Skip to main content

Full text of "The pygmies"

See other formats 


r 


HE    PYGMIES 


BY 

A.    DE   QUATREFAGES 

LATE    PROFESSOR    OF    ANTHROPOLOGY    AT    THE 
MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY,   PARIS 


TRANSLATED   BY 

FREDERICK  STARR 


WITH  NUMEROUS  ILLUSTRATIONS 


LONDON 

MACMILLAN     AND     CO. 
AND   NEW   YORK 

1  895 


Printed  in  America. 
Copyright,  1894,  by  T>.  Appleton  A  Co. 


EDITOK'S  PKEFACE. 


No  apology  is  necessary  for  introducing  any  work  of 
de  Quatrefages  to  American  readers.  No  man  has  done 
more  than  he  to  further  anthropological  study  in  France ; 
no  man  was  more  respected  than  he  over  the  whole  of  Con- 
tinental Europe ;  no  European  anthropologist's  works  have 
been  more  widely  read  in  America.  Since  the  idea  of  in- 
corporating Les  Pygmees  into  the  Anthropological  Series 
was  reached  its  learned  and  respected  author  has  died. 
It  seems  proper,  therefore,  to  present  here  a  brief  sketch 
of  his  life  and  work. 

Jean  Louis  Armand  de  Quatrefages  de  Breau  was  born 
February  10,  1810,  in  the  Department  Gard,  France. 
Studying  at  the  College  of  Tournon,  and  later  at  the 
University  of  Strasbourg,  he  received  the  degree  of  Doc- 
tor of  Mathematical  Sciences  in  1830.  Two  years  later 
he  became  Doctor  of  Medicine,  and  received  a  subordinate 
appointment  to  the  Faculty  of  Medicine  at  Strasbourg. 
Shortly  after,  removing  to  Toulouse,  he  began  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine.  For  four  years  he  remained  in  that  city 
as  a  practitioner,  and  at  the  same  time  busied  himself  with 
scientific  work,  taking  active  part  in  several  learned  so- 
cieties, and  founding  (with  a  colleague)  the  Journal  de 
Medicin  et  de  Chirurgie  de  Toulouse.  In  1840  he  removed 
to  Paris,  studying  in  zoology  under  Milne-Edwards,  and 
taking  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Natural  Science.  Particu- 
larly interested  in  marine  life,  he  prosecuted  important 


vi  EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 

researches  and  published  many  papers,  some  of  perma- 
nent value.  In  1850  he  was  appointed  Professor  of 
Natural  History  at  the  College  of  Henry  IV ;  in  1852, 
elected  member  of  the  Institute ;  in  1855,  called  to  the 
head  of  the  Department  of  Anatomy  and  Ethnology  at 
the  Museum  of  Natural  History.  Here  he  found  his  life- 
work,  remaining  until  his  death,  busying  himself  with 
study,  writing,  and  teaching. 

A  man  of  strong  convictions  and  very  conservative, 
de  Quatrefages  was  ever  ready  to  hear  the  other  side,  and 
ever  candid  and  kindly  in  argument.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  to  support  the  Society  of  Anthropology.  Those  who 
know  the  story  of  the  early  days  of  that  great  association 
understand  what  that  means.  When  the  claim  for  man's 
antiquity  was  generally  derided,  de  Quatrefages  cham- 
pioned the  cause.  A  monogenist,  a  believer  in  the  ex- 
treme antiquity  of  our  race,  he  was  never  won  over  by 
any  of  the  proposed  theories  of  evolution. 

The  ethnographic  works  of  de  Quatrefages  are  many 
and  valuable.  From  the  list  of  nearly  one  hundred  and 
fifty  important  papers  or  volumes,  we  select  as  most  im- 
portant Les  Polynesiens  et  leur  migrations,  Crania  etli- 
nica  (written  in  collaboration  with  E.  T.  Hamy),  ISEspece 
humaine,  Hommes  fossiles  et  hommes  sauvages,  The  Nat- 
ural History  of  Man,  Introduction  a  Vetude  des  races 
humaines,  and  Les  Pygmees.  The  Natural  History  of 
Man  and  a  translation  of  L'Espece  humaine  have  been 
published  in  America. 

To  the  very  end  of  a  long  life  our  author  lived  happily 
and  busily  active  among  his  books  and  specimens.  Age 
touched  him  lightly.  Only  a  few  weeks  before  his  death 
we  visited  him,  and  received  from  him  that  gracious, 
kindly  assistance  which  he  ever  gave  freely  to  all  foreign- 
ers. At  that  time,  although  past  fourscore  years  of  age, 
and  though,  as  he  himself  remarked,  his  hand  trembled, 


EDITOR'S   PREFACE.  vii 

and  it  was  not  as  easy  as  formerly  for  him  to  write,  he 
was  engaged  upon  an  important  scientific  work. 

He  died  January  12,  1892,  after  a  brief  illness,  and 
in  his  death  France  lost  an  eminent  son  and  science  a 
brilliant  leader. 


INTRODUCTION. 


FOR  a  long  time  past  the  small  black  races  have  at- 
tracted my  attention  and  my  interest  in  a  special  manner. 
On  several  occasions,  in  my  courses  and  in  various  pub- 
lications, I  have  recurred  to  their  history.* 

It  has  seemed  to  me  that  it  might  be  useful  to  gather 
and  unite  these  materials  in  a  book  which  should  present 
a  sort  of  monograph  of  this  human  type,  very  curious  for 
more  than  one  reason. 

These  little  blacks  are  to-day  almost  everywhere  scat- 
tered, separated,  and  often  hunted  by  races  larger  and 
stronger.  They  are  no  longer  found  in  certain  parts  of  the 
globe  which  they  formerly  occupied,  and  they  are  disap- 
pearing from  many  others.  Nevertheless  they  have  had 
in  the  past  their  time  of  prosperity ;  they  have  played  a 
very  real  ethnologic  role.  Finally,  they  have  become  the 
subject  of  legends  which  the  poets  have  collected  and 
which  the  most  serious  classical  writers  have  not  disdained 
transmitting  to  us. 

To  make  known  the  scientific  truth  in  regard  to  these 

*  See  Gazette  medicale,  1862  ;  Revue  d'anthropologie,  1872 ;  Bul- 
letin de  la  Societe  d'anthropologie,  1874 ;  Comptes  rendus  de  1'Acad- 
emie  des  sciences,  1874  ;  Crania  ethnica,  1875-'79 ;  Journal  des 
savants,  1881-'82 ;  Revue  d'ethnographie,  1882 ;  Homines  fossiles 
et  Homraes  sauvages,  1884 ;  Materiaux  pour  1'histoire  primitive  et 
naturelle  de  rhomme,  1886 ;  Introduction  a  la  histoire  des  races 
humaines,  1887. 

ix 


x  THE  PYGMIES. 

fables,  to  show  what  the  pygmies  of  antiquity  really  are, 
is  the  principal  purpose  of  this  book. 

I  have  carefully  indicated  in  the  footnotes  the  sources 
whence  I  have  drawn  my  facts.  But  I  must  thank  here 
Bro  de  Saint-Pol  Lias,  E.  de  la  Croix,  and  Marche  and 
Montano,  who  have  kindly  furnished  me  unpublished  ma- 
terial, and  to  whom  I  owe  the  greater  part  of  the  photo- 
graphs reproduced  in  the  text.  The  figures  of  skulls  are 
drawn  from  specimens  in  the  collections  of  the  museum. 

Although  Greek  and  Roman  antiquity  did  not  know 
either  the  Bushmen  or  the  Hottentots,  I  have  felt  it  my 
duty  to  devote  a  chapter  to  them.  One  cannot  separate 
these  two  populations,  and  by  its  little  stature  the  first 
well  deserves  to  take  its  place  by  the  side  of  the  classical 
pygmies,  from  whom  it  is  otherwise  very  distinct.  Yet  I 
have  confined  myself,  so  far  as  their  physical  and  ethno- 
graphic characters  are  concerned,  to  simply  indicating 
these.  They  are  described  in  many  works. 

It  is  otherwise  with  regard  to  their  religious  characters, 
the  importance  of  which,  from  many  points  of  view,  is 
more  and  more  recognised.  Those  of  the  races  of  the 
Cape  have  remained  little  known  until  these  last  years. 
Therefore  I  have  made  a  resume  of  what  Hahn  has 
taught  us  on  this  subject,  just  as  I  have  made  known 
in  some  detail  the  discoveries  upon  this  point  made  by 
Man  among  the  Mincopies.  The  comparison  of  these 
two  mythologies,  spontaneously  developed  among  savages 
located  almost  at  the  lowest  steps  of  the  social  ladder,  I 
hope  may  interest  those  who  occupy  themselves  with 
these  questions. 

A.   DE   QUATREFAGES. 
PARIS,  May  24,  1887. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

INTRODUCTION ix 

I. — THE  PYGMIES  OF  THE  ANCIENTS,  ACCORDING  TO  MODERN 

SCIENCE 1 

II. — GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES  *     .        .20 

III. — PHYSICAL  CHARACTERS  OF  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES         .  59 

IV. — INTELLECTUAL,  MORAL,  AND  RELIGIOUS  CHARACTERS  OF 

THE  MINCOPIES 89 

V. — NEGRITOS  OTHER  THAN  THE  MINCOPIES  ....  144 

VI. — THE  NEGRILLOS,  OR  PYGMIES  OF  AFRICA        .        .        .  164 

VII. — RELIGIOUS    BELIEFS    OF    THE    HOTTENTOTS    AND    THE 

BUSHMEN 188 

APPENDIX  A 239 

APPENDIX  B 247 

APPENDIX  C 249 

INDEX                                                                                .  251 


LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FIG.  PAGE 

1.  New  Guinean,  from  the  Strait  of  Bourgat.     (After  Van 

Vort) -.        .        .      facing    20 

2.  Skulls  of  Mincopy  and  Papuan  superposed    .        .        .        .21 

3.  Group  of  Mincopies facing    22 

4.  Skull  of  Papuan  from  Torres  Strait.     One  fourth  natural 

size.    (Mus.  d'hist.  nat.,  No.  4771) 22 

5.  Skull  of  Negrito  from  the  Neighbourhood  of  Binangonan, 

Luzon.      One  fourth  natural   size.    (Mus.  d'hist.   nat., 
No.  3629) .        .23 

6.  Portrait  of  Aeta  Chief  from  the  Mountains  of  Mariveles, 

Luzon.      (From    photograph    of    MM.    Montano    and 
Rey) facing    25 

7.  Skull  of  Mincopy  from  the  Grand  Andaman.     One  fourth 

natural  size 31 

8.  Sakaies  of  Perak.    (After  a  photograph  of  M.  Bro  de  Saint- 

Pol  Lias,  given  by  M.  de  la  Croix) 33 

9.  Sakaie.    (After  a  photograph  of  M.  Bro  de  Saint-Pol  Lias, 

given  by  M.  de  la  Croix) 34 

10.  Djangal  of  Sirgoudja.  (From  a  drawing  by  Rousselet)  facing    38 

11.  Profile  of  Boda,  Ghond  of  Schagpore.  compared  with  that 

of  a  Mincopy  Woman  and  an  Aeta  Woman.    One  fourth 
natural  size 39 

12.  Skull  of  Female  Negrito  of  the  Cattalam  Mountains.     One 

fourth  natural  size.    (Mns.  d'hist.  nat.,  No.  3502)     .        .    40 

13.  Bust  of  Orion,  Negrito-Papuan   of  Tidore — Profile.     One 

fourth  natural  size.    (Mus.  d'hist.  nat.,  No.  880)       .        .    43 

14.  Negrito- Papuan.    (After  Crawfurd) 44 

15.  Skull  of  a  Negrito-Papuan  of  Borneo,  forming  part  of  a 

Dyak  Trophy 45 

16.  Young  Aeta  Girl.     (After  a  photograph  of  M.  Montano)      .     71 


xiv  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FIG.  PAGE 

17.  Aeta.     (After  a  photograph  of  M.  Montano)         .        .        .73 

18.  Skull  of  a  Mincopy  of  the  Great  Andamans  .        .        .        .82 

19.  William  Lanney 86 

20.  Truganina,  or  Lalla  llookh.     (After  the  bust  cast  by  Du- 

moustier) 87 

21.  Akoa.    (After  Admiral  Fleuriot  de  Langle)  .        .      facing  166 

22.  Akka  Woman   placed   beside  a    Man   of  Average  Height. 

(After  Chaille-Long  Bey) facing  174 

23.  Tebo,  Side  View.    (After  photograph  of  Count  Miniscalchi)  175 

24.  Tebo.  Front  View.      (After  photograph  of  Count  Minis- 

calchi)  176 

25.  Chairallah,   Front  View.       (After  photograph     of   Count 

Miniscalchi) 176 

26.  Bust  of  Swoon,  Hottentot.     (From  a  bust  modelled  upon 

the  living  subject.     Collection  of  the  Museum)         .        .  189 

27.  Skull  of  Hottentot    from  Cape  Colony.      (Museum   Col- 

lection)         190 

28.  Bust  of  Yunka,  Bushman.     (From  a  mould  made  upon  the 

living.     Collection  of  the  Museum) 191 

29.  Bust 'of  Soartje    Bartmann,  called   the  Hottentot  Venus. 

(From  a  mould  taken  after  death.      Collection  of  the 
Museum) 192 

30.  Skull  of  Bushman.     (Collection  of  the  Museum ) .        .        .193 

31.  Skull  of  Soartje  Bartmann,  Bushman  Woman.     (Collection 

of  the  Museum) 193 


THE    PYGMIES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   PYGMIES   OF   THE   ANCIENTS,    ACCORDING   TO 
MODERN   SCIENCE. 

Homer  and  Aristotle :  Pygmies  of  the  Nile. — The  Marsh  of  the  Nile. 
— Pliny :  African  and  Asiatic  Pygmies. — Buffon  :  The  Apes. — 
Roulin  :  Northern  Populations.  —  Beloochistan  :  Brahouis. — 
Ctesias  :  Asiatic  Pygmies. — Pomponius  Mela  :  East  African 
Pygmies.—  Herodotus :  West  African  Pygmies. — Voyage  of  the 
Nasamones. — The  Niger. — Negritos  and  Negrillos. 

THERE  is  probably  no  nation,  not  a  human  population, 
which  has  not  believed  in  the  existence  of  men  of  more  or 
less  dwarfed  stature  and  has  made  them  play  a  role  in 
its  legends.*  One  knows  that  the  Greeks  have  not  es- 
caped the  common  law,  and  that  Homer  has  borrowed 
from  beliefs,  which  were  without  doubt  much  older  than 
his  time,  the  beginning  of  the  third  chant  of  the  Iliad, 
"  when  under  the  orders  of  their  chiefs  they  had  arranged 
themselves  in  battle  array,  the  Trojans  advanced  noisily 
like  a  cloud  of  birds,  making  their  loud  cries  heard.  So 

*  I  have  no  intention  of  here  examining  all  that  has  been  said  on 
the  subject  of  the  pygmies.  It  is  understood  that  I  shall  not  occupy 
myself  with  puerile  traditions,  nursery  tales,  which  some  ancient 
authors  have  transmitted  to  us  on  the  subject.  ...  1  shall  confine 
myself  to  discussing  that  which  has  been  said  which  is  nearest  true. 
Readers  who  wish  more  may  consult  Banier.1* 

s^  1 


2  THE  PYGMIES. 

raises  itself  to  heaven  the  outcry  of  storks  when  they  flee 
from  winter  and  the  continual  rains.  They  utter  shrill 
cries,  they  fly  over  the  ocean,  they  bear  carnage  and  death 
to  the  men  called  pygmies ;  and  from  high  in  the  air 
they  give  them  dreadful  combat." 

