite apart houi its cause, ivhich is often forgotten. In this respect he differs materially fi-om the Latin races, which treasure up grievances until a fitting opportunity presents itself for revenge.
-IIUdMVV Al IILK SI']
603
504
The Living Races of ManUind
The prevailing religion is Konian Catholic, 75 per cent, of the pojiulation professing that failli. The Protestant Church of Ireland has over GOO.onn members. It '»-^is at one time the State Chunli. but was disestablished and disendowed by an Act passed in 1869. Another influential religious body is the Presbyterian Church, which numbers over 444,000 members.
-^
E LsLE Ol' j\IaN.
the I'rilish Isles for America, we u the .Manxmen, who are partly \i\al, for they belong mainly <ion of the race. There is also a Norwegian element, which has mixed with the original Celtic stock. The Isle of ]\lan has an area of 145, o25 acres and a population of 55,598. The
Before leavii must briefly men another Celtic : to the Gaelic d
■*e<
-AXr-OIRL.
■api(.
Pholo br/ lafajietU]
TYPE OF IKlSb liKAOTY.
ianguag(\ win out of ^^e, i^ similar in many respects to tiie (i.u'lic spoken in Scotland and li.'l.nd. Many of the old Coltic supeistitions still ^ur\i\e, and a belief in the evil eye may stdl be found in the more remote parts of the island. Man has its own legislature, consisting of a (io\ernor and Council and the House of Keys. The two houses are known as the Tynwald, which is the linea! descendant of the folk-moot ([leople's parliament) wdiich used to meet on the Tynwald Hill. After a Bill has passed the Legis- lature and recei\ed the Koyal assent, it does not become law until it is promulgated in the English and Manx languages on the Tynwald Hill.
CHAPTER XXII.
ARCTIC AMERICA AND GREENLAND.
Previous to the great wave of immigration from Eui-ope which set in soon after the Spanish discovery (for discovery it practically was) and conquest of America, the whole of the inhabited or habitable portions of the New World and Greenland were populated by aboriginal tribes more or less distinct from those found in other regions of the globe, and, for the most part, presenting a remarkable similarity in physical characters to one another. With the exception of the Eskimo of Greenland and Arctic America, which, as is shown below, are markedly distinct from the other races of the New World, all these peoples were by the Spaniards called " Indians " ; and Indians, frequently with the distinctive prefix North or South American, they have ever since remained. Properly of course they, and they alone, have an hereditary claim to be designated Americans ; but that title is now assumed by the white inhabitants of the United States, with whom, as with all other settlers of European descent, and also the African Negroes imported into many of the countries of the New World, we are not here concerned.
That by far the greater poition of the aboriginal population of America was derived from Eastern Asia, and that the migration took place by way of Bering Strait, is now generally admitted by all capable of forming a trustworthy opinion ; the migration having taken place at a comparatively remote ejwch, when there was probably still a land connection between the eastern extremity of Asia and Alaska. Opinions are, however, still divided as to whether the Eskimo arrived by the same route ; an alternative idea being that their ancestors reached the present habitat of the race by a presumed land connection between Flurope and Greenland by way of Iceland. If the latter be the true view, the Eskimo must of course have had a very different origin from the typical Indians of North America ; and it has been sought to trace their ancestry to the early inhabi- tants of North-western Eurofie. Sir William Flower is, how- ever, very strongly of opinion that the Eskimo form -'a branch of the typical North Asiatic Mongols, who, in their wanderings northwards and eastwaiils arniss tlic Aiiiciicaii t'outiiH-iif, iMilaIrd aliiio>l a> perffct ly as an islaiiil pujiula- tion would be, hemmed in on ^
one side by the eternal polar Hiololy O,-. W.T.armfdl, of the Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen.
ice, and on the other by hostile gbkrnland eskimo in the snow.
5o6
The Living Races of Mankind
tribes of American Indians, with which they rarely, if ever, intermingled, have gradually developed characters most of which are strongly expressed modifications of those seen in their allies, who still remain on the western side of Bering Strait." A very similar view is taken by Baron Nordenskiold, who regards the Chukchis and Koryaks of North-eastern Asia as the nearest relatives of the Eskimo ; remarking that the Koryak " race, settled on the primeval route between the Old and New Worlds, bears an unmistakable stamp of the Mongols of Asia and the Eskimo and Indians of North America." But the Danish investigator Dr. Kink, in regard- ing Alaska as the original home of the Eskimo, appears decidedly in fa\-our of the western origin of the race. In this connection it may be mentioned that it is the Eskimo of Greenland who present the characteristics of the race (especially the long head, whereby they differ from the round-headed Chukchis and Koryaks) in the most marked degree. And it is quite a legitimate inference that this long-headed character has been gradually developed the faither and farther the race departed from its presumed place of origin in the north-eastern pro- montory of Asia. On the other hand, those who maintain the European derivation of the Eskimo urge that it is jireci^ely the l(ing-headed confoi-mation of the Greenlanders which lends
such strong support to their views. This, however, is not the place in wliich to discuss in detail a question bristling with difficulties and perplexities ; and having thus laid before our readers in an im- partial manner the leading points of the two conflicting views, we pass on to the consideration of the peoj)le themselves.
The name Eskimo is the modern Danish form of the older IVench Esquimaux ; the latter being derived from Wiyaskimowok (raw- llesh-eaters), applied to these people hy their neighbours the Cree Indians. < )ther forms of the same word occm- in Abenaki, Ojibwa, and other Algonquian dialects. In Alaska
PholobyMr. iy.lirn,] irhiU.U.I,./ua. j^,,fj ot]|pj. ^^^^^^ ^f tljgjj. westem
A r..RTy OF (iUKENLAND ESKIMO. habitat the Eskimo call themselves
Innuit (the people) ; the same name reappearing on the Asiatic side of Bering Strait, where a few Eskimo colonies exist, in the form of Yu.it. In Greenland Karalit is the native name of the race.
Exclusive of the Koryaks and the Chukchis (Tuskis), who were regarded by some authorities as an Asiatic branch of the race, the Eskimo have a wider geographical range than any other aborigines ; their habitat extending, discontinuously, fi-om the eastern shores of Greenland to Bering Strait — a distance of over 5,000 miles. Northwards they extend to Grinnel-land, where Lieutenant Greely mentions having found traces of them at Cape Sabine; and similar evidence of a very northward extension has been met with on the east coast of Greenland.
On the eastern side of America the Eskimo extend as far south as about 50° N. lat., in Labrador ; on the shores of Hudson Bay their southerly limits lie between 55° and 60°, while on the Alaskan side of Bering Strait the latter parallel forms their approximate boundary. With the exception of two localities on the western side of America, where some Indian tribes descend to the shore to fish, the Eskimo form the only aboriginal inhabitants throughout this vast extent of country. The Aleutian Islands, forming the continuation of the south-western peninsula of Alaska, are inhabited by a somewhat aberrant branch of Eskimo— the Aleuts.
riuilus (.y M. Pierre. Petit]
ESKIMO, WITH TUEIR SLEIGHS AND
507
5o8
The Living Races of Mankind
Apart from the int^ular liabitat of many of the Kskimo, and the complete separation of those of Greenland from those dwelling on the American mainland, the tribes inhabiting the continental areas are more or less completely isolated from each other. And this separation renders the striking general uniformity in the physical characters of the entire race only the more remarkable. By Dr. Rink the Eskimo have been subdivided into the following sections : (1) those of East Greenland; (2) those of West Greenland, who, as far as lat. 74° N., are the subjects of Denmark, and are comparatively civilised ; (3) the Eskimo of Northern Greenland, who are the most uncultured of all ; (4) the Labrador Eskimo, for the most part fairly civilised; (5) the Central Eskimo, ranging from Hudson Bay, some 2,000 miles, to beyond the outlet of the Mackenzie River ; and (6) the Western Eskimo, from Barter Island to the extreme western limits of Alaska.
s classification was le I'^skimo were snp- tnicts situated within distance (fifty miles hore, if not on the coast ubsist entirely by fishing, xplorations have, however.
At the time when ina(l(.. the wliole of th posed to be dwellers in a comparatively short or so) of the itself, and to Wore recent
brought to light the existence of several inland tribes, who live by hunting, and, unlike the coast people, have more or less intercourse with the Indians, with some of whom they have indeed almost completely amalgamated. To this intermingling i> doubtless due the existence of at least three types of Eskimo in Alaska.
As regards the present number of the Eskimo there are no sufficient data on which to form even an approximate estimate. Some years ago it was indeed roughly estimated that the total number did not exceed 50,000 ; but it is very doubtful if even this can be regarded as a fair approximation to the real state of the case. When a census was made in 1870 of the population of that portion of West Greenland under the Danish Govern- ment, the number of Eskimo was recorded " ' " as 9,588; that of the Europeans being an iskhk. man. 237. The population was then distributed
among 176 different winter stations, of which only one had more than 300 inliabitants ; while in fifty-eight the number did not exceed five-and-twenty. At that time the entire native population of Greenland was considered to be not more than about 10,000. Since the Danish occupation the native population is known to have diminished ; and as some years ago its numbers appeared to be nearly stationary, it is unlikely there has been any subsequent increase. In Labrador, where there were six INIoravian missionary settlements at the time of writing, Dr. Packard states that the number of Eskimo in ISGO was about 1,400. In a letter to the same writer from London, dated 1887, it is stated that the nunilier of Eskimo on the strip of coast from Hamilton Inlet to Ungava, in Labrador, was estimated at 1,500. "The race," says the writer, "is comparatively pure, but there are some half-breeds, for the Hudson Bay Company's employes and other settlers have married Eskimo women. . . . Thirty years ago the number under charge of our missionaries was about 1,200, I expect pui-ely Eskimo; now it is about the same, including settler families " It should be added that in the Danish
Arctic America and Greenland
509
settlements on the west coast of Greenland there are likewise a consideraiile proportion of half-breeds.
In general appearance and physiognomy, as well as in dress and the mode of doing the hair, the Eskimo are very like the Chukchis and Koryaks ; so much so, indeed, that a traveller visiting the Arctic regions for the first time would doubtless experience some difficulty in clearly distinguishing lid ween them. All, when pure bred, jDossess the long, lank, jet-black hair distinctive ot iAlongdldid races in general; while the cast of countenance is likewise distinctly jMongoloid. In stature the Eskimo are decidedly short ; although the appearance of shortness is somewhat enhanced by the nature of the dress. The late Dr. Robert Brown, in the article published in the ninth edition of the Encydopcedia Britannica, was indeed
inclined to believe that these people are taller than is generally supposed to be the case; stating that the height usually ranged between 5 feet 4 inches and 5 feet 10 inches, while in rare instances it reached as much as C feet. This estimate appears, however, somewhat too high, and may have been partly based on the measurements of half-breeds or due to local peculiarities. For instance, in Science for July 29, 1887, Mr. W. A. Ashe gives measurements taken from sixty famiUes (number of individuals not stated) of Eskimo living at North Bluff, on Hudson Strait ; the average of these working out to a mean height of 5 feet 3-9 inches for the men, and of approximately 5 feet for the women. On the other hand, Norden- skiold speaks of the Eskimo of Port Clarence as of average height. In both sexes the feet and hands are unusually small; but the muscular development is strong, although the men frequently show an early tendency to put on fat. When cleansed from the grease and dirt with which it is generally begrimed, the skin, which has a peculiar oily feeling to the touch, not unlike that of fat bacon, is pale ochry brown in colour; a red tinge frequently showing through it on the cheeks of the children and younger women. The latter are always fresh-looking; but after marriage the women disregard appearances, soon becoming wrinkled, and, from their sedentary habits, bow-legged. In spite of the broadly oval shape of the flat face, with its fat cheeks, and the ]\Iongoloid obliquity of the eyes (chiefly due to a pecuHarity in the conformation of the upper eyelid), the physiognomy of the Eskimo is by no means displeasing, even to the European eye ; — more especially as the face is always ready to break into a laugh. After early maturity the men, owing to their active out-of-door life, are, however, decidedly better-looking than the women. The forehead, which is not high, and also somewhat retreating, is partially concealed by the hair ; which, in the case of the men, is generally cut off straight across the forehead midway between the eyes and the crown, although in the females allowed to grow longer and hang down in irregular wisps. The remainder of the scalp-hair is permitted by both sexes to grow to its full length, and in the n)en hangs down to the shoulders. In the women this hair may, however, either be formed into a pair of long plaits hanging down each side of the head, after
AN ESKIMO
5IO
The Living Races of Mankind
the Chukchi fashion, or. as in Greenland, may be gathered up into a large projecting knot at the back of the head. The latter fashion is well displayed in the bust of a female Eskimo from Frederikshaab, Greenland, exhibited in the Natmal History Museum at South Kensington ; the bust of a male placed alongside showing the distinctive features of that sex. In the Greenland Eskimo the size of the back tuft of hair forms a subject of emulation among the fair sex ; but the constant strain to which the hair is exjiosed by this method of dressing causes it to fall ofl" or become thin, especially on the sides of the bead, at a comparatively early age. As in all members of the Mongoloid stock, the development of hair on the face is scant ; the men usually displaying only a very slight moustache, no whiskers, and frequently little or no traces of a beard. In the neighbourhood of Bering Strait Baron Nordenskiold states, however, that some of the men grew a scanty beard, while a few had attempted the American " goatee."
As already mentioned, the Eskimo differ from Chukchis and Koryaks by the greater length and naiTowness of the head ; this feature, and likewise the unusual height of the head, attaining its greatest development in Greenland. Like all savage races who do not spoil them by filing or other ill treatment, the Eskimo have excellent teeth, which, however, owing to the natm-e of their food, are in old age worn down almost or completely to the edges of the gums.
In regard to tlie lialf-breeds met with on the east coast of Greenland, Ur. Hink writes as follows : " On first arriving in Greenland, one is surprised at seeing kayak-men with light hair and perfectly European physiognomy and stature, while as to their language and habits they are as jjerfectly European. Others again, and indeed the greater part of the half-breeds, resemble South Eurojjeans. Notwithstanding this intermixture, the Eskimo features are still by far the most prevalent, exhibited chiefly in a low stature, remarkably small hands and feet,
and a brown complexion."
The Eskimo are by no means long-hved folk. Dr. Packard states that at the time he visited the colony at Hopedale the oldest person was a woman of seventy ; — and she a picture of ugliness. Three only were of the age of sixty ; and, generally S23eaking, a man becomes prematurely old by the time he is fi\e-and-forty, being at that age worn out by the hardships of the autumnal seal-fishing.
Civilisation, too, or what goes for such, seems to induce an undue mortality, partly owing to a more indoor life. At Hopedale, for instance, the population in the summer of 1864 was about 200; but it was reported that during the previous March no less than twenty-four had succumbed to cold. Since at Okkak twenty-one had died, and the same number at Nain, over a tenth jiait of the native population of these stations fell victims to chest-diseases in the course of a single montli.
As regards dress, the leading feature is
the great similarity existing between the
costumes of the two sexes ; the women wear-
(,,cniM,oiik MiMiioD.ep ^t, F,ih ,,>an iug trouscrs, and a jacket very similar to
PAIR ot ESKIMO BOYS that of the men. It has been suggested
Arctic America and Greenland
THUEE ESKIMO OHILUKEN.
that this similarity has been brought about by the narrowness of the entrance to the huts, which would not suffice to admit a woman clad in petticoats of a thickness suitable to a severe climate. Be this as it may, in the olden days the garments were made entirely of "shamoyed" skins, such as those of seals, reindeer, polar bear, (l(m. nv Arctic fox, sewn together with sinew thread. In the Danish settlements in (jreenlaiid it liiis. Iidwever, become the fashion to furnish the jackets with a cotton covoriiig. whili^ (■(ilniircil materials of Eurojiean make are likewise used for other garments, cspi'iially in the case of thi' female sex. Men, too, frequently have their outer dress madr nf (■dllcni talirics. wliicli in summer may be used also for trousers. Somewhat similar changes ha\'e also been made l;iy the Eskimo dwelling at the Moravian missionary-stations in Labrador ; many of the women wearing an old calico skirt over the original dress. Nor is this all, for in the (ireenland settlements fashion has tended to curtail the length of the jackets of the fcinalcs. ami to discard the flaps by which they were originally iirolonged both in front and licliind. And as there was always probably a certain amount of difference in this respect lirtwccn widely sundered tribes, it will be understood that the following account of the original iv^kinm (lres.s i,s more or less general.
The outer garment is a jai'ket. u>;nally longer in the case of the women of the men: it fits tightly to the body, and its only openings ahoxe are tlicis( and hands. The men's jacket is furnished with a hood, used in cold wcallicr
head. On the other hand, the jacket of the women has a ni
«7»ow<— employed as a cradle for the child; while it has
short; but it is iiiiich longer am.mgllie Laliiador Kskiiiio ]■, reached the .nouncl. The trousers, wliicli inav he either titrht-li
n in tliat the head covei- the lio,,d— tlie dent Haji,
1-1 V alnH>st
The Living Races of Manl<ind
winter an Eskimo used t bad the fur inside, while Gi-eenland fur jackets witl
^f tl
th.
he wiiiiien reach only he knees or a little iw. are attached to neatly made boots of seal- skin ; these latter being so well suited to the climate that they are adopted by nearly all Europeans who visit the E^kini.. Th, tiouMi. of the \\c)nun nin Ik (It ((lilted \Mtli the ntck- -Ivui (if the eidei du(_k oi with tiimmmtjs of em- Inn, hud 1( ithd whil.
Wmim (iieenlaud aie yeneialh SlHi d}ed of \aiiou-i colouis. ' leach abo\e the knees,
where they are sometimes cut very wide. During alidve description, one of whicli anls. In the south of Danish (inling to Dr. Kink. Ion-- since e the}' are also made of greater
provided with two he other it was turned hairy side (lutwards ha\( disappeared, although they are still retained in the north, length. In addition to the above-mentioned garments, the Eskimo sometimes wear vests or shirts made of the skin and down of sea-birds, as well as socks made of reindeer-fawn leather. Occasionally, too, jackets ai-e made of bird-skins, with the feathers outside ; the British Museum possessing a beautiful specimen from Port Clarence, Alaska, the material of which appears to be chiefly the wonderfully soft and warm breast-skin of the eider-duck. In this neighbourhood Baron Nordenskiold describes many of the natives as wearing European clothes ; while others were clad in trousers of seal- or reindeer-skin, and a light, soft, often beautifully ornamented pesk of suslik*-skin : an (i\ercoat made of pieces of gut sewn together being frequently worn over the latter in rainy weather. In all respects .the Eskimo are neat workers, and their clothes form no exception to this rule. Formerly the sewing was always done with the afore- said sinew thread and a bone needle, but a steel implement now frequently replaces the latter.
Except in the middle of summer, the boots require to be changed whenexer they are wetted, else tlun' Would freeze as lianl as a Iward. Among the ]i(i(irer classes hi Daiiisli (IreeiilaiKl. who appear to he anioiigst the nwst wretched of tlie whole race, this precaut ion is, however, by no means always taken. These jieojile, indeed, serve to show the extreme hardihood of the Eskimo, and their indifference to intense cold, even when insuflKciently clad. Dr. Eink, for instance, writes of them as follows: "How far they surpass the European in hardiness and endm-ance is more clearly to be seen at the poorer stations when tlie winter is imusually severe, even in the opinion of the natives. Persons may be seen dresxd hkhc like poor people in Southern Europe than Eskimo, riiildren are seen in rags which searcely cover their nakedness; their boots being frozen (piite hard and stiff, dii account of not being taken ofl' for several weeks."
As might be expiected, the Eskimo are by no means remarkable for their attention to personal cleanliness, having an inbred horror of water as a cleansing agent. It is staled.
hers befor
however, that the babies are sometimes licked clean by their
beint
lilt t(
ito the bai
of feathers which serves alike for mattress and blankets * Commonly miscalled marmot.
As
nits
Arctic America and Greenland
513
and persMial adoinmeiit. the women, as in the neighbourhood of Port Clarence, niav have a few lines of tattooing on the chin. The Aleuts and some of the true Eskimo, to the southward of the ^Mackenzie Kixer. insert a large disk of bone or other substance into the lower lijj, after the fashion of their southerly neighbours, the Thlinkit Indians, from whom the custom was probably derived. Dr. Dall has, however, remarkt-il tliat no hunter exposed to the icy hla>ts and cold winter of the northern districts of the Mskiiuo liabitat could have possiblv tolnatcd such an ornament; since it would have rendered the strip of flesh above the incision lialjle to freeze, while it would have been an intolerable annoyance in other respects. Accordingly, we find in the more northern districts two small disks, one situated at each corner of the mouth on tlie line of the lower lip, replacing the large central Aleut plate. The holes in the lip among the Port Clarence Eskimo are about a quarter of an inch in length ■ and the labrets consist of large pieces of bone, glass, or stone. " These ornaments," writes Baron Noi-denskiold, •• were often removed, and then the edges of the large holes closed so much that the face was ■''..not greatly disfigured. ."Many had in addition a similar hole forward in the lij:). It struck me, however, that this strange custom was about to disappear completely, or at least to l)e Europeanised by the exchange of holes in the ears for holes in the mouth. An almost full-grown young woman had a large blue glass bead hanging from the nose, in whose partition a hole had been made for its suspension ; but she was very much embarrassed, and hid her head in a fold of her mother's peslc, -when this piece of grandeur attracted general attention. All the women had long strings of beads in the ears. They wore bracelets of iron or copper, resembling those of the Chukchis."
The coast Eskimo, who ha\e been longest known to Europeans, are both hunters and fisher- men, obtaining the gi'eater amount of their food- supply from the sea, and subsisting almost entirely on animal substances. Indeed, with the exception of a few roots, seaweed, and berries, the Eskimo in their original savage state used practically no vegetable food at all. In Danish Greenland, however, a certain amount of imported vegetable food, such as breath barley, and peas, is consumed by the natives. And Dr. Eink estimates the average daily consumption of food per head in these settlements to comprise 2 lbs. of flesh and blubber, H lb. of fish, together with a certain amount of shell-fish, berries, seaweed, and other indigenous vegetables, to which must be added about 2 ozs. of imported food. If this allowance was constant throughout the year, it would doubtless be amply sufficient ; but in the winter supplies are only too apt to run short, and it is a mistake to suppose that every indixidual obtains anything like this quantity daily throughout the year. When, however, food is to be had in abundance, an Eskimo has not the slightest hesita- tion in consuming at least 10 lbs. of meat and fat at a single sitting. Frozen flesh is usually devoured raw, but fresh meat is sometimes boiled. Blood. as well as the half-digested nutriment taken from
G5
..\XD ESKIMO GRA>
The Living Races of Manl<ind
IParu
ESKIMO BELLE.
the r-tdiuacli (.)f the reindeer, likewise form items in the menu. It is a common belief that blubber constitutes an important article of diet ; but this is a mistake, as the substance in question is far too valuable to be thus disposed of, having to be stored up for use as fuel and lamp-oil dm-ing the dreary winter.
Vn tlie other hand, the natives of the interior of Alaska, such as the Xushegagmuts of the Nushegak Basin, who are in constant communica- tion with the Athabascan Indian tribes, are to a great extent hunters of land L;ani('. although they also capture fresh-water fish. 'IIh-,' inland Eskimo sliow in many districts unnn>takalil(' signs of crossing with their Athabascan neighbours; and Dr. Rink has been enabled to divide the Alaskan representa- tives of the race into the following tbree sections. Firstly, we have the tall, cadaverous-looking inhabi- tants of Kotzebue Sound, who have always a hungry appearance, and whose food includes fish, ptarmigan, and susliks. In marked contrast to these are the tall and well-built Nualoks of the inland high- gi'ounds, who live on the flesh of the reindeer, the Alaskan big-hom sheep, and various birds, supjjle- mented to a certain extent by fish. Lastly, there are the short, stumjiy Eskimo of the Arctic coast, who probably represent the jnu-e-bred race, whose food consists of whale, seal, and reindeer meat. In Greenland the musk-ox is largely hunted.
In the com-se of the preceding paragi-aphs most of the animals which afford the food-supply of these hardy peojile have been already mentioned. It may be added that, while occasionally they feast on the stranded carcase of a right-whale, a rorqual, or a hump-backed whale (locally known as kepokak), their more usual cetacean prey comprises the white whale or beluga, conspicuous fi-om its glistening cream-coloured hide, and the narwhal, both of which are harpooned from the kayak, or canoe. In addition to these they take several species of true seal, such as the Greenland, or harji-seal ; while in the neighbourhood of Bering Strait they come in contact with the eared seals, or sea-bears and sea-lions, the slaughter of which is, however, placed under stringent restrictions at the present day. Whale-skin (inatak) forms a favourite article of diet.