The  country  of  the  pygmies  is  not  mentioned  in  this 
passage.  Yet  Homer  certainly  knew  of  the  migration  of 
the  storks  ;  he  knew  that  they  passed  each  year  from  Eu- 
rope into  Africa  and  back  again  ;  and  as,  according  to 
him,  these  birds  met  their  enemies  only  after  having 
crossed  the  sea  in  order  to  escape  the  severity  of  the 
bad  season,  it  is  evident  that  it  is  somewhere  in  Africa 
that  the  poet  located  the  home  of  these  dwarfs,  supposed 
too  small  and  too  feeble  to  resist  their  winged  invaders. 

Although  he  has  spoken  of  the  pygmies  in  connection 
with  the  natural  history  of  storks,  Aristotle  said  noth- 
ing of  the  pretended  combats  which  furnished  Homer  his 
term  of  comparison.  One  may  say  that  he  did  not  believe 
in  it.  Behold  how  he  expresses  himself :  "  The  storks 
pass  from  the  plains  of  Scythia  to  the  marsh  of  upper 
Egypt,  toward  the  sources  of  the  Nile.  This  is  the  district 
which  the  pygmies  inhabit,  whose  existence  is  not  a  fable. 
There  is  really,  as  men  say,  a  species  of  men  of  little  stat- 
ure, and  their  horses  are  little  also.  They  pass  their  life 
in  caverns." 7 

Without  being  as  explicit  as  one  might  wish,  Aristotle 
here  corrects  exaggerations  relative  to  the  claimed  height 
of  the  pygmies.  There  is  a  great  difference  between  men 
of  little  stature  and  those  miniature  human  beings  among 
whom  storks  could  carry  carnage  and  death.  Upon  the 
other  points  the  founder  of  natural  science  is,  one  might 
say,  upon  the  line  of  truth  such  as  it  appears  to  us  to-day. 

It  is  toward  the  sources  of  the  Nile  that  he  placed  the 
home  of  the  pygmies.  It  is,  in  fact,  in  proceeding  almost 
in  the  general  direction  of  this  river  that  Schweinfurth 


THE   PYGMIES  OF   THE  ANCIENTS.  3 

discovered  the  little  men  of  whom  we  shall  speak  farther 
oil.  But  Aristotle  placed  these  sources  in  the  midst  of 
swamps  situated  in  upper  Egypt.  We  know,  but  only 
very  recently,  that  there  the  course  of  the  Nile  was  singu- 
larly cut  short.  The  swamps  exist  iu  fact.  All  explorers 
of  these  regions  have  insisted  upon  the  difficulties  which 
they  have  experienced  in  traversing  the  inextricable  laby- 
rinth of  canals  encumbered  by  islands  now  fixed,  now 
floating,  which  form  the  Sett,  a  true  vegetable  barrier, 
of  which  papyrus  *  and  herminisria  f  form,  so  to  speak, 
the  framework,  and  which  more  humble  plants,  particu- 
larly the  pistia,  compared  by  travellers  to  a  little  cabbage 
which  grows,  in  the  manner  of  our  water  lentils,  consoli- 
date. But  these  swamps,  which  commence  a  little  south 
of  Khartoum,  become  pronounced  at  about  the  ninth  de- 
gree of  latitude.11  One  knows  that  it  is  much  farther  to 
the  south  and  beyond  the  equator  that  the  sources  of  the 
Nile  are  found.  It  is  in  our  hemisphere  near  the  second 
degree  of  north  latitude,  two  or  three  degrees  of  longitude 
west  of  the  African  river,  and  in  a  totally  different  basin 
—that  of  the  Welle — that  Schweinfurth  discovered  the 
Akkas,  which  are  apparently  the  little  men  of  Aristotle.172 
Aristotle  speaks  of  the  little  horses  of  the  pygmies, 
but  no  traveller  mentions  this  quadruped  as  forming  part 
of  the  fauna  of  the  country.  One  might  be  tempted  to 
see  in  this  contradiction  a  motive  for  doubting  the  exacti- 
tude of  the  facts  conveyed  by  travellers  to  the  Greek  phi- 
losopher. But  it  is  easily  explained.  Baker  tells  us  that 

*  Papyrus  domestica,  L.  This  so  justly  celebrated  plant  appears 
formerly  to  have  been  very  abundant  over  the  whole  of  Egypt.  How- 
ever, Schweinftirth  saw  it  first  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  at  9°  30' 
north  latitude.1" 

f  Herminisria,  Adanson  ;  ^demone  miratilis,  Kotschy.  This 
plant  grows  to  a  height  of  fifteen  to  twenty  feet,  with  a  diameter  at 
base  of  five  to  six  centimetres  ;  it  is  very  light,  more  so  than  cork. 


4  THE  PYGMIES. 

the  animals  of  the  Bari  (a  negro  tribe  of  the  neighbourhood 
of  Gondokoro)  are  of  very  small  sizo — "cows  and  ewes 
have  dimensions  truly  Lilliputian."11  Probably  at  the 
time  of  the  Egyptian  domination  the  horse  had  reached 
even  into  these  districts ;  and,  if  it  had  been  so,  he  must 
also  have  suffered  the  degeneration  reported  by  the  Eng- 
lish traveller  in  the  cases  of  the  other  domestic  mammals. 

Thus  Aristotle  has  been  very  definite ;  that  which  he 
said  is  in  part  true,  and  in  any  case  at  least  reasonable. 
With  Pliny,  we  meet  with  uncertainties,  exaggerations, 
and  fables.  He  places  the  pygmies  now  in  Thrace,  not 
far  from  the  shore  of  the  Euxine  Sea;138  now  in  Asia 
Minor,  in  the  interior  of  Caria.  On  two  occasions  he 
designates  India  as  the  country  of  these  little  beings ; 
elsewhere,  in  speaking  of  peoples  of  Africa,  which  live  at 
the  extremity  of  Ethiopia,  he  says,  "  Some  authors  have 
also  reported  that  the  nation  of  the  pygmies  was  among 
the  marshes  which  were  the  source  of  the  Nile." 

One  has  reproached  Pliny  for  the  multiplicity  of  the 
habitats  assigned  by  him  to  the  pygmies  ;  one  has  wished 
to  see  in  this  fact  one  more  example  of  the  haste  with 
which  he  took  his  notes,  and  of  the  contradictions  into 
which  his  manner  of  working  led  him.  But  has  one  not 
been  too  severe  in  this,  and  have  his  words  not  been  mis- 
understood? In  placing  pygmies  upon  geographic  dis- 
tricts so  separated  from  each  other,  and  so  distinct,  Pliny 
could  not  have  intended  to  speak  of  one  single  popula- 
tion. He  has  evidently  believed  in  the  existence  of  these 
little  men  upon  different  parts  of  the  then  known  world, 
and  admitted  in  particular  Asiatic  and  African  pygmies. 
Upon  this  point  modern  discoveries  have  shown  that  he 
was  right. 

Pliny  reproduces,  however,  without  any  reservation,  all 
that  which  was  said  upon  the  subject  of  the  combats  sus- 
tained by  the  pygmies  against  the  storks.  It  is  these,  so 


THE  PYGMIES  OF  THE  ANCIENTS.  5 

the  barbarians  say,  which  have  chased  them  from  Thrace. 
Thanks  to  the  annual  migration  of  these  birds,  the  little 
men  enjoy  each  year  an  armistice.  Finally  he  sums  up 
all  this  ensemble  of  beliefs  in  the  following  terms:  "In 
India,  beyond  the  mountains,  one  speaks  of  the  Tris- 
pithames  and  of  the  pygmies,  who  are  no  more  than 
three  spithames  in  height  (twenty-seven  inches,  about 
0'73  metres)  ;  they  have  a  wholesome  climate  and  per- 
petual springtime,  protected  as  they  are  by  the  moun- 
tains against  the  north  wind.  Homer  relates,  on  his 
part,  that  the  storks  make  war  against  them.  It  is  said 
that,  borne  upon  the  backs  of  rams  and  of  goats  and 
armed  with  arrows,  they  descend  all  together  at  spring- 
time to  the  seacoast,  and  eat  the  eggs  and  the  little  ones 
of  these  birds ;  that  this  expedition  lasts  three  months ; 
that  otherwise  they  could  not  resist  the  increasing  multi- 
tudes of  the  storks ;  that  their  cabins  are  constructed 
of  mud,  feathers,  and  eggshells.  Aristotle  says  that  the 
pygmies  live  in  caverns ;  as  for  the  rest,  he  gives  the  same 
details  as  the  others." 

We  have  just  seen  how  inexact  this  last  assertion  of 
Pliny  is,  and  I  need  not  emphasise  the  point.  But  the 
reports  collected  by  the  celebrated  Roman  compiler  sug- 
gest other  remarks. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  what  has  caused  him  to 
locate  the  pygmies  in  Thrace  or  in  Asia  Minor.  In  these 
countries  neither  the  history  of  man  nor  that  of  animals 
presents  any  fact  which,  twisted  by  ignorance  nor  by  the 
love  of  the  marvellous,  could  have  served  as  a  basis  for 
the  legends  which  are  here  considered.  It  may  be,  as  M. 
Maury  has  pointed  out,  that  one  may  find  the  explana- 
tion of  these  mistakes  in  a  general  fact.  The  habitation 
of  beings  more  or  less  strange,  whose  existence  was  ad- 
mitted by  the  ancients,  was  always  placed  by  them  at  the 
borders  of  the  then  known  world,  without  their  troubling 


6  THE  PYGMIES. 

themselves  concerning  the  precise  point  or  the  exact  direc- 
tion. From  thence  resulted,  when  one  concerned  himself 
with  this  fantastic  geography,  the  vagueness  and  contra- 
dictions so  often  observed,  and  of  which  the  history  of  the 
pygmies  furnishes  a  striking  example. 

Unlike  the  countries  to  which  the  preceding  reflections 
are  applied,  Africa  and  tropical  Asia  present  certain  facts 
which  permit  explaining  in  various  ways  what  the  an- 
cients have  said  of  their  pygmies,  and  these  facts  proceed 
from  the  history  of  animals  as  well  as  from  that  of  men. 

In  his  History  of  Birds,  and  a  propos  to  that  of 
storks,  Buffon  has  discussed  the  whole  of  the  facts  which 
I  have  just  recalled  in  order  to  find  out  how  much  of  re- 
ality they  contain.  But  he  too  much  forgot  Aristotle,  and 
only  really  concerned  himself  with  the  assertions  of  Pliny. 
Comparing  what  this  latter  reports  of  the  annual  expe- 
ditions of  the  pygmies  with  some  facts  in  the  habits  re- 
lated of  monkeys,  he  saw  in  these  last  the  dwarf  men  so 
celebrated  among  the  ancients.  "  One  knows,"  said  he, 
"  that  the  monkeys,  which  go  in  large  bands  in  the  greater 
part  of  the  regions  of  Africa  and  India,  carry  on  continual 
warfare  against  birds ;  they  seek  to  surprise  their  nests, 
and  without  ceasing  prepare  ambushes  for  them.  The 
storks,  on  their  arrival,  find  these  enemies,  perhaps,  assem- 
bled in  great  number  to  attack  this  new  and  rich  prey 
with  greater  advantage.  The  storks,  quite  sure  of  their 
own  powers,  trained  among  themselves  to  battles,  and 
naturally  quite  disposed  to  war,  defend  themselves  vigor- 
ously. But  the  monkeys,  anxious  to  carry  off  the  eggs  and 
the  young  birds,  return  constantly,  and  in  bands,  to  the 
combat ;  and  as  by  their  tricks,  their  feints,  and  move- 
ments they  seem  to  imitate  human  actions,  they  would 
appear  to  ignorant  people  to  be  a  band  of  little  men,  .  .  . 
Behold  the  origin  and  the  history  of  these  fables  !  "  ^ 

This  interpretation  of  the  ancient  legend  is  simple  and 


THE  PYGMIES  OF  THE  ANCIENTS.  7 

natural ;  it  must  have  presented  itself  to  many  minds. 
Supported  by  the  authority  of  our  great,  naturalist,  it  has 
been  generally  adopted.  Perhaps  one  should  consider  it 
still  to  contain  some  truth.  It  may  well  be  that,  under 
the  sway  of  general  beliefs,  voyagers  have  really  taken 
some  band  of  monkeys  for  a  tribe  of  real  pygmies. 

But  has  not  man  himself  supplied  his  share  of  facts, 
true  at  bottom  and  only  distorted,  to  these  legends,  which 
have  been  transmitted  since  the  time  of  Homer?  Many 
men  of  science  have  replied  affirmatively  to  this  question, 
and  proposed  solutions  quite  diverse.  One  savant,  whom 
all  the  world  has  loved  for  his  character  as  much  as  it 
has  esteemed  him  for  his  so  varied  and  exact  knowledge — 
Eoulin — adopted  upon  this  point  the  opinions  of  Olaus 
Magnus  and  of  Paul  Jove.12  Unfortunately,  the  notes 
traced  by  him  on  the  margin  of  a  copy  of  Pliny  which 
formed  part  of  the  library  of  the  Institute  are  evidently 
of  very  ancient  date.  They  were  written  apparently  long 
before  the  discoveries  of  which  I  shall  speak  farther  on. 
The  most  precise  and  important  information  has  come  to 
us  only  after  the  death  of  my  colleague.  He  could  not 
then  use  them  in  order  to  explain  the  words  of  the  author 
whom  he  was  commentating.  Although  we  cannot  ac- 
cept to-day  the  theory  at  which  he  arrived,  it  is  desirable 
that  I  should  refer  to  it.  It  is  always  interesting  to  know 
the  thoughts  of  an  ingenious  and  fine  mind  upon  a  diffi- 
cult subject. 

For  Roulin,  at  the  period  when  he  wrote  his  reflec- 
tions, the  pygmies  of  the  ancients  were  our  circumpolar 
population.  Although  the  notes  say  nothing  of  it,  one 
could  not  doubt  that  the  little  stature  recognised  among 
several  of  these  peoples  has  been  the  source  of  this  inter- 
pretation. One  knows,  in  fact,  that  the  Lapps  have  long 
been  regarded  as  the  smallest  human  race.  Certain  Eski- 
mo rival  them  in  this  respect,  and  even  go  further.  Hence, 


8  THE  PYGMIES. 

to  see  in  them  the  dwarfs  of  the  ancient  legends  is  but  a 
step.  The  question  of  country  was  no  hindrance  to  the 
partisans  of  this  theory.  Have  not  the  pygmies  been 
placed  in  Thrace  and  in  Scythia  as  well  as  in  Asia  and 
Africa?  Some  peculiarities  of  customs  lend  themselves 
to  the  identification.  The  author  recalls  the  fact  that 
certain  northern  populations  inhabit  alternately  each  year 
the  interior  and  the  seacoast  just  as  Pliny  said  the  pyg- 
mies did.  It  is  also  to  eat  the  eggs  of  aquatic  birds,  of 
which  they  destroy  an  immense  number,  that  these  tribes 
go  to  the  coast.  That  which  the  Latin  author  reports  of 
the  huts  of  the  pygmies  is  explained,  moreover,  without 
much  difficulty.  Eoulin  wrote  :  "  Perhaps  in  the  original 
tradition  these  huts,  in  place  of  being  made  of  mud  and 
of  the  shells  of  eggs,  were  made  in  the  form  of  hemi- 
spheres (half  eggshells)  and  of  mud.  Those  of  the  Eski- 
mos have  this  form,  but  are  made  of  snow." 