Of all Es!:imo inventions, the aforesaid kayak is perhaps the most peculiar and characteristic, and is absolutely essential to the very existence of the shore-dwelling tribes. Although differing locally to a certain extent in botli size and construction, it is to be met with from Bering Sea to East Greenland, but only attains its highest development in the latter country. It may be described as a shuttle-shaped canoe, covered with hahdess seal-skin tightly stretched over a framework of wood or whalebone, or both.* The kayak is decked over, after the manner of a Rob-Roy canoe, leaving only a space sufficient to admit the body of the kayaker, who, when settled in his frail ci-aft, closes the interval between himself and the deck- cover so tightly, that the whole concern may tmrn over without admitting any water to the interior. One of these canoes in Greenland measures about 18 feet in length by 2 feet in breadth ; and since its weight is not more than half a hundredweight, a man on landing can take it in one hand and carry it up the beach with ease. In addition to the occu2>ant,
* The Britisb Museum has two kayaks of which the framework is of wood lashed together with whalebone, which is employed like leather thong. The frame is, however, said to be often made of whalebone alone.
DISTRIBUTION OK ESKIMO AND NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS.
The Living Races of Mankind
ESKIMO YOUTH.
one of the^e canoes will carry a load of about 200 lbs. In Greenland the kayak may have its framework constructed of whalebone ; but in Labrador the material is spruce. In consequence of this difference the Labrador \essel is of broader and clumsier build, although at the same time more stable. The kayaker propels his canoe with a double-bladed paddle, the ends of which are tipped with bone. To withstand the icy sea a special waterproof dress is necessary for kayakmg ; this consisting of a jacket made of gut or skin, and furnished with mittens, so that only the face of the wearer is exposed to the elements. During still weather or in sheltei-ed bays a half- jacket alone is often worn ; this sufficing to protect rhe occupant as far as the arm-pits when a wave dashes over his vessel.
Although steel or iron has in recent years largely tended to supi)lant the use of bone or chipped stone for sjieav- and harpoon-heads, it is pi-obable that in most parts of Eskimoland the former were the original materials. Beautiful specimens of such stone and bone lance-heads, as well as those made of iron, are to be seen in the ethnological galleries of the British ^luseum ; and it is with such weapons that the kayaker kills his prey. Both in the case of the harpoon and the lance the head is detachable pull, so as to remain fixed only to the line or cord with which it is provided. In the case of the lance the other end of the cord is attached to the shaft, so as to form a kind of hinge. But iu the large harpoons the shaft becomes completely freed, so that the head is attached only to the line, the other end of which terminates iu a large inflated bladder. This bladder marks the com-se of tlie whale or seal, and enables the kayaker to follow and dispatch his prey by lance-thrusts.
But the kayak is by no means the only vessel which the ingenuity of these adventurous people has succeeded in devising, as there is also the much stouter and more capacious umiak. or women's boat, largely emploj-ed in the movement of the tribes from one hunting or fishing station to another. These, which are also covered with skin, are perfectly flat-bottomed, and vary from 25 to 37 feet in length, with a lieam of about 5 and a depth of 2A feet. In Greenland the larger vessels w'ill carry a load of about 3 tons, while the much more numerous smaller kinds will take only about half that weight. Since the framework and thwarts alone are of wood, even the larger umiaks can be transported o\erland without much difficulty by a party of eight or ten men. The flexibility of these boats enables them to withstand the shock of the w-aves remarkably well, although their owners are careful to avoid subjecting them to such .strains as much as possible. Although liable to be cut through at once by the sharp edges of floating ice, the natives are such adepts in steering that they will take the umiaks across arms of the sea in which scarcely anv- large spaces of open water are visible. When in use, the skin on the bottom of the umiak becomes almost transparent, thus 2)ermitting the motion of the water to be seen by the occupants. Although in tlie south the skin covering requires an annual renewal, in the north of Greenland it will last for at least a couple of years.
Mention has akeady been made of harpoons and lances ; it mu^t be added that the heads of ordinary-sized si^ecimens of the latter, when made of the usual black stone, are about 3 inches in length, and have beautifully chipped edges. In using the harpoon, the kayaker
bv the first sidewf
Arctic America and Greenland
517
is providi^d witli ,1 '• tlirnwpv." ficnn wln'cli tlic \v(';i| end of the line lu^inu- ,liM.,iua-vd at tl„. same 111 cai)tured is a|.pr..aclird within aliout li.) feet. \V drawing out the cdilcd-uii line with li^;lit niiit,' spcci
no hope of «iving Lis life. If, however, all goes ' womided animal; and, following this, the kayakc lance from the " thrower." This operation is gen
is ihscharged ; tiie bladder at the other ■nt. Usually the seal or whale to be struck, the animal immediately dives, -lididd till' line become fouled with the . till- paiiilliT is capsized, with little or . thr bladder indicates the track of the iliHii within striking distance, hurls his Iv repeated several times, the lance on
li,..
ig-k
becoming disengaged and floating on the water; tinally, when the victim has iglily exhausted, it is approached and dispatched with the short stabbing-spear
Othi'r weapons are the bird-spears, which also liave a bladder atfaelierl. and are likewise provided with additional points along the sides, which often jirove effectual should the head happen to miss. There is also a small but effectual bow; the stone arrow-heads for which are niaiiiifaetiued by taps from a hammer made of the hard, jade-like stone known as nephrite. A'ery iiofeWDithy is the existence of a throwing-string, made of a number of sinews weiglited with wahus-i\(iry kiiiilis ; when these strike the bird at which they are hurled, they wind theni- sel\c> round its legs in the same fashion as the bolus of the Indians of the Parapa'^. Chipped flint scrapers, mounted in ivory or wooden handles, are used by the Eskimo for cleaning and dressing skins; and they have likewise stone chisels. For catching salmon and other fish they use a kind of spinning-tackle, made in the shape of a beetle; they also make double
or trelile 1 ks. with ]ioints of either Ikiiic or wire, as well as a b.me sinker, with tisli-
hooks. A lishing-rod. with a line and float, is likewise employed; luit to describe this and
many other instruments in detail would far exceed the linuts of our sjiace. To protect their
eyes from the glare of the snow in summer, the Eskimo employ wooden spectacles, or goggles,
which are fastened to the head of the wearer by means of finely plaited thongs of sinew.
I5asin->liape(l lamj.s of soa].stoiie. famished with
wieks of moss, ami h-il by a supply nf whale- or
seal-hhihliei. ale imli-pen-alile articles in an Eskimo
hdusehdld ; withdiu whieh. indeed, life would be
absdlutely imiMis-ihle in f luve dreary regions," as they
supply both light and heat. The age of these lamps
must date from a very remote epoch, and must
ajiparently have originated in more southern lands ;
since, it has been very justly argued, without their
aid the Eskimo could never by any possibility have
reached his present home.
But Eskimo ingenuity is by no means restricted to the production of purely utilitarian articles, these people also displaying remarkable skill in carving ornaments in bone and ivory. The favourite designs are the heads of animals, although at times the whole body may be portrayed ; and not only are these designs notable on account of their fidelity to nature, but likewise from the beauty and finisli of their execution. Such articles may be inspected in great numbers and variety by the visitor to the etlmological galleries in the British Museum ; and a few of the more striking types are depicted in a plate in Baron Nordenskiold's "Voyage of the Vegti." Among these are the buttons or clasps attached to their carrying-straps, which are carved in walrus-
The Living Races of Mankind
i\oi\ to ie{ie--ent the heuK oi join beiis md ^eiK Otliei c iumii^ stiips (wliaLi b\ the way, lie mxde of hide -with \ loop it one end thiough which the button at the othei is passed) ha\e the button oi handle mxde in the foim of an entiie '.eal Iheie are also caived ivoiy tiaias. 01 coionets, lepiesenting the heads of animals, for the ladies ; as well as combs of the same material. The glass and ivory buttons inserted into the lips have been already mentioned. Nowadays most of the coast Eskimo manage to secure a supply of matches (as many of them also do of European fire-arms), but formerl\' light was obtained by means of pyrites and flint, or by the fire-drill", the bow of the latter being frequently made of walrus-ivory, richly ornamented with figures of various kinds.
Hitherto no mention has been made of the well-known Eskimo dogs and the sledges they draw ; but, in Greenland at any rate, these form a most important element in Eskimo life. The dogs are handsome, albeit decidedly wolfish-looking creatures, brutally treated by their masters, and generally subsisting on the refuse and offal of the encampments. The runners of the sledge are made of a pair of boards about 6 feet in length, held together by cross-bars forming the seats ; the structure being completed by two upright poles at the hinder end, used to mount by, and also to steer the sledge on occasions when the driver is following on foot. Elasticity, and consequent fi-eedom from liability to destruction by bumping against rocks or hummocks, is afforded by the whole structure being bound together with thongs of reindeer-hide. For the material to build his sledge the Eskimo is indebted to the sea ; large cjuantities of drift-wood being cast up on the shores of the countries inhabited by the race. Eight dogs will draw a load of about 500 lbs., at a pace averaging fom- or five miles an hour ; but on perfectly smooth ice as much as sLxteen miles an hour may be covered by a team in good condition.
As regards dwelling-places, the Eskimo enjoy the luxury of having summer habitations totally different, both in position and in structure, from those of winter. Tlie change is, however, not so much a matter of luxury as of urgent necessity ; the summer thaw rendering the
F,0M Frinee Itol,
520
The Living Races of Mankind
filth and refuse accumulated during winter absolutely insupportable when melted. Moreo\er, the necessity of fishing and hunting renders an easily movable dwelling-place most important am-ing the summer and autumn. Although in certain parts of Eskimolaud huts built of snow, with sheets of ice for windows, are not uncommonly constructed for winter use, in Greenland these are known only by tradition, and a more jjermanent kind of building is in vogue. The winter huts, or ighis, of the Greenlanders are partially subterranean structm-es, wretched enough according to European ideas, but by no means ill-adapted to the natiu-e of the climate and the simple wants of their owners. •• ( )n account of their being formed of stones alternating with sods," writes Dr. Rink, ••tlit' walls are liable to subside; but then the roof, consisting of turf spread over driftwcKxl. will fullow them, and the whole, being cemented together by moisture and frost, will be perfectly impenetrable by wind. The windows', made
out of seal-entrail, only admit a scanty portion of daylight ; but during the greater part of the winter-time the sun is absent, and when the days are lengthening daytime is mostly passed in the open air. The dweUing-room of the original houses had no chimney or fire- place at all, but the lamps served at once for lighting, heating, and cooking. A small kitchen is sometimes found as a side-room close by the door. Ventilation is afibrded chiefly by the long and narrow doorway which aflbrds the entrance to the house. On first entering, one has to descend, while at the farther end a step upwards at once leads into the room itself. . . . By properly adapting the length and width of the house-jjassage the necessary ventilation is afforded, there having been scarcely any door at all in the house, only a loose skin curtain being occasionally used to close the entrance. A vent-hole was made in the roof; and the enormous difference between the temperature outside and inside explains how so little as
Arctic America and Greenland
100 cubic feet of space per inmate
could suffice. In the only room in
the house a bench or ledge runs
along the wall opposite to the win- dows, and is divided by the help of
low screens into separate stalls or
recesses for the families. The walls
are hung with skins, and the floor
is jDaved with flat stones." To this
excellent account it should be added
that from the roof is suspended the
lamp; while on suitable supports
from the same are hung the spare
harpoons, lances, etc. The heat of
the interior prevents water freezing ;
and the centre of the floor is con- sequently in most cases occupied by
a more or less dirty and offensive
pool. In the Danish settlements
in Greenland, as well as in parts of
Labrador, houses of a much sujierior
description to the above are now
frequently erected ; but as these are
of Euro^iean origin, they require no
detailed mention in this place.
Generally the dogs are allowed to
shelter themselves in the entrance- tunnel ; but sometimes even this protection is denied them, and they are compelled to brave the terrors of an Arctic winter night.
It has been incidentally men- tioned that an Eskimo house in Green- land is the abode of two or more families ; but this is a custom confined to that country, other Eskimo having a house for each family. Throughout the greater part of Eskimoland public buildings of any description are totally unknown ; but council-chambers have been said to exist in Labrador. "U'ith the return of the sun the winter-huts are everywhere discarded for the skin- tents in which the summer and autumn months are passed. These tents are single-poled, and of the familiar bell-shape ; but a very large open space is left at the entrance, which is framed with wood, upon which the covering is stretched. The cover is double, and formed of seal-skins, neatly sewn together. To exclude draughts and wet, the lower edge of the tent is affixed to a raised ring of stones and turf. A curtain made of seal-gut closes the entrance to the tent ; this material being sufficiently translucent to afford a good .=ui)ply of light to the inmates. A firejjlace is constructed out side
The following suiiiiiiary of the yearly life of the Labrador Eskimo is taken from an account given by a Moravian missionary. From May till December the various families are scattered along the coasts at their fishing-stations. When the men return in INIay from reindeer-hunting, they proceed to the islands near the shore for sealing; and here they remain till the end of June, when the coast ice has melted. Going back in their kayaks to their winter-quaiiers, the men then bring up their larger boats (now often sailing-vessels), in which they take their families for trout-fishing np the rivers ; after which follows the great harvest of the cod-fishery. In autumn reindeer-hunting is resumed, while from November till
niaparte's ColUcttoa.
AMERICAN BRAVE.
522
The Living Races of Manl<ind
Christmas is the period ot the autumnal seal-fishery. At this time the men eudearour to capture the seals in their kayaks by driving through the thin ice, or to take them in nets. So soon as the bays and straits become blocked with ice, net-sealing is of course impossible ; and the Eskimo then turn their attention to those seals which have been shut up in the bavs. By Christmas they are once more settled in their winter-houses, and it is at this time of the year that the missionaries obtain mo?t access to these people.
Sealing from the kayak has been aheady mentioned as fully as space permits, but no reference has yet been made to sealing on the ice. When the sea in autumn is frozen over during calm weather, the surface of the ice becomes quite smooth and unbroken, so that the
seals below are quite cut ofl' from the air. Consequently each seal has to keep open a small breathing-hole, the edges of which are gradually raised, while the surrounding ice is kept thin and assumes the form of an inverted bowl. Approaching the hole in boots with the hairy side outwards, the hunter has to steal up and stab his victim before it has time to become alarmed. This mode of capture is however, only practicable in autumn on the rare occasions when perfectly smooth ice is formed ; and in winter sealing involves a weary waiting {maupok) in intense cold at the larger permanent breathing-places. The seal being certain to hear the least noise, the only plan is to take up a position at the hole, and there, it may be in a temperature of 20° below zero, await in perfect stillness its rising, which mav not occur for hours.
In regard to their general character most tra\ellers who have \'isited them speak fairly well of the Eskimo. It is true that they have been charged with a jironeness to lie and thieve; but such accusations Dr. Rink considers to be ill-founded, at any rate in Green- land. In Alaska Baron NordenskioM describes them, after the disappearance of the first mistrust, as friendly and accommodating, honourable in their dealings, although given to begging and to much haggling in making a bargain. The position of the women aj^peared in nowise inferior to that of the men ; and the children, in spite of having no bringing-up at all, would be described as well brought-up. The liking for spirits seemed less strong than among the Chukchis. In this pailicular instance all the natives seen were heathen, but in Labrador they have been to a great extent civiUsed and Chi-istianised, and the majority are able to read, write, and cypher. Although their memory is remarkably good, ii is in the latter accomplishment that they display the least readiness and proficiency. Their love of music is very marked ; and in many of the Mora\-ian stations in Labrador the harmonium or organ is played by a native, while the singing is rendered by an Eskimo choir. As mighi
524
The Living Races of Mankind
have been expected from their cleverness in carving, they readily learn drawing, as well as map-making. Their sense of the ludicrous and comic is very highly developed, so that they are prone to mimic personal peculiarities, as they are to imitate foreign customs and amu-ements, such as dances or games. Gambling, however, though carried on to a small extent, cannot be de^cribed as an Eskimo vice. When Nordensldold arrived at Port Clarence, a number of Eskimo came on board prepared to sell or barter their property. "Anxious to procure as abundant material as possible for instituting a comparison between the house- hold articles of the Eskimo and the Chukchis," writes the Baron, "I examined carefully the skin bags which the natives had with them. In doing so, I picked out one thing after the other, while they did not object to my making an inventory. One of them, however, showed great unwillingness to allow me to get to the bottom of the sack, but this just made me the more curious to ascertain what precious thing was concealed there. I was urgent, and went through the bag half with violence, until at last, in the bottom, I got a solution of the riddle — a loaded revolver ! " In Greenland, at any rate, when the Eskimo offer an article for sale, they leave it to the purchaser to fix the price ; and they also show a marked aver^ion to bind themselves by a written contract.
Although decorous and decent when in public, the morality of Eskimo in private life is not of a high order; and in this res2:iect the women are said to be considerably worse than the men. It is, however, satisfactory to learn that in this and several other respects contact with civilised people appears to have led to the improvement of the native.
Xo Eskimo possesses a large amount of personal property ; habit and the necessities of their mode of life compelling those who possess food to share it with those who are destitute. This custom has conduced to the general stagnation of the race and the improvidence by which it is characterised. From these and other indica- tions many travellers have been led to conclude that perfect individual equality prevailed, and that there were no such things as grades in rank or chiefs. Later researches have shown, how- ever, that, in some districts at any rate, this is a mistake ; KoiandBonupc^rusciucu.n. Dr. Rink remarking that
xoRTH AMERICAN INDIAN (PROFILE). " each larger houschold com-
Arctic America and Greenland
525
prising several families has a chief as conscientiously venerated and obe^'ed as are heads of communities or magis- trates elsewhere."
Like other native American languages, the Eskimo tongue is of what is termed the jiolysvnilu-l ic type, and preserves an i^xhadidiuarv uniformity of iDronuncialiim and structure throughout the habitat of the race. Judging from the follow- ing sample quoted by Dr. Eink, it does not appear by any means a desirable language to learn or to use : " Suerukame — autdlasassoq — tusara- miuk — tuningingmago — iluaringilat " = " They did not approve that he
(a) had omitted to give him (/;) something, as he (a) heard that he
(b) was going to depart on account of being destitute of everything." Happily such appalling words are not in every-day use, but still they may and do occur. A considerable amount of literatui'e has been printed in their own language for the Eskimo of both Greenland and Labrador ; and two Eskimo have distinguished themselves as authors.
In comparison with the natises of other parts of America, the Eskimo have few customs and ceremonies in connection with birth, marriage, and death. Indeed, in their original primitive condition birth and early childhood seem to have had no special ceremonies connected with them, although at the mission -stations the christening of a child is now generally followed by a party, while birthdays are likewise ol:)served as occasions of rejoicing. Carnival meetings are also held to congratulate the boys on the cajitm-e of their first seal or other large game.
In regard to marriage the bride was always taken by force from her father's family in the old days ; but as Christianity spread this custom passed more and more into disuse, until it is now completely abandoned in all districts where civilisation has been introduced. Generally the marriages are now negotiated by the priests in the settled districts of Greenland, the suitor naming his sweetheart to his own jjriest. It appears to be the etiquette for the prosjjective bride to pretend comjalete indifference to the offer of her suitor, and she generally accepts him only under the plea of conforming to the wishes of her si^iritual adviser. Naturally such a practice has put considerable power in the hands of the priesthood, but it is seldom that this power is abused. At all the missionary-stations marriages are now solemnised according to the rites of the Christian Church ; and there are no nuptial festivals of jjurely native origin to chronicle.
Neither is there much to be said with regard to burial and funeral ceremonies. In the old days the bodies of deceased members of a tribe were carefully buried on the summits of low hills beneath stone-heaps of considerable size. Mr. Holme, who discovered about seventy old Eskimo sepulchres on Eskimo Island, twelve miles west of Eigolet, in Labrador, describes
From Prince Roland Bnaapai it i ColUition.
NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN (FULL-FACE), WITH PIP
526
The Living Races of Mankind
tbem as follows : " These gi-aves were much in the oixlinary Eskimo custom, not being under- ground, although the soil was by no means deficient, but consisting of rough unliewn blocks of stone heaped together in an oblong form ; the inside measurements being 2 feet by lA foot. JMany of them had been disturbed by bears or wolves, but in most of them a skull and bones were lying." Dr. Packard, too, speaks of finding at Hopedale, Labrador, in 1864, two ancient Eskimo tombs on the summit of a bare hill. The skeletons lay in what appeared to be a natural fissure in the rock, covered over with a few slabs of stone ; the site of the graves being indicated by a vertical pole inserted into the fissure.
The missionaries seem to have regarded this ancient mode of sepulture as savouring of paganism, .>^'"'' and accordingly took effectual measures to ensure its
aljolition. The new method of burial seems, however, to lie by no means an improvement on the old plan. The soil being rocky and frozen, interments after the European custom are, especially in winter, very diffi- cult to carr}' out in a proper manner; the consequence lieing that the burial-grounds are fre(|uently in an extremely unsatisfactory condition. Bofun' lnuial the bodies are either sewn up in skins or placed in rude wooden coffins; after which they are merely cmrrcd over, frequently in an imperfect manner, with sods and stones. Originally it was the custom after a death for the members of the family to abstain for a period from labour of all kind, and at the same time to neglect their hair and dress. It was likewise a universal custom to avoid using the tools or weapons of the deceased, and also to refrain from wearing his or lier clothes. The former customs are still more or less observed in Greenland, or at any rate were so a few years ago ; but in regard to the latter the imported institution of a sale by auction is considered to break the spell.
Like their language, the primitive religion of the Eskimo exhibited a remarkable uniformity through- out the entire area inhabited by them. The leading idea is the government of the whole world by super- natural beings termed inuas, or owners. Apparently the soul was regarded as the inua of the body. The general scheme of the Eskimo religion and cosmogony has been tersely summarised by the late Dr. E. Brown " '"""j^E^pi^p'ggss " " as follows: "The earth and the sea rest on pillars,
and cover an under-world accessible by various mountain-clefts, or by various entrances from the sea. The sky is the floor of an upper- world, to which some go after death ; while others — good or bad — have their futme home in the under-world. Here are the dwellings of the arsissut, the people who live in abundance. This upper one, on the contrary, is cold and hungry; here live the arssartut, or ball-players, so called from their playing at hall with a walrus-head, which gives rise to the aurora borealis. The mediums between the inua and mankind are the avrjakuks, or wizards, who possess the peculiar gift of angakunek — or the state of ' being angakok ' — which they have acquired by the aid of guardian spirits called tornak. who again are ruled by turnasid; the suj)reme deity or devil of all." A kind of witchcraft, termed kusiunek or ?lisinfk, is believed to be the cause of sudden sickness or death.
F,-o„i Prince RolaadBonaparlcs ColUcUon.
A UAKOTA-SIOUAN CHIEF, THIRTY KIGHT YEARS OF AfJE WITH PIPE-TOMAHAWK 527
52i
The Living Races of Mankind
The inferior beings of this theocracy are far too numerous for mention in this place ; but it may be observed that divine rewards and punishments are considered to be meted out to a gi-eat extent in the present ; the conception of the scheme of future prizes and penalties lieing but very imperfectly grasped. Under the influ- ence of Christianity all their old-world beliefs are, of course, rapidly passing into oblivion, although some of the names have been crystal- lised by the missionaries transferring them to the Fiiblical powers of good and evil.
Formerly the Eskiuiu of Greenland, as well as those of other countries, had their own national songs and dances, which were used at fi'stivals ; but these, too, have lieen for the most part re- placed by Em-opean substi- & fl^HIITf HM^ — ^jpi f^WT^I^lBV^^B tutes. From old sketches it
1 hI^mUh It '* ^ JK^tSmW^^^ appears that at these festivals
I t^^K^Kui im^ti ' ^ ^^■H^^H group was formed, in the
t^- — ■HHHHI.^HHh&^i^ 1 "j^^HBBE centre of which stood the
chief performer, who sang to the accompaniment of a drum, gesticulating and dancing simultaneously. On some occasions the song was intended merely for the amusement of the company, who probably moved round in a circle singing the refrain. On other occa- sions a satirical or "nith-song" was chanted against a second performer, who was upbraided for neglecting the kayak-hunt, or some other pursuit.
Of other customs only a brief reference can be made to a few. Formerly the customary salutation when two people met was by rubbing noses together; but in the Greenland settlements, except to caress children, this practice has been entirely abandoned, and there is now no national mode of salutation. Generally when a guest arrives at or leaves a house nothing whatever is said, although occasionally the salutation imivdluaritze (live well) may be pronounced ; while a European may be warned not to knock his head against the doorway {apornialinatit). Very curious is the reluctance of Greenlanders to jjronounce their own names. When asked their name, they generally get a comrade to answer the question. Amulets and magic spells {serratit) were and are still held in gi-eat estimation ; a curious circumstance being that the commonest Em-opean ai-ticles, such as coffee-berries and scraps of newspapers, are fi-equently regarded as the most effectual amulets or charms.
; Prince Roland
A KOUTH AMEEICAX INDIAN CHIEF (PEOFILE).
CHAPTER XXIII
NORTH AMERICA.
Southwards of the Arctic tract occupied by the very distinct Eskimo tribes described in the preceding chai'ter, the whole of the vast Continent of America, from British Columbia, Vancouver Island, and Newfoundland and the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the north, to the extremity of Patagonia and the island of Tierra del Fuego in the south, was, up to the time of Columbus's arrival, peopled by American Indians, some of whom were then living as nomad savages, while others inhabited populous cities and had acquired many of the arts and habits of civilised communities. In one way or another the aborigines since that epoch have steadily tended to disappear or wane before the gradual advance of the white races, or to become lost as a pure type by more or less comjjlete fusion with the latter. The manner in which the irresistible spread of the Caucasian races over the continent has been brought about, and the concomitant disappearance or fusion of the native tribes, have, however, varied greatly in different parts of America. The ancient Aztecs, Mayas, and Peruvians were practically wijjed out as distinct nations by the Spanish conquest; while at an early date the aborigines of the West Indian islands dis- appeared, and were replaced by African Negroes. In many other parts of Central and South America the more civilised aborigines became more or less amalga- mated with the Sjianish and Portuguese immigrants, thus giving rise to the present mixed races of the countries in question. On the other hand, in the greater portion of North America a very ditferent state of things has occurred. For the most part the original inhabitants formed nomad tribes sparsely scattered over the open prairies ; and for a long jieriod those in the interior were but little affected by the European settlements on the east coast. Moreover, with the exception of the French Canadians, the immigrants have mingled but little with the natives, so that a sharp line of demarcation has continued to divide the white races from the " Red- skins." Gradually, however, the latter have lieen driven farther and farther back, till they are now mostly restricted to definite " reserves," where they are supported by the Governments of the United States and Canada. And here it may be men- tioned that of late years an important factor in the retirement of the Indians from large areas in the Noi-th-west has been the practical extermination of the American bison, an animal upon which thousands
52fl
nolo hi/ Mr. n: ruu] |
[Philadelplim. |
|
NORTH AMKRICAN IKDIAX. |
SHOW! |
XG MOCASSINS. fi7 |
53°
The Living Races of Mankind
of the aborigines were dependent for their very existence. Unsuited to the restraints and trammels of civilised life, and displaying a marked inaptitude for agricultural pursuits, the " red man." even in these reserves, is steadily diminishing in numbers ; and there is every prospect of his ultimate disappearance. The late Eev. J. 0. Dorsay has, however, recorded the fact that in some districts of the Western States there has been a tendency for the red population to become absorbed in the white element. But this absorption has in all cases come to pass by the natives ceasing to be Indians and becoming members of civilised society. '• In jNIinnesota," for instance, " all persons of mixed blood — that is, of white and Indian descent — are recognised as citizens. The same is true in other states ; and the privilege is extended to those who are not mixed bloods. Also, under present homestead laws, Indians are becoming citizens by going off their reserves."
And here it is important to observe that, from the very remote epoch when America
received the ancestors of its aboriginal popula- tion (apart from the Eskimo) till the date of the Spanish conquest, no immigrations of any sort took jilace from the Old World. It is true that an occasional vessel, with its crew, may have been stranded at long intervals on the .\merican shores ; but. in spite of all statements to the contrary, it is perfectly clear that such occasional handfuls of foreigners could have left no permanent trace on the aboriginal popula- tion of the New World.
Accordingly, till the Spanish conquest, the natives of America were completely isolated from the rest of the world. As mentioned in the jjreceding chapter, one of the most striking features connected with the American aborigines is the extraordinary uniformity in physical characters and appearance presented by them from one extremity of their habitat to the other ; so marked, indeed, that the different stocks of the northern half of the continent are to a gi-eat extent distinguishable by linguistic rather than by physical characters. Nor is this re- semblance by any means confined to physical i-uoiobv .v.. 11 Kna] I ■ characteristics ; it is equally noticeable in mental
A.N A.MEKicAN INDIAN AND uis u;ii.. temperament and in speech. It is true, indeed,
that the nati\'e American stock languages are wonderfully numerous, yet all these are but modifications of a single linguistic type, which is perfectly distinct from all the tongues of the Old World. In no other i)art of the world has a single physical and linguistic type anything approaching the vast distributional area which it possesses in America.
Passing on to the consideration of the physical appearance and characteristic features of the American aborigines in general, we may first of all call attention to the striking similarity in the physiognomy of the two sexes ; this being so great that strangers, on beholding for the first time the large series of photographs of heads displayed in the anthropological series at the Natural History Museum, are quite unable to distinguish between the men and the women without reading the labels. This is, no doubt, for the most part due to the fashion of wearing the hair long and pendent in both sexes, and to the absence of moustaches and beards in the men. The hair is, indeed, one of the characteristic features of the American Indians ; that on the scalp being black, lank, coarse, and frequently very long. In its coarseness, length, and
532
The Living Races of Mankind
absence of all trace of wave or curl, it may be compared, indeed, rather to tlie mane of a horse than to the locks of the Caucasian races ; its straightness being due to its almost perfectly circular (instead of more or less elliptical) cross-section. The face, like the body, is practically devoid of hair; such stray hairs as do make their appearance being artificially removed. As regards the colour of the skin, there is considerable local variation, but it may be described generally as coppery or yellowish brown, although in the natives of some of the tropical forest districts like those of Amazonia it is light bro\\-n, while in the dwellers of some of the high gi-ounds it is dark brown. The lips and nose do not in general differ to any great extent from the European type; the latter being generally large, with a well-marked bridge, and nearly straight, or even slightly aquiline in profile. JNIore characteristic is the distinct lateral prominence of the cheek-bones, which are often also proportionately high ; but in some cases the formation of this part of the face does not differ essentially from the Caucasian type. The forehead is retreating, and marked by distinct brow-ridges, which attain
their greatest de- velopment in certain skulls from Patagonia. The eyes, which are almost invariably black in colour, are small and rather deep- set, while in form they are round without distinct trace of obli- quity in their setting. The limbs present no distinctive differences from the Caucasian type. As a rule, American Indians are of tall stature, the average being gi\-en at from 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches ; but in some districts of both North and South America A GROUP OF soRTH AMERICAN INDIANS IS FULL DRESS. g feet, Or eveu morc.
is reached, while on the plateau of Peru, as well as in Alaska and Tierra del Kuego, the height sinks to less than 5h feet. The characters of the skull do not enter into the scheme of the present work, but it may be mentioned that both long-headed and rounded types of Americans are met with in both divisions of the continent. These have been taken to indicate different sources of origin from the Old World, but it may be questioned whether this view has sufficient evidence for its support.
Pei-ha^JS the best short definition that can be given of American Indians is that they are copper-coloured or yellowish brown, beardless people, with lank black hair, and without the oblique eyes, broad and flat faces, or small and concave noses of the Mongols. Obviously they have no affinity with the Negroid branch of mankind ; while the character of the hair and the absence of a beard sej^arate them widely from the Caucasian branch. On the other hand, in the character of the hair and their smooth faces they show a distinct approximation to the ISIougol type. From the typical ]\longols they are, however, at once distinguished by the retreating forehead and the strongly developed brow-ridges, as well as by the general cast of
North America
533
feature, especially the usual absence of obliquity in the setting of the eyes, and bold development of the nose. As a rule the latter feature is of what is known as the busque shape — that is to say, its pro- file is formed by two straiglit lines diverging at an obtuse angle from the bridge. It should, however, be mentioned that occasionally American Indians are seen with more or less distinct traces of the characteristic " jMongol fold " above the eyes, which are themselves contracted and oblique.
Clearly, then, it is with the Mongoloid branch that the aborigines of America display the most marked resemblance ; and this is just what might have been expected to occur from the geographical distribu- tion of the two groups. All persons most competent to give an opinion on the subject are
NORTH AilEKICAS I^UIA-NS DKESSIMG.
practically in accord as to the existence of a relationship of some
kind between the Asiatic ]\Iongols on the one hand and the American Indians on the other. But as to the degree of this relationship there is some diversity of opinion, one school regarding the latter as a branch of the Mongoloid stock, while another regards them as entitled to rank as a separate branch by themselves. Seeing, however, that some kind of j\Iongoloid relationship is ad- mitted by both, it is evident that the differ- ence of opinion is only . ,. , "- __ - '''s:X: . ■". as to the degree of
AN INDIAN CHIEF AND HIS SQUAWS. such relationship;
534
The Living Races of Mankind
> tj/ Mr. W. Rail] AX INDIAN HUNTER, WITH
and, in any case, the whole question is not one with which we are here gi'eatly concerned.
Having said thus much as to American Indians in general (whose characteristic type of countenance should become famiUar from a careful study of the portraits illustrating the present and adjacent chapters), attention must now be concentrated on those inhabiting the northern half of the continent which forms their home. And here a great difficulty presents itself at the very outset. The number of tribes is so great, and their j^hysical differences are so slight (indeed, as already mentioned, the differ- ences are in most cases linguistic and cultural rather than physical), that it is impossible to describe them all within the limits at our disposal. Fortunately, however, these almost countless tribes may be grouped under a number of main linguistic stocks, or families, as they are indifferently called ; and as a few of these are of much larger size, and therefore of greater importance, than the rest, it is on certain of the former that atten- tion may be chiefly concentrated. Omitting, then, all mention of many of the minor stocks — which, by the way, are chiefly concentrated on a narrow strip of territory on the Pacific border of the continent — we have the following main stocks, with some of their more important tribal divisions, viz. : —
1. Athabascan, or Athapascan, comprising the Kuchins, Chippewyans, Apaches, and
Navajos.
2. Algonquian, including the Delawares, Abenakis, Chippewas or Ojibwas, Crces, Shawnees,
Sac and Foxes, Blackfeet, Cheyennes, and Arapahoes.
3. Iroquoian, represented by the Hurons, Eries, jMohawks, Tuscaroras, Senecas, Cayugas, Oneidas, Onondagas, and Cherokis.
4. Slouan, with the Dakotas, Asiniboins, Omahas, Crows, lowas, Osages, Catawbas, and Monakans.
5. Shoshoneaii, comprising the Pawnees, Kiawas, Comanches, and Utas.
(i. Muskhogean, represented by the Creeks, Choctaws, Chicasas, Seminoles, and Apalachis.
7. Pueblo, including the Zuiii, Tegua, Jemez, and Hopi or Moki.
To treat each of these seven main stocks with the same detail would obviously be waste of space, seeing that in many respects several of them have more or less the same customs and manners. Among the first six, the Siouan group is the one selected for special consideration, mainly on the ground that it has been the subject of an elaborate study by the officials of the United States Board of Ethnology. On the other hand, the Pueblo Indians, as displaying a totally distinct grade of culture, and being the only North American aborigines who build and inhabit houses, claim a special notice, which forms the concluding portion of the present chapter.
Commencing with the Athabascan and Algonquian stocks, we find that the various tribes grouped under these headings originally occupied considerably more than half the total area of Xorth America. The Athabascan territory extended across the country from Southern Alaska, across the lake and river from which it takes its name, nearly to Port Nelson, on the western shore of Hudson Bay ; its northern boundary thus impinging on the southern frontier of the Eskimo. From Port Nelson their southern boundary ran westwards to the Kocky ^Mountains,
i36
The Living Races of Mankind
forming a curved line which reaches a? far north a? lat. (lO" in the middle of its course, while farther west it falls as low as oO\ Along the western coast may be traced a few outliers of Athabascans, which appear to indicate the line of migration followed by this people as they extended into Arizona, New ^Mexico, and Texas, where they were formerly found in considerable numbers. So different are the predatory southern tribes, such as the Apaches, Navajos, and Lipans, from their northern kinsmen, the Kuchins, Chippewyans, Hare Indians, etc., that, were it not for their common speech, they would scarcely be recognised as members of the same stock. Tlie northern tribes live a nomad life, protected by the Government of Canada, many of them acting as trappers and hunters for the Hudson Bay Company. Their numbers are estimated at only about 10,000, whereas the southern tribes, who now live in special reserves, were reckoned some years ago at 23,000. ^Ir. F. W. Hodge, who has specially studied the Apaches and Navajos, states that the latter still retain traditions of their arrival from the north in their present home, which probably took place before the close of the fourteenth century, at which epoch the Apaches were already settled in New Mexico. It was not, however, till about three centuries later that they became sufficiently powerful to harass their Pueblo neighbours.
Even larger than the Athabascan territory is the area originally inhabited by the great Algonquian (or Alkonkin) stock, which included that portion of Labrador not occupied by the Eskimo, and thence stretched westward across the continent south of the Athabascan boundarv to the Rockies. To the southward their distribution narrowed so as to form a truncated triangle, bounded on the west by the jMississippi and to the east by the Atlantic sea-board ; Southern Tennessee on the former side, and Cape Hatteras, in North Carolina, on
WIXTER, WITH SQUA
PAPOOSE " (CHILD).
North America
537
the latter, forming their approximate southern limits. It is true that iu certain parts of this area there are isolated outliers occu- pied by Iroquoians, Siouans, etc. ; but these need not con- cern us here, except so far as to state that the Iroquoian colony, which occu- pied the area ex- tending from Lakes Ontario and Erie to Pennsylvania and Maryland, took an important part in the British and French conflicts in America. From the extent of their territory it might naturally be con- cluded that the Algonquians were the most numerous of all the aboriginal stocks of North America ; and this, as a matter of fact, is the case. At the present time, when they are supposed to form about a
fom-th of the total Indian population, their numbers are estimated at fully 95,000, of which 60,000 are subjects of the Dominion of Canada.
In Labrador this stock is represented by the so-called Montaignais (Mountaineer) Indians of the French Canadians. The true Algonquians, forming the tribe from which the whole stock takes its name, are now found in Ontario and Quebec, and are stated not to exceed 5,000 in number. On the other hand, the Chippewas, or Ojibwas, whose home is the region of the great lakes, have survived in much greater numbers, being estimated at over 30,000 individuals. The next tribe in point of numbers is that of the Crees, who are situated more to the north-west, occupying Manitoba and the tract between Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay. The Crees have been recently put down as numbering 17,000 individuals. Among the central tribes may be mentioned the Abenakis, Mohigans, Delawares, and Naticokes, who originally occupied the area between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Chesa- peake Ba}'. The most celebrated of these are the Delawares, who, together with the Sac and Foxes and the Shawnees, are now gathered on reservations in New York State and Indian Territory, where they collectively muster not much over 4,000. Many other tribes,
Photo by Rodoch
OP KIAWA.
53^
The Living Races of Mankind
■among whom it must suffice to mention the Powhatans, formerly inhabiting the east coast, have long since been completely exterminated. It may be added that it was with the Delawares, or Lenni-Lenape, who were then subject to the Iroquois, that M'illiam Penn made his celebrated treaty.
Passing on to the Iroquoians, we find them occujiying a prominent position in history as the deadly foes of the Algonquians, whom, in spite of their smaller numbers, they would probably have succeeded in conquering, bad it not been for white intervention. In the region of the St. Lawrence, which seems to have formed their original home, the northern Iroquoians were divided into two hostile divisions, of which the western was formed by the Hm-ons and Eries or Wyandots, and the eastern by the true Iroquois. These constituted the celebrated "confederation of the five nations," comjorising the Mohawks, Oneidas, Cayugas, Onondagas, and Senecas, — a union which was strengthened by the admission in 1712 of the Tuscaroras from North ( iirolini. luther by wars or by the introduction of European diseases, many of
these tribes have been swept away ; the Hurons and Eries being kept in remembrance only by the lakes of the same name. In Virginia and the Carolinas the Iroquois were represented by the Cherokis, forming a southern division of the stock ; these people have, however, now been transported to Indian Territory, where, together with the Choctaws, they are estimated to number something like 27,000. A miserable remnant of 20,000 now alone rej^resents the rest of the once powerful Iroquoians, who were of a decidedly higher type than their Algonquian neighbours.
We now come to the important group of
the Siouans, whose territory was inferior in
extent only to that of the Athabascans and
f ^ ^^M ■» :^H|^^^^^H^^kJ^ Algonquians. The name Siouz, from which the
K Bm M^^aKf^^^^^^^^^ik adjective Siouan is derived, aj^pears to have been
•^ ^^K-^ ..^HM SBM^^^^^^^^^^^ originally a term of contempt applied by the
forest-dwelling Algonquians to their brethren of the plains. " The Indians of the Siouan stock," writes Mr. W. J. McGee, "occupied the central portion of the continent. They were pre- eminently plains Indians, ranging from Lake JMichigan to the Kocky Mountains, and from the Arkansas to the Saskatchewan, while an outlying body stretched to the shores of the Atlantic. They were typical American barbarians, headed by hunters and warriors, and groujied in shifting tribes, led by the chase or driven by battle from jilace to place over their vast and naturally rich domain, though a crude agiicultiu-e sjirang up whenever a tribe tarried long in one spot. No native stock is more interesting than the great Siouan group, and none save the Algonquian and Iroquoian approach it in wealth of literary and historical records ; for since the advent of white men the Siouan Indians have jjlayed striking roles on the stage of human development, and have caught the eye of every thoughtful observer."
In former times they were represented as far south as the coast of the Gulf of jMexico by the Biloxi tribe. To mention all the numerous tribal subdivisions would be merely wearisome, and the reader must accordingly be content with the following main groups. Best known of all are the Dakotas (Friendlies), celebrated in Longfellow's "Hiawatha," who before their isolation in Indian Territory and other districts of the States, occupied a large area in the
340
The Living Races of iVlanl<ind
heart of the continent, and have more than once dared to try the issue of war with the American Government ilm-ing the last infty years. The Asiniboins (Peoijle-who- cook-with-stoues), although hostile to the Dakotas, are included by JMr. McGee in the same group with the latter. Next come the Omahas (Ui> stream-people), with whom are included the Osages; these being followed by the lowas, and these latter by the Winnebagos. Following these are the jNIandans, who have gained an evil reputation through Catlin's account of the atrocious cruelty of their ceremonies ; in 1 804, accord- ing to Lewis and Clark, this tribe was reduced to three villages in the Fort Berthold reservation in North Dakota. The Hidatsa are best known by their near relatives the Crows, now restricted to the Crow reservation in jNIontana. The above-mentioned Biloxi, of the Gulf coast, have been transported from the original territory, and survive partly in Louisiana and partly in Lidian Territory, where they are mixed with Choctaws.
Very brief mention must be made of the Shoshonean (Snake) stocli. which includes the well-known Pawnees, who in Catlin's time formed a powerful and warlike tribe numbering some 10,000 or 12,000, and living on the Platte Kiver about 100 miles from its junction with the INIissouri. The Kiawa tribe dwelt more to the south-west, on the flanks of the Kockies. To the same stock belong the Comanche and Uta tribes, rude nomad peoples, formerly inhabiting the states of JNIontana, Idaho, Oregon, and thence southwards to Utah, California, and Texas. Possibly it was Shoshonean hordes who, about the sixth century of our era, overthrew the comparatixcly cixiliscd tribes of the Mexican Plateau.
Lastly, we have the .Muskhogcan stock, whose typical representatives the JMuskhogis are better known as Creeks ; this name being derived from the numerous inlets jjenetrating their territory on the coast of the Gulf of JNIexico. This stock also included the Chicasas and Choctaws (properly Chatas = Flat Heads), who formerly poiiulated most of the country on the Mississippi nearly to its confluence with the Ohio. The Apalachis form another tribal division of this stock. ]\Iore distinct are the Seminoles (pro^jerly Isty-Semole ; that is, "Wild JMen), who occuj^ied Florida, whence they expelled a now extinct tribe.
Doubtless this enumeration, brief and imperfect as it necessarily is, of the leading divisions and tribes of North American Indians will be found somewhat wearisome to the reader ; nevertheless, without this the subject could not properly be treated. We now proceed to the more interesting subjects of the physical appearance, clothing, ornaments, food, occupations,
AGED INDIAN WOMAN.
North America
541
dwellings, and the moral and intellectual characters of the foregoing groups of North American Indians ; after which allusion may be made to some of their customs and feasts. And here a great difficulty presents itself, our space being so limited and the number of tribes so great. Under these circumstances the only course is to restrict our observations to a few tribes, whose mode of life must be taken as more or less typical of that of the rest. It may be well to premise that previous to the Spanish discovery (the word is used advisedly) of the New World the aborigines were totally unacquainted with the sheep, the ox, and the horse ; the only large animals serviceable to man (exclusive of the numerous species killed for the sake of their fur) being deer of various kinds, the bison, and, in the south, the pronghorn, or, as it is commonly called, antelope. When once introduced, the horse appears to have spread with remarkable rapidity ; so rapidly, indeed, that our chief acquaintance with most tribes is subsequent to its introduction. And since these wild people, as soon as they acquired this valuable animal, became essentially equestrian in their mode of life, it is obvious that Indians as we know them must have differed profoundly in their general mode of life fi-om their forefathers of the pre-equine days.
As regards dress and dwellings, we cannot do better than quote ni extenso the excellent account given by Lewis and Clark (1804-6) of the Teton Okandandas, a small tribe of the Siouan stock then inhabiting both banks of the Missouri between the Cheyenne and Teton affluents. After mentioning that the men shave their heads, with the excej^tion of a tuft on the crown, which is allowed to gi-ow to its full length (a custom peculiar to this and certain other tribes), the authors write as follows : " In full dress the men of consideration wear a hawk's
ntOl-p OF MIC-MAC
542
The Living Races of Mankind
Photo by Mr. W. Rau\
DAKOTA-SIOUAS SQUAW.
feather or calumet feather, worked witn porcupine- quills, and fastened to the top of the head, from which it falls back. The face and body are generally painted with a mixture of gi-ease and coal. Over the shoulders is a loose robe or mantle of buffalo [_i.e. bison] skin dressed white, adorned with porcupine-quills loosely fixed so as to make a jingling noise when in motion, and painted with various uncouth figures, unintelli- gible to us, but to them emblematic of military exploits or some other incident. The hair of the robe is worn next to the skin in fair weather, but when it rains the hair is put outside, and the robe is either thrown over the arm or wrapped round the body, all of which it may co\er. Under this in the winter season they wear a kind of a shirt resembling ours, made of either skin or cloth, and covering the arms and body. Kound the middle is fixed a girdle of cloth or dressed elk [wapiti] skin, about an inch in width, closely tied to the body ; to this is attached a piece of cloth or blanket or skin, about a foot wide, which passes between the legs, and is tucked under the girdle both before and behind. From the hip to the ankle he is covered by leggings of dressed antelope-skins, namented by little tufts of hair, the produce of The winter mocassins [i.e. boots]
with seams at the sides 2 inches in width, the scaljis taken in war, which are scattered down the leg.
are of dressed bufl'alo-skins, the hair being worn inwards, and soled with thick elk-skin parch ment ; those for summer are of deer- or elk-skin, dressed without the hair, and with soles of elk-skin. On gi-eat occasions, or whenever they are in full dress, the young men drag after them the entire skin of a polecat fixed to the heel of the mocassin. Another skin of the same animal, either tucked into the girdle or carried in the hand, serves as a pouch for their tobacco, or what the French traders call hois rouU. This is the inner bark of a species of red willow, which, being dried in the sun or over the fire, is rubbed between the hands and broken into small pieces, and used alone or mixed with tobacco. The pipe is generally of red earth, the stem made of ash, about 3 or 4 feet long, and highly decorated with feathers, hair, and porcupine-quills. The hair of the women is suffered to grow long, and is parted from the forehead across the head, at the back of which it is either collected into a kind of bag or hangs do\vn over the shoulders. Their mocassins are like those of the men, as are also the leggings, which do not, however, reach below the knee, where they are met by a long loose shii-t which reaches nearly to the ankles; this is fastened over the shoulders by a string, and has no sleeves, but a few pieces of the skin hang a short distance down the arms. Sometimes a girdle fastens this skin around the waist, and over all is thrown a robe like that worn by the men. Their lodges [wigwams, or houses] are very neatly constructed; they consist of about 100 cabins, made of white buffalo-hide dressed, with a larger one in the centre for holding carnivals and dances. They are built round, with poles about 15 or 20 feet high, covered with white skins. These lodges may be taken to pieces, packed up, and carried with the natives wherever they go by dogs, which bear great burdens."