Finally,  the  tradition  reports  that  the  storks  met  their 
enemies  in  their  annual  journeys  from  north  to  south. 
Roulin  replies :  "  In  placing  the  migration  of  the  storks 
between  these  same  two  points,  but  making  them  proceed 
from  the  marshes  of  upper  Egypt  to  Scythia — i.  e.,  towards 
the  frigid  zone — it  is  there  that  the  pygmies  are  found." 

To  discuss  the  ingenious  corrections  proposed  by  Roulin 
is  to-day  useless.  I  will  limit  myself  to  observing  that  he 
has  neglected  another  passage,  of  great  importance — in  that 
it  permits  determining  with  precision  the  point  where  the 
author  places  the  Asiatic  pygmies.  One  reads,  in  fact,  the 
following  phrase  in  his  description  of  India :  "  Immedi- 
ately beyond  the  nation  of  the  Prusians,  in  whose  moun- 
tains they  say  are  the  pygmies,  one  finds  the  Indus." 
The  mountains  here  considered  were  then  west  of  the 
river ;  and  as  the  pygmies  betook  themselves  each  year  to 
the  seacoast,  from  which  they  could  not,  therefore,  be 
very  far  distant,  one  sees  that  we  are  here  dealing  with 


THE  PYGMIES  OP  THE  ANCIENTS.  9 

the  most  southern  part  of  the  mountainous  district  of 
Beloochistan. 

This  region  is  situated  at  about  25°  or  26°  north  latitude 
and  63°  or  64°  east  longitude.  Travellers  do  not  mention 
in  this  district  any  population  of  particularly  small  stature, 
but  I  have  elsewhere  shown  that  the  most  ancient  inhab- 
itants of  this  country,  the  Brahouis,  who  speak  a  Dravidian 
language,  belong  to  a  great  group  of  crossed  races,  of  which 
the  Negritos  form  the  black  element.150  At  the  time  of 
Pliny  they  were  certainly  less  altered  than  to-day  by  the 
mixture  of  bloods,  and  must  have  resembled  those  Dravid- 
ians,  properly  called,  whose  height  descends  below  1?50 
and  seldom  rises  to  1?62  or  1™63.  Perhaps  even  at  the 
epoch  when  the  facts  were  collected  which  were  trans- 
mitted by  the  Roman  writer  there  existed  yet  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Loos,  just  where  Pliny  places  his  pygmies,  some 
tribe  of  Negritos  similar  to  that  of  which  we  are  about 
to  speak.  However  that  may  be,  the  Brahouis  present  a 
peculiarity  of  customs  which  recalls  exactly  what  Pliny 
attributes  to  the  pygmies.  They  change  their  dwelling 
twice  a  year — at  the  beginning  of  summer  and  winter. 
These  annual  migrations  are  compelled  by  the  necessity 
of  procuring  good  pastures  for  their  animals,  which  con- 
sist, as  those  of  the  pygmies  did,  of  sheep  and  goats. 

Everything  concurs,  then,  to  make  us  see  in  the  Bra- 
houis the  descendants  of  the  little  men  of  whom  Pliny 
spoke.  But  long  before  him  Ctesias  had  spoken  of  Asi- 
atic pygmies,  and  had  referred  their  habitation  much 
farther  to  the  east.  In  the  midst  of  fables,  which  he  ac- 
cepts without  reserve,  he  has  given  some  important  and 
true  facts.  Behold  how  he  expresses  himself :  "  There 
are  in  the  midst  of  India  black  men  whom  one  calls  pyg- 
mies. They  speak  the  same  language  as  the  Indians,  and 
are  very  small.  The  largest  are  only  two  cubits  (OT924  or 
OT900,  according  to  the  value  we  give  to  this  measure). 


10  THE  PYGMIES. 

The  greater  part  are  only  one  cubit  and  a  half  high. 
Their  hair  is  very  long;  it  descends  as  far  as  to  their 
knees,  and  even  farther.  They  have  a  much  heavier 
beard  than  all  other  men.  When  it  has  attained  its 
growth  they  no  longer  wear  any  clothing ;  their  hair  and 
their  beard  take  the  place  of  such.  .  .  .  They  are  flat-nosed 
and  homely.  They  are  skilful  in  using  the  bow." 35 

Ctesias  has  no  doubt  diminished  the  height  of  his 
pygmies  into  fabulous  proportions.  Without  doubt  he  was 
wrong  in  taking  for  hair  or  beard  the  mantles  and  other 
garments  of  long  floating  grasses  which  the  women  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Travancore  still  wear.79  But  what  he 
says  of  the  geographical  position,  of  the  colour,  and  of  the 
use  of  the  bow,  does  not  permit  doubt  that  he  had  knowl- 
edge of  the  Negritos  or  of  proto-Dravidian  tribes  pre- 
serving in  high  degree  the  characters  of  the  primitive 
type.  It  is,  in  fact,  in  the  heart  of  India,  in  the  Vindhya 
Mountains,  that  M.  Rousselet  has  found  the  Bandra- 
Loks.™3' 164>  t65  The  name  of  this  tribe  literally  signifies 
man  monkeys.  They  are  true  Negroes  of  very  small 
stature,  who,  in  the  midst  of  populations  more  or  less 
crossed,  have  preserved  unmixed  the  characters  of  the 
type,  and  are  one  of  the  evidences  left  by  the  black  race. 

Neither  Aristotle  nor  Pliny  mention  the  black  colour 
and  the  woolly  hair,  as  characters  of  the  dwarfs  of  whom 
they  speak  on  hearsay.  Ctesias  alone  is  very  precise  upon 
the  first  point.  The  memory  of  these  peculiarities  is  evi- 
dently lost  in  the  long  journey  which  the  informants, 
probably  very  few  in  number,  must  have  made  from  the 
heart  of  Africa  and  from  the  extremity  of  India  to  Greece 
and  Home.  This  omission  is,  moreover,  less  singular  than 
one  would  at  first  be  tempted  to  suppose.  The  ancients 
attributed  the  dark  colour  and  the  woolly  appearance  of 
the  hair  of  the  Negro  to  the  action  of  the  sun,  whose  heat 
burned  the  skin  and  crisped  the  hair.  They  have  not, 


THE  PYGMIES  OF  THE  ANCIENTS.  H 

then,  been  surprised  to  find  in  a  hot  country,  by  the  side 
of  other  black  men,  such  as  their  Indians  and  Ethiopians, 
tribes  presenting  these  two  characters.  The  diminution 
le-otature  must  have  struck  them  much  more  strongly, 


and  their  very  exaggerations  show  that  it  has  been  so. 
They  have  done  in  an  opposite  direction  that  which  Piga- 
fetti  did  with  reference  to  the  Patagonians. 

Let  us  return  now  into  Africa. 

The  contemporary  of  Pliny,  Pomponius  Mela,  has  also 
spoken  of  the  pygmies.  The  very  short  passage  which  he 
has  devoted  to  them  has  yet  a  decided  interest.  He 
places  beyond  the  Arabic  Gulf,  at  the  head  of  a  little  bay 
of  the  Red  Sea,  the  Panchiens,  surnamed  Opliiophages, 
because  they  ate  snakes.  "  In  the  interior  of  the  land," 
he  says,  "  one  saw  formerly  pygmies,  a  race  of  men  of 
very  small  stature,  which  has  died  out  in  the  wars  which 
it  has  sustained  against  the  storks  in  order  to  preserve  its 
fruits." 

The  translator  of  Pompouius  Mela  regards  the  little 
bend  of  the  Eed  Sea  which  is  mentioned  here  as  our 
Gulf  of  Aden.  But  it  would  seem  to  me  strange  that  the 
Latin  geographer  should  have  employed  this  expression 
in  order  to  designate  the  great  expanse  of  sea  which  ex- 
tends itself  along  the  African  coast  from  Cape  Guardafui 
to  the  Strait  of  Bab-el-Mandeb.  The  Bay  of  Moscha,  which 
almost  buries  itself  in  the  lands  southwest  of  the  strait, 
seems  to  me  to  correspond  much  better  and  in  every  re- 
spect to  the  description  of  Pomponius.  But  this  bay,  situ- 
ated at  about  the  thirteenth  degree  of  north  latitude,  lies 
consequently  under  the  same  parallel  as  the  commence- 
ment of  the  grassy  region  of  the  Nile,  but  about  four  de- 
grees farther  north  than  the  labyrinth,  whence  the  river 
seems  to  proceed.  Pomponious,  moreover,  does  not  speak 
of  the  Nile ;  no  more  does  he  say  anything  regarding  the 
Abyssinian  plateau  interposed  between  it  and  the  sea. 


12  THE  PYGMIES. 

He  seems,  then,  to  place  his  pygmies  entirely  to  the  east  of 
this  portion  of  the  continent. 

'Here  again  modern  discoveries  appear  to  support  the 
wisdom  of  the  ancients.  The  tradition  of  the  eastern 
African  pygmies  has  never  been  lost  among  the  Arabs. 
Always  the  geographers  of  that  nation  have  placed  their 
River  of  the  Pygmies  much  farther  to  the  south.  It  is 
in  this  region,  a  little  to  the  north  of  the  equator  and 
about  the  thirty-second  degree  of  east  longitude,  that 
the  K.  P.  Leon  des  Avanchers  has  found  the  Wa-Berriki- 
mos  or  Cincalles,  whose  stature  is  about  l^SO.8  The  facts 
collected  by  M.  d'Abbadie  place  the  Mallas  or  Maze-Mal- 
leas,  with  a  stature  of  1?50  at  about  the  sixth  degree  of 
north  latitude.1  Everything  indicates  that  there  exist  to 
the  south  of  the  country  of  the  Gallas  various  Negro 
tribes  of  very  little  stature.  It  seems  to  me  difficult  not 
to  refer  them  to  the  pygmies  of  Pomponius  Mela,  only 
they  have  retreated  more  to  the  south.  Probably  this 
change  had  already  been  effected  when  the  Roman  geog- 
rapher wrote,  and  one  understands  how  he  might  have  re- 
garded this  race  as  having  disappeared. 

In  sketching  the  history  of  these  little  men  so  cele- 
brated in  antiquity  I  have  been  obliged  to  insist  first  upon 
the  traditions  relative  to  those  whose  name  Homer  has 
immortalised,  and  to  the  populations  located  either  in  Asia 
or  in  the  northeast  regions  of  Africa,  which  one  has  con- 
nected with  the  pygmies  of  the  Nile.  But,  about  a  cen- 
tury before  Aristotle,  Herodotus  had  also  spoken  of  a 
kind  of  pygmies,  without,  however,  using  that  name. 
Some  one  must  have  repeated  to  him  the  story  of  cer- 
tain pilgrims  of  Gyrene,  who  had  received  their  informa- 
tion from  Etearchus,  King  of  the  Ammoniens.  He  had 
told  them  that  a  number  of  young  Nasamones  had  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  exploring  the  deserts  of  Libya.  Five 
of  them,  selected  by  lot,  started  out  supplied  with  food 


THE  PYGMIES  OF  THE  ANCIENTS.  13 

and  water.  "  They  first  traversed  the  inhabited  country, 
then  the  wild  regian,  and  finally  entered  the  desert,  where 
they  made  their  journey,  directing  their  way  towards  the 
setting  sun.  After  having  marched  several  days  in  the 
deep  sands,  they  perceived  some  trees  which  rose  in  the 
midst  of  a  field.  They  approached  them  and  ate  some 
fruits  which  the  trees  bore.  Scarcely  had  they  com- 
menced to  taste  them  when  they  were  surprised  by  a 
great  number  of  men  very  much  below  the  average 
height,  who  seized  them  and  dragged  them  away  with 
them.  They  spoke  a  language  unknown  to  the  Xasamo- 
nes,  and  did  not  understand  theirs.  These  men  conducted 
the  five  young  men  across  a  country  intersected  by  great 
marshes  into  a  town  whose  inhabitants  were  black.  Be- 
fore this  town  flowed  a  considerable  stream,  whose  course 
was  from  the  west  to  the  east,  and  there  were  crocodiles 
in  it." 

In  spite  of  the  brevity  of  this  story  it  agrees  too  well 
with  modern  discoveries  for  one  to  doubt  the  reality  of 
the  facts  which  it  relates.  The  geographical  districts  in- 
dicated by  the  Nasamoues  are  identifiable  still,  and  the 
river  whose  existence  they  made  known  is  our  Djoliba,  or 
Niger,  which  was  alternately  believed  to  be  the  Nile  itself, 
or  a  tributary  from  Lake  Tchad,  before  Mungo  Park, 
Caille,  Clapperton,  the  Lander  brothers,  and  others  made 
us  know  its  true  course.  One  knows  to-day  that  this 
river,  whose  source  was  discovered  very  recently  by  two 
young  Frenchmen,  takes  its  rise  in  one  of  the  cafions  of 
the  mountainous  plateau  which,  in  the  interior  of  the 
country,  follows  almost  parallel  the  north  coast  of  the 
Gulf  of  Guinea.  Although  Zweifeld  and  Moustier  were 
not  able,  on  account  of  having  no  instruments,  to  deter- 
mine exactly  the  location  of  Mount  Tembi,  whence  the 
source  of  the  Niger  proceeds,  and  although  they  have  been 
able  to  contemplate  it  only  from  a  distance  on  account  of 


14  THE  PYGMIES. 

local  superstitions,  one  may  see,  by  the  map  which  the 
Geographical  Society  of  Marseilles  has  published,  that  this 
mountain  is  very  close  to  8°  35'  north  latitude  and  12°  45' 
west  longitude.  The  river,  then  a  small  streamlet,  flows 
at  first  from  south  to  north ;  but  soon  its  general  direction 
is  due  northeast.  It  remains  the  same  as  far  as  to  Timbuc- 
too,  a  little  beyond  18°  (18°  3'  45"  north  latitude  and  40° 
5'  10"  west  longitude).  There  the  river  bends  abruptly 
and  flows  almost  directly  from  west  to  east  as  far  as  Bour- 
roum,*  over  a  distance  of  more  than  three  degrees  of  longi- 
tude, before  turning  towards  the  south-southeast  to  reach 
the  Gulf  of  Guinea.  It  is,jthen,  between  the  first  and 
fourth  degree  of  west  longitude  that  the  Nasamones  reached 
the  Niger.  One  can  no  longer  locate  the  town  inhabited 
by  Negroes  whither  the  bold  travellers  were  conducted. 
We  are  only  sure  that  it  could  not  possibly  be  the  cele- 
brated Timbuctoo,  the  founding  of  which,  according  to  the 
annalist  of  those  countries,  Ahmed  Baba,  would  date  only 
from  the  fifth  century  of  the  Hegira,  or  about  1100  A.  D. 

Herodotus  informs  us  that  the  young  Nasamones 
found  crocodiles  in  the  stream  visited  by  them.  This 
again  is  a  perfectly  correct  statement,  more  so  than  one 
at  first  might  think.  A  priori,  one  would  reasonably  sup- 
pose that  the  great  reptiles  inhabiting  two  rivers  so  widely 
separated  as  the  Nile  and  the  Niger  would  be  of  different 
species.  It  is  not  so.  The  question  has  been  specially 
studied  as  the  result  of  discussions  which  arose  between 
Cuvier  and  Geoffroy  Saiut-Hilaire — discussions  to  which 
the  first  of  these  great  naturalists  attached  so  much  im- 
portance as  to  consecrate  to  it  in  his  Regne  animal  a  note 
of  exceptional  length.  Cuvier  admitted  the  specific  iden- 
tity of  all  the  crocodiles  of  the  great  rivers  of  Africa. 
Geoffroy  denied  this  identity,  and  admitted  the  existence 

*  Situated  at  the  east  bend  of  the  River  Niger  (Barth). 


THE  PYGMIES  OP  THE  ANCIENTS.  15 

in  the  Nile  aloue  of  four  distinct  species.  Dumeril  and 
Bibron  restudied  the  subject  with  materials  which  were 
lacking  to  the  two  illustrious  adversaries,  and  have  proved 
that  Cuvier  was  right.44  The  crocodile  of  the  Niger,  as 
that  of  Senegal,  is  the  same  as  the  crocodile  of  the  Nile. 

Finally,  the  Nasamones  declared  that  they  were  led 
into  a  town  all  of  whose  inhabitants  were  blacks.  Here 
also  they  have  told  the  truth.  Although  Timbuctoo  was 
founded  by  the  Tuaregs ;  although  these,  the  Berbers 
and  the  Peuls,  dispute  in  our  days  the  control  of  this  city 
and  the  countries  which  are  bathed  by  the  middle  por- 
tion of  the  Niger,  it  is  known  that  these  people  are  for- 
eigners and  have  arrived  there  at  an  epoch  relatively 
recent.  According  to  Barth,  in  the  tenth  century  the 
country  of  the  Negroes  extended  still,  on  an  average,  to 
the  twentieth  degree  of  latitude.  At  this  epoch  all  the 
region  of  which  we  speak  belonged  to  the  black  race,  and 
more  truly  was  it  so  at  the  time  of  Herodotus. 

From  this  it  results  that  the  black  men  seen  by  the 
Nasamones  were  true  Negroes,  and  certainly  had  woolly 
hair.  This  point  is  nevertheless  neglected  in  the  recital 
of  the  travellers.  This  fact  justifies,  as  one  sees,  the  in- 
terpretation which  I  have  given  above  of  the  omission  of 
this  peculiarity  in  regard  to  the  little  Asiatic  blacks. 

Thus,  as  regards  the  soil,  waters,  animals,  and  men, 
everything  up  to  this  point  in  the  report  gathered  by  the 
Greek  historian  is  true.  What  reason  have  we  to  doubt 
that  which  he  reports  of  the  little  human  race  met  with 
by  the  Nasamones?  None.  And  even  if  observation  had 
not  confirmed  these  reports,  one  should  accept  them.  But 
modern  discoveries  have  also,  upon  this  point,  confirmed 
the  facts  transmitted  by  Herodotus,  at  least  in  so  far  as 
relates  to  the  existence  of  this  race. 

It  is  otherwise  in  regard  to  its  geographical  position. 
This  position  connects  itself,  as  we  have  seen,  with  that 


16  THE  PYGMIES. 

of  a  well-determined  portion  of  the  river.  But  the  most 
northern  station  of  the  western  pygmies  reported  up  to 
the  present  time  is  located  in  the  heart  of  Senegambia, 
in  the  Tenda-Maio,  near  the  tenth  degree  of  north  latitude 
and  the  fourteenth  degree  of  west  longitude,  that  is  to 
say,  about  eight  degrees  farther  west  than  the  point  where 
the  Nasamones  were  captured  by  the  little  men.119 

We  find  again,  then,  in  relation  to  western  Africa,  the 
same  difference  between  tradition  and  modern  observa- 
tions which  we  have  had  to  mention  when  we  considered 
upper  Egypt  and  eastern  Africa.  The  dwarf  race  again 
shows  itself  farther  from  us  than  it  must  have  been  at  the 
time  of  the  Greeks.  But  in  the  two  preceding  cases  we 
could  attribute  this  disagreement  to  an  imperfect  knowl- 
edge, which  would  have  reduced  the  distances.  Here, 
however,  this  hypothesis  is  inadmissible.  In  view  of  the 
precision  of  Herodotus  and  of  the  agreement  which  his 
story  presents  with  material  facts  of  a  fixed  kind,  it  is 
necessary  to  admit  either  that  the  little  human  race  seen 
by  the  Nasamones  still  exists  to  the  north  of  the  Niger 
but  has  not  yet  been  discovered,  or  else  that  it  has  dis- 
appeared from  these  regions. 

Without  at  all  wishing  to  commit  the  future,  this  last 
hypothesis  seems  to  me  to  have  great  probability.  With- 
out doubt  it  is  also  necessary  to  apply  it  to  other  coun- 
tries where  the  ancients  have  located  their  pygmies.  The 
Egyptians  knew  the  Akkas  under  the  name  which  they 
still  bear,  for  Marietta  Pasha  has  read  this  name  by  the 
side  of  a  portrait  of  a  dwarf  carved  upon  a  monument  of 
the  old  empire.74  But  while  admitting  that  they  may  have 
been  able  to  explore  the  Nile  Valley  far  beyond  the  barriers 
which  lately  arrested  us,  nothing,  I  believe,  permits  us  to 
suppose  that  they  reached  the  most  southern  tributaries 
of  this  river,  or  that  they  have  passed  to  the  west,  crossing 
the  divide  which  separates  this  basin  from  that  of  the 


THE   PYGMIES  OF  THE   ANCIENTS.  17 

Welle.  It  would  seem  to  me  far  more  reasonable  to  admit 
that  at  the  time  of  Aristotle  the  Akka  tribes  stretched  far 
more  to  the  north,  and  even  reached  the  swampy  district 
of  the  great  river.  Their  being  driven  backwards  towards 
the  south  and  west  would  not  be  at  all  surprising.  In 
fact,  wherever  we  follow  this  little  race,  whenever  infor- 
mation regarding  them  is  increased  a  little,  they  appear 
to  us  as  having  been  in  the  past  more  prosperous  than  in 
our  own  days,  as  having  occupied  formerly  a  geographical 
area  more  vast  and  more  connected  than  now. 

It  is  not  before  the  attacks  of  birds  or  beasts  that  these 
little  men  withdrew  and  that  their  communities  broke  to 
pieces.  We  shall  see,  on  the  contrary,  that  there  are 
among  them  peoples  who  know  how  to  attack  and  con- 
quer even  the  elephant.  But  they  were  forced  to  yield  to 
larger  and  stronger  human  races.  These  are,  in  Africa 
and  Melanesia,  the  African  Negroes  and  the  Papuans ;  in 
Malaysia,  the  different  Malay  races ;  in  India,  the  races 
who,  in  crossing  with  them,  have  given  birth  to  the  Dra- 
vidian  populations.  Wherever  one  meets  with  them  to- 
day one  sees  them  retreating,  and  often  dying  out.  This 
progressive  diminution  commenced  many  centuries  ago. 
To-day  there  are  true  pygmies  no  longer  upon  many  of 
the  points  where  they  formerly  prevailed.  Very  often 
some  feeble  tribes  alone  represent  the  pure  type.  But, 
even  in  disappearing,  these  little  blacks  have  left  traces  in 
the  modern  populations.  In  western  Africa,  as  in  the 
Philippines  and  in  the  two  Gangetic  peninsulas,  they 
have  played  an  ethnological  role,  at  times  important,  in 
crossing  with  superior  races  and  in  giving  birth  to  half- 
breed  populations. 

On  the  whole,  the  ancients  have  had  information  more 
or  less  inexact,  more  or  less  incomplete,  but  also  more  or 
less  true,  concerning  five  populations  of  little  stature  from 
whom  they  have  made  their  pygmies.  Two  were  located 


18  THE  PYGMIES. 

in  Asia,  in  the  extreme  southeast  of  the  then  known 
world ;  the  third,  to  the  south,  towards  the  sources  of  the 
Nile  ;  the  fourth,  more  to  the  east,  but  not  far  from  the 
preceding ;  the  fifth,  still  in  Africa,  but  entirely  to  the 
southwest,  and  in  a  region  where  the  Nasamones  alone  ap- 
pear to  have  penetrated.  Two  of  these  groups,  more  or  less 
reduced,  more  or  less  altered  by  crossing,  are  still  located 
in  Asia.  The  three  African  groups  in  our  days  are 
found  at  a  distance  from  Greece  or  Rome  greater  than 
the  tradition  states,  but  situated  very  nearly  in  the  same 
direction.  All  of  them  are,  moreover,  but  fragments  of 
two  human  races  well  characterised  as  blacks,  occupying, 
the  one  in  Asia,  the  other  in  Africa,  a  considerable  area, 
and  both  of  them  including  not  only  tribes  or  distinct 
peoples,  but  even  subraces. 

From  the  first  years  of  my  instructing  at  the  museum 
I  have  proposed  to  unite  all  the  black  populations  of 
Asia,  of  Malaysia,  and  of  Melanesia,  characterised  by 
smallness  of  stature  and  relative  gracefulness  of  limbs, 
into  a  Negrito  branch,  opposed  to  the  Papuan  branch, 
to  which  I  referred  the  Eastern  Negroes  of  large  size  and 
of  proportions  frequently  athletic.  The  Australians,  who 
present  in  a  high  degree  the  characters  of  a  mixed  race, 
and  the  Tasmanians,  who  form  by  themselves  a  distinct 
race,  remain  outside  of  the  two  preceding  groups.1*2  I 
have  reason  to  think  that  under  one  form  or  another  this 
division  is  to-day  generally  adopted. 

On  his  part,  Hamy  first  showed  that,  contrary  to  com- 
mon opinion,  there  exist  in  western  Africa  some  Negroes 
distinguished  from  the  classical  type  by  the  shortness  of 
their  skulls.73  In  pursuing  this  line  of  investigation  he 
recognised  that  this  cephalic  character  coincided  with  a 
noticeable  reduction  of  the  stature.  Grouping  together, 
in  this  point  of  view,  observations  before  scattered  and 
isolated,  he  showed  that  Africa,  like  Asia,  possessed  a  black 


THE   PYGMIES  OF  THE  ANCIENTS.  19 

subtype,  of  which  one  of  the  most  striking  characters  was 
a  remarkably  reduced  stature;  that  the  little  Negroes, 
African  and  Asiatic,  so  widely  separated  geographically, 
resembled  each  other  in  several  other  features,  either  ana- 
tomical or  external ;  that  these  two  groups  are  in  reality 
two  corresponding  terms,  geographically  and  anthropo- 
logically. Hamy  proposed  for  these  dwarf  African  tribes, 
taken  collectively,  the  name  of  Negrilles.™  *  This  name, 
which  has  the  advantage  of  recalling  one  of  the  charac- 
teristic features  of  the  group  and  the  relations  which 
unite  it  to  the  Negritos,  will,  I  believe,  be  readily  accepted 
by  all  anthropologists. 

*  English  Negrillos. 


CHAPTER  II. 

GENERAL   HISTORY    OF   THE    EASTERN    PYGMIES.* 

Papuans. — Melanesian  migrations. — Negritos:  Their  division  into 
two  geographical  groups. — Insular  group — Diffusions  of  this 
type  ;  its  limits. — Mixture  of  Papuans  and  Negritos. — Cause  of 
their  extinction  in  Java  and  at  various  other  points. — Continen- 
tal group — Malacca:  Semangs;  crossing. — Annamitic  penin- 
sula :  Mo'is. — Gangetic  peninsula :  Various  populations. — General 
limits. — Negritos  and  Negrito- Papuans. — Ancient  migrations. — 
Relative  antiquity  of  the  island  and  continental  Negritos. — An- 
cient crossings. — Dravidians. — Errors  produced  by  the  exclusive 
use  of  linguistics  in  distinguishing  races. — Western  limits  of 
the  Dravidians,  the  Eastern  Ethiopians  of  Herodotus. 

I  HAVE  just  recalled  the  principal  divisions  to  be  estab- 
lished in  the  totality  of  the  Eastern  Negro  populations.  I 
only  wish,  however,  to  contrast  the  Negritos  and  Papu- 
ans, long  regarded  as  one  and  the  same  race.  It  is  easy 
to  summarily  characterise  these  two  groups.  Both  have 
the  more  or  less  black  colour  and  the  so-called  woolly  hair 
of  the  true  Negroes.  But  the  Papuans  are  often  large, 
muscular,  at  times  athletic  (Fig.  1) ;  their  skull  is  at  once 
dolichocephalic  and  hypsistenocephalic — that  is  to  say,  it 
is  relatively  long  from  before  backwards,  compressed  later- 
ally, and  very  high  (Figs.  2,  4).  The  Negritos  are  always 
of  little  stature,  have  rounded  forms  (Fig.  3),  and  their 

*  This  chapter  is  taken  almost  verbatim  from  an  article  published 
by  me  in  the  Revue  d'ethnographie,  founded  and  directed  by  M. 
Hamy.180 

20 


FIG.  1.— NEW  GUINEAN,  FROM  THE  STRAIT  or  BOI-ROAT.    (After  Van  Vort.) 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    21 

skull  is  brachycephalic  or  subbrachycephalic  * — that  is  to 
say,  it  is  relatively  short  and  broad  and  of  little  height 
(Figs.  2  and  5).  I  published,  fifteen  years  since,  a  general 
work  upon  this  race — Etudes  snr  Us  Mincopies  et  sur  le 
race  ncgrito  en  general.1*8  Later,  M.  Giglioli  attacked  the 


FIG.  2. — SKULLS  OF  MINCOPY  AND  PAPUAN  SUPERPOSED. 


same  subject.60  But  we  do  not  give  the  same  meaning  to 
the  words.  The  Italian  anthropologist  comprises  in  his 
Negrito  race  all  populations  of  little  stature — Asiatic, 
Oceanic,  and  African,  including  the  Bushmen.  The  ques- 

*  It  may  not  be  useless  to  give  the  meaning  of  the  words  here 
employed  to  characterise  these  skulls.  They  all  express  a  relation- 
ship established  between  certain  diameters.  This  relation  is  called 
an  index.  When  the  degree  of  dolichocephaly  or  brachycephaly  is 
desired,  the  relation  existing  between  the  maximum  transverse  di- 
ameter and  the  maximum  antero-posterior  diameter  taken  as  unity 
is  found.  To  measure  hypsistenoeephaly,  the  vertical  diameter  is 


22 


THE  PYGMIES. 


tion  of  the  Negritos  has  also  been  treated  in  a  general  way 
by  F.  A.  Allen.3  The  works  of  Logan,  which  will  be  con- 
sidered later,  although  written 
from  a  point  of  view  even  more 
general,  also  touch  upon  most  of 
the  questions  raised  in  this  study. 
The  Papuans  are  exclusively 
insular.  They  form  a  mass  of 
populations  as  continuous  as  that 
sort  of  a  habitat  allows.  They 
occupy  practically  all  of  New 
Guinea  and  all  the  Melanesian 
archipelagoes,  inlcuding  the  Fijis. 
But  the  type  of  which  we  speak 
is  not  confined  within  these  lim- 
its; it  has  representatives  upon 
many  other  points,  and  even  to 
the  extremity  of  the  ocean  world. 
Towards  the  west,  conquest,  emi- 
gration or  slavery  have  carried 

Papuans  to  Timor,  Ceram,  Bouro,  Gilolo,  and  even  to 
the  eastern  shores  of  Borneo,  and  have  scattered  them 
over  various  other  parts  of  the  great  Indonesian  archipel- 
agoes. Towards  the  north  the  same  causes  have  carried 

compared  with  the  transverse  diameter.  A  skull  is  hypsistenoce- 
phalic  when  the  former  equals  or  exceeds  the  latter.  As  to  dolicho- 
cephaly  and  brachycephaly,  Broca,  reducing  the  numbers  first 
adopted  by  Retzius  to  decimal  form,  and  multiplying  the  transverse 
diameter  by  100,  prepared  the  following  table  of  horizontal  cephalic 
indices,  in  which  the  relations  are  represented  by  a  fractional 
number : 

Dolichocephals,  75  and  below. 