Naturally the dress described above varies to a certain extent with the tribe. Among the chiefs of certain tribes the feather head-dress, which is generally made from eagles' feathers, attains an inordinate de\-elopment, forming a kind of "tail," hanging down the back
North America
54:
from the head to the heels, with the line of feathers forming a crest down the back. In a remarkably fine specimen exhibited in the ethnological galleries of the British Museum, the front of the head-piece is ornamented with a pair of slender horns cut from those of a bison, while over the forehead is a tiara of the claws of the grizzly bear. Such head-dresses are known to have been used by the Mandans, Sioux, and Asiniboins. The ordinary members of a tribe had of course garments of a simpler type, commonly comprising a loin-cloth, mocassins, leggings, and robe, which were for the most part made of skins, although several of the tribes had acquired the art of making simple fabrics of bast, rushes, and other vegetable substances. As intercourse with Europeans increased, cotton and woollen fabrics were gradually introduced ; and now, with the extermination of the bison, blankets replace the robe of bison-hide. Not the least noteworthy feature connected with the Indians of the North-west is
LoMi FLAlHt
their capacity for withstanding the most intense cold with a very scanty supply of clothing, many of them going about half naked even in mid-winter. An old Indian, when questioned as to the reason of this capacity for withstanding cold, replied that, as the faces of Europeans were capable of bearing exposure to aU weathers, his own people could go about in a half-clad condition because their persons were " all face."
P'or bedding robes of fur and mats of rushes were chiefly used ; some tribes e\en using rude bedsteads. Among the Siouans the habitations of the forest-dwelling tribes were usually of the above-described tent-like tyi)e, covered with bark, rush-mats, skins, or even bushes. On the other hand, the triln'.s wandering on the open prairie made earth-covered lodges for winter, and bison-skin tents, or tipts, for summer use. Simple as were all these types of dwelling, a regular routine plan was followed in their construction ; special importance being attached to the employment of thirteen supporting-poles.
544
The Living Races of Mankind
PholobJj Mr T\ Ri
[Plaladdphia. IAN IN EUEOPrAN DRESS
As regards personal adornment and orna- ments, the practice of painting the face has been ah'eady mentioned; this painting of the face and body being to a large extent symbolical. The various forms of this type of decoration may be best realised by inspecting the platei* in Catlin's well-known volumes on the North American Indians ; in which work may also be seen the different kinds of head-dress and other ornamental garbs assumed during the war-dances and other ceremonials. In addition to painting, tattooing was fairly common among the western Siouans and ceitain other tribes. The employ- ment of human scalps as articles of adornment was to proclaim the prowess of the wearer in battle, while the claws of the grizzly bear indi- cated his success in the chase. Frequently bangles and earrings, and more rarely nose-rings, were worn ; while bone or shell lip-ornaments were in use among some of the tribes of the North-west Pacific coast. Special attention must be called to the use of the shell-beads forming the celebrated ivampum, which were used both as articles of personal adornment and as a medium of exchange. These were generally made from clam-shells, and took the form of elongated or ci"ar-shaped beads, sometimes of considerable size; they might be employed either of their natural colour or stained of various colours, and were threaded on strings and worn as necklaces or belts ; a wampum belt being a badge of friendship. Wampum was little used by the Missouri Siouans, and not at all by the tribes of the North-west. Pearls too — for the most part obtained from the fresh-water mussels which swarm in many of the North American rivers — were largely employed as articles of personal adornment ; vast quantities of them having been discovered in the ancient mounds of the Ohio Valley.
Orio-inally most of these implements and weapons were made of stone, wood, bone, buckshorn, or horn; but native copper seems to have been used at an early period in the neighbourhood of Lake Superior, and in recent times metal has more or less completely replaced the more primitive material. A'ery characteristic of American aborigines is the tobacco-pipe, which as the caUmet, or pipe-of-peace, played an important part in the settlement of tribal disputes, and was never smoked except on occasions of ceremony. Among the Siouan. tribes pipes were car\ed from a special sacred stone (catlinite), quaiTied in the central districts of the habitat of the family. They were frequently carved in the form of the tomahawk or axe- thus symbolising lx)th peace and war. In modern times pipe-tomahawks, manufactured in Europe, came into vogue, and could be used either as an axe or as a pipe; the blade of the former making one extremity of the head, and the bowl of the latter the other, the perforated handle serving as the stem. But by far the most complex pipes were those formerly, and to some extent still, manufactured of black slate by the Haida tribe of Queen Charlotte- Islands, on the North-west Pacific coast. They were cut out of a solid slab of stone, and car\'ed into the images of various animals in such an elaborate and complicated manner that it is often difficult to discover the course of the tube, into one aperture of which was probably inserted a movable bowl and into the other a reed. As already indicated, a mixture of tobacco,, bark, leaves, etc., known as kinni-kinic, was the material smoked.
As regards implements of war and the chase, the bow and arrow were to the Nortb
^•^:--?- ■^.' v\'^^•^.v. -; , .fS«^
E3i> ^^
,^
69
546
The Living Races of Manl<ind
American Indians what the blow-pipe is to his distant cousin of Guiana, or the bolas to the native of the Argentine pampas. Among the tribes of the prairies the bow is a feeble- looking instrument, remarkable for its shortness, though capable of driving an arrow well through the massive hide of the bison at close quarters. Stone tomahawks were the original type of axe, but even in Catlin's time these were replaced by metal weapons made in Sheffield ; and the same is true of the war-club, which was originally of wood with a spike of bone or iron, but was subsequently exchanged for a brass-studded European article. Similarly Sheffield steel scalping-knives, with ornamental sheaths, were substituted for the primitive stone-bladed implements. A lance or spear was also frequently used. Boomerangs from New jNIexico are shown in the British Museum. Long pointed snow-shoes were used in winter by the Chippewyans and Siouans.
Among the tribes ilwelling on the coast or large rivers, the canoe (which, by the way, is another native term) was the characteristic aboriginal vessel, which, however, varied considerably in construction in diflerent districts. The best known, and at the same time the most graceful, is the birch-bark canoe of the Chippewyans and other northern tribes. But among many of the Siouans, as well as the Sac and Foxes among the Algonquians, the cauoe was dug out from a log, although so thinned down as to be very Hght. Again, among the Siouans the Dakota squaws (women) made broad coracles of bison-hide, in which they transported themselves, their families, and their goods. These vessels were, however, despised by the men, who preferred to make their journeys by land.
Of the picture-writing practised by the North American Indians, limits of space allow merely the bare mention, but it was once largely used. In addition to this there was a "sign-language," by means of which information was conveyed through pantomimic gesture; some of the Siouans displaying extraordinary proficiency in this mode of communication. Mats and baskets of remarkably neat manufacture were made by the women of all the tribes, the Vancouver Islanders excelling in this respect ; while embroidery with quills and beads on
buckskin or bark was also a familiar art, as was the making of wooden bowls. On journeys water was, however, generally carried in bags made from the stomaclis of deer and other animals.
Although the Indians of the country eastwards of the Mississippi grew maize, beans, pumpkins, melons, gourds, tobacco, and sunflowers, agriculture was not jiractised at all by the majority of the tribes, who obtained such vegetable food as they required from wild plants and trees, and devoted their energies to the pursuits of hunting and fish- wig. Previous to the introduction of the horse the dog was the sole domestic animal possessed by the aborigines of the districts under consideration; in addition to being used as a beast of burden and draught, dogs were also eaten as food, although by the time of Lewis and Clark, to whom it was ofl'ered, such meat appears to have been used only on special occasions of ceremony. But the great food-supply of many tribes, espe- cially those of the Siouan stock, was the »i [r!.,:;deij.hia. bisou, some depending entirely upon this
GUANAJUATO wATEB-cARuiERs, MEXICO. auinuil alike for food, clothing, and the other
North America
547
necessaries of life. In the census of 1880 the number of Indians depending upon the bison in the territories under the United States Govern- ment was given as 74,758, of which 30,561 were Sioux. But this enumeration took no account of many thousands of Indians settled in the Indian Territory and other districts of the south- west, who drew a large supply of meat and robes from the chase of the bufi'alo, notwithstanding the fact that they had been induced by Govern- ment to take extensively to agriculture. Within the territories of the Dominion Government there were likewise hosts of natives depending upon that animal; and in the winter of 188G-87 many of these suffered severe privation, owing to the unexpected cutting off of their supplies by the bison's extermination.
For more than half a century the chase of the bison by the Indians of the prairies was con- ducted on horseback ; the slaughter of the former animal being ac<.ciiiipli>li(nl at first by bows and arrows, but in later years with firearms. In I7t)() Carver describes smiie tif tlie Indians hunting the bison, but makes no mention of the employment of horses, although these were already in the p(isses>i(ii] of some of the tribes. Lewis and ('\:\vk icfer to the Teton Sioux as being well- known licirse-stealers in 1804, and it was about this date that some of the Algonquians acquired this animal, which was in common use among the Siouans in 1832. It is noteworthy that the Dakota name for the horse is the equivalent of dog, witl or mystery.
While the men were in the field hunting or fighting, the squaws remained at home to do the work of the camp, such as cooking, dressing hides, making clothes and baskets, preparing dried meat (pemmican), or building coracles. Among those tribes who cultivated maize and vegetables, this work also fell to the women's share.
To the moral and intellectual character of the North American Indians space admits of only the briefest reference. A reserved and moody temperament is highly characteristic of the typical North American Indian, who on all occasions endeavours to preserve an impassive external demeanour, which is often maintained even while undergoing intense bodily agony. It is considered, however, that this outward show of dignity is in most cases due rather to ostentation and vanity than to innate pride. It must not, however, be supposed that Indians never laugh; when among tlieir own family, they do so heartily. Cruelty of disposition to their enemies is also a ilislinetive trait, although this was much more noted among the tribes to the east of the .Mississippi than in those beyond. Towards one another, and especially towards the women and children, a kindly and affectionate disposition was displayed by the members of a tribe, although never in a demonstrative manner. Intellectually the North American Indian may be ranked below his Mongol cousin ; the development of his intellect seeming to become arrested after childhood. They appreciate music, the usual instruments being the rattle, flute, and drum; the latter among the Siouans being a skin bottle or bag of water. It appears that the North American Indians invented a flageolet of hard wood or
Miueum, Chicago.
an atftx indicating size, sacredness,
543
The Living Races of Mankind
cane before they had any knowledge of the European instrument. Good specimens from the Cocopa, Sioux, Creek, Ajiache, and otlier tribes are found in the U.S. National Museum. Sports, such as racing and dancing, were freely entered into, while games of chance were also appreciated, plum-stones serving as dice among some of the prairie tribes. Apache playing- cards made of skin are exhibited in the British Museum. The cruel rites by which the youths of many tribes were admitted to the rank of warriors need only bare mention.
The tribal system was maintained in great perfection; each tribe being governed by a paramount chief, under whom were minor chieftains. A very complex social system was also developed, into the details of which it is impossible to enter here. It may be observed, however, that, in the opinion of American anthropologists, the clan system — that is to say, the calculation of descent from the mother's side— was just being merged in the gens, or system of paternal descent, about the time that the natives came under European influence. " Every clan in a tribe," writes Mr. J. W. Powell, " receives a special name, which has come to be known as its totem. Thus in a tribe there may be a buffalo clan, a cloud clan, a wind clan, an eagle clan, and a parrot clan, with others. Sometimes the clan name is the common name for all persons in the clan, but more often there is a group of names signifying suine real oi
|?i/ „/-:.■>
^■f'Wj^
■^■^-;^
rUoto by Wilj'.id Ell.
iUAICSO WOilEX A>'D CHILD, COSTA RICA.
North America
549
mythological characteristic of the animal or objed taken as the totem. P'or example, in the buttalc clan tliei-e may be a name signifying 'sitting bull,' another 'standing bull,' still another 'mad butfalo ' ; and names taken from the mythology of the buffalo may be used. The clan name, or totem, is used to distinguish the members of one clan from the members of another. It is never used in the first and second persons, but always in the third person. In direct address the kinshij) name expressing relative age must always be used. Uncles in the clan are addressed as fathers, cousins in the clan as brothers and sisters." The so-called tahoo and such-like prohibitions are used chiefly in connection with marriage ; marriage among iiiiMiihers of the sunic clan or gens being prohibited. ^ ery curimis is the prolii- bition of communication between cliildren-in-law and jjarents-in-law. The names of the wife's parents, for instance, are never uttered by the husband ; while the husband and the father-in-law always avoid entering the same lodge, so far as possible, and never even look on each other if they can help it. Similarly the wife never addresses nu^hynmhi^ [f at i .
her father-in-law. The adoption of these customs a carti! \ m\n Lt uuich ( uiana
in European society might be conducive to family «nH leg-bands.
peace and quietness !
A plurality of wives is clearly of advantage to a good hunter, since, if he possess but one squaw, her whole time must be devoted to houseliold work, so that she is unable to dress furs and such-like, whereby her husband cannot accumulate jaroperty. Such may be one reason which has conduced to the general existence of polygamy among North American tribes ; another, perhaps, being the superabundance of women, owing to the frequency of inter- tribal wars. Marriage is almost universally arranged by the purchase of the bride, with or without her own consent, from tlie father. In the case of an unwilling bride marriage by capture may have to be resorted to. Young people may, however, form mutual attachments which are stronger than tribal law; in such cases their only course is to abscond and live together in solitude as man and wife. If they maintain themselves there till the birth of a child, the marriage becomes ipso facto legalised ; and it is in this way alone that a " love match " can be effected.
As regards the dead, corpses among the !Maiidans were exposed on scaffolds, wliere they were left till the bones were clean and dry ; these latter being collected and buried, while the skulls were arranged in large circles on the open prairie, each jilaced on a bunch of wild sage. During the exposure of the bodies the scaffolds were frequently visited by the weeping relatives. The dead, too, were supplied with food ; while in the case of a murdered man the corpse was often provided with a rope with which to bind his murderer in the next world. In curious contrast to this attention to the dead was the practice of exposing the aged and feeble (even when they were chiefs) to death by starvation, which formerly prevailed among the Missouri Siouans.
Another curious practice prevalent in Catlin's time on the lower parts of the Columbia, and much earlier among the Choctaws and Chicasas, was that of flattening the heads of infants. The unfortunate children were laid in a narrow wooden cradle, at the upper end of which was a lid working on a hinge, this being jjressed down upon the forehead and there fixed.
550
The Living Races of Mankind
J bn D-r. Shrtnreich]
NN'ith regard to the prevalence of witch- craft, all that space allows us to say is that there was a body of men, and sometimes women also, who were known as medicine- men, shamans, or priests, whose province it was to control all religious ceremonies and to act as diviners. Under their control lay all ceremonies connected with war, hunting, fishing, and gathering the fruits of the earth ; while it was likewise a part of their duty to regulate the climate and to conti-ol the good and evil destinies of the peojde under their charge. The chief shamans are men ; but all the people are bonded together under shamanistic societies.
Unfortunately, space allows of only the most cursory allusion to the so-called " ghost- dance religion," which spread over the Western United States between 1889 and 1892, and was closely connected with the great Siouan rebellion of that time. In the devotees of this cult the normal mental processes were suspended and the ordinary bodily functions dominated for hoiu-s or days. Indians usually docile and contented suddenly became morose and bloodthirsty, while peaceful tribes on an instant broke into rebellion against the para- mount j)0wer. The peculiar mode of thought characteristic of Indians generally, their habitual appeal to the unknown for the explanation of simple facts, together with their habit of peopling their natural surroundings with ghostly imaginations, doubtless, as JNIi-. J. Mooney well remarks, rendered them peculiarly susceptible to the advance of the new cult. In the curious and numerous ceremonies connected with the ghost-dance hypnotism played no inconsiderable part. Between thirty and thirty-five different tribes, numbering about 65,000 individuals, appear to have come under the influence of this strange cult, which died out as suddenly as it appeared.
Turning to the religious belief of the tribes under consideration, it will be a shock to many of our readers to learn that the belief in an all-powerful "Great Spirit" is an utter fallacy, due to a misapprehension on the part of the early students of Indian mythology. Among the Siouan tribes the creation and control of the world and its inhabitants were ascribed to rvakanda, just as among the Algonquians it was attributed to manito— the mighty. "Yet," writes Mr. McGee, "inquiry shows that wakanda assumes various forms, and is rather a quantity than a definite entity. Thus, among many of the tribes, the sun is wakanda — not the wakanda or a wakanda, but simply wakanda ; and among the same tribes the moon is wakanda, and so is thunder, lightning, the stars, the winds, the cedar, and various other things ; even a man, especially a shaman, might be wakanda or a wakanda. In addition, the term was applied to mythic monsters of the earth, air, and waters ; according to some of the sages the gi-ound or earth, the mythic under-world, the ideal upper-world, darkness, etc., were wakanda or wakandas. So, too, the fetishes and the ceremonial objects and decorations were wakanda among different tribes. Among some of the groups various animals and other trees besides the specially wakanda cedar were regarded as wakandas; as abeady noted, the horse among the prairie tribes was the wakanda dog. In Uke manner many natural objects and places of striking character were considered wakanda. Thus the term was applied to all sorts of entities and
CABIB OR ACKAWOI WOMAN (PROFILE), SPIKES IN LOWER LIP AND EARS.
North America
551
ideas, and was used indiscriminately as substantive and adjective, and with slight modification as verb and adverb. Manifestly a term so protean is not susceptible of translation into the more highly differentiated languages of civilisation. Manifestly, too, the idea expressed by the term is indefinite, and cannot justly be rendered into spirit, much less into Great Spirit." Thus ends a myth crystallised into the English language by the poem "Hiawatha"!
The so-called Pueblo (= Village) Indians of the ilat table-lands (mesas) of Arizona and New Mexico differ so remarkably in their culture, habitations, and general mode of life from all the tribes hitherto considered that they must be noticed separately. It is not that they form a single linguistic or ethnical stock-group, like those above mentioned, because the Hopi, who inhabit seven villages in North-eastern Arizona (Tusaya), are undoubtedly a branch of the great nomad Shoshonean stock of the prairies, who have taken to a settled life. The reason for the association of all the Pueblo tribes is to be found rather in the general similarity of their customs, ceremonies, culture, traditions, and dwellings; in all of which respects they stand on a much higher platform than do their northern and eastern neighbours. In these respects, indeed, they appear to constitute in some degree a connecting-link between the latter and the still more cultured tribes of Mexico and Peru. It has further been suggested that a more or less intimate connection exists between the Pueblo Indians and the Algonquian mound-builders of the Ohio Valley. But this is not accepted by other writers, who regard the mounds, the Pueblo structures, and the Maya-Aztec monuments as of independent local origin.
Be this as it may, it is evident that the so-called cliS-dwellers of the Canyon de Chelly, in Arizona, form only one development of Pueblo culture. In addition to the Tusayan Hopi, already mentioned, who are commonly designated (by a vile term of abuse) Moki by their neighbours, the Pueblo Indians are divided into three groups, severally known as the Tanoan, Keresan, and Zuiiian. Each of these speaks a different stock-language ; and the whole of them number about 10,300, and occupy about thirty distinct villages, or puehlos. With the exception of the Zuiii, who inhabit a single pueblo in New Mexico, each of these stocks is subdivided into numerous tribes. And although as a matter of convenience all the Pueblo Indians have been brigaded in a single group in the table given on i^age 334, it will be manifest that the subdivisions of these groups really correspond to the stock-groups of the less cultured tribes.
All the Pueblo tribes dwell, or rather dwelt, as regards some of them, in jiermanent buildings, some of which were remarkable for their size and complexity. A writer in Scrihner's Magazine, when describing the cliflf-dwellings of the Canyon de Chelly, says that the " mysterious mound-builders fade into comj^arative insignificance before the grander and more ancient cliff- dwellers, whose castles lift their towers amid the sands of Arizona and crown the terraced slopes of the Kio Mancos and the Hovenweajj. ... In size and grandeur of
The Living Races of Mankind
conception the}' equal any of the present buildings of the United States, if we except the Capitol at Washington, and may without discredit be compared to the Pantheon and the Coliseum of the Old World."
Another writer, Mr.
Mindelftr, says that "the
whole I'ueblo counlry is
covered with the remains in
single nxims and groups of
rooms, put up to meet some
immediate necessit}'. Some
of these may have been built
centuries ago, some are only
a few years or a few months
old. yet the structures do not
V ditiV-r l'r')m one another; nor,
Wl Jf on the other hand, does the
-^1^ Jg similarity imi)ly that the
^HBg^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Bjfe builder of the oldest example
■^ i^^^^^^^lllPwBB^B^B^B » or
,-^^M^^^^^^^^^^ ^^B^^^M llFri "' descendants of to-day— both
^Hfljvi^^^V '^^^^B wK^' utilised the material at hand,
^^^^^M I^^^^B '^^^m ^W <in>i each accomplished his
^^H^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Hjtf as are
■^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ locally caUed, were cajiacious
enough to contain the whole tribe who built them. But the object of this book is to describe living men and their customs rather than the buildings of past ages.
The Pueblo Indians themselves, as shown by three life-like busts in the Natural History Museum, are decidedly good-looking people, some being lighter-coloured than others, and grey hair not uncommon among the elders. Like American Indians in general, they never become bald. In both sexes the hair is confined by a fillet of red cloth across the forehead, passing round the head ; while the body is enveloped in a blanket gracefully draped over the shoulders.
By ipetim.^sion of iht Projeisor of Anthropology, Ni A CAKIB MAH.
The iwo photographs of Tt
Indians were kindly supplied by Mr. J. G. Eeid. of Lima.
CHAPTER XXIV.
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA (INCLUDING MEXICO).
Previous to the extermination, or reduction in numbers, of many tribes by the Spanish conquest, there appears to have been a continuous transition from the natives of North America to those inhabiting the southern half of the New World ; some of the tribes of Central America being nearly related to certain North American stocks, while others came closer to those of South America. And even at the present day, when many of the links have been snapped, the South American natives are, in regard to physical characters, very similar to their northern kinsmen ; so much so, indeed, that the distinc- tions between them are due more to differences in customs, culture, and language (which latter is, however, essentially of the same general type) than to variation in physical char- acters. The general physical similarity of all the Central and South American tribes is the more remarkable when the great physical differences presented by diSerent parts of the immense country they inhabit are taken into con- sideration. From the tropical forests of Brazil to the snow- clad i^eaks of the Andes, and from these, again, to the open pampas of Argentina, the wilds of Patagonia, and the hail- swept shores of Tierra del Fuego, the aboriginal inhabi- tants present a singularly slight degree of divergence from one common type.
As we have seen in the last chapter, the North Ameri- can aborigines, with the marked exception of the Pueblo Indians, present a great general similarity in their common mode of life and degree of culture ; none of them, in their original state, having advanced a cabib woman.
554
The Living Races of Mankind
beyond a condition of semi-har- barism. In Central and South America, on the other hand, a very different state of things occurs ; some of the native tribes, like the Aztecs and Incas, having reached a comparatively high grade of civilisation ; while others were plunged in the lowest depths of savagery. Cannibalism, for in- stance, was much more prevalent in the south than in the northern half of the New World ; and seems, moreover, to have come more naturally to the people, being pi-actised when other diet was available, whereas in the nortli it was generally resorted to only under the pressure of dire necessity. Inequality of cultural development may accordingly be considered as \ery characteristic of the aborigines of Central and South America. And here it may be noticed that it was the more cultm-ed nations that fell the easiest prey to the Spanish conquerors ; many of them being in such an artificial condi- tion of society that tjieir organi- sation seemed to crumble to pieces of its own accord at the first shock of invasion. On the other hand, the less cultured races have tended to persist, either in their original condition or by a more or less complete blemling with their conquerors, in a manner which forms a gi-atifying contrast to the fate of the majority of the tribes of North Amei-ica. A further cause of satisfaction is afforded by the spread of Christianity among the South American natives. This is exemplified very strikingly in a table published about fifty years ago, in which the total number of Christianised natives was estimated at more than 1,500,000, while those remaining in original barbarism were set down at less than 100,000.
The number of tribes in Central and South America being so great, little good would be gained by attempting to enumerate them all ; and attention will accordingly be concentrated on some of the more important or interesting groujis, which must serve as samples of the whole assemblage.
ESTS IN THE LOBES
CENTRAL A3IERICA.
Under this name may be included the states of Lower California and Mexico, together with Yucatan, British Honduras, Guatemala, Honduras, San Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Kica, and Panama. The West Indies, too, may be affiliated to Central America; but as their aboriginal population has been swej^t away, they need claim no special attention here.
By far the most interesting of the Central American populations are those groups
Central America
555
respectively known as the Nahuatlan and the Huaxtecan ; the former comprising the Aztecs and the Pipils, and the latter the Mayas, Quiches, and Pocomans. The Nahuatlan group may be regarded as characteristic of the Plateau of Mexico, or Anahuac, as it used to be called, whereas the Huaxtecan stock attains its main development in Yucatan and Guatemala. Curiously enough, however, the typical Huaxtecs are a JMexican peojjle dwelling in the states of Vera Cruz and Tamaulipas, while the Nahuatlan Pipils occur as far south as Nicaragua.
Since it is the object of the present work to describe existing rather than exterminated peoples, our mention of the Nahuatlan Aztecs must be very brief. As the result of modern researches, it appears that the Nahuatlan stock was an offshoot of the southern Shoshoneans of North America, and that the Aztecs established their famous empire, whose capital was Tenochtitlan (the modern city of Mexico), about the fifteenth century by the overthrow of the earlier Chichimecs, who also belonged to the same stock. The fall of the Aztec Empire before the Spanish conquerors in 1520 is a well-known historical fact ; and it only remains to mention that during its brief existence this empire was infamous for the hideous cruelty of its so-called religious rites, in the celebration of which thousands of victims are said to have been immolated at a time. Their religion, such as it was, appears to have been borrowed from the Mavas ; but, in accordance with the tierce Aztec nature, the gentle JMaya deities became transformed into the incarnation of demons.
Passing by still earlier tribes with the bare mention that the splendid ruins of Mitla attest the high degree of civilisation of the pre-Aztec Zapotecs, another Mexican tribe, reference must be made to the Seri Indians of the Sonora district of North-western Mexico, on account of their being more savage than other tribes to the northward of the Isthmus of Panama. Mr. McGee, who visited them in 1 895, states that " most of their food is eaten raw, they have no domestic animals save dogs, they are totally without agriculture, and their industrial arts are few and rude." A greater contrast to the Aztec and Maya civilisations could scarcely be imagined !
Although the Aztecs and their language have largely disappeared from the modern representative of their ancient cajiital. the city of Merida, in Northern Yucatan, which stands
NATIVES OP PERU.
556
The Living Races of Mankind
on the site of Ti-hoo, the ancient iMaya capital, is at the present day to a great extent Mayan still. Even the old style of building is retained, the houses in the suburbs being built at an elevation of a yard or so above the level of the roadway, while the difierent streets are indicated by images of various birds representing the old Mayan minor deities. The Mayas are a people of delicate and almost feminine physiognomy, and of equally gentle disposition. Nevertheless, they held out stubbornly against the Spanish conquerors ; and in a narrow strip of country between Yucatan and British Honduras a remnant of the Mayas has survived all the wars which have convulsed this part of the American Continent. There seems, indeed, a tendency for the Spanish settlers and half-breeds to become absorbed in the native stock ; while, with the exception of the Campeachy district, the old Maya-Quiche dialects are tending to regain the ascendency in Yucatan and Guatemala. Even nominal Christians retain many of the old ^lava rites ; the descendants of the national astrologers still practising the ancient divinations, forecasting the future, and predicting good or bad harvests by the stars. The old tutelary deities have, however, assumed the names of Christian saints, although their attributes have become more or less modified; and the doctrine of the transmigration of souls still holds its position, as is exemplified by the jsractice of chalking the road from the house to the grave of a recently deceased i^erson, in order that the soul may be able to find its way at the jiroper time to enter the body of a new-born child.
But the chief interest connected with the Ma3'a-Quiche civilisation centres on the system of reckoning time; and in this connection we cannot do better than quote from the report of the Director of the U.S. Bureau of Ethnology : •• Most of the American tribes had advanced to the stage of graphic symbolism, and were thus on the threshold of writing when the New World was discovered by Columbus. Among many of the tribes the art was rudimentary, and limited to crude pictography. The pictographs were painted or sculptured on cliff-faces, boulders, the walls of caverns, and other rock-surfaces, and even more frequentlv, although less liermanently, on trees, as well as on skins, bark, and various artificial objects. . . . Among certain Mexican tribes, also, autographic records were in use, and some of them were much better differentiated than any within the present area of the United States. The records were not only painted and sculptm-ed on stone and moulded in stucco, but were inscribed in books or codices of native parchment and paper. Among the plains Indians the calendars are simple, consisting commonly of a record of winters and of notable events occurring either during the winter or during some other season of the year ; while the shorter divisions are reckoned by ' nights ' (days), ' dead moons ' (lunations), and seasons of leafing, flowering, or fruiting of plants, migrating of animals, etc. ; so that there is no definite system of reducing days to lunations or lunations to years. Among the Pueblo Indians calendric records are inconspicuous or absent, though there is a much more definite calendric system, which is fixed and perpetuated by religious ceremonies; while among some of the Mexican tribes there are elaborate calendric systems combined with complete calendric records. The perfection of the calendar among the Maya and Nahua Indians is indicated by the fact that not only were 365 days reckoned as a year, but the bissextile (leap year) was recognised — indeed, some astronomers have regarded the calendar of ancient Mexico as even more accurate than the Julian calendar of early Christendom."
[Paris.
>F LA PLATA.
MAI' SIIOWINU DlSTUIilU'l
The Living Races of Mankind
J^^Vvi'^v
fe
) bi/ M iian -Martin
With this quotation we must reluctantly leave ]\Iexico and Central America proper to pass on to —
THE GUIANAS AND VENEZUELA.
The extermination of nearly all the aborigines of the West Indies has made a break in what was once a comjjlete connection between the natives of the northern and southern halves of the New World. The Cebunys of Cuba, the West Indian Caribs, and the Lucayans of the Bahamas were some of the links between the more northern tribes and the Caribs of the Guianas and the Arawakan group of Venezuela and the neighbouring districts. The Indians of British Guiana and adjacent territories having been treated in great detail by Mr. im Thurn, somewhat more sjDace may be devoted to them than to their neighbours. Venezuela and the Guianas, it is scarcely necessary to say, occupy the north-eastern extremity of South America, and are forest-clad or savanna tropical countries. The aborigines found in these territories are divisible into three great groups, or branches, respectively named Warrauan, Arawakan, and Caribean. The first of these comprises only the Warrau tribe ; the second embraces the Arawak, Atorai, Maypure, Wapiana, Vaura, Mahinacu, and Layana tribes ; while the third includes the true Caribs, Bakau-is, Nahuquas, Pamellas, Galibis, Calinas, Arecunas, Macusis, and Ackawois. Although distinguished by language, the members of these groups and tribes present but slight physical differences from one another, so that it requires a long residence among them before such points of distinction become recognisable. The Warraus are the shortest and weakest of all, their bodies being long in proportion to their limbs, their expression of countenance gloomy and morose, and their colour apparently very dark; the latter featm-e is, however, chiefly due to the amount of dirt with which the skin is covered. The members of the Arawakan group are taller and better-proportioned, the Arawaks themselves being only slightly sui)erior in height to the ^^'arraus, whereas the Wapianas are unusually tall for Indians, their bodies being slightly and well built, and their features regular and
The Quianas and Venezuela
559
fine. In all Arawakans the skin is much lighter than in the Warraus, partly omng to its natural colour, and partly to the cleanly habits of these people. The tribes of the Caribean group are all characterised by the darkness of the skin, the degree varying in the different tribes. The true Caribs are rather taller than the Arawaks, with well-knit frames, and coarser, although distinctly powerful features. The Ackawois are shorter and slighter in body; their general ii]i|ii';naiicc. jierhaps owing to their habits, hciiig decidedly wretched. The Macusis are still darker iliaii the true Caribs and Ackawois, luil taller, slighter, and better- made; while their features are more regular, and their expression, although timid, is bright and intelligent. Darkest of all are tlie Arecunas, who in build and feature are very like the Macusis, although they are more powerful and fierce.
The Warraus, who are timid people of filthy habits, originally dwelt in houses built on poles in swamps and on the seashore, and are the great canoe-builders for tlieir inland neighbours. The Arawaks are the cleanest and most civilised of all, many of them speaking English, wearing European clotlies, and being Christians. Although their original habits have been much modified, they still dwell in houses of the primitive type, and still maintain their hereditary hatred of the Caribs. The Wapianas, Atorais, and kindred tribes are the great middlemen or traders of the districts they inhabit, and are likewise the canoe-builders for the coast tribes. Unlike their neighbours, they eat the cassava, which is the staple vegetable food of all the tribes, in the form of rough meal (farine), rather than of bread or cakes; in this respect they resemble tlie Brazilian natives. Although all the members of the Caribean stock are fiercer and more warlike than their neighbours, these attributes attain the maximum
ria.lol.^.M.S.,,, .1/,,
A GROUP OF SANAPANA WOMEN OP THE PARAGUAYAN CIIACO.
56o
The Living Races of Mankind
development among the true Quibs. The Caribs are further peculiar in tliat they are often found scattered irregularly among the other tribes ; they are the great pottery- makers of the country, although this manufac- tuie is shaied to a small degree by the Ackawois, who, indeed, supply all their o'.vn needs, and are thus independent of the otjier tribes. Although \crv similar in customs
Photo by A de S Correa
A PARTY OF BOTOCnnOS.
Mil. I laiiLjuih^r,., the iretitie Alaru>is staiiil in awe of their bolder neighbours the Arecunas.
As regards physical features, Guiana may be divided into the coast region, next the forest region, and farther inland still the savanna districts, which pass south- wards into the great sa\'annas of Brazil. The northern coast region, in the neighbourhood of the sources of the Orinoco and nearest the West Indies, is inhabited by the Warraus, next to whom come the Arawaks. The forest region is almost exclusively populated by the Ackawois, although a few single settlements of true Caribs (who <are more abundant elsewhere) are found here also. In the savanna region the Arecunas, Macusis, and Wajiianas (with whom dwell the Atorais) are found to the north in the neighbourhood of the Orinoco, while farther south their place is taken by other tribes, \^''ith the exception of the Atorais and a few others who live among their neighbours, each tribe inhabits a distinct although ill-defined tract of territory. Naturally, the "forest" and "savanna Indians" diiJer more or less markedly from one another in their mode of life. It is further important to notice that, whereas the Warrauan and Arawakan stocks appear to be truly indigenous to the country, the Caribeans are to be regarded in the light of immigrants; their original home, according to the latest in\estigations, being the highlands of Matto Grosso, in the interior of Brazil.
A very curious difference between the native and immigrant stocks is that the former make their hammocks (which, by the way, are very chai-acteristic of South American Indians) from the fibres of a palm, whereas the immigrants employ cotton for this purpose.
As regards physique, the Indians under consideration are characterised by their sleekness and their tendency to run to fat at an early age; this being due to their cassava diet. The features are often more Mongoloid than is the case with the tribes of North America ; the ex}iression is mostly gentle, and the eyes are habitually downcast. Although capable, at a pinch, of undergoing a long spell of protracted labour, the Indians of Guiana are a physically weak race, and require to recuperate after unusual toil by a rest of several days in their hammocks. In their original condition most of them — the Ackawois, for example — are characterised by the practical absence of dress, the women wearing a fringed apron, and the men a strip of cloth between the legs. Even when European clothes have been adopted, these are found irksome, and are often doffed when away from the settlements. Both sexes wear the hair long and parted in the middle ; they never become bald, and light yellow hair, which in these Indians represents the grey locks of Europe, is of rare occurrence. Indeed,
The Guianas and Venezuela
561
they are a short-lived people, becoming aged at forty, and but rarely surviving till sixty. Cleanliness is a pleasing feature of the majority; this being due to the frequent baths, which are always taken just after a meal. In swimming the legs are scarcely bent out, but are drawn straight under the body, and then shot backwards.
Flattening the head of infants, which formerly prevailed among the Caribs, is still practised by a littIe-kno\vn tribe on the Essequibo. "Among the true Caribs," writes Mr. im 'fhurn, " a two-inch-broad belt of cotton is knitted round each ankle and just below each knee of very young female children ; and this band is never throughout life removed, or if removed is immediately replaced. The consequence is that the muscles of the calf swell out to an abnormal degree between these bands, while those jjarts of the leg which are actually constricted remain hardly thicker than the bone. . . . The arms are more rarely constricted in the same way. Of the other Carib tribes, the iSIacusi and Arecuna women have one such con- striction above each ankle, but not the second below the knee. . . . The true Carib and Ackawoi women, and more rarely those of other tribes, pierce one or more holes in their lower lips, through each of which they pass, point outward, a jDin or sharpened piece of wood. What the object of this may be I do not know, as kissing is unknown among Indians ; but the effect is that the lips are protected by a dangerous-looking row of spikes. Similarly the men pierce one hole just under the middle of theu- lower lips, through which they pass the loop of a string, fastening it inside the mouth, to which is attached a bell-shaped ornament, hanging down over the chin ; and they jjierce the cartilage of the septum of their noses, from which they suspend a half-moon-shaped ornament. The ears, too, of men, and sometimes of women, are pierced, and pieces of stick or straw passed through the openings."
Y^
H'.^^
WAR INDIANS OF THE LENGUA TRIBE.
562
The Living Races of Manl^ind
LENGDAS OF THE PARAGUAYAN
Sandals, cut from the leaf-stalk of a imlm, are occasionally worn ; and although speedily destroyed by use, can be quickly replaced. As regards ornamental dress, this is worn by some tribes habitually, and by others only on special occasions. Painting is frequently employed, and often so extensively and in such a tasteful manner as to convey the impression that the person so adorned is fully clothed. Tattooing is, however, rare, and chiefly confined to the production of small tribal marks at the corners of the mouth or on the arms. It is true that the bodies of most Indians are scored with straight scars, but these have been produced for surgical purposes. Kecklaces of jDeccari (pig) tusks and a pair of armlets are worn by most of the men, who also often twist strings of colom-ed seeds or beads round their ankles and wrists. Of the nose-pieces, those of a crescent or cheese-knife shape are peculiar to the Carib stock, and the cu-cular to the Wapianas. Specimens of jMacusi and other feather head-dresses may be seen in the British INIuseum. Eegarding these Mr. im Thurn writes as follows : " Beautiful crowns of feathers, of two shapes, the colours varying with the tribe to which each Indian belongs, are worn on the head. Several strings of cotton hang from the back of these down to the heels, where they are finished off with skins of toucans, fire-birds, cocks-of-the- rock, and other such bright-colom-ed birds, or with tassels made of iridescent beetles' wings, which tinkle like tiny bells at each movement of the bearer. . . . Ruffs made of the long tail-feathers of macaws are fastened on to the shoulders so as to stand out almost at right angles to the body. Very short mantles of woven cotton, from which hang long cotton cords, ornamented at frequent intervals with tufts of white down, are occasionally worn ; but the art of making these is said to have been lost. Collars made of white heron [egret] feathers, or the black feathers of the cm-assow bird, are sometimes worn, especially by those engaged in races." Such decorations are, however, mainly confined to the male sex, the women seldom wearing either feathers or teeth, except tusks of agoutis, although they load themselves with ropes of seeds and beads. Children, on the other hand, are decorated much like their elders, although special kinds of seeds are used for their necklaces, while in the case of teeth-necklaces these are made from the tusks of the jaguar.
Unlike the natives of Argentina, the Indians of the Guianas and Venezuela travel either on foot or in canoes. In hunting, which forms the chief occupation of the men, dogs are employed ; these being stated to be cross-breeds between two fox-like wild species. Fish are caught by poisoning the water, by shooting with am)ws, by nets, traps, or hook and line. Very beautiful are the fish-arrows, which are shot fi-om a bow, the head frequently becoming
The Quianas and Venezuela
563
detached from the shaft, but remaining fixed to a line, at the other end of which is a float. A very heavy tyjie of arrow is employed for shooting the river-tortoises, whose eggs form such an important item in the diet of the Indians of the Orinoco ; while yet other descriptions are resijectively used for big game and birds. Very characteristic are the deadly arrows tipjaed with oitrali poison. The points of these arrows, which are more or less jagged, are in the form of long, narrow strips of wood ; these are carried separately in a bamboo quiver, and only insei'ted in the reed shaft immediately before use. The blow-pipe, which in Guiana is restricted to the savanna tribes, is a very characteristic South American iuaplement, consisting of a bamboo tube from 12 to 16 or more feet in length, through which is blown a small dart. The daits consist of splinters of wood, tipped with ourali, 5 or 6 inches in length, and are carried in a quiver, together with the jaw of a small fish (perai) and a basket of cotton or other fibre. '•^Vhen game is seen," to quote once more from Mr. im Thuni, "one of the darts is placed between two of the sharp teeth of the perai, and twisted sharply round in such a way that a very small portion of the point is almost but not quite se\ered from the main part ; this is in order that the point may break off in the body of the animal, that the dart may again be used. A little of the fibre is then wound round the other end of the dart — i.e. the dart is 'feathered' — care being taken not to destroy the balance. The dart is then inserted in the blow-pipe, aim is taken, the dart is blown, and the bird almost invariably falls. The certainty with which an Indian can take aim with these hugely long weapons, even when supported by only one hand, is really wonderful. The range of the weapon is as much as from 40 to 50 feet." The men are the hunters and fishers, and spend the days on which they are at home lying idle in their hammocks, smoking cigarettes and talking. All the house-work, tilling the gi-ound, sowing and reaping the crops, grinding the •cas.sava, etc., falls to the share of the women.
As regards dwellings, the Warraus, as aheady mentioned, used to build houses supported on poles on the low and swampy coast-lands ; but, under the security afforded by good government, these have fallen to a gi-eat extent into disuse, although a few are still constructed. The Arawaks, Ackawois, and true Caribs of the forest districts, where there is shelter from cold winds, build houses consisting merely of a roof with suitable supports. On the other hand, the INIacusis, Arecunas, and Wapianas of the o^ien savannas construct substantial dwellings with thick walls of clay, and a thatch of palm-leaves. Space does not allow of reference to the interior economv of these houses, but it mav be mentioned that the inhabitants alwavs
/ / '. ' /
K
>1
A\ ENCAMPMENT OF LENGUA INDIWS
564
The Living Races of Mankind
e Sov.tfi Aourican Missionary Hociettf.
A GROUP OF LEXGUA CHILIiREX, PARAGUAYAN CHACO.
sleep with a fire so close beneath their hammocks that the flames seem to lick their bare bodies.
Like all American aborigines, the Guiana Indians are prone to self-torture ; and no man can receive full rights of tribalship till he has undergone some hard ordeal. These tortures are- also submitted to in order to ensure success in hunting and fishing ; and are inflicted not only on the hunters themselves, but likewise on their dogs. A brush of fibres attached to » long string is, for example, pulled through the nose into the mouth ; irritating hairy cater- pillars are rubbed into the limbs till a painful rash ensues ; or the victim may be tormented in various ways by the bites of venomous ants, or with red jjepper.
The clan system is, or was, strictly followed among the Arawak tribes, the descent being exclusively in the female line, and no intermarriage with relations on the maternal side- permitted. Accordingly, a person may take a husband or a wife from his or her father's family, or from any other family save that of the mother. And when an Arawak takes a- wife, he forthwith domiciles himself with his father-in-law, for whom he works ; thus absolutely identifying himself with the family of his bride. There are. however, stiU some traces in Guiana of marriage by capture. Boys and girls are betrothed at an early age. but the nature of the bargain for a wife is still obscure ; and, in general, marriage ceremonie^^ are dispensed with. That curious custom of the couvade, according to which it is the husband who, on the birth of a child, takes to his hammock, where he is carefully tended by the relatives and fed on a special diet, is universally prevalent. Although Arawaks when old and useless are allowed to take to their hammocks, where they are somewhat grudgingly served with food, they receive little else in the way of attention. When death comes, the relatives usually exhibit slight evidences of grief, but will sometimes indulge in loud lamentation and cut their hair. Usually the body of the deceased is wrapped in his own hammock, and interred in a palm-leaf-lined grave ^-ug in the middle of the house. Properly the corpse «hould be placed in a sitting posture, or, among the Ackawois, in the standing position ; but
Fhotos by il. Pierre fctu]
ARAUCANIANS AND THEIP. CUILLI.E.N.
566
The Living Races of Manl<ind
nowadays it is seldom that the grave is dug of sufBcient depth to admit of this. Certain possessions are also bmied with the body. On the completion of the interment a fire is lighted over the grave, the praises of the deceased are chanted, ^yith dancing, singing, and drinking; and the house is then finally deserted. Dancing and feasting are. moreover, indulged in on many occasions, when a large quantity of the national beverage (paiwari) is always consumed. Invitations to these paiwari feasts are sent to the neighbouring tribes ; and the performance may take the shape of either wrestling or dancing, the dancers carrying specially decorated sticks. Formerly the whip-dance, in which each performer was armed with a macquarie, or fibre whip, with which at stated intervals he slashed his partner's legs, was a favom-ite diversion.
BRAZIL, PARAGUAY, ETC.
3IANY of the tribes mentioned in the preceding section extend southwards into Brazil, the interior (if which, as already mentioned, appears to have been the birthplace of the Caribs. It remains, however, to state that the Arawakan stock has a still greater southern extension, reaching to the head-waters of the Paraguay River in lat. 20° S. A totally distinct Brazilian stock is the Gesan. in which are included the Camacans and the notorious Botocudos; the latter resembling the Eskimo in the long and narrow shape of tlieir heads.
In the Goyaz district, lying due west of Bahia, are a large number of Gesan tribes, sometimes collectively known as Tapuyans. They comprise the Kayapos or Suyas, of the district between the Araguaya and Xingu rivers, and likewise the Akuas or Cherentes, of the U^jper Tocantins. The Boto- cudos, on the other hand, inhabit the Serra dos Aimores, on the coast, whence they are frequently known by the name of Aimores. Although of late }ears considerably improved by missionary exertions, they were formerly among the lowest of the American peoi^les — so low, indeed, that they had not even reached the level of a stone age, all their imple- ments, weapons, and household utensils being made of wood or bone. They wandered naked through the primeval forests of their native home, without dwellings of any kind, and sleeping on the bare ground or among the ashes of their last camp-fires. In addition to the flesh of such larger animals as they could manage to kill, their food consisted of grubs, frogs, snakes, honey, roots, berries, and fruits ; these being frequently consumed raw, but sometimes cooked in large bamboo vessels. Feuds were constant between the different tribes, and the bodies of the slain were always devoured by the victors, while their heads were set on stakes and employed as targets in archery jwactice. Among their most prized ornaments were collars and necklaces made of the teeth of those whom they had devom-ed in their cannibal feasts. Even among such degraded creatures as these the sacredness of the marriage tie — for the period the union lasted — was, however, strictly observed. In other respects the women had but a i)oor time, being frequently belaboured with heavy clubs or slashed with bamboo knives b}' their lords and masters. As to their religion, if such it could be called, the sun was regarded as the source of all things good, and the moon of all evil. Demons, which could be frightened
P/wlo by M. Pierre FetU]
AN ARAUCANIAN MAN.
Brazil, Paraguay, etc.
567
away by shooting arrows, were supposed to be the cause of storms and ecUpses; and fires were kept burning over newly made graves to scare evil spirits.