Subdolichocephals,  75-01-77-77. 

Mesaticephals,  77-78-80-00. 

Subbrachycephals,  80-01-83-33. 

Brachycephals,  83-34  and  upwards. 


FIG.  4. — SKULL  OF  PAPUAN 
FROM  TORRES  STRAIT.  One 
fourth  natural  size  (Mus. 
d'hist.  nat,  No.  4771.) 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES. 


them  into  some  of  the  secondary  groups  of  the  Carolines. 
Towards  the  northeast  they  have  reached  the  Sandwich 
Islands ;  towards  the  south- 
west, New  Zealand,  where 
they  preceded  the  Maoris.* 

Pinart  brought  back  with 
him  from  his  voyages  and 
gave  to  the  museum  a  skull 
which  he  took  from  an  an- 
cient tomb  on  Easter  Island, 
probably  contemporaneous 
with  the  strange  statues  no- 
ticed by  all  travellers.157  f 

Hamy  has  shown  that  this 
skull  in  the  totality  of  its 

,  i    ,  ,-n      FIG.  5. — SKULL  OF  NEGRITO  FROM 

characters  belongs  essentially     THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OP  BIXAN- 


GONAN,  LUZON.  One  fourth  nat- 
ural size  (Mus.  d'hist.  nat.,  No. 
3629). 


to  the  type  of  those  of  the 

best  authenticated  Papuans. 

Finally,  Ten  Kate  has  brought 

a  Melanesian  skull  gathered  on  the  little  island  of  Spiritu 

Santo,  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Lower  California. 

*  The  traditions  of  the  Maoris  gathered  by  Sir  George  Grey,  the 
details  given  by  various  travellers  and  portraits,  all  witness  to  the 
existence  of  a  black  ethnological  element  in  New  Zealand,  but  crani- 
ology  alone  could  permit  the  determination  of  its  nature.  A  num- 
ber of  skulls  of  perfectly  determined  origin  have  permitted  the  solu- 
tion of  this  curious  problem.  The  museum  possesses  one  skull  from 
New  Zealand  which  has  all  the  characteristics  of  the  Papuan,  and  con- 
trasts in  a  remarkable  manner  with  Maori  skulls,  as  well  as  two  dried 
heads,  whose  tattooing  in  itself  would  be  proof  of  their  origin,  which 
have  the  woolly  hair  of  Oceanic  Negroes.  I  will  add  that  the  most 
dolichocephalic  skull  known  was  brought  from  New  Zealand  and 
given  to  Mr.  Huxley,  who  has  described  it.18  The  horizontal  index 
of  this  skull  is  63-54;  its  vertical  index,  113-11.  It  is  then,  at  once, 
extremely  dolichocephalic  and  hypsistenocephalic. 

•f-The  reader -who  desires  further  details  will  find  necessary 
references  in  the  bibliographical  notes  accompanying  the  excellent 


24:  THE   PYGMIES. 

Thus  the  Papuan  race  has  extended  outwards  in  all 
directions,  and  has  had  its  days  of  conquest.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  has  been  pressed  in  upon  at  various  points,  espe- 
cially by  the  Malay  and  Polynesian  races ; 154>  155  but  on 
the  whole  it  has  preserved  its  area  entire,  and  forms  a 
relatively  compact  mass.  Immigrations,  either  peaceful 
or  warlike,  have  nowhere  affected  it  in  a  very  marked  way, 
unless  at  the  Fijis,  and  at  the  east  end  of  New  Guinea. 
On  the  contrary,  it  has  by  its  migrations  mingled  its  blood 
with  that  of  some  very  different  and  remote  populations.* 

It  is  quite  the  reverse  with  the  Negritos.  The  area 
occupied  by  this  race  is  almost  as  extended  as  that  of  the 
Papuans,  It  is  even  greater,  if  one  cuts  off  from  the  Pap- 
uan area  the  Sandwich  Islands,  Easter  Islands,  and  New 
Zealand ;  it  is  at  once  insular  and  continental.  But 
upon  the  mainland,  as  well  as  in  the  archipelagoes,  the 
Negrito  tribes  are  almost  always  isolated  one  from  an- 
other, and  as  if  submerged  in  the  midst  of  populations  of 
very  different  ethnic  origin. 

Moreover,  wherever  this  contact  exists  one  finds  the 
little  blacks  located  in  the  least  favourable  localities  of  the 
country  where  they  live.  I  shall  later  return  to  this  fact, 
and  to  conclusions  which  must  be  drawn  from  it. 

From  what  I  have  just  said  of  their  habitat,  the  Ne- 
gritos naturally  fall  into  two  geographical  groups,  one 
continental,  the  other  insular.  Let  us  first  consider  the 
latter. 


monograph  of  Papuan  skulls  inserted  in  the  work  just  quoted,  a 
monograph  entirely  the  work  of  M.  Hamy. 

*  At  the  exposition  which  accompanied  the  Congress  of  Geograph- 
ical Sciences  of  Paris,  in  1875,  M.  Hamy  exhibited  a  map  represent- 
ing the  present  distribution  of  human  races  in  the  Indian  archi- 
pelago. He  presented  a  resume  of  the  result  of  his  studies  in  a 
communication  made  to  the  subsection  of  anthropology.  The  lim- 
its of  the  Papuan  and  Negrito  races  are  shown  upon  it.67 


FIG.  6. — PORTRAIT  OF  AETA  CHIEF  FROM  THE  MOUNTAINS  OF  MARIVELES, 
LUZON.    (From  photograph  of  MM,  Montano  and  Key.) 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    25 

When  the  Spaniards  began  to  settle  the  Philippines 
they  met  in  the  interior  of  Luzon,  by  the  side  of  the 
Tagals  of  Malay  origin,  dark  men  of  whom  some  had 
smooth  hair,  while  others  possessed  the  woolly  head-cover- 
ing of  the  African  Negroes.139  These  last  alone  were  true 
blacks,  whom  the  conquerors  called  Negritos  del  monte 
(little  Negroes  of  the  mountain),  on  account  of  their 
remarkably  little  stature  and  their  habitat  (Figs.  6  and 
9).  The  local  name  was  Aigtas  or  Inagtas,  which  seems 
to  mean  blacks,  and  from  which  is  derived  that  of  Aetas, 
generally  adopted.  One  shortly  recognised  that  this  same 
human  race  was  met  with  at  other  points  in  the  archi- 
pelago, and  that  it  entirely  peopled  some  small  islands, 
among  them  the  island  Bougas,  which  is  also  called  for 
this  reason  Isla  de  los  Negros.  In  these  different  local- 
ities the  Aetas  change  their  name,  and  are  called  Ates  at 
Panay,*  Hillrouas  and  Mamanousa  at  Mindanao,!  etc. 

As  the  archipelagoes  of  these  eastern  seas  have  become 
better  known,  our  little  black  race  has  been  found  almost 
everywhere.  Doubts  upon  some  points  left  by  the  first 
information  received  on  this  subject  have  almost  always 
been  removed  by  later  observations  more  and  more 
exact.  Thus  the  existence  of  Negritos  at  Formosa  has 
been  until  recently  denied,  in  spite  of  the  direct  testimony 
of  various  Dutch  and  English  travellers.  But  in  1808 
Schetelig  presented  to  the  Ethnological  Society  of  London 

*  Rienzi  has  described,  under  the  name  of  Melano-Pygmees,  two 
individuals  belonging  to  a  race  of  Panay  less  than  four  feet  ten 
inches  in  stature.  Their  hair  not  crinkled  and  their  skin  less  black 
than  that  of  Negroes,  shows  crossing ;  but  the  smallness  of  stature, 
without  being  extreme,  shows  us  that  this  character  persists  in  part 
in  spite  of  the  crossing.16*  Elsewhere  Lafond  assigns  them  a  much 
less  stature.81 

f  It  is  under  this  last  name  that  Dr  Montano  has  discovered  Ne- 
gritos in  the  peninsula,  northeast,  near  Lake  Malnit. 


26  THE  PYGMIES. 

two  well-authenticated  skulls  whose  characters  leave  no 
ground  for  objection.  There  exists  a  skull,*  also,  which 
has  enabled  Hamy  and  myself  to  confirm  the  testimony  of 
Rienzi,  of  Lafond  de  Lurcy,  of  the  Bishop  of  Labuan,  etc., 
and  to  affirm  that  true  Negritos  inhabit  the  interior  of 
Borneo.72 

Finally,  from  the  testimony  of  Earl  and  the  various  au- 
thors cited  by  him,  it  results  that  the  Negritos  inhabit  the 
mountainous  parts  of  the  Sandal  Islands  (Samba),  Xulla, 
Bourou,  Ceram,  Flores,  Solor,  Pantar,  Lombleu,  Ombay, 
the  eastern  peninsula  of  Celebes,  etc. 

I  have  elsewhere  indicated  the  greater  part  of  the 
principal  points  where  the  actual  existence  of  Negri- 
tos has  been  established.155  I  have  at  the  same  time 
remarked  that  in  this  maritime  world  Sumatra  and  Java 
are  the  only  large  islands  where  they  have  left  no  other 
traces  than  some  doubtful  mixed  breeds,  and  the  remains 
of  an  industry  which  appears  not  to  have  passed  beyond 
the  age  of  stone. f  It  is  in  Java  that  the  destruction  has 
probably  been  the  most  sudden  and  complete.  These  un- 
fortunate little  Negroes  could  but  disappear  before  the 
Malay  races,  who  joined  to  arms  more  terrible  and  to 
their  murderous  instincts  a  civilisation  capable  of  erecting 
the  thousand  temples  and  of  carving  the  bas-reliefs  of 
B6r6-Boudour.\ 

*This  skull  forms  part  of  the  Museum  of  Lyons,  and  I  am  glad 
to  here  thank  M.  Lortet  for  placing  it  at  our  disposition  for  descrip- 
tion and  illustration.  It  bears  its  own  certificate  of  origin,  for  its 
surface  is  covered  with  those  arabesques  and  designs  which  the 
Dyaks  engrave  upon  the  skull  of  their  victims.  (Crania  Ethnica, 
p.  195,  Figs.  212,  213.) 

f  I  now  believe  that  I  was  too  hasty  in  formerly  considering  as 
true  Negritos  the  Althalo-pygmees,  seen  at  Sumatra  by  Rienzi.  They 
are  probably  only  mixed-bloods. 

\  I  cannot  write  this  name  without  mentioning  the  magnificent 
publication  of  the  Netherlands  Government  so  generously  placed  by 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    27 

The  Sunda  Islands  form  the  southern  limit  of  the  Ne- 
grito area.  On  the  north,  Formosa  is  the  last  place  where 
the  race  of  which  we  speak  has  preserved  all  its  charac- 
teristics ;  but  it  reveals  its  ancient  existence  beyond  this 
island  by  the  traces  it  has  left  among  the  present  popula- 
tions. In  the  little  archipelago  of  Loo-Choo,*  Basil  Hall 
found  at  certain  points  "  some  men  very  black  by  the  side 
of  others  who  were  almost  white."  Ancient  traditions  in 
Japan  speak  of  formidable  black  savages  who  were  sub- 
dued and  driven  away  only  with  great  difficulty.143  Thanks 
to  the  more  kindly  instincts  of  the  conquerors,  these  Ne- 
gritos of  the  north  were  not  exterminated,  as  in  Java. 
Kempfer  and  Siebold  have  reported  the  differences  in 
colour  and  hair  which  certain  classes  of  the  population 
present,  and  the  latter  mentions  particularly  the  black 
colour  and  the  more  or  less  crinkly  hair  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  southeast  coast. 

Long  since,  I  mentioned  these  characters  as  confirming 
the  opinion  first  propounded  by  Prichard  relative  to  the 
intervention  of  a  black  element  in  Japan,  and  this  ele- 
ment can  only  be  referred  to  the  Negrito  race.  The  ex- 
amination of  a  Japanese  skull  from  the  Broca  collection 
has  fully  confirmed  these  conclusions.  Studied  by  Hamy 
and  myself,  it  has  presented  a  mixture  of  features,  of 
which  the  most  characteristic  clearly  betray  this  ethnic 
origin.148-73'157  f  The  details  given  by  Dr.  Maget  have  fully 

it  at  the  disposition  of  men  whom  it  interests  from  any  point  of 
view — Boro-Boudour,  in  the  Island  of  Java,  by  F.  C.  Wilson  and  C. 
Leemans,  Leyden,  1874.  This  book  has  now  even  greater  interest 
than  at  the  time  of  its  publication.  The  Boro-Boudour  appears  to 
have  been,  if  not  destroyed,  partly  ruined  since  the  eruption  of 
Krakatoa.  The  work  of  Dr.  Leemans  has  preserved  a  faithful  and 
detailed  representation. 

*  Liou  Kiou  =  Lieou  Tehou.  Lion  Tchou,  Lieou-Tcheou,  Riu 
Kin."* 

f  This  skull,  secured  by  Dr.  Noury,  of  the  navy,  in  a  cemetery  of 


28  THE  PYGMIES. 

confirmed  these  conclusions.  He  has  discovered  and  de- 
scribed veritable  Negrito  metis  living  in  the  midst  of 
Japanese  populations.  I  have  found  incontestable  traces 
of  Negrito  blood  upon  various  skulls  from  the  Mariannes.148 
But  in  Micronesia  the  mixture  of  races  seems  to  stop. 
The  black  element  which  recurs  in  the  Carolines  appears 
to  belong  essentially  to  the  Papuan  type. 

The  extension  of  Negritos  in  Melanesia  is  much  more 
considerable.  Here  their  tribes  are  mingled  and  in  con- 
tact with  those  of  Papuans  probably  through  the  whole  of 
New  Guinea.  To  the  testimonies  I  have  already  cited 
I  can  to-day  add  others. 