Another Brazilian stock-group is that of the Guaranian, or Tupi-Guaranian, as it is often termed ; the Tupi tribes occupying a very large jMrtion of Eastern Brazil, while Guarani pjeoples are found about the head-waters of the main stream of the Amazons and its tributary the Madeira, as well as in Paraguay and Uruguay. Both languages are near akin ; but as the Tupi tongue was chosen by the missionaries as the lingua franca for a large tract of countries, it has been adopted by some tribes not properly belonging to the section. Among the Tupi tribes one df the mu4 icmarkable was that of the Omaguas, or Flat-heads, who were found on the left liaiik of tlie Amazons as far as Peru and Ecuador. Originally they extended all over the country between the Putumayo and Tunguragua or Upper jNIarauon rivers; and they are still well represented on the head-waters of the Japura, in Ecuador and Colombia. Their near neighbours are the Tacunas and Tacanas, with the former of whom they were constantly at feud. The Tacanas occupy the country bordering the Madre-de-Dios and Beni, head- tributaries of the Madeira in Northern Bolivia. Still farther south on the last-named river we enter the country of the Naquinoueis, or Chiquitos (Dwarfs), as they are called by the Spaniards ; the latter name being de- rived from the extremely small size of the entrances to their houses, which, when found abandoned, were supposed by the conquerors
to be the abodes of pygmies. Like certain ■ .' ^
South American tribes, the Tacunas believe ' 7-
in the existence of good and evil principles, which are for ever striving one against the other for the possession of the souls of men. Curiously enough, the Chiquitos are said to have no numerals above one ; yet they are an industrious peoj^le, cultivating cotton, indigo, and sugar, and manufacturing copper boilers for refining the latter. Farther south, in the Gran Chaco country, lying well within the Parana Watershed, the Chiquitos are replaced by the savage Tobas. between the Pilcomayo and Vermejo rivers, and by the Matacos, or Mataguayos, on the latter. The Tobas are said to present a distinctly European cast of countenanci'. but are specially distinguished by theii relatively short limbs and strongly developed chest.
Of the Southern Guarani, who form the substratum of the Paraguayan nation, some still wander in a more or less aboriginal condition through the forests of the Parana, while others have adopted Christianity. Some years ago the Christianised Guarani inhabited thirty-two large towns on the banks of the Parana, Paraguay, and Uruguay rivers ; while among the uncivilised tribes were reckoned the Chiriguanos, Tobatinguas, and Payaguas.
IrTi
WITCH nnCTOR OF ARAUO
568
The Living Races of Mantcind
r — ^j^ai^^^* ^ IHE NORTHERN ANDES.
^^/ _^ "'■'*' -•'■■'—'■ r.EFORE taking into con-
MT ' V >iileration the tribes to the
W I ' ' Miuth of the Rio de la Plata,
..' \ ' a few words must be said in
;> ' _ , regard to those of the northern
|iortion of the chain of the
Andes, extending from
, ^ / A-^ A ■■ v\^\ ''"lombia, through Ecuador,
Peru, and Bolivia, to Chili. Since, however, our knowledge ^i' '*/ i ^'^ '^^Ikfl^^^ ~^ ^IBIIIHI^B "^ mS'iiy of these tribes
W' ' I ■ it ^^ -^^^^^r 1 I k. ^^^^^^HH^ '*'^"' ^ol^ly supplied by his-
tory, the mention of them will be very short. Through- out this area the natives at the time of the Spanish con- quest had attained a high ilegiee of civilisation, which ijl' was in some respects on a le\el -with that of Central America at the same period, although in others markedly inferior. Hence the whole area has been not inaptly termed by Professor Keane • the cultural zone." On the I ilateau of Bogota, in Colombia, I lie cultured peoples were represented by the Muyscas, • T Chibchas, who had de- veloped a well-organised system of government and other institutions. The cul- tured area was, however, but limited, as in the immediate neighbourhood were other members of the Muyscan stock, commonly known as Ranches, still living in primitive barbarism, being without government, wearing no clothes, and practising, it is said, cannibalism. The Muyscan Empire — in which the high priest occupied a very prominent position — was a highly artificial and unstable state of societ_y, which crumbled to pieces at the first shock of invasion.
Some distance to the south of the Muyscan Emjjire was the still more important Quechuan, or Inca, dominion, which comprised nearly the whole of the Andes proper, extending from the equator in the neighbourhood of Quito to the Rio JIaule in Central Chili. The total length of the territory was about 2,500 miles, and its average breadth some 400 miles ; the area thus being about 1,000,000 square miles, with a population of 10,000,000. The Quechuas, or Incas, were the dominant race ; and although their language has been superseded by Spanish in the seaport and other large towns, it still maintains its hold in the coimtry districts. Nearly allied are the Quitus and the Chinchas; but the Bolivian Aymaras were more distinct. These latter were the builders of the stupendous ruins of Tiahuanaco, on the southern shore of Lake Titicaca, situated on the confines of Peru and Bolivia. Titicaca was
Southern Chili and Argentina.
569
subsequently incorporated in the Inca dominion, with the result that the Aymaran divinities, ritual, and traditions were likewise assimilated by the Quechuan Incas. In their elevated home the Incas succeeded in breeding from the wild guanaco two domesticated varieties — namely, the alpaca and the llama; the former being raised for its wool and flesh, while the latter was used for carrying burdens. Gold, silver, copper, and lead were worked in the Potosi mines, although iron was unknown. On the highlands they cultivated the potato, and on the lower grounds maize ; and their cloth of alpaca wool was of excellent quality. With the remark that both Quechuas and Aymaras differed considerably in physical features from their Guaranian neighbours, we must pass on to mention that the Antisian group occupied the true Antis, or Andes, which forms the third chain of the Cordillera of Peru and Bolivia. Reference must also be made to the pre-Inca Chimus, the presumed builders of the great Temple of the Sun at Ghimu, the modern Truxillo, on the coast of Northern Peru. The Ivaro, or .Tivaran Indians of Ecuador, are in the habit of removing the skull and contracting the head-skin of their deceased relatives until it becomes scarcely larger than the fist, the form of the features being retained.
With these too brief remarks on the inhabitants of tlie "cultui-al zone," we proceed to the consideration of tlie tribes inhabiting —
SOUTHERN CHILI AND ARGENTINA.
The effete civilisations above mentioned were limited to the southward by the Rio Maule, which enters the sea below the city of Talca, in Central Chili ; and as we have also seen that the Guaranian tribes extended on the opposite side of the continent to the Rio de la Plata, there remain for consideration those inhabiting that portion of America lying south of these points, together with those of part of Northern Argentina.
CHILIAN NATIVE AND HIS WIVES.
72
570
The Living Races of Mankind
vSouth of the Eio i\l;uile the aborigmes called themselves Moluche, or " warrior-people," the affix che in the Araucanian language denoting "people." They are, however, more generally known by their Spanish title of Araucanians (rebels), a name due to their independence and intolerance of foreign dominion. In Chili, however, the Araucanians, although retaining a modicum of freedom, are fast allies of the republic. As to the exact sense in which the term Moluche, or Araucanian, is employed, there is, however, some difference of usage. Properly speaking, the sections known as Picunche, Pehuenche, Huilliche, and Puelche, respectively meaning North, Central (from the Pehuen district). South, and East tribes, are but divisions of the jSIoluche. Of these, the term Puelche rightly includes those IMoluches which extend eastwards of the Cordillera into Argentine territory as far as Mendoza, but it has also been extended to embrace the Pampas Indians of Buenos Aires, and thus all the aborigines as far south as the Rio Negro. The Araucanians have not only no central government, but no tribal
chiefs ; the head of each family being the chief of all his descendants. Custom seems, indeed, to be the only force which impels the members of the various tribes to collect together for mutual self- defence or other purposes ; after which they rapidly disperse to their scattered dwellings. The spirits of departed INIoluche are supposed to dwell in the ]\lilky Way) whence they watch over their kindred below ; this ancestral supervision being apparently the main bond of union between the tribes. Most Araucanians are of a distinctly lighter shade of com- plexion than the Peruvian tribes. From the greater part of the Pampas of Buenos Aires the Indians have been swept away by Em'opean colonisation ; their places being at first taken by the Gauchos, or half-breeds, who are themselves fost disappearing before the tide of foreign immigi-ation. Both Gauchos and Indians are essentially horsemen, the introduction of the horse having profoundly modi- fied tlie original mode of life of the latter, of wliicli little is really known. So ingrained is the habit of riding among both peoples, that it is a common saying in Argentina that an Indian or Gaui-ho will walk a mile to catch a horse in order to vide a quarter of a mile. Both are well clothed ; the poncho, or blanket with a liole cut in the centre, through which the head is thrust, being the garment donned over others in bad weather. Both are experts in the use of the lasso and tolas ; the former being a rope with a running noose at one end, and the latter either two or three balls fastened together by strings and hurled at animals. After mentioning that the union between man and horse is less marked in the Gaucho than in the Pampas Indian, Mr. W. H. Hudson observes that the savage nature of the latter brings him nearer to the level of the animal he rides. " The Indian horse is more docile, lie understands his master better; the slightest touch of the hand on his neck, which seems to have developed a marvellous sensitiveness, is sufficient
'^ i %■
AH ABAUCA_N'IA>; BEAUTY
Ml
\
1 1
572
The Living Races of Manl<ind
tn guide him. The Gaucho laliciurs to give his horse ' a silken mouth,' as he aptly calls it : the Indian's horse lias it from biilh. Occa- sionally the Gaucho sleeps ill the saddle : the Indian can die on his horse." It >liould be added that Gauchos are for the most part of Spanish origin on the paternal iiid Indian on the maternal -iile; being half-breeds, they demand no fm-ther notice litMe. Pampas Indians, like the Patagonians, confine their lung hair by a fillet passing, across the forehead, round the head.
To the south of the Rio Xegro we enter the country of the Patagonians, or 'IVhuelches (Chuelches), as they are called by their Araucanian neighbours ; a people celebrated for their tall stature, and, in former days, for the fierceness and cruelty of their disposition. There are various tribal groups of these people, into the consideration of which it will be unnecessary to enter here ; but it may be mentioned that originally they were divided into the Northern Tehuelches, who ranged some distance south of the Chubut Eiver, and the Southern Tehuelches, who inhabited all the country south of the Eio Chico, aud thence extended into Tierra del Fuego. Of late years, however, these divisions have been swept away by the migrations of these wandering jieople. It is suggested by Keane that the Tehuelches are descended from a numerous nation of gigantic aborigines, who inhabit the Brazilian states of Mat to Grosso and Goyaz, and have long been known to the Portuguese settlers as Bororos. The Tehuelche language is perfectly distinct from both the Araucanian and the Puelchean of the Pampas Indians.
Writing of the Tehuelches, Darwin says that "their height appears greater than it really is, from their large guanaco [skin] mantles, theii- long flowing hair, and general figure ; on an average their height is about 6 feet, with some men taller and only a few shorter ; and the women are also tall; altogether they are certainly the tallest race which we an}'where saw. In features they strikingly resemble the more northern Indians whom I saw with Rosas, but they have a wilder and more formidable appearance ; their faces were much painted with red and black, and one man was ringed and clothed with white like a Fuegian." On the other hand. Captain Musters, who made a long journey through the heart of Patagonia, puts the average height at not more than 5 feet 10 inches. Individual men of 6 feet 4 and 6 feet 10 inches have been measured. In general physique the Tehuelches accord with
MAPOCHE KATIVES OF AEAUCANIA,
Southern Chili and Argentina
573
their height; the muscular development of the arms and chest being extraordinary, while as a rule they are well proportioned throughout. Captain Musters especially notices the high instep; a feature so developed that a Tehuelche with whom he had arranged to barter a pair of London-made boots was quite unable to get them on. Their powers of walking and of abstaining from food for long periods are remarkable; a party of them on one occasion walking a distance of over forty miles within twelve hours without once touching food. Their features are decidedly jileasing, the eyes being bright, and the nose aquiline and well formed. Very characteristic are the prominent ridges over the eyebrows ; above which the forehead is somewhat retreating. When cleaned from paint and dirt, the complexion of the men is reddish brown, and has been compared to the colour of Devon cattle. All hairs on the face — sometimes including even the eyebrows — are carefully eradicated with tweezers; and the long tlowing hair of the scalp, which is confined by a cloth fillet, is carefully dressed. Grey liair is rare, although the occurrence of snow-white locks has been recorded. The hair of the women scarcely equals in length that of their lords, and is plaited into a pair of long tails ; these, among the unmarried, being lengthened on festive occasions with horse-hair ornamented with blue beads and terminating in silver jjendants. Although not ageing prema- turely, when old the women become really hideous. Unlike the men, they never walk, but perform all their journeys on horseback "The dress of tiie men," writes Captain Musters, consists of a chinpa, or undei- garment, round the loins, made of a poncho, a piece of clot li, or even of a gu<inaK) mantle. ... All otlii i garments are supplnii by the capacion- iimI warm skin - ni.uit le. whicli, worn with the fur inside and tlie painted side out, will keep the wearer diy for a considerable time in the wettest weather. This is often dispensed with in the chase ; but if worn when riding, is secured at the waist by a belt of hide, or leather
Pluito by I>r. Paul Eyades, from
' Mission Scientiflque du Cap Born.' A FnEGIAN MAN.
574
The Living Races of Mankind
if it can be obtaiiied. . . When sitting by the fireside, or even when walking about, the furred part of the mantle is generally kept over the mouth — as the Tehuelches aver that the cold wind causes sore gums — a habit which assists in rendering their guttural and at all times rather unintelligible language more difficult of comin-ehension to the novice. Their pot7-o boots, or buskins, are made from the skin of a horse's hock, and occasionally from the leg of a large puma, drawn on up to the knee and fastened round the foot. It is thus worn for a day or two until the boots have taken the shape of the foot, when the leather is cut at the tot-s, and se\\ii up to fit. When the sole i.s worn, or in very wet or snowy weatlier, hide overshoes are worn besides, and the footprints thus made are really large enough to carry the idea of giants' feet, and partly explain the term ' Patagon,' or large feet, ai^plied to these Indians by their Spanish discoverers." ''■ ' In riding, the boots are
A ii.iiLLLciii, -MA-N. securcd with garters, which
are ordinarily made of bright- bands, but in the case of chiefs are of hide ornamented with large silver ition to the fillet binding the hair, hats are worn when procurable. The mantle of the women is fastened at the throat by a large broad-headed silver pin, by a nail, or by a thorn, according to the circumstances of the wearer; beneath this being a kind of loose shirt, made of some calico stuff, and reaching from the shoulders to the ankles. A broad belt, ornamented with the favourite blue beads and bosses of silver or brass, serves to confine the mantle when travelling. The boots are like those of the men, with the excejition that the hair is left on the hide of which they are made. In spite of the severity of the climate the children are generally suffered to run about in a state of nudity till between six and eight years of age, and always jirefer to be barefoot. Never- theless, they are pi-ovided with small mantles, as well as with boots made of soft shamoyed leather from the fore-legs of the guanaco. Both sexes are fond of ornaments, and smear their faces with jjaint ; the latter substance being more rarely applied also to the body, and being said to prevent the skin chapping. The ornaments of the women take the form of necklaces of blue beads or silver, as well as of large square earrings fastened,
coloured woven buckles. In ad
Southern Chili and Argentina
575
to i^rnall rings passed through the lobes of the ears. By the men silver is used, when circumstances permit, to adorn their pipes, knife-hilts and sheaths, belts, and horse-trappings ; silver spurs and stirrups being added by those who can afford such luxuries. Although the beads are imported, the silver ornaments are hammered out of the dollars taken in commercial transactions.
During their frequent journeyings the babies are carried in wicker and hide-thong cradles, made to fit on their mothers' saddles ; these cradles, in the case of affluent families, being ornamented with brass bells or silver plates. The paint used for the face and body on ordinary occasions is made of ochre and black earth mixed with guanaco marrow ; but on special occa- sions white paint and powdered gypsum are employed. In their ceremonial dances the men, who are clothed in nothing but a loin-cloth, decorate their heads with the plumes of the rhea, or South American ostrich, and wear a belt, to which are affixed brass bells, across one shoulder. Bathing forms a regular part of the morning toilet ; notwithstanding which Tehuelche garments swarm with vermin. Any hairs that may be brushed out during the toilet, as well as all nail-parings, are scrupulously burnt.
The Tehuelches dwell in capacious tents made of guanaco-hide ; but as to describe these would exceed the limits of our space, our readers may be referred to one of the plates illustrating Lady Florence Dixie's " Across Patagonia." The opening of the tolclo, as the tent is called, is directed away from the prevailing wind, and a fire lighted just in the entrance. The furniture com {rises a few bolsters, made out of old j^onchos, and one or two horse-hides to serve as curtains. An iron spit forms the most imjDortant cooking utensil, but some times an iron pot may be added ; while armadillo-shells or wooden platters, in which to hold broth, may also form a })art of the equipment. In the old days, at least, the flesh of the rhea formed the favourite food, guanaco-flesh, as well as that of the pampas deer, being less esteemed. Blood is on all occasions drunk eagerly ; and marrow and fat, in the absence of farinaceous food, form essential articles of diet. Horse-flesh seems to be chiefly eaten at dances and other ceremonies. The chief weapons used in hunting are the bolas and the lasso ; of the former there are two types, one, the chume, fitted with two balls and employed in rhea-hunting, and the other, called yackiko, furnished with three balls and used for taking the guanaco. Formerly the balls were made of stone, the most ancient type being distinguished by having a deep groove chiselled round it ; but other sub- stances are now employed. Guanaco and rhea are caught by being struck round the neck, although cattle and horses are balled round the hind-legs. Flint arrow-heads are met with in many parts of Patagonia.
TIERKA DEL FUEGO.
liEAViNG the continent of South America, our brief remaining space must be devoted to the inhabitants of the desolate and storm- swept island to the south of the Strait of Magelhaen. The typical Fuegians are properly a koegian woman.
576 The Living Races of Mantcind
known as Yahgans, and speak a dialect dis- tinct from all the continental tongues ; in addition to this there is a second dialect known as Alakaluf, which may be distantly related to the Araucanian, and also a third — the Ona — which seems nearer to Pata- gonian. Great differences are observable in the accounts given of the Fuegians by diiferent observers — as, for instance, Fitzroy and Darwin on the one hand, and more recent travellers, like Dr. P. Hyades, of the French exj^edition to Cape Horn, on the other. It has been suggested that such discrepancies are in great pan due to the alteration in the manners of the natives by the English missionaries ; and as the older accounts are more likely to portray Photobp nr.ravt n!i.,.i.>,jn,„Liitc" m,>.,„;i '^cunujiqiit^iucwi, nom. the original habits of the people, the following fuegians.
notes are culled from Darwin's narrative.
In stature the Eastern Fuegians are compared by the last-named writer to the Patagonians; the three young men seen by him being about 6 feet in height. Their skin is of a dirty coppery-red colour ; and at the time of Darwin's visit the only garment of the men on the east coast was a mantle of guanaco-skin, with the hair outside, loosely thrown over the shoulders. An old man forming the fourth of the party had a fillet of white feathers bound round his head, partly confining his long and tangled black hair. Across his face ran two broad bars of paint — namely, a red one reaching from ear to ear and including the upper lip, and a second of chalky white running above and parallel to the first, so as to include the eyelids. The rest of the party were ornamented with streaks of charcoal jiowder. According to the figures published by Dr. Hyades, two of which we have been permitted to reproduce, white and red are now the colours most in vogue. Their language has been compared to a man dealing his throat ; but even in this manner few Europeans could produce such hoarse, clicking, and guttural sounds as are uttered by Fuegians.
These people formerly subsisted almost exclusively upon shell-fish, and consequently were compelled fi-equently to shift their place of abode. Nevertheless, the large dimensions of the shell-heaps, which often amount to many tons in weight, indicate that they returned at intervals to the same spots. Unlike the Patagonians, they dwell in huts, or wig\vams. which, although used only for a few days, require some trouble to build. These huts consist of some broken boughs stuck in the ground, and roughly thatched on one side with a few bundles of grass and rushes. Even such wretched shelter against the inclemency of a severe climate was not, however, always available, Darwin mentioning an instance where three naked Fuegians spent the night on the ground. It has been already mentioned that the tribes on the east coast wear a guanaco-skin mantle ; among those of the west coast the place of this is taken by seal-skins, while some of the central tribes wear an otter-skin, or some other small covering, which is barely sutficient to cover the back as far down as the loins, being laced across the chest by strings, and shifted from side to side according to the direction of the wind.
Watxoii "t Vincy, Id., London and Ai/Usbu
INDEX
Ababde A.lu d Vby&s
1 tl 0] 0 (ao ps, 309, 374
0 It e {see C It n ores (sc H-irj V u)
Arnants and
Ale t 0(j
Al e 1 s a 1 Moors 403—408
AIo Wo (tl e T ga veitl er god). 13
A 1 X a or A Kosa {sec liaifir), :
Pb
itrle ''8b
o}i 40
Al acl et, 3r
Al g 7 3 D 40
Apono 337 33J
Apparel (see Dress)
Appearance of (Ac .— Abalxlch,
Admiralty Islanders, 34;
212; Akka, 274; Albanians," 43G ;
Amazons of Dahomey, 366 ; Amhr
(Abyssinians), 376 ; Anamites,
AfglK
And-vman IsHndeis, 109 ; Apmgi, 3"9 , |
in, Timni r,3, Todas 186, 189 |
||
Aribiins, |
241 |
Ala^lc^nl■ln'5, 570 , |
longan 1 Tini SS Imkana |
Airaemm= |
, 2(,i |
, Austialiins, 49—07, |
354 I 1 1 T 1 \ ddis |
IJakontio, |
'..1 |
, B ikn mdo, 270 ; |
172, \\ 1 1 W n8. |
Lilempi, 273, liiv |
30'), |
Bmtu, jU, Batwx, |
Wag 1 W 1 1 Warn |
n 1 |
>f B ,1 ,ho^ -0 ^ Beeh |
buttu W / 314, |
|
nam ' |
1 |
Wanjoi , W ipjl m 320, |
|
403 1 |
1 JS4 ', |
Wasa^Hi olO, UelJi, Ui, Wito |
|
rhd 1 |
1 |
140, |
384, Yakuts, 231, Zulus 30 J |
Bui, 1 |
l,ur- |
Aiatangata 20 |
|
me c II |
1 |
Uiio^a, |
Aiabians, 241, 303 |
208, ( |
Aiabs of Noith Africa, 404—408 |
||
Cue I |
4j4,^'D*o' |
A.1 xgonese, 47S |
|
mejiu |
1 1 371; Danes, |
Al iny^kas (a division of Brahmanas), 20o |
|
4bl \> |
1 _S(i Diuss, |
\i I i< inians, 570 |
|
1 ' 1 |
1 1 |
\ US 550 \ ii uca and Greenland, 505—528 lOO |
|
j 1 |
1 |
nd SMthern Chili, 509-575 |
|
1 |
. nts) |
||
I 381 ; Germany, 458 • |
|||
' |
1 11^ Switzerland, 466 |
||
jbj, I |
1 1m, |
A7toJ^\ vrrina, 246; Bush- |
|
H-im. "OS II |
II ID,, |
men t T.'i; J;ipan, 150, |
Latul
45S
Milu
42, ^1
buttii
iiegiiii
2SJ
Gum
Ii lin
and Algonquian stoeks, 537, 538 tmonial sacrifice), 307
\tui
Austral Islands, 20 A.ustlah^ 4')— 07 Austria Hungary, 453, 456 Azandeh {see Niam-niam), 3 Aztecs, 529, 5j4, 555
itioit(orBiriot), 332 ime 02 04
t ■> I Gypsies), 74
Svans 117 431, Shiss manians 0^
II lajiks 222, Ti^ Iibbub, 3bG, Tibet ma, 577
Ldhtiins, 238 Bakise, 271 Bakongo, 330, 331
57S
The Living Races of Manlvind
Bakuba, 334
Eakwando, 270
Bakwena, 302, 304
Balempa, 309
Balolo, 332
Baluba, 334
Baluchis, 216
Baluchistan, 212
Balunda, 330
Bamangwato tribe, 302, 30 1
Bangola, 332
Bangwaketsi, 304
Bantu, 205, 2S6, 294, 296—299, 332
„ of British Central Africa, 309, 312 „ „ Eastern Africa, 313—330 „ „ French Congo, 337—343 „ and Hottentot Negroes, 294—290 „ of South Africa, 290—309 „ West Africa, 330—330 Banyai, 308, 312 Bara, 283, 284 Barabra, 402 Barolong, 304 Barotsi, 302, 304 Bari, 350, 354
Bashilange (or Tushilange), 334 Basques, 476, 478 Basuto, 304 Batavia, 83 Bateke, 332 Batlapi, 303 Batlaro, 302, 303
Battas (inland hill people of Sumatra), 84 Batwa, 271, 275 Batwana, 304
Bayansi of Bolobo, 330, 332 Bazimba, 286 Bear worship, 231 Uechuanas, 300, 302 Bedouins, 245, 248 Begging Erahmans, 210 Beja, 374, 401—402 Belgium and Belgians, 485—487 Bellates (slaves), 390 Bena-Riamba (a secret society of Congo
district), 334 Beni-Amer, ,374 Berber tribes, 205, 361, 370, 388, 393, 403—
404 Berikimo, 281 Betsileo, 283, 286 Betsimisaraka, 283 Bhils, 184 Birth of Children amonntl —\\\ mis
380 ; Chinese, 13t 1 M 11
Dutch, 489; Esluii
398; Greeks, 434 4
Hottentots, 296 Ku I 1
Nilotic group, 359 lui) 4 s Bisayan (one of the chief tribes of Philip
pine Islands), 84 Bishari, 402
Bismarck Archipeligo, 31 Bison of North Amei ici, 529 Blood-brotherhood rite among the Ivil uju
344 Blow-pipe of South Amencins 503 Bod-yul, ICl Bogo, 376 Bokhara, 221, 222 Bolivian Aymaras, 568 Boloi, 310 Bon, or Bonba (an eaily Tibetan creed),
104, 106 Bongo, 350, 352 Borneo, 28, 77 Bornuese, 394
Bosnia-Herzegovina, 449 453 Bourgeoisie of France, 472 473 Brahmanas (a division of tlie Vtda) 21)4
205 Brahmans' caste, 182, 203, 212 Brahuis, 216 Brazil, 500, 567
Brooke (Rajah) in Sarawak, 80, 82 Brunei, Sultan of, 77 Buddhism, 138
Bugis (inhabitants of Celebes), 77
Bulgaria, 439, 441
Burden of an Australian woman, 54
Burial Customs of the: — Abyssinians, 380 ; Arabs, 247 ; Ashira, 337, 338 ; Batwa, 280; Bongo, 353; Bosnians, 450; Chins, 113, 116; Dutch, 489; Dyas, 80; Dyur, 352; East African natives, 312; Esldmo, 525, 52li ; Fans, 350 ; Fijians, 7; Giliaks, 234; Greeks, 435, 436; (^uianas, 564, 506; Hottentots, 296; Hova, 288; Irish, 502; Karens, 119;
Latuka, 354 ; isai, 357 ; New Niam-ninm, 317;
ghiz-Kazaks,
Liu-kiu, 100 ;
Guinea people, 2
Nilotic group, ?."'•: X'-fli Xir-n-'nii
Indians, 51:i : ' " ■■• ■ ".' ' ■ T' ■
Islanders, sil ,
287; Shan., 1 ■ . , , , , ". Ml .
Somali, 373, '.'u 1 ; I'.ui.iIl, :^.>, ; 'I'l
betans, 165 ; Toiik':nis, 14 ; Turks, 439 ;
Upper Congo natives, 334, 335 ; Ved-
das, 176; Wadoa, 316; Wanyamwezi,
315 ; Wanyoro, 327 Buriats, 223, 224, 225 Burma, 110—120
Bushmen of South Africa, 265, 2C0 Buttons (as an insignia of rank of Jlan-
darins), 129
Cachalot teeth (used for necklets), 2
Caledonia (or Scotland), 495
Calendars of South American Indians, 556
Cambodia, 97, 98, 108
Cangue (a Chinese instrument of torture), 132
Cannibalism among the: — Andaman Island- ers, 171; Ashanti, 363; Australians, 58 ; Battas, 84 ; Celebes Islanders, 77 ; Fans, 350 ; Fanti, 363 ; Fijians, 4, 0 ; Maoris, 46 ; Monbuttu, 328 ; Negroes, 292, 293 ; New Caledonians, 41 ; New Ireland natives, 32 ; Niam-niam, 347 ; Pygmies, 278 ; Solomon Islanders, 37 ; South Americans, 554 ; Tasmanians, 70 ; Upiier Congo people, 334 ; Wayao, 313
Canoes of the — Admiralty Islanders, 30 ; Andaman Inlanders, 170 , Australians, V, Bantu 333, Eskimo 514, 510; in- li il it lilt jf Madagascar, 287 ; Mon- 1 Noith American Indians,
jn Islanders, 37; Tas-
( lu isians ^1,0 417
C l^ Uo I'- J 8
( iltlts 77
felticiarib 4jS 469 470 4-3 476,490,498
Ctnti\l \raeii(.a 5o4— i 8
ftyl n( fc\eddas) 172
fhillfaus 2o8
Lhai iLter ( ic Disposition)
f haiactiiistics of Belgian cities 486
ClnssT 1 Kukib (or 1 aksatte), 116
Chekhs 4j3 4o4 4j&
( h uv. ( f Tbhi) 303
40
( 1 nil 1-1 14(1
( 1 inese national cohesion 123
( 1 ms, 112
(Jhippewyans (or Ojibwas), 530, 537, 540
Chiquitos, 507
Chukchis, 234, 500
Cicatrisation (see Tattooing)
Cincalle, 281
Circassians, 420, 422 Clans of Scotland, 496 Classes of Araliiau sor-i.-ty, 245 Classitir,,'.,:^ ,,i \hh:in types, 205, 206;
Click i'l i'l I. ".':;>'. ■■■^:!'
Club-hiin 1 l',i|iii.iM,, 28
Clothes {see Dress) Cochin-China, 104 Coffee (discovery of), 245 Coinage (see Money) Confucianism, 137 Congo tribes, 330, 331 Cook (or Hervey) Islands, 20 Copts, 390
• ' ' •'• also Marriage Customs)
' —Barabra, 402; Berbers, 11. I iiiiH-se, 110, 111; Dyas, 79; Ivurii:, 119; Sakais, 96
Cduvaile custom, 564
Creeks, 540
Crees, 537
Cremation [see Burial Customs)
Croats, 453, 454
Cultivation among the: — Abyssinians, 378 j And.amans, 170 ; Apono, 339 ; Ashango, 342 ; Bongo, 353 ; Danes, 482 ; Dinka, 351; Druses, 249; Dyas, 79; Finns, 423 ; Gallas, 370, 371 ; Hottentots, 295 Ibhogo, 338; Kaffirs, 300; Kanuri 391 : Karens, 119 ; Kikuyu, 344 Mil' '1-1 ■>: • Mi-'iMPT^ "iW;Maoris, II li M - \. -iitos, 88
Ni i.ople, 359
>.\ 1 ' 1 1 1 I 1 ' ^ iiinnlsland
manians, 70 ; Turks, 257 ; Wagiryama,
318 ; Wakamba, 321 ; W.ankonde, 314 ;
Wanyamwezi, 315 ; Wapokomo, 320 ;
Wasoga, 320 ; Wazaramo, 310 Customs (see Habits) Cymric race, 490, 494 Czar of all the Russias, 410
Dacoits (Burmese), 111
Dahomevans, 304 — 308
Dakk.a, 296
Dakotas, 538, 546
Dalai Lama (the head of Buddhism), 138, 165
Danakil, 371, 372 (see Afar)
Danees of the ;— Apono, 339 ; Batwa, 278, 280 ; Chins, 112 ; Eskimo, 528 ; Guianas, 5(J0 ; Hairy Ainu, 154 ; people of India, 178 : people of Java, 83 ; Khasis, 197 ; Batukii, 354 ; Malays, 75 ; Matabih, 3(i0 ; Rumanians, 443, 444 ; Sakais, 90, 91 ; Society Islanders, 20 ; Solomon Islanders, 38 ; Somali, 373 ; Tas- manians, 71; Wayao, 312
Dazas, 394
Death (sec Burial Customs)
Death-rate o/<Ae.— Australians, 51 ; Maoris, 42; New Caledoni.ans, 42; North American Indians, 530; Tasmanians, 70
Deer-hunting among the Ostiaks, 231
Delawares, 537, 538
Denmark and Danes, 481, 485
Dhuramoolan, 62, 04
Dinka, 350, 351
Dinner party of Moors, 408
Discovery of Australia, 67, 08
Disposition of the: — Admiralty Islanders, 36 ; Afghans, 212 ; Afridis, 214 ; Akka, 274 ; Albanians, 436 ; Amharans, 377 ; Anamites, 106 ; Andaman Islanders, 170; Apono, 339; Arabs, 241, 242; Armenians, 260, 261 ; Ashango, 342 ; Ashanti, 363 ; Australians, 66, 67 ; Austrians, 453; Bakhtians, 238; Ba- kon^o, 331 ; Baluchis, 216 ; Bantu, 332 J
Index
579
4 3 1 hur ^ Geo 200 -i
HiryA 1 2j0 H 45 H 11 pe linders 4'!2 I Itil an 4
M-v^ya s 4 o II
Jb 74 Ma 1
30b Mo gol
44 448 M
Negioes 293
■^0 Ne V Irel 1
nam 34b ^J I
An er can In 1
4''8 Parss IJ I I
454 Polynes I
Eajputs IJ i 1
3 ans 400 41 I 8
Samoans 17 t h
men 4)6 Se I
gallas 38 SI
bomal 3 2 3
Suah 1 290
464 Taj ks 2 1 I
188; Tuaregs, 3^o ; luiignsis, L'J..-,
Turki, 217; Turks, 2M, 207, 438;
Usbegs, 221 ; Veddas, 174 ; Wagogo,
317; Wakamba, 321 ; Wankonde, 314;
Wapokomo, 320 ; Wayao, 313 ; Waza-
ramo, 316; Welsh, 494, 495; Yakuts,
231 Division of: — Borneo people, 77 ; Eskimo,
508 ; Guianas, 558 ; Indian races, 177 ;
Italian nation, 408 ; Malay races, 73,
74 ; North American Indians, 534 ;
Swiss nation, 402 Dobos (or tree-huuses), 28 Doko, 280, 374 Dongolawi, 402 Dra vidians, 177, 178, 180, 186 Dress of the : — Ababdeh, 402 ; Abyssiniaiis,
377, 378 ; Admiralty Islanders, 3j ;
Al banians, 436 ; Andaman Islanders,
s, 202 ;
440
Arabs, 242, 244 ; Ashira, 337; Austin 333; Batwa, L'7ii; Berbers, 403, in , Bongo, garians, 208; ri. 396; ( Danak i Dyur, : 511, 51:
500; 11:^: '. ■ III., :.:i-J. 393; II. i. : ' li , , 1.:^;
HiUi i ; I , . .',,'. II . - Ml.. I.,
Japanese, 148, ' 150 ; ' Ju.-uigs,' 184; Kaffirs, 299; Karens, 119; Khasia, 193; Kikuyu, 343; Kirghiz-Kazaks,
218 Koreans 158 |
Koti |
189 La o |
3b0 Lapp 4 P |
Lat 1 |
a 354 L |
gha 41 T |
U 1 |
1 Man-yars |
455 Al |
3 b Mata |
|
bl |
Moor 40o |
|
40b ^ |
C ledon ana |
|
41 ^ |
2b Nev |
|
1 1 1 |
\ V Z la d |
|
1 4 44 |
N |
ir |
N 1 o 1 |
J |
Nj 1 |
\ 1 \ 4 1 t |
1 |
I 1 41 Nj 1 1 1 0 t k |
•> 0 1 |
4 P |
|
''ob 1 |
P |
|
a 41 |
1 |
11 |
^aete d 1 p |
||
Samo n 17 |
||
102 S et 1 1 |
||
Isla le |
||
Svan |
Tu I
las 1 W 1 W
319 \\ 1 \\ 1 I 1
Wanlonde 31' \\a yam vez 315 Wanyoro 3 7 Wa] ok on o 3''0 Wasa g-i a j17 Waso^a 3''6 Wazaran o lb \\elsl 49j Z 1 304
/ J n 1 I a 0 le — Al > s a
A 1 r Itj I 1 le 34 \| 4 13 Lerb
till II B t " 4
111 1 I Geo
II 1 -1 1 la n t e
1 II 1 t 1 J Mo
t, 1 144 Mo 43b Nev C le
do ana 42 Nev Gu nea jeoile b N am n am 34 Ru a a s 4 1 R ans 41 j ban oyedes 230 98 Sue et I 1 de a 0 I IbO Wapol o o 3 0
Iiuicii, 488—490
Dwelli-ngs of (Ae .—Ababdeh, 402 Abys- sinians, 378 ; Admiralty Islanders, 35 ; Andaman Islanders, 170 ; Apono, 330 ; Arabs, 244; Ashanti, 363; Asia MiiiM, peoples, 258 ; Australians, 50, ... , Bantu, 333; Beehuanas, 303; Btrl.. i , 404 ; Bhils, 186; Bongo, 352; Busiii:iii-, 450 ; Bulg;iriana, 440 ; Bushmen of South Africa, 269 ; Chins, 112 ; Dinka, 351; Doko,_280; Dyas, 79; Egba,
368, 309 ; Equatorial pygmies,
518, 520, 521 ; Eans, 348 ;
Eskii
354; M ■.,■-:, ■ . : -, Ma-
shon^i-, . '. M . , M iil.uttu,
328; M. 1 ■ ! : \| . , -rins,
447; M... . ^ l"i; ; N. i.> , - 'i' ; New Guinea ii.itivts, 2.S ; Ni-w Ireland natives, 32; Niam-niam, 34G ; Njemp- sians, 358 ; North American Indians,
■., I'.. das, ,:i,.i . , 220;
Wagugu, 317 ; rule, 314; Wan- ., 327; Wasoga, ; Wito, 384;
E r o an ents (s Ornaments)
Li to a 0 g tie .—Belgians, 487 ;
Da es 4S3 484 French, 473, 474;
Ger a 8 "jj 200 ; Servians, 440 ;
Sva 4b Fgl a (or Egb lo) Ob ]< g (o I f ) 04
1 fe 1 1 d Lg> 1 1 s 90—400 El 1 1 ant 1 u t o an ong the Mashonas,
308 h I eror of CI a 1 9 I gland and L gl shn en, 490—494 1- q t r 1 Neg oes 2ro, 294, 343 I 1 1 ijgn es 2 "
(Ne Hebrdes), 39
Innu t Yu t, or Karalit), 505 —
I I dlS
i on of mankind, 122
\ 1 nan lahiiulers, 170,
I l.iii,... .'.L'^: l.'ijiana.
Yakuts, Dya head-hu Dyaa, 78
Formosa), 158
1 I i\ 347—350
1
I e sts ot 01 s 11
Feat es (s e A] I e nee)
1 ellah n 3Jb
Fetishism, 200, 293, 312, 314, 319, 332, 337 339, 342
Fiji Islands, 1—8
Finger-rings {see Ornaments)
Kini'.i 300
linli.hl and Finns, 422-424
Imiii .V, king of Tongans (death), 14, 15
I II. .■,..i>liippers, 196, 203 _
I'l liiii^' by Hairy Ainu, 155
Fleiuiiigs, 485
Folk-lore of: — Bushmen of South Africa, 270 ; Hottentots, 290
Food of <Ac.— Ababdeh, 402 ; Abyssinians, 378 ; Admiralty Islanders, 35 ; Anam- itea, 106 ; Andaman Islanders, 170 ; Arabs, 244 ; Ashira, 337 ; Australians, 50, 58 ; P.antu, 334 ; Beehuanas, 303. ;
Gallas, 370 ; Giliaks, 232 ; Guianas, 559; Icelanders, 432; Irish, 502; Italians, 470 ; Kanuri, 394 ; Kirghiz- Kazaks, 218 ; Kotas, 189 ; Kurumbas, 190; Malagasi, 287; Maoris, 44, 40; Masai, 357 ; Monbuttu, 328 ; Mongols, 142; Moors, 406, 408; Negritos, 87; Negroes, 292 ; New Guinea people, 28 : Niam-niam, 347 ; Njempsians, 35S , North American Indians, 546, 547 ; Norwegians, 430; Ostiaks, 230;^Pata-
guese. 442;
Wanyamwezi Wasoga, 326
ans, 237; Portu-
.'M.i.'t, ■_>78; Rumanians,
M . 110; Sakais, 90;
i, .lias, 381; Society
.!i, 373; Sweden,
m; ; T.i,Us,257;Vedd.a',
1, 325; Waktmba, 321 •
315 ; Wap- iomo, 320 ■
58o
The Living Races of Mankind
Formosa, 158
Foster-brothering (a Swedish custom), 431
France and French, 45S, 470—475
Friendly Islands (see Tonga)
Fuegians, 576
Fulah, 391
Funeral rites [see Burial Customs)
Fur Kegroes, 394
Philip
Gadabursi, 374 Galician, 478
Gallas (or Oromo), 265, 370 Gambling amongst : — Mala}
pine Islanders, 86 Games (see Amusements) Ganguella, 330 Gauchos, 570 Gauls, 470, 490 Gaza, 308, 309
Gelele (king of Dahomey), 3C4 Georgians, 419, 420 Germans, 453, 457—402 Gersau (annual ceremony in) 4C0 Ghegs, 436
Ghez (a Semitic language), 3"6 Ghoorkas, 196 Ghost dance (religion of iSoith A.merican
Indians), 550
Giao-shi (or Anamites Gilbert Islanders 11 Gihaks 232 Gond=! 186 Gondwam l^r
buttu 3'"s Moors 4(s 40 4 4 4
106
Great 1 114 4
Grel 1
Gree 4 —4
Guad tl u 1 1 u 1
Guaraman obi
Guebres ancient fire worshipper* 238
Guianas 5o8— 5b6
Guinea Negroes, 265, 292, 294, 363—309
Habits of the : — Admiralty Islanders, 36 ; Afghans, 212 ; Akka, 274 ; Albanians, 436 ; Anamese, 106 ; Andaman Island- ers, 170; Apingi, 339; Arabs, 241; Armenians, 262 ; Bakwando, 271 ; Beri- kimo. 281 ; Betsileo, 284 ; Bosnians, 449 ; Erahmans, 20G, 208 ; Buriats, 221 ; Cfl.-i--, 77: rn-r-n-inn^ 12". 12-':
160; Magi;',, gols, 142, 14 1 Moors, 40J : 293; Ne(^. New Ireland
; M .12; Mon-
. 447,448; - : . : . - , ; Negroes, .,1 i...i;.c^, 28, 30; iNew Ireland natives, 32; North Ameri- can Indians, 549 ; Norwegians, 428 ; Obocgo, 271 ; Polynesians, 10 ; Portu-
guese, 480 ; Russians, 409, 410, 411, 412 ; Sakais, 90; Servian.?, 444^146: Siamese, 98; Sioux, .?".': ; '^; i:ii -i ! . 47S ; Swiss, 463, 404 : T 7" : Tibbus,
386; Toda , ■ i '...-ans, 10;
Tunguses, 2_ . ; i ,17 ; Turks,
257; Usbe-.-, 2J2 ; \",... ., 174.
Habr Awal, 374
Habr Gahr-Haji, 374
Hadendowa, 402
Haggars, 386
Hal (chief god of Gilbert Islands), 11
Hai Haik or Ilaiken (nvtional name of Irmenians) 200
Ha,r or the — A.bibdeh 4(i. VI \ inian=i "6 37S A.dmir It\ T I
Akki 2 4 Inamit I hnJeis 1-0 \] _41 VrniPnnn "(
Vti . 1 1 11
Ci It 4 1 Dih II I I
ool Doko 280 1 1 I
368 Eskimo oOO 1 1 lelHhin 397 Fiji in 1 I 1
ralH« 3-0 Gihak 2 Cond ISI ( unm jOO Guinea natives 363 Hiii\ \inu lo3 Hamrans 400 Hiu 1 "1 Heier 2T^ Hctteiit t I II I 1 T 1-
\iimniuii 41 Ntith \meiK-in Indians o30 o32 Nyasaland natnes 312 Obongo 271 Persians 236 Puljnesnns 10 bakais 88 SO Siimese 9s bulomon Islanders 37 buuah 72 Tajils 222 Tasmanian=. ( s Todas ISO Tuaregs 388 390 ^\ ihuma o24 \^anyamwezi, 314 Wapokomo, 320 ; Wasagara, 317 ; Wazaraaio, 316 ; Wito, 384
Hairy Ainu, 147, 152—158
Ilakas, 113— 117
llamites, 322, 344, 353, 360, 361, 372, 401, 403
Hamitic (division of Caucasian race), 265
Hamrans, 400
Hantus, 92
Haratin (or Black Berbers), 301, 403
Hare Indians, 536
Hasiya, 374
Hassanieh, 401
Haussa, 392, 393
Hamja, 374
Head-hunting among the; — Celebes, 77 ; Dvas, 76 ; Malays, 75 ; Maoris, 40
TTr'irv,-.. 21',i-254, 458
H . ' * ! "- :th African Bushmen, 208
! I : . , 2 ! - , (' also Greeks)
T.;.
20
II,: •. a. -..,,-_■.»!. 11
Uifinni or. — the Armenians, 201; the Hebrews, 251, 252 ; HoUand, 488, 489 ; Ireland, 500—502; Italy, 468; the Mongols, 140, 141 ; Spain, 476 ; Smt- zerland, 406 ; the Tasmanian blacks, OS, 69, 70 ; Wales, 494
Hitomo (a Japanese under-garment), 150
Holland and Dutch, 488—490
Honolulu (capital of Sandwich Islands), 24 Hopi, 551
Horaia i;;-^v.;i;, -ian,;,;,), 443, 444 Hur.,^'- - \ ■' \ inaii Indians, 547:
Hott. ;.■ N _, . _,a-2'J6 "
HottLii;^:.,. 2i.,.5
House-hutus uf Malagasi houses, 2S7
House-moving among Berbers, 404
Houses (see Dwellings)
Hova, 265, 283, 284
Hungarians, 454
Hunting among the : — Bongo, 353 ; Bush- men of South Africa, 269; Eskimo, 522 ; Fans, 350 ; Forest pygmies, 277 Guianas, 562, 503 ; Hamrans, 400, 401 Hottentots, 295; Jungle folk, 190 Obongo, 272
Iberians, 408, 470, 470, 490 Iceland and Icelanders, 432 Ikongo, 286 Incas, 554, 569 India, 176—211 Indian Armenians, 262 Indios, 84
Industries (see also Manufactures) i Abyssinians, 380 ; Apono, 339 ;
333 ; Bechuaiias. 303 ; Berbers, 4i 371 ; Fski Fans, 348. 456; He..:
■fthe.— Bantu,
1.S, 487;
T-i'
.M..
I'r^
Initiation of Australian youths, 62, 64
Into.\icating drink (see Drinking Habits)
Inxwala (a Matabili dance), 306-308
Iranians (or Persians), 196, 235, 238
Ireland and Irish, 498 — 504
Iroquoians, 537, 538
Isa, 374
Ishogo, 338
Islam, 247
Italy and Italians, 408—170
Jakuns, 88
Jalin of Khartum, 401
Japan and Japanese, 144
Jats, 192
Java, 83
Jews (sec Hebrews)
Joshiwara, 148
Juangs of Orissa, 184
Jungle folk, 190
K
Kabinda, 330, 331 Kabras (a peace ceremony), 359 Kabyles (see Berbers), 403 Kachins, 111, 112 Kaffirs, 299, 300 Kafiristau, 216 Kalmuks, 223, 224 Kamasia. 354 Kamchadales. 235
Kamilaroi tribe of New South Wales, 66 Kanakas, 24, 41
Ivandjur (the Lamaist sacred book), 160 Kanuri, 394 Karamoyo, 354 Karens, 118, 119 Karons, 25 Kashmiris, 196
Kavirondo (people of), 290, 326, 350. 35) .3.58—300
Index
5S1
K&yak (an Kskimo oanoe), 514, 516
Kelowais of Air, 386
Kethuba (a Hebrew marriage institutio
;iini (or Hottentots), 204—296
s, I'.il
,1 Xugroes, 294, 343
0 (a Japanese flowing robe), 150
z-lCazaks, 218
:. 439
\ ing by New Zealanders, 10
ins (or Kols), 177, 183, 184 [see al
iinjsandBhils)
ir.ii
s, 1.'31, 506 •,sVl44, 218
ICuki (lull men), 112 Kurds, 235, 238, 261 Kurumbas, 190
Lala (a Hawaiian game), 10
Lamaiserai, 106
Lamaism (a form of Buddhism),
164 Land tenure in Hebrides, 496—198 Lango nation, 360
Language — Ababdeh, 402 ; Afgh' Ashango 342; \iKtnliin W-
376,
Icehi
338,
420
Mans
328,
Amti
250,
Sakii
Soil,
Lan y ^ Laos 131 apl lad Lapps 424
( Tabmani\nbUck),7t
of El 1 4 41 4 !