Beccari  declares  that  it  is  not  uncommon  in  New 
Guinea  to  meet  natives  of  small  stature  who,  judging  by 
descriptions,  might  be  taken  for  Negritos.  It  is  true  that 
he  has  not  seen  any  tribe  composed  wholly  of  individuals 
presenting  this  character ;  *  but  the  map  published  by  one 
of  his  compatriots  represents  the  Karons,  or  Karonis,  as 
occupying  a  chain  of  mountains  parallel  to  the  north 
coast  of  the  great  peninsula  of  the  northwest ;  and  three 
skulls  of  these  Karons,  studied  by  Hamy,  have  shown  him 
the  essential  characters  of  the  Negrito  head.157 

M.  Meyer,  who  has  sojourned  in  these  regions,  has,  how- 
ever, supported  the  opinion  of  Wallace  and  Earl.  He  con- 
siders, with  them,  all  the  Eastern  blacks  as  of  one  race. 
But  the  German  traveller  has  brought  from  Kordo,  in  the 
island  of  Mysore,  a  magnificent  collection  of  skulls,  whose 
characters  and  measurements  he  has  made  known.114- 115 

Hamy  has  discussed  this  mass  of  facts,  and  shown  that 
in  themselves  the  figures  published  by  that  author  bring 
one  more  proof  to  the  support  of  our  common  view.  If 

criminals  at  Yokohama,  is  of  perfectly  ascertained  origin.     Hamy 
has  justly  remarked  that  the  very  place  whence  it  has  been  taken 
proves  that  it  has  belonged  to  an  individual  of  the  lower  classes. 
*  Extract  from  a  letter  written  at  Ternate,  March  6,  1876.60 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OP  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    29 

the  greater  part  of  the  skulls  of  Kordo  are  plainly  Papuan, 
if  others  seem  to  show  mixture,  there  are  still  others 
which  show  beyond  doubt  the  presence  of  the  Negrito  ele- 
ment, pure  or  almost  pure.157  The  study  of  the  measure- 
ments taken  by  Dr.  Comrie  lead  to  the  same  conclusion.31 

Moreover,  as  the  materials  become  more  numerous — 
thanks  to  the  efforts  of  courageous  travellers — the  last  de- 
fenders of  the  ethnologic  unity  of  the  New  Guineans  are 
themselves  coming  around  to  the  opinion  which  Hamy 
and  myself  adopted  years  ago.2'  103>  104>  105 

This  mixture  recurs  in  the  islands  of  Torres  Strait. 
The  museum  possesses  a  head  brought  from  the  island  of 
Toud,  or  Warrior  Island,  by  the  companions  of  Dumont 
d'Urville,  which  reproduces  the  essential  features  of  the 
Negrito.  It  was  collected  in  a  tomb  where  it  was  mingled 
with  others  presenting  all  the  characters  of  Papuans.  We 
find  again,  then,  at  the  southern  extremity  of  New  Guinea, 
the  juxtaposition  of  the  two  races  which  we  established  in 
the  northwest.148' 157 

Thanks  to  D'Albertis,  we  follow  the  Negrito  type  as 
far  as  to  Epa,  situated  upon  the  eastern  coast  of  the  Gulf 
of  Papua,  and  consequently  even  into  the  great  elongated 
peninsula  which  terminates  New  Guinea  on  the  southeast. 
There  the  Italian  traveller  saw  an  individual  of  mature 
years,  well  formed,  elegantly  proportioned,  the  body  cov- 
ered with  woolly  hair,  and  possessing  head  hair  equally 
woolly.  His  skin  was  extremely  black.  He  presented 
very  little  or  no  prognathism.  His  stature  was,  moreover, 
very  small,  and  was  not  more  than  four  feet  nine  inches. 
In  the  concurrence  of  these  features  it  is  impossible  not 
to  recognise  an  excellently  characterised  pure-blood  Ne- 
grito. This  individual  belonged  to  a  tribe  of  the  interior, 
living  probably  among  the  mountains,  represented  upon 
the  map  as  being  located  to  the  east  of  Epa.2 

Finally,  to  the  southeast  of  Epa,  at  Port  Moresby, 
4 


30  THE  PYGMIES. 

Lawes  shows  us  in  the  midst  of  real  Papuan  tribes  a 
mountain  tribe  of  little  stature,  decidedly  dark,  whose  feet 
and  hands  are  remarkably  small.  All  these  features  are 
essentially  Negrito,  and  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the 
Kolari  belong  to  this  race.90 

Although  not  distinguishing  the  Negritos  from  the 
Papuans,  Lawes  has,  like  D'Albertis,  the  merit  of  insist- 
ing upon  the  variety  which  the  human  races  of  New 
Guinea  present. 

There  the  area  of  residence  belonging  to  our  little  Ne- 
groes seems  to  stop.  Pickering,  who,  perhaps,  first  clearly 
distinguished  them  from  the  Papuans,  was  mistaken  in 
prolonging  it  farther  to  the  southeast  into  the  New  Heb- 
rides.137 The  eminent  American  anthropologist  has 
probably  taken  account  only  of  some  external  characters, 
particularly  that  of  stature.  He  has  not  paid  attention 
to  the  far  more  important  osteological  characters,  of 
which  one  did  not  appreciate  the  full  value  at  the  epoch 
when  he  wrote.  Hamy,  in  the  craniological  monograph 
which  I  have  just  cited,  has  studied  one  by  one  the  skulls 
proceeding  from  the  different  Melanesian  islands.  Out- 
side of  New  Guinea,  when  the  Papuan  type  is  altered  it 
is  not  by  a  Negrito,  but  by  a  Polynesian  element.157  Never- 
theless, it  may  perhaps  be  necessary  to  extend  the  south- 
eastern limit  of  the  Negrito  area  as  far  as  to  the  province 
of  Queensland,  Australia.  There,  according  to  Odoardo 
Beccari,  natives  with  crinkly  hair  are  found  who  might 
indeed  be  ethnologic  neighbours  of  the  more  or  less  mixed 
islanders  of  Torres  Strait.61 

The  western  element  of  the  Oceanic  Negritos  is  much 
more  easy  to  fix  than  the  preceding.  It  is  in  the  Bay 
of  Bengal,  at  the  Nicobar  Islands,  and  in  the  Anda- 
mans  that  we  find  it.61  In  the  first  of  these  two  little 
archipelagoes  the  Negritos  have  undergone  the  same  lot 
as  in  the  Indonesian  islands.  Attacked  by  the  Malays,  they 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    31 


have  in  part  been  exterminated,  and  inhabit  at  present 
only  the  mountains  of  the  interior.55'41  On  the  other  hand, 
they  have  preserved  complete  independence,  and  have  re- 
mained pure  from  all  mixture  in  the  Andaman  Islands — 
above  all,  in  the  three  islands  which  collectively  were  for  a 
long  time  called  the  Grand 
Andaman — until  the  English 
chose  this  isolated  archipelago 
as  the  site  of  one  of  their  penal 
establishments.  But  even  this 
has  been  of  value  to  us  in  giv- 
ing numerous  and  precise  facts 
regarding  the  Mincopies. 

Let  us  now  find  the  traces  of 
these  Negritos  on  the  Asiatic 
continent  whose  island  colonies 
stretch  from  Formosa  to  the 
Andaman  Islands. 

The  existence  of  Negroes — 
that  is,  men  with  black  skin 
and  woolly  hair — on  the  conti- 
nent has  been  denied,  even  quite  recently,  by  some  emi- 
nent geographers,  yet  numerous  witnesses,  evidently  trust- 
worthy, do  not  permit  a  doubt  of  it.  Since  1820,  Macinnes 
and  Crawford  have  described,  as  presenting  the  typical 
characters  of  the  race,  two  natives  of  the  little  kingdom  of 
Kedah,  in  the  peninsula  of  Malacca.71- 157  Other  travellers 
were  not  slow  in  confirming  these  details,  and  Prichard, 
while  fighting  a  theory  to  which  I  shall  have  to  return, 
admits  that  the  Samangs,  Simangs,  and  Semangs  of  this 
region  are  true  Negroes. 

The  description  which  Anderson,  former  secretary  of 
the  government  of  Penang,  has  given  of  one  of  them  is 
most  characteristic.  This  individual,  thirty  years  old,  meas- 
ured only  1™441 ;  his  hair  was  woolly  and  tufted,  his  skin 


FIG.  7. —  SKULL  OF  MINCOPT 
FROM  THE  GRAND  ANDAMAN. 
One  fourth  natural  size. 


32  THE  PYGMIES. 

was  jet-black  and  glossy,  his  lips  thick,  his  nose  flat,  his 
belly  protruding.  The  author  adds  that  he  exactly  re- 
sembled two  natives  of  the  Andamans  whom  he  had  pre- 
viously seen.4  These  Semangs,  then,  are  not  only  Negroes, 
but  true  Negritos.  This  opinion  is  at  present  accepted  by 
all  anthropologists  who  have  occupied  themselves  with 
this  question.  Eeservation  should  be  made,  however,  in 
regard  to  their  purity  of  .blood,  and  it  should  be  admitted 
that  the  type  of  the  Semangs,  as  well  as  that  of  analogous 
tribes,  has  often  been  altered  by  crossing. 

To  the  south  of  Kedah  are  other  savage  tribes,  whose 
characters  have  been  variously  described  by  travellers. 
These  variations  explain  themselves.  Here,  as  well  as 
in  the  Philippine  Islands  and  elsewhere,  the  Negro  race 
has  been  crossed  with  a  population  of  a  different  origin, 
which  resulted  in  numerous  half  breeds.  But  even  among 
those  tribes  where  this  crossing  has  taken  place  there  are 
frequently  found  individuals  who  have  preserved  all  the 
characteristic  features  of  the  type.  A  photograph  by 
Alph.  Pichon,  former  secretary  of  embassy,  and  two 
other  photographs  kindly  given  to  me  by  M.  de  la  Croix, 
permit  affirming  this.  All  three  are  now  part  of  the  col- 
lection of  the  museum. 

The  first  one  represents  a  group  of  Jakuns,  five  men 
and  two  women,  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Singapore. 
One  of  the  two  women  is  essentially  Malay,  but  her  wavy 
hair  and  some  of  her  features  would  betray  a  slight  cross- 
ing; the  other  woman  is  an  out-and-out  Negrito.  One  of 
the  men  has  perfectly  straight  hair;  but  that  of  the 
others,  and  especially  of  a  warrior  and  his  son,  is  abso- 
lutely woolly,  and  the  ensemble  of  their  features  reminds 
one  of  an  Ae'ta,  drawn  by  Meyer.71' 68 

The  photographs  of  de  la  Croix  were  taken  in  the 
province  of  Perak  by  M.  de  Saint- Pol  Lias.  They  rep- 
resent two  groups  of  Sakaies,  who  individually  vary  in  the 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    33 


way  which  I  have  just  indicated.  Five  out  of  ten  individ- 
uals have  straight  hair  (Fig.  9) ;  two  seem  to  have  crinkly 
hair ;  that  of  the 
others  is  decidedly 
woolly  (Fig.  8).  We 
must  add  that  M. 
Montano,  who  had 
just  seen  the  Negri- 
tos at  Luzon  and 
Miudano,  has  found 
all  the  character- 
istics of  this  tribe 
in  some  of  the  Sa- 
kaies. 

These  three  pho- 
tographs are  very 
important,  because 
they  testify  to  the 
variation  in  hair  in 
one  and  the  same 
tribe.  This  fact  ex- 
plains the  differ- 
ences between  de- 
scriptions and  be- 
tween the  opinions 
of  different  authors. 
For  instance,  in  the 
note  which  I  just 
quoted,  Anderson 
describes  three  Sa- 
kaies  belonging  to  a 
half-civilised  tribe, 
and  speaks  of  their 
complexion  as  being 


Fio.  8. — SAKAIES  OF  PERAK.  (After  a  photo- 
graph of  M.  Bro  de  Saint-Pol  Lias,  given 
by  M.  de  la  Croix.) 


analogous  to  that  of  the  Malays,  of  their  hair  as  being 


THE  PYGMIES. 


tufted,  not  woolly,  and  of  a  stature  varying  from  I?657 

to  1?474.4 

It  is  evident  that  this  description  might  lead  into 
error,  and  make  us  fail  to  recog- 
nise the  presence  of  the  Ne- 
grito blood,  which  is  testified 
to  by  photography. 

Thanks  to  it,  we  can  also 
appreciate  at  their  real  value 
other  materials,  such  as  the 
two  photographs  of  Semangs 
published  by  Giglioli,  after  the 
photographs  of  Colonel  Yule.59 
Neither  of  them,  to  judge  from 
the  engravings,  were  pure  Ne- 
gritos. The  hair  of  the  man, 
native  of  the  province  of  Welles- 
ley,  seems  to  have  been  nearly 
straight  or  only  wavy ;  that  of 
the  woman,  falling  almost  to 
her  shoulders,  seems  to  be  quite 
crinkly.  But  there  is  nothing 
in  either  one  of  them  to  indi- 
cate a  truly  woolly  head,  and 
these  portraits  could  furnish 
an  argument  to  those  who  deny 
the  existence  of  true  Negroes 
in  these  regions.  To  my  mind, 
nevertheless,  they  testify  to  the 
presence  of  Negrito  blood  in 
the  individuals  represented  by 
them ;  only  the  type  has  be- 

Fio.  9.— SAKAIE.  CAfter  a  photo-    come  changed  by  crossing. 

praph  of  M.  Erode  Saint-  Th  ]e    mentioned    be_ 

Pol  Lias,  given  by  M.  do  la 

Croix.)  fore  are  crosses.     But  in   the 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    35 

great  highland  region  between  Perak,  Selangou,  and  Ke- 
lantan,  in  Malacca,  there  are  still  one  or  more  witnesses  of 
the  ancient  population  which  have  remained  entirely  pure. 
There  are  tribes,  which  the  Sakaies  treat  as  savages,  inhab- 
iting caves  and  using  only  stone  in  making  their  utensils 
and  weapons.  These  savages  are  black,  have  crinkly  hair, 
are  very  short,  and  dress  themselves  with  leaves  hung  about 
their  bodies.  They  run  away  as  soon  as  they  perceive  a 
stranger.  De  Morgan  has  seen  fires  lighted  by  these  Ne- 
gritos, but  has  not  been  able  to  approach  them.129  De  la 
Croix  has  gathered  identical  information  on  the  spot. 

As  the  Malay,  so  has  the  Annamite  peninsula  its  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Negrito  type,  known  under  the  name 
of  Moi's  or  Moys.  Logan  long  since  considered  this  fact 
as  demonstrated.94  The  doubts  so  often  expressed  in  re- 
gard to  this  seem  to  me  scarcely  tenable  in  view  of  the  old 
proofs  recalled  by  M.  Giglioli  himself,*  of  those  which 
Earl  obtained  from  the  Annamites  and  Cochin-Chinese, 
and  of  the  communications  of  two  French  physicians  of  the 
navy  to  Hamy.  These  last  stated  to  my  learned  colleague 
that  some  Negro  tribes  live  near  the  northern  frontiers  of 
the  Cochin-Chinese  province  of  Bien-Hoa.70  The  latest 
information  furnished  by  Allen  seems  to  me  to  remove  the 
last  doubts.  One  of  the  authors  quoted  by  him  (Tomlin's 
Geography)  describes  the  Moys  as  having  woolly  hair,  a 
truly  black  skin,  and  a  face  resembling  that  of  the  Kaffirs,  f 
It  seems  to  me  strange  that  a  writer  should  have  been  so 
explicit  without  reason.  Everything  indicates  that  the 

*  M.  Giglioli59  declares  himself  to  be  very  sceptical  as  to  the  exist- 
ence of  true  Negritos  in  Annam.  The  portrait  of  a  Chong,  native 
of  Siam,  published  by  Crawfurd.  and  which  the  eminent  Italian  an- 
thropologist has  mentioned,  seems  at  least  to  justify  conjecturing  to 
the  contrary. 

t  "  Woolly  haired,  very  black,  and  savage,  and  with  faces  re- 
sembling the  Kaffirs." 


36  THE  PYGMIES. 

black  tribes  of  Annam  must  resemble  those  of  Malacca, 
and  side  by  side  with  the  true  Negro  there  are  individuals 
deviating  more  or  less  from  the  pure  type.  Hence  the 
diverse  and  apparently  contradictory  opinions  that  have 
been  entertained  for  so  long  in  regard  to  the  Malay  pen- 
insula.3 

We  are  much  better  informed  on  the  subject  of  the 
populations  of  the  peninsula  this  side  of  the  Ganges.  The 
Tamil  books,  says  Logan,  tell  us  that  the  original  inhab- 
itants had  hair  "  in  tufts,"  which  can  only  refer  to  Ne- 
groes.96 Evidence,  the  descriptions  of  a  number  of  trav- 
ellers, confirmed  by  photographs,  drawings,  busts,  and 
skulls,  explains  everything  that  is  true  in  these  old  texts. 
These  various  proofs  show  us  in  the  whole  of  southern 
and  central  India  peoples  with  a  more  or  less  black  skin, 
among  whom  are  individuals  whose  woolly  hair  testifies  to 
their  at  least  relative  purity  of  blood,  and  clearly  indi- 
cates the  nature  of  one  of  the  ethnic  elements  which 
have  given  rise  to  these  peoples. 

The  same  means  of  study  permit  us  to  specify  to  what 
branch  of  the  Negro  trunk  this  element  belongs,  and  to 
affirm  that  it  is  essentially  Negrito. 

Justice  Campbell  holds  that  all  of  the  tribes  which  he 
calls  aborigines  are  physically  related  to  the  Negrito  type.25 
He  gives  a  resume  of  their  characteristics,  and  specially 
mentions  their  figure,  short  and  slight ;  *  their  complexion, 
truly  black ;  their  hair  tangled,  at  times  curly,  and  even 
woolly.  This  latter  characteristic  is  often  seen  in  the 
drawings  made  after  the  photographs,  although  the  au- 

*  "To  the  Aetas  and  Mincopies  has  often  been  ascribed  a  pro- 
truding belly.  I  do  not  find  this  either  in  the  photographs  of 
forty-eight  Negritos  of  the  Philippine  Islands  taken  at  Luzon  by  M. 
Montano,  nor  in  those  of  the  seven  Negritos  which  I  owe  to  Colonel 
Tytler.  nor  in  the  sixteen  individuals  of  the  same  race  represented 
in  the  phototypes  of  Mr.  Dobson.42 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    37 

thor  does  not  mention  it  in  his  description,  and  has  even 
sometimes  stated  the  contrary.  Thus,  in  speaking  of  the 
Santals,  who  inhabit  the  basin  of  the  Ganges  east  and 
west  of  Bhagalpore,  Colonel  Dalton  mentions  their  straight 
hair.38  But  the  drawing,  which  is  reproduced  from  a  pho- 
tograph, shows  two  persons  of  this  tribe  whose  heads  are 
covered  with  tufts  as  rounded  and  tight  as  those  of  any 
Negrito,  and  one  of  them  is  a  true  Mincopy,  while  the 
other  is  nearer  like  the  Aeta.  What  the  same  author  says 
about  the  hair  of  the  Oraons  would  leave  room  for  much 
doubt ;  but  of  five  figures  of  these  tribes  represented  on 
his  plate,  one  woman  has  all  the  features  of  the  Negrito, 
and  at  least  half- woolly  hair.38  *  The  same  can  be  ob- 
served in  the  portrait  of  Dhoba  Abor,  of  a  tribe  of  the 
upper  Brahmapootra.  In  the  text,  Dalton  says  nothing 
about  the  hair;  in  the  drawing,  copied  from  a  photo- 
graph, it  is  that  of  a  Negro  of  pure  blood,  although  the 
Negrito  type  here  has  manifestly  changed  by  crossing 
with  Mogul  blood.  I  will  cite  also  the  plate  where  Fryer 
has  represented  the  Mulchers  from  the  district  of  Coim- 
batore,  in  the  province  of  Cochin.54  These  individuals 
are  seen  of  very  different  statures,  proportions,  and  fea- 
tures, but  the  woman  to  the  right  is  a  true  Aeta;  she  has 
the  hair  which  is  characteristic  of  all  of  this  race,  and  the 
features  of  the  Philippine  subtype,  f 

*  Frontispiece.  I  am  so  much  more  certain  that  I  am  not  mis- 
taken in  this  opinion,  as,  in  a  note  addressed  to  Campbell,  Colonel 
Dalton  declares  himself  to  have  seen  woolly  heads  among  the 
Oraons. 

t  It  is  to  be  seen  above  that  my  opinions  are  founded  on  the 
comparison  which  I  have  been  able  to  make  of  these  various  draw- 
ings with  seventy-one  photographs.  Therefore  they  may.  I  believe, 
be  received  with  confidence.  This  abundance  of  materials  has  en- 
abled me  to  establish  certain  differences  between  the  Aetas  and  the 
Mincopies.  The  former  have  coarser  features ;  their  nose  is  more 
flattened  at  the  root,  thicker  and  broader  in  general.  They  have 


38  THE  PYGMIES. 

4 

The  Bandra  Lokh  or  Djangal  of  the  forests  of  Araar- 
kantak  of  whom  M.  Rousselet  has  brought  us  a  por- 
trait,164' 165  *  are  doubtfully  referred  to  any  subtype  of  Ne- 
gro (Fig.  10).  The  features  are  not  those  of  a  Negrito. 
There  is  something  in  them  which  reminds  one  of  certain 
Papuans.  In  his  case,  misery  and  hunger  have  altered  his 
form  and  discoloured  his  skin ;  but  the  woolly  hair,  which 
our  countryman  has  not  forgotten  to  mention  in  his  de- 
scription, leaves  no  doubt  as  to  the  general  type  to  which 
this  individual  should  be  referred. 

In  the  work  which  we  have  published  with  Hamy 157 
we  have  put  the  profile  of  a  young  Ghond,  modelled  by 
the  Schlagintweits,  beside  the  profile  of  a  Mincopy  taken 
from  a  photograph  of  Colonel  Tytler  and  that  of  a  young 
A  eta  girl  drawn  by  Choris.28  I  here  reproduce  this  draw- 
ing (Fig.  11).  It  will  be  easily  seen  that  the  Dravidian 
is  just  about  a  mean  between  the  two  insular  types,  al- 
though coming  nearer  the  Aeta  than  the  Mincopy ;  and 
Colonel  Dalton  has  told  us  that  the  Ghonds  have  the  hair, 
the  skin,  and  physiognomy  of  the  Negro. 

To  these  proofs,  founded  on  their  external  characteris- 
tics, may  be  added  those  which  result  from  the  study  of 
the  skulls.  Among  the  Negritos  generally  the  head  and 
face  of  the  skeleton  usually  show  very  peculiar  charac- 
teristics. In  an  excellent  work  Flower  has  pointed  out 
the  extreme  similarity  of  twenty-four  skulls  which  he  had 
at  his  disposal,  and  declared  that  he  would  be  quite  sure 

also  thinner  legs  than  the  Andamanese.  Altogether  the  latter  are 
endowed  with  a  finer  physique.  The  Negritos  of  India  seem  to  be 
connected  more  with  the  subtype  of  the  Aetas  than  with  that  of 
the  Mincopies. 

*  The  appellation  Ho,  used  here,  must  be  a  general  term,  which 
may  be  applied  to  very  different  races.  Hodgson  uses  it  in  speaking 
of  a  people  of  Singhbhum,  whom  he  describes  as  being  remarkable 
for  their  clear  complexion  and  beauty  of  features." 


FIG.  10. — DJ.VNOAL  OF  SIKGOUDJA.    (From  a  drawing  by  Rousselet.) 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OP  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    39 

never  to  confound  the  head  of  an  Andaman  with  that  of 
any  other  race.51  Hamy  and  I  have  shown  that  the  Ae'ta 
head  possesses  all  its  most  characteristic  features.  These 
features  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to  be  easily  recognised 
even  when  attenuated  or  brought  into  relation  with  others 
as  the  result  of  crossing.148' 157  They  make  it  possible  to 


C 


FIG.  11. — PROFILE  OF  BODA,  GHOND  OF  SCHAOPORE  A,  compared  with  that 
of  a  Mincopy  woman,  £,  and  an  Aeta  woman,  C.    (i  natural  size.) 

follow  and  recognise  the  Negrito  type  even  when  dis- 
guised, as  it  were,  by  mixture  of  blood,  change  of  lan- 
guage, religion,  or  customs.  Behold  some  examples :  A 
French  traveller,  Leschenault  de  la  Tour,  collected  about 
1820,  in  the  mountainous  region  of  Cattalam,  south  of 
Madura,  a  skull  which  was  deposited  in  the  museum.181 
Besides  some  entirely  individual  characteristics,  it  presents 
all  the  features  of  the  Mincopies  (Fig.  12). 


4:0  THE  PYGMIES. 

( 

In  his  excellent  work  on  the  ethnology  of  India, 
Campbell  declares  that  he  does  not  quite  know  what  to 
do  with  the  Bengali.  A  skull  which  I  owe  to  Dr.  Mouat 
enables  me  to  solve  this  problem.*  It  is  that  of  a  pariah 
woman,  twenty-five  years  old,  from  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  capital  of  Bengal.  Compared 
with  the  skull  of  a  Mincopy  man 
which  Colonel  Tytler  sent  me,  I 
find  that  in  reality  it  does  not 
differ  from  it  at  all,  except  in 
sexual  characters.  The  funda- 
mental characteristics  of  the  type 
are  not  only  not  diminished,  but 
sometimes  exaggerated,  so  that  if 
one  were  not  sure  about  the  origin 
of  the  skull  it  would  be  supposed 
to  have  come  from  the  Anda- 

FIG.  12. — SKULL  OF  FEMALE  ,       m,  .  .   ,       .      ,      , 

NEGRITO  OF  THE  CATTALAM    mans't      This  CramologlCftl   obser- 

MOUNTAINS.  One  fourth  vation  testifies  to  the  presence  of 
the  Negrito  element  in  the  heart 
of  Bengal,  and  confirms  and  ex- 
plains the  traditions  gathered  by  Allen  in  regard  to  the 
ancient  existence  of  dwarfs,  supposed  to  be  cannibals,  in 
these  regions.3  \ 

Almost  at  the  other  extremity  of  the  Ganges  basin,  in  the 
district  of  Malwar,  the  Coorumbas  are  living,  who  in  the 


*  Dr.  Mouat  has  published  several  most  interesting  works  on  the 
Mincopies.  I  will  only  mention  his  classical  work,  Adventures  and 
Researches  among  the  Andaman  Islands,  1863. 

f  I  have  said  a  few  words  about  this  skull  in  my  Etudes  sur  les 
Mincopies.  It  is  given  in  front  view  and  of  natural  size  in  the  Atlas 
of  Crania  Ethnica,  pi.  xvii. 

\  A  number  of  times  the  Negritos  have  been  accused  of  man  eat- 
ing. As  they  became  better  known  it  became  evident  that  they 
were  not.  Yet  it  would  be  possible  that  when  they  were  pursued  by 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OP  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    41 

jungles  of  Wynood  seem  to  have  preserved  the  purity  of 
their  Negrito  blood.  Sarauells,  in  the  short  note  which 
he  devotes  to  them,  tells  us  that  they  are  black,  very  short, 
and  have  woolly  hair.  These  little  Negroes  are  remarkable 
for  their  activity  and  their  courage,  which  causes  them  to 
be  in  demand  as  shikaris.™  But  not  only  in  the  heart 
of  India  can  the  type  that  occupies  us  be  found.  It  can 
be  traced  farther  north,  and  even  to  the  base  of  the  Him- 
alayas. I  have  already  mentioned  a  portrait  of  one,  Dhoba 
Abor,  published  by  Colonel  Daltou.  These  tribes  live  in 
the  eastern  extremity  of  Assam,  on  the  banks  of  rivers 
which  empty  into  the  upper  Brahmapootra.  Quite  a 
good  deal  to  the  west,  an  English  traveller,  Traill,  has 
found  in  Kamaon,  by  the  side  of  Brahman  castes  and 
Rajpouts,  a  class  entirely  different  from  all  the  others. 
These  are  the  Doms,  of  whom  it  is  said  that  they  are  ex- 
tremely black,  and  that  many  of  them  have  hair  more  or 
less  woolly.*  The  Doms  live  west  of  the  Kali  River. 
Still  farther  west  live  the  Chamangs,  Chamars,  or  Kalis, 
who  seem  to  possess  the  same  characters.36 

Certainly  neither  the  Tibetans  nor  the  Aryans  could 
have  given  the  Dorns  and  their  western  neighbours  this 
truly  black  skin,  and  hair  which  reminds  one  of  wool. 

pitiless  invaders  they  would  have  been  compelled  by  misery  to  feed 
on  human  flesh.  It  is  known  that  similar  things  have  happened  in 
Africa  among  tribes  previously  pastoral,  as  a  consequence  of  the 
devastation  of  Chaka  and  Dingaan. 

*  Many  having  curly  hair,  inclining  to  wool,  and  being  all  ex- 
tremely black.188  These  exact  details,  given  by  a  traveller  who  has 
seen  them  himself,  are  the  more  important,  as  Campbell,  in  his  re- 
markable Memoir  on  the  Ethnology  of  India,  declares  himself  as  not 
knowing  any  people  in  these  regions  which  could  be  connected  with 
those  that  he  calls  aborigines,  and  whom  he  considers  as  all  having 
more  or  less  Negrito  blood.25  Prichard  quotes  the  preceding  pas- 
sage twice.  Once  he  reproduces  it  exactly ;  the  other  time  he  re- 
places extremely  by  nearly^  which  is  quite  different. 


42  THE  PYGMIES. 

This  latter  character  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  In 
the  crossing  of  two  races  of  which  the  one  has  ellip- 
tical and  the  other  round  hair  this  latter  character  very 
soon  becomes  preponderant  in  the  half  breeds.  The  ob- 
servations made  by  Semper  in  the  Philippine  Islands 
agree  with  those  made  before  in  America  and  in  eastern 
Eussia  on  this  point.  The  same  traveller,  confirming  the 
oldest  descriptions,  has  recognised  that  the  black  skin  still 
continues  after  the  hair  has  already  been  greatly  modified. 
A  somewhat  woolly  head,  then,  announces  the  presence  of 
Negro  blood  hardly  attenuated.173 

As  regards  Negritos  and  their  half  breeds,  another 
characteristic  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  This  is 
their  stature.  All  pure  Negritos  are  very  small.  Travel- 
lers are  unanimous  upon  this  point.  I  shall  later  give 
some  exact  measurements  of  individuals  of  this  race,  both 
pure  and  mixed.  Here  I  limit  myself  to  remarking  that 
in  mixed  races  the  stature  decreases  in  the  same  meas- 
ure as  the  other  characters  by  which  the  individuals  ex- 
amined approach  the  Negrito  type  become  more  pro- 
nounced. 

Thus  Roubaud  has  given  as  the  mean  stature  of  Dra- 
vidians  with  straight  hair  and  chocolate-coloured  skin, 
1?64  for  men  and  1?56  for  women,  while  the  stature  of 
the  Pouleyers,  with  nearly  black  skin,  and  hair  sometimes 
straight,  sometimes  curly  and  even  crinkly,  has  decreased 
to  1?61.146 

So  also,  in  speaking  of  the  Bhils,  with  straight  hair 
and  skin  of  the  colour  of  slightly  burned  coffee,  Rousselet 
says  that  they  are  of  average  stature.164  But  Colonel 
Sealy,  who  has  come  in  contact  with  Bhils  having  very 
dark  skin*  and  curly  hair,  adds  that  they  are  small,  f 


*"0f  very  dark  complexion.'' 

f  "  Of  short  stature  "  (quoted  by  Prichanl).139 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    43 

The  Gouuds,  darker  and  uglier  than  the  Bhils,  rarely 
measure  1^2  or  1°G3.  With  the  Puttouas  the  stature 
descends  to  1™57  in  men  and  1™291  in  women.* 

The  stature  of  the  Mintiras  of  Johore,  in  the  south  of 


FIG.  13. — BUST  OF  ORION,  NEGRITO-PAPUAN  OF  TIDORE — PROFILE.     J  nat- 
ural size.    (Mus.  d'hist.  nat,  No.  880.) 

Malacca,  who  have  sometimes  straight  and  sometimes  curly 
hair,  varies  from  If 62  to  1™47,  and  the  average  is  1T58.97 

Wallace  attributes  to  the  Semangs  a  stature  of  1™266 
to  1»416. 