L ku ( J< ] a „ ne it), 2
Lia s J 0
Lukul 1 I 18
Lomla 1 -1 J
T 00 cl 00 1 1 I IS
Love story of 1 a 10, 17
Low A cl I el o 24
Low Germans (ur baxons), 407
Lowlanders of Scotkmd (or Saxons), 49,"
Loyalty Islands, 2U
Luris, 235, 238
Lushai, 112
M lol b 10
M 1 n 1
Mxhgisi the 286
Milay PemnsuU 88—96
Alalajb 26 73—96 265 266 282
M ilietoa (a Samoan chief) IS
Mini, 11
M 11 ch 1 btool (bee Tunguses) 22j
Mindans o40
Mil ianns 129
\r 1 ( 1 ! tants of Celebes) 77
ho Industries) of.— Dyur 3j2 Pij ails, 1 ; Ivotas 16J Malagasi,
A I
tl o Comtslup) ol
4j3 ] I 11
cassi I 1 4VJ
Dya I s'
Tan I ' 7 ,
rioi 1 I 474
Greels 4 II ne\
Islandeis „ I _ .4
Hottentots I I o
Ilongotes " I Iv I ns
119 Kl 1 1 I k ks
^20 1 1 I Is, 190
Latul 'Vegritos, 87
New 1 1 New Guine 1
nati 1 1 natut
40 Ne 1 I \
347 Noith \ 1
Papians 29 I ers 48 Russiii
Santa Cru? le 1 41 ^ lu^ Siamese 100 iaulomon Is iu leis, o7, iS Somah 3''3 , Tahiti (Society)
Isknler=! '>S Tasmin ans, 71, I Tnrls 4oS 430 Uppei
I ts 3^4 \ eddas, 176
1 ^Vanyoro, 327
M I I
Ml 1 2
Missaciescf \ men us 6
Matab h 6
Mayan cnili ition 5jj 5j0
Ma\as 5 '9
Mazurs 4j8
Mcdici ciien of — Austril:
nesia 11 12 Melhitar "63 Melanesia 2j Mendi 3( ^
M 111 ( t s( cE
1/ I 0 A
I lie (1 in ) 1 \ V He
rides peoi le SJ Nilotic group, 35 Philippine Islanders, 86 , Sandwii
Islanders, 24 ; Society Islanders, 22; Solomon Islanders, 37; Tong: 16; Waganda, 325; Veddas, 174
Mo Mo Mo Mo |
lawk ucho laste ilmtt |
.,538 ' 570 ies of Armenia, . Negroes (or M ih,' P:,,Hs, :r„ |
263 liigijat |
tl), 2 |
11,31 93 |
|
M. Mn |
^!'': |
in>l Aiiiri |
'!'!!i«m |
583 nsof |
Aby |
|
M. Al. |
;"\i'':: |
mten s, 4ii |
egrins, .-408 |
417- |
149 |
.lotic
Moravians, 454
Moros, 84
Mortloek Islands, 11
Moslem religion, 240
MostahiU (law of), 393
Mound-budders of America, 551
Mushikongo, 330
Music of (Ae .—Admiralty Islanders, 36; Bantu, 333; Eskimo, 522; Germans, 460—462 ; Mashonas, oOS ; North A^mei lean Indians, 547, 548 ; Sakais, )2 Scotch, 496 , Siamese, loi ; Welsh,
4Jj
540
K
Nails (length of, m Si am), 93 Nam aqua, 291, 29o, 296, 298 Nitionil cohesion of the Chuiese, 122 Nats (a „'uai ban spmt), 103 NaNaj s 5,0 N..llets( ^Onnnients) ^ 1^ ' \ r 1 iboiigm l1 inhabitant.- I 1 1 nd, 87
Mwub) 43
(01 Azandeh), 294, 343,
Oath-taking with Chins, 118
Obongo, 271
Okanda, 337
('/,( A./c mth (/,c.— A.-tas, 8^
()/i/«m-sm(jii;i(/.— M.ilays, 75; Sia Oi-ang Benua, 73, 8bi Urang Laut, 73
5^2
The Living Races of Mankind
Orang Malayu, 73
Ordeals (trial by) among the Apingi, 340 ; Somali, 373
Origin of the : — Abyssinians, 374, 370 ; Af- glians, 202 ; Australians, 50 ; Belgians, 48o ; Bogo, 376 ; Bralimans, 203 ; Chi- nese, l:;2; Chinese i.)--tail. VS, ; I)a.l,;il,il, :■;:■. h.,l..i, I-: I ■ .:.-ii. 4'.l'i. !■■: , I '■ ; I
Indians, 549 ; Sakais, 91 ; Samoans, 19 ; Siamese, 100 ; Solomon Islanders, 37; Somali, 373; Veddas, 176; Wa- soga, 326
Polynesians, 8 — 24
Pondo tribe of KalErs, 300
Ab^
Afr
Reindeer and ] "AbvssinKll
■Ababdeh, 402; . ; Anamese, 107 ; u,.!,-. L'G3, 2G4;
;'^'"\" |
,: 1.', il , N . ^- |
77 ;' Bn Burials, |
|
4s.i'; i;.. |
1 1 ■-'. |
266 ; Cai |
|
Sua!: , .■:- |
1 |
peu-:i'i. r, |
|
ta.li^. i-l ; 1 |
1 ; Wahuma, 322 |
4l>"; !■- |
|
\ ^ •. |
..leh, 402; Abys- ilty Islanders, 34 ; |
r.: |
|
Ara!.-.\'ll ;' |
Ari'>^ |
Mf North Africa. |
r.- |
405; Asliaiig |
> '.'A'' |
.\'i-M,.:v l;^. -^ ; |
!"■: ' |
Bantu, 333; |
Bara, |
j^i ; 1'. ■■■ 1, ■'■; . |
1 •.; ; 1 i |
Berbers, 404 |
Benl |
K' . ■;- : r. |
1 |
352 ; Ijushui |
n iif > |
iia
Mu
buttu, 32S; Moors, 406; Nilotic Negroes, 359; Negroes, 290; New Guinea natives, 28 ; New Zealand natives, 32, 34 ; Niam-niam, Sll.'i ; Njempsiaus, 358; N^iih Ai:.i:.ui Indians, 544; X.-. , 312; Patagonians, .>,.-. - Sakalava, 2^6; Sin '- ; ^^ ! ■
monlslander . . 7: I ~i.;Torlas,
188; Tuar.- : , \ 173; Wa-
ganda, 32. 7 : \. .1;!; Wa-
gogo, 317; \\ a: : : I, -'! ; \\ apokomo, 320
Oromo, 370
Ostiaks, 230
Ovampo, 299
Painting bodies of Sakais, 89
Palestine, 249
Panches, 5G8
Pantheism, 11
Pantshen Lama, 165
Papuans, 25 — 48 (see also New Guinea)
Parialis (or outc.ists), 182
Parsis, 196, 238
Patagonians (or Tehuelcnes), 572
P.nbnns (or Afghans), 213
Patuas (see Juangs), 184
/'aumota, 20
Persia and Persians, 235—240
Peruvians, 529
Petele (a Bantu ornament), 312
Philippine Islands, 84, 86
Pictures {see Art)
Picture-^v^iting of Bushmen of South Africa, 269 ; of North American Indians, 546
Pigtail or queue of Chinese (origin of), 125
Pilanjana, or palanquin (a Malagasi vehicle), 287
Pitcairn Island, 23
Plongge (a knotted stick, used as an Aus- tralian magic wand), 61
Poisoned arrows of Bushmen of South Africa, 269, 278
Pokomo (see Wapokomo)
Poles, 454, 458
Polygamy with the : — Abyssinians, 380 ; Anamese, 106 ; Bongo, 353 ; Fellahin, 398 ; Hottentots, 296 : Latuka, 354 ; Moubuttu, 328 ; New Ireland natives, 32! Nilotic group. 359; North American
Japan. 144: Java. .^ . Kamchadales, 235 ; 1\ Khasis, 197; Kor-a 234; Kotas, 189; La ghians, 418 ; Luris. : M.ashonas, 308 ; U"'. goliaus, 140 : M Xestorians. 23.^: ^t
84; Pondo, 300; •bio Indians, 551 ;
,->ia, 409; Sakais.
:Mimatra, S3 ; Sweden, 4cl ; owitzer- |
land, 462; Syria, 24S ; Tahiti, 20;
Tibet, 161 ; Tonga of South Africa,
304; Tunguses, 223; Turkestan, 217;
Turkey, 436 ; Turkomans, 220 ;
Uganda, 324; Wales, 494; Yakuts,
223 Porro (or secret societies of West Africa),
362 Portugal and Portuguese, 479, 480 Powhatans, 538
Praying-wheels of Tibetans, 168 Present-making of Society Islanders, 22 Priests of Polynesians, 11 Proverbs of Malays, 77 Pueblo group of Nortli American Indians,
534 Pueblo Indians, 551, 552 Pueblo structures, 551 Puelche, 570 Pygmies, 263, 260, 280
Qajar {see Persia), 235
Quechuas, 508
Queue or Chinese pig-tail (origin of).
Raids of Angoni, 310
Rajput caste, 182, 192, 208
Rank among the: — Anamese, 107; Aus- tralians, 58 ; Burmese, 110 ; Chinese, 129; Danes, 484, 485; Eskimo, 524, 525 ; Germans, 460 ; Malagasi na- tives, 288; Maoris, 46; Persians, 236; Siamese, 98 ; Society Islanders, 22 ; Solomon Islanders, 37 ; Swiss, 464 ; Tasmanians, 71
Red Karens, 119
Redeeming the first-born (custom of Jews), 252
Reincarnation of a Lama spirit, 165, 166
; Copts, 396 ; ) ; Druses, 249 ; 26; Ewe, 364:
liaus, 470; >IJ0 ; Kal- 5;Khonds, liz-Kazaks,
an's, 4lV; J Liu-kiu,
I.7.S; Mon- -ritos, 87;
.\merican lans, 431 ;
; Parsis, -lans, 10 ; moans, 18; •tvh, 498;
I " • . ; ' . ; i uaregs,
■.V.n : I :_,.. I -\,.S3, 222;
A7m ;.,-. 1,... \' .,,. .;j.7;^Wagir-
\atu..i. i.l:) . \\ .vk.^....*.v, ..JJ; Wanyoro, 327 ; Wapokomo, 32U, 321 ; Welsh, 495 ; Yakuts, 232
Religious festivals of the : — Ashango, 342, 343; Belgians, 487; Kalmuks, 223; Tongans, 13
Rhaitians, 463
Riffs, 403
Ring {see Ornaments)
Ritual of Armenian Church, 264
Robinson (Augustus) and Tasmanian blacks, 09
Rosary of Tibetans, 168
Rumania and Rumanians, 441-444, 453
Russia and Russians, 409 — 110
Russian post-car, 411, 412
Ruthenians, 454
Saans {see Bushmen), 200
Saba (or North British Borneo), 77
Sacred animals (killing of, by Hindus), 211,
212 Sacrifices with the : — Chins, 114, 116;
Dahomey ans, 366, 307 ; Fijians, 6, 7 ;
Klionds,191; Negroes, 294; Polynesians,
11 ; Sakalava, 287 ; Waganda, 325 ;
Wanyoro, 327 Saetersdal (people of valley of, Norway),
430 Sakais, 88
Sakalava, 283, 280, 287 Sahara and Soudan, 385—394 Samoa, 17—20 Samoyedes, 226—230 Sandwich Islands, 24 Santa Cruz (or Queen Charlotte) Islands,
41
Sarawak (Raj of), 77
"Sarongs," 88
Saxons (or Low Germans), 457
Scandinavians, 422, 408. 472, 481, 491, 405
Scars self-inflicted by the Fijians, 2 {sec
also Tattooing) Scotland and Scotchmen, 495—408 Sealing by Eskimo, 51C, 522 Semangs, 88, 94 Semitic, 248, 250, 266 Serers of Senegal, 361 Servia and Servians, 444—447 Senecas, 538
Sh,
138,
Arabian tribe), 245
Shangallas, 374, 38
Shans, 97, 08, 101
Sheikh (a head of ;
Shereefs, 245
Shiah sect, 240
Shilhik, 351
Shintoism, 152
Shoho, 374, 380
Shops in Bosnia, 449, 450
Shoshonean stock, 540
ShuUuhs, 403
Siam and Siamese, 97—101
Siberia, 222, 235
Sikhs, 192
Singpos, 111, 112
Siouan group of North American Indii
534, 537, 538 Siva ("the destroyer"), 204, 205 Siyins, 113 Slaves and S'nv-r-! rn'-
246; llnr-- . H"-
people MM
Negrue.-, -.'■ . I. .
Tuaregs, :■:'«. :Vl , Ti Slavs, 453, 404, 4.jS Slovaks, 454 Slovenes, 454 Smoking in Russia, 410 Society Islands (or Tahiti) Solomon Islands, 37 Somali, 265, 372-374 Sorcery {see Superstitions) So-sin (ceremony of sacrifice), 367 Soudanese Negroes, 361, 362 Souruka (a Solomon Islander's dance), 38,
39 Southern Chili and Argentina, 569—575 Spain and Spaniards, 475—479 Stahr (a housetop of Moorish houses), 400 State of Fulah, 392 Straits Settlements, 96 Suahili, 317 Sudras (caste of), 182 Suicide anion!/ the .—Chinese, 134; Maoris,
46
SuiDMiii, -J-, s:;
Sui' : (Ac— Australians, 60,
1.1 : r : ; ! , il,nis,116,117,118;East Ah I ,in|" "I' . -, :U2; Kijians, 8; Finns, 4L'.;, 4:i4; iTiliaks, 234; Hereros, 299; Irish, 502 ; Kikuyu, 344 ; Lapps, 427 ; Manxmen, 504 ; ^longols, 143 ; Moors, 408; Niam-niam, 347 ; North American Indians, 550 ; Scotch, 496 ; Spaniards, 478 ; Svaus, 417 ; Tasmanians, 72 ; Tuaregs, 391; Turks, 43S; Wagiryama, 319
ic .—Arabs, , 101, 102; Maoris, 46 ; 414, 415; ans, 220 |
lll.l.U^, 1. ,1, 'llbttlns, Ibl, rjb Tana dtl Fuego, 576 Tien Ts7P (titl." of ChinLse Empeioi), |
129 |
1 1 1 111 Vichipelago), 7. 7 1 1 , III) ; Persia, 236 |
,76 |
|
Taboo (or tapu), 48, 509 Tagal (one of the chief tribes of the Philip- pine Islands), 84
Index
Tahiti (Society Islands), 20, 22, 23
Tai, 98, 101
Taisaka, 283
Tajiks, 222, 235
Taksatte (or Chas^arl Kukis), 116
Tamem(orskiit), 119
Tanala, 28\ 2s7
Tanisi, 283
Taoibm, 137
T.iitais, 122
lismania, 67—72; discoiery of, 67
II 1 333; Bet I 111; Dmka,
,1,1 1 513; Fella-
hin, , I I 1 iniosans, 158;
Friin ll\ I 17; Gondb,
180 ,( . 1 1 I \ Amu, 154 ;
Isho^'o, , 1 I , IjO ; Kanuri,
394 , Latuki, .ol , Liu kiu, 160; Malijs, 75; Maoiis, 44; Negrois, 20(1, 292 ; N cw Ireland people, 32 ; New Guinei natues, 30; Niam mam, 346; Samoans, 17 ; Society Islanders, 22 ; Solomon Islanders, 37; Tibbus, 3S6 ; Todas, 188 ; Tongans, 12— 17; Wanyoro,
583
Ton, -I, .!il4, 309 r.,ii„'kiiig, 104 ToituiL^ and Punishments among the —
Alnssiunns, 381 ; Chinese, 132 Toskb, 4,>6
Tottms, 58, 302, 348, 349, 364 Tow Tow (\Tongan:ehgiousfestival), 13,14 Tiadinff at the —Congo tubes, 331; Wa
kaniba, 321 Truganina (a Tasmanian black woman), 70 Tbhi, 30 \ 304
Tsongkapa (one of the heads of LamaiMii ),16 J Tuaie^s, 3S5, 386— o91 Tubuai, 20 Tungubtb, 225
TuJk\n i', 351, 3 ,4
TuiLestan, 217-221
Tuike\ and Tuiks, 2j(;, 4 .0—439
Turkomans, 217
Tuscaroias, 538
Tubhilange {see Bashilange)
Tynwald (legislatuie of Isle of Man), 504
Tziganes, 456
Uganda (king of), 324, 325 Uled-Nail, 405
Umiak (an Eskimo canoe), 516 Usbegs, 221
Vaishyas (caste of), 182
Valencians, 478
\'apour baths of Russians, 409, 410
Vaudois, 464
Vazimba, 280
Vedas (hymns), 200, 202, 205
Veddas of Ceylon, 172
Venezuelan people, 658—566 A'ishnu ("the preserver"), 204, 205 Vodka (a Russian drink), 415
Wadai people, 394 Wadoa, 316
Waganda, 265, 324, 326 Wagiryama, 318
317
Wahuma, 322, 326 Wakamba 321
Wake (an Irish funeral custom) 502 Wikhutu ne \\ al isesa - 0 A\akwah 8
^\ ales and the W Ish 4J4 495 A\alloonb 4 S 4Sd Wambuttu 2~ W an lei 11 o 2Si W an^in 1 10 Wankjnk olo ni ■\\ xnjamwezi 314 ol5 Wanyoro " Wapianas 5 >8 Wapokomo 319
TI I r ( (/ — Austiahans 5-
1 tho A.U1 ) an 1 Mil
\a |
12 13 |
||||
/iia 1 |
15 |
10 |
|||
Ilia |
200 |
Al \ |
s nnns |
378 |
|
'Vpono, |
|||||
» |
\iabb |
'44 |
Vbl aiig |
1 o42 |
Aus- |
trala |
nb o4 |
Lilwandc |
271; |
||
Pant |
1 3''3 |
b'^ |
a 2S4 |
Bee |
luanas. |
r 1 |
4 |
' '^ |
k |
\ fi ica' |
|
2b°8"'' |
1 |
d2; |
|||
Iski |
lUs, |
||||
3^0 |
II |
•3; |
|||
Heic |
a |
i hogo. |
|||
008 |
Ivathib |
Ml |
, Kani |
ii%n, Ki- |
|
343 |
344 |
Lapps |
426 |
, 427; |
|
Lati |
a 354 |
Malagabi |
286 |
Masai, |
|
Monbuttu |
s > |
lit |
s 87 1 |
||
Negi |
oes 292 \ |
41; |
|||
New Guinea |
1 |
1 land |
|||
nati\ |
es 32 |
4 |
Ni- |
||
lotio Noit |
^.t I |
||||
\ |
11 |
Ij 540j |
|||
Ob 1 |
1 |
^8 |
Patd- |
||
LTa'i |
1 |
||||
1 |
Svans, |
||||
417 |
1 |
1 1 |
086; |
||
Tua. |
\ |
1 |
\\ |
nda. |
|
325 |
\\ |
\\ |
1 |
o21; |
|
Wan\ |
W |
o27; |
;xif.dchildie ot -the 4 1 Vial IX ith Mil a 4
I I G ill lb *70 ;
I ks 234, the
1 18b the
1 1J8 Ireland,
the Juaii„b IM Kashmir, 196;
Khasis 197 the Kirghiz Kazaks,
584
The Living Races of Mankind
220 ; Kore.i, IDC ; the Kotas, ISO ; the Lango, SCO : the Latuka, 354 ; the
Malays, 70 : the Monlj.ittu, 3JS ; the
djaus, 0 17 ; tlie IV
the Tuaregs, 388—390 ; Turkey, 438 ; the Wambuttu, 275; the Wapokomo,
Yahgans, 576 Yakkos, 172 Yakuts. 2Z\
Yao, 310, 312, 313 Yoruba people, 303, 3C8
Zambesi tribes, 292
Zandej' (see Niara-niam), 344
Zulus, 304—306
NOTE
The Editor (Eov. H. X. Hutchinson) wishes to offer his sincere thanlcs to those travellers, ethnologists, and others who have helped him to crrry out his scheme. AVithout their kind co-operation the work of collecting photographs from all parts of the world could not have been done in the time. The pictures reproduced in this book are but a selection from the large collection which has been formed — probably the most complete collection at present existing in Great Britain. By submitting proofs of photographs to ethnologists before going to press, the Editor has been ablo to eliminate not a few mistakes made by photographers, owing to the careless way in which they put titles to their photographs, regardless of scientific accuracy. Half-castes are a trouble to collectors of types. The Editor's special thanks are clue to Professor Kcane, F.E.S., for general supervision of much of the text and titles of photographs, and to Mr. William Crooke, author of "The Tribes of the North-west i'rovinccs," etc., for similar kind help in the chapters dealing with India.
When travelling abroad in search of photographs, the Editor received much kind help from travellers, professors, and others. In Paris Prince Poland Bona])arte was kind enough to show his very fine collection of photographs, and to give permission to reproduce some of his types of North American Indians. In the same city Prof. Hamy, Dr. Vernaux, Pre*' Gaudry, and Dr. Topinard all rendered valuable assistance. Dr. J. Szombathy, of Vienna, most kindly sent the Editor a number of his valuable photographs of Samoyedes ; Drs. Paul and Fritz Sarasin also sent some of their unique photographs of the Veddas of Ceylon ; Prof. Gustav Fritsch has sent some rare photographs of Bushmen ; Dr. Paul Hyades (editor of the " Mission Scientifique du Cap Horn ") has sent many Fucgian types ; Dr. Ehrenreich, photographs from South America; Dr. A. B. Meyer, of Dresden, supplied most valuable Papuan types from his well-known albums. The Editor is also indebted to Dr. von Luschan and Dr. Stuhlmann (Berlin) ; Dr. Schmeltz (Leyden) ; Dr. Amel (Budapest); M. Labbe and M. le Baron de Baye (Paris); and the Anthropological Collection of the Museum de Paris; Dr. Obst (Leipzig); Prof. Brinkmann and Herr Karl Hagenbeck (Hamburg).
In England special thanks are due to the Anthropological Institute, the South American Missionary Society, Dr. Grenfell of the Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen, the London Missionary Society, the S. P. G., and the Universities' Mission to Central Africa. Sir Hugh Low, K.C.M.G., most kindly lent his unique collection of Dyaks from Borneo. The Poyal Geographical Society kindly gave permission to make use of their large collection, from which the Editor selected a number of valuable types from Central Asia, collected by E. Delmar Morgan, Esq., F.E.G.S. Messrs. Spencer and Gillen kindly allowed the Editor to select some examples from their large and unique collection of Central Australians. Dr. E. W. Felkin, F.E.G.S., kindly lent the whole collection of invaluable photographs taken by the late Mr. Eichard Buchta in the region of Khartum. Mr. Henry Balfour, of Oxford, has also helped the Editor in many ways.
The following ladies and gentlemen have all contributed photographs, photographers their names are all given under the photographs reproduced :-
case of profes.sional
Admiral Sir William Acland, Bart. Eev. A. B. Fisher.
Mr. J. Alklridge. Mr. Ernest Gedge, F.E.G.S.
Mr. Stowell Ashwell (Antananarivo). Dr. F. H. H. Guillemard, F.E.G.S.
Mr. James Baker (Clifton), F.E.G.S. Sir W. C. Hillier, K.C.JLG.
Dr. Bcddoe, F.E.S. Jfr. H. C. V. Hunter, F.E.G.S.
Mrs. Theodore Bent. Sir Harry Johnston, K.C.B.
Mr. W. P.. Bland. The late Jliss Mary Kingsley.
Jlrs. E. T. Cook. The Eev. W. G. Lawes (New Guinea).
Mr. Thomas Child. Mr. J. J. Lister (Cambridge).
Mr. H. Z. Danah. Ilr. G. C. Morant, F.E.G.S.
Eev. E. E. Nickisson.
Miss Palmer.
Mr. E. Phillips (Bristol).
Mr. J. G. Eeid (Lima).
.Air. E. J. Eobertson.
Mr. W. J. Eoland.
]\rr. H. W. Eolfe.
Colonel Sir Edward Boss, K.C.M.G.
Mr. H. Warington Smyth, F.E.G.S.
The Bishop of Tasmania.
^>Q^
CALIF ACAD OF SCIENCES LIBRARY
3 1853 00059 3918
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