I  think  I  have  said  enough  to  demonstrate  that,  in  the 

*  I  must  remark  that  another  element,  very  different  from  the 
Negritos,  may  shorten  the  stature.  It  may  be  supplied  by  some 
small  though  very  robust  Tibetan  peoples;  but  in  this  case  the 
skin  should  become  lighter  instead  of  darker.  This  seems  to  be  the 
case  with  the  Touleous,  studied  by  M.  Roubaud.  who  in  connection 
with  a  yellowish-white  skin  and  thick-set  forms,  have  an  average 
height  of  1™62. 
5 


44 


THE   PYGMIES. 


midst  of  these  mixed  peoples  of  the  great  peninsula  this 
side  of  the  Ganges  and  in  the  adjacent  countries,  the  Ne- 
grito type  betrays  itself  at  every 
step  by  some  one  of  its  funda- 
mental characteristics,  and  oc- 
casionally reappears  in  its  pure 
state.  Farther  on  I  shall  point 
out  the  consequences  of  this 
fact. . 

In  fact,  at  the  present  time 
even  the  Negrito  race,  pure  or 
mixed,  extends  in  the  sea  from 
the  extreme  southeast  of  New 
Guinea  to  the  archipelago  of 
the  Andaman  Islands,  and  from 
the  Sunda  Islands  to  Japan. 
On  the  land  it  extends  from 
Annam  and  the  peninsula  of 
Malacca  to  the  western  Ghauts, 
and  from  Cape  Comorin  to  the 
Himalayas. 

The  race  whose  history  we 
are  sketching  has  not  remained 
the  same  throughout  the  im- 
mense area  to  which  it  fell  heir. 
External  characters  vary  consid- 
erably between  some  Negritos 
of  New  Guinea  and  the  Indian 
archipelago  on  the  one  hand, 
and  those  of  the  Philippine  and 
Andaman  Islands  on  the  other. 

We  know  the  former  by  the 
description  and  full  figure 

which     Crawfurd      has     pub- 

Fio.  14. — NEGRITO-PAPUAN.        ,.  ,     ,  o,  .,  ,.      -i  •   •, 

(After  Crawfurd.)  lished,    the  accuracy  or  winch 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    45 

has  been  attested  by  Earl,  and  which  I  here  reproduce 
(Fig.  14)  ;  also  by  a  bust  modelled  by  Dumoutier,  of 
which  I  give  the  profile  (Fig.  13). m  As  to  the  latter,  the 
old  drawings  of  Choris  and  numerous  photographs  of  the 
present  time  furnish  everything  desirable  in  the  way  of 


Fio.  15. — SKULL  OF  A  NEGRITO- PAPUAN  OF  BORNEO,  FORMING  PART  OF 
A  DYAK  TROPHY. 

materials.  These  two  secondary  types  present  a  strongly 
marked  contrast.  The  Negrito  of  Crawfurd  has  a  much 
lighter  skin  than  the  Ae'tas  and  Mincopies ;  his  nose  is 
flatter,  his  chin  more  retreating,  his  loins  are  not  so  well 
formed,  his  thighs  and  legs  are  not  so  rounded. 

These  differential  features  have  seemed  to  me  sufficient 
to  justify  the  division  of  the  Negrito  race  into  two 
branches,  the  Oriental  and  Occidental  branches.  The 


46  THE  PYGMIES. 

study  of  the  skull  has  since  confirmed  this  view.  The 
Oriental  Negrito  has  a  little  longer  skull  than  his  brother 
from  the  West,  although  very  far  from  possessing  the  ab- 
solute dolichocephaly  which  characterises  the  Papuan.* 
Hamy  and  I  have  considered  it  necessary  to  emphasise  the 
distinction  just  established,  aud  we  have  considered  each 
of  these  secondary  types  as  constituting  a  subrace.  For  us, 
the  little  Oriental  Negroes  are  the  Negrito- Papuans  ;  those 
of  the  West  are  Negritos  proper.  As  to  the  latter,  the 
differences  mentioned  above  between  the  Ae'tas  and  the 
Mincopies  are  too  slight  to  render  it  necessary  to  form 
them  into  two  distinct  groups. 

The  centre  of  population  of  the  Negrito-Papuans 
seems  to  be  in  New  Guinea  and  its  dependencies.  The 
Mincopies,  as  well  as  the  Ae'tas,  belong  to  the  type  of  the 
Negritos  proper,  which  seem  to  have  occupied  a  great  part 
of  the  Indonesian  archipelagoes  ;  it  is  also  this  type  which 
we  found  again  on  the  continent. 

The  limit  between  the  two  groups  is,  however,  difficult 
to  trace.  On  the  one  side,  the  Negrito  whom  Earl  had  as 
a  companion,  and  who  reminded  him  of  Crawfurd's  draw- 
ing, was  a  native  of  Gilolo  (Moluccas)  ;  on  the  other  side, 
Hamy  has  traced  as  far  as  Timor  the  indubitable  evi- 
dence of  Negritos  proper  ;  f  and  the  decidedly  black  skin 

*  In  the  Negrito  the  horizontal  index  varies  from  80-84 ;  in  the 
Negrito-Papuan  of  New  Guinea,  from  78-85-79-87  ;  and  in  the 
Papuans  of  the  same  island,  from  69-35-18-23.  The  latter  very  high 
figure  was  found  in  the  skull  of  a  woman,  and  suggests  suspicion  of 
the  influence  of  crossing.  I  have  already  pointed  out  elsewhere  these 
craniological  differences,  and  I  must  recall  the  fact  that  the  Papuans 
are  also  taller,  stronger,  and  more  athletic  than  the  Negritos.144 

f  "  All  these  cranial  traits,  eminently  those  of  the  Negrito,  make  of 
the  Timorese,  whom  we  are  studying,  an  excellent  type  of  the  race. 
.  .  .  All  the  characteristic  features  of  the  Negrito  face  can  be  found 
in  our  specimen.  The  shapes  of  the  various  cavities  are  the  same, 
and  the  bones  which  surround  them  have  the  same  curvatures."  69 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    47 

of  individuals  seen  by  D'Albertis  at  Epa  and  by  Lawes  at 
Port  Moresby  seems  to  indicate  that  they  are  found  again 
at  the  eastern  extremity  of  New  Guinea.  One  sees  that  the 
two  divisions  of  the  race  have  interpenetrated,  and  very 
likely  are  bound  to  each  other  by  connecting  links. 

However  that  may  be,  to  judge  from  the  proofs  collected 
up  to  date,  the  area  of  the  Negrito- Papuans  is  entirely 
pelagic ;  the  Negritos  proper  inhabit  both  islands  and  the 
continent.  The  presence  of  our  little  Negroes  over  so 
large  an  extent  of  the  eastern  maritime  world  has  es- 
pecially attracted  the  attention  of  anthropologists.  To 
explain  this  distribution,  Richard  Owen  has  considered  it 
necessary  to  recur  to  the  hypothesis,  too  often  invoked,  of 
an  ancient  continent,  at  present  partly  submerged,  and 
which  has  left  as  traces  of  its  existence  plateaus  and  moun- 
tain chains,  which  alone  project  above  the  water.*  I  be- 
lieve it  possible  to  account  for  these  facts  in  a  more  sim- 
ple manner. 

The  history  of  the  peopling  of  Polynesia  shows  how  it 
has  been  possible  for  a  seafaring  people  to  reach  the  far- 
thest extremities  of  the  ocean  world. f  Without  going 
nearly  as  far  in  the  art  of  navigation  as  the  Polynesians, 
we  know  that  the  Negritos,  entirely  by  themselves,  have 
invented  canoes  the  nautical  qualities  of  which  astonish 

*  This  hypothesis  would  lead  us  to  extend  this  continent  over  the 
whole  Negrito  area,  and  to  consequently  attach  to  India  not  only 
the  islands  of  the  Sunda  and  Indonesian  archipelagoes — which  might 
be  reasonable — but  also  New  Guinea  and  divers  adjacent  archipela- 
goes, which  it  is  impossible  to  admit. 

f  See  Les  Polynesiens  et  leurs  Migrations.  I  have  given  in  this 
work  a  resume  of  the  principal  facts  relating  to  the  peopling  of 
Polynesia  and  a  chart  of  the  Polynesian  migrations,  completing 
that  of  Hale.  I  returned  later  to  the  subject,  and  have  given  a 
second  edition  of  the  chart  in  1877.141  I  have  just  published  a 
third,  more  complete  one,  which  shows  the  migrations  of  the 
Papuans  beside  those  of  the  Polynesians.168 


48  THE   PYGMIES. 

the  English  sailors.  Where  they  have  been  left  in  pos- 
session of  their  shores  they  have  remained  bold  fishermen. 
It  is  not  difficult  to  admit  their  migration  from  island  to 
island,  and  their  scattering  by  winds  and  tempests  in  these 
waters,  where  the  islands  are  larger,  more  numerous,  and 
nearer  to  each  other  than  in  the  Pacific. 

The  taking  possession  of  these  archipelagoes  must  have 
been  all  the  easier  for  the  Negritos,  as  they  apparently 
have  been  the  first  inhabitants.  This  conclusion  results 
from  a  quantity  of  details  given  by  travellers,  which  may 
be  generalised  into  a  fact  already  mentioned,  viz.,  that 
these  unfortunate  little  Negroes  have  been  surrounded  al- 
most everywhere  by  people  superior  to  them  either  in 
physical  strength  or  in  civilisation,  and  who  seem  to  have 
considered  it  their  task  to  exterminate  them.*  If,  in  some 
rare  cases,  and  owing  to  exceptional  circumstances,  an  in- 
ferior race  might  succeed  in  slipping  into  a  country  al- 
ready occupied  by  stronger  enemies,  and  in  maintaining 
themselves  there,  it  is  impossible  to  admit  that  this  fact 
would  be  repeated  on  a  multitude  of  points,  everywhere 
under  identical  circumstances.  In  seeing  these  Negritos 
almost  always  confined  to  the  mountains  of  the  interior  of 
islands  of  which  other  races  occupy  the  plains  and  shores, 
it  is  difficult  not  to  consider  them  as  having  been  the  first 
occupants. 

The  continent  presents  similar  facts  in  Annam  and  at 
Malacca.  We  will  not  consider  the  former  region,  regard- 
ing which  we  have  but  incomplete  information.  At  Ma- 
lacca the  greater  number  of  Negritos  are  more  or  less 
crossed.  Less  ferocious  or  more  feeble,  their  invaders 
have  crossed  with  them  ;  but  the  Negro  blood  still  shows 
itself  with  all  appearances  of  purity  in  a  great  number  of 

*  At  Borneo  the  Dyaks  chase  the  Negritos  like  wild  beasts,  and 
shoot  with  the  blowgun  at  the  children — who  take  refuge  on  trees — 
as  they  would  at  a  monkey.45 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    49 

individuals,  and  we  have  seen  that  there  are  still  little 
groups  in  existence  which  seein  to  be  exempt  from  mix- 
ture. Analogous  facts  are  also  found  in  India.  Yet  the 
crossing  here  probably  dates  further  back,  and  has  been 
accomplished  under  more  complicated  conditions. 

The  results  of  crossings  in  India  cannot  always  be 
traced  with  anything  like  the  same  regularity  which  I 
have  pointed  out  above.  With  man,  as  well  as  with 
animals,  crossing,  unregulated  and  at  haphazard,  seems 
to  have  its  caprices.  Sometimes  the  opposing  character- 
istics modify  each  other,  sometimes  they  remain  in  jux- 
taposition. Some  are  more  easily  effaced  than  others. 
Thus,  woolly  hair  often  disappears,  while  the  colour  of 
the  skin  is  little  or  not  at  all  changed.  For  Montano,  as 
well  as  for  Semper,  the  straight-haired  Negroes  of  Luzon, 
spoken  of  by  old  Spanish  authors,  are  nothing  but  crosses 
of  Ae'tas  and  Tagals,  such  as  are  seen  at  the  present  day. 
All  the  other  characters  may  present  analogous  facts. 

What  has  happened  at  Luzon  must  have  happened 
more  markedly  in  India,  where  the  crossing  is  more  an- 
cient, and  has  been  carried  on  on  a  greater  scale  and  be- 
tween more  numerous  and  diverse  ethnological  elements. 
There,  also,  the  woolly  hair  must  have  disappeared  in  a 
number  of  tribes,  leaving  as  the  evidence  of  the  funda- 
mental type — sometimes  on  the  whole  of  the  population, 
sometimes  on  a  more  or  less  large  number  of  individuals — 
certain  features  of  face,  the  colour  of  the  skin,  the  small 
stature,  or  the  shape  of  the  head.*  Successive  crossing 

*  The  firet  three  characteristics  are  reported  among  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  Dravidian  populations,  and  are  found  in  the  same  degree 
in  others  which  do  not  come  under  the  same  denomination,  as  they 
do  not  speak  a  language  of  that  stock.  The  lack  of  specimens  for 
study  does  not  allow  certainty  as  to  the  fourth.  It  was  shown 
above  that  the  Negrito  head  is  found  in  Bengal  among  peoples 
speaking  an  Indo-Aryan  tongue.  Mouat  has  found  everywhere  that 


50  THE   PYGMIES. 

with  different  types  and  the  varying  proportion  of  eth- 
nical elements  have  necessarily  produced  among  the 
crosses  predominance  now  of  Negrito  characteristics,  now 
of  features  derived  from  some  other  source.  Atavism  has 
never  lost  its  rights  in  the  midst  Of  this  confusion  of 
blood,  and  has  many  times  revived  ancient  types  which 
one  might  think  had  been  effaced. 

These  very  simple  considerations  account  for  all  the 
facts  reported  by  travellers.  They  explain  the  extreme 
diversity  of  characteristics  so  many  times  reported  in  one 
population,  and,  consequently,  the  contradictory  opinions 
of  authors  so  well  summarised  by  Latham  in  regard  to 
the  Eajmalis  mountaineers :  "  Some  say  their  physiog- 
nomy is  Mongolian,  others  say  it  is  African." 85 

As  concerns  mixed  populations,  everything  depends 
on  the  individuals  whom  the  observer  has  met,  as  is  so 
clearly  shown  by  photographs.  But  these  apparent  con- 
tradictions cannot  longer  mislead  us  as  to  the  general 
fact,  and  this  fact  can  be  expressed  in  a  few  words.  In 
India  and  its  dependencies  all  or  almost  all  peoples  of 
short  stature  and  black  skin  are  more  or  less  crosses  of 
Negrito ;  there  are  some  in  which  the  type  is  preserved,  or 
where,  by  force  of  atavism,  it  reappears  almost  in  a  state  of 
purity  ;  and,  lastly,  there  are  groups  which  have  remained 
pure. 

The  facts  becoming  more  numerous  and  better  estab- 
lished each  day,  lead  then  to  an  order  of  ideas  which  Lo- 
gan had  already  supported  by  serious  arguments,94'96  which 
I  think  I  have  been  one  of  the  first  to  develop,  and  to 

the  peoples  with  whom  most  of  the  Dravidians  are  connected  are 
divided  into  dolichocephales,  subdolichocephales,  and  mesatice- 
phales.  Only  some  tribes  of  Assam  and  one  Mishmi  alone  reach  to 
subbrachycephaly.121  These  facts  are  easily  explained  by  the  mul- 
tiplicity of  races  which  have  successively  crossed  with  the  primitive 
Xegro  population. 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    51 

which  Hamilton  Smith,174  Campbell,  Dalton,  Giglioli,60 
Allen,3  Flower,51  etc.,  have  more  or  less  agreed.* 

I  cannot  present  here  in  detail  all  the  facts  and  con- 
siderations which  have  led  me  to  these  general  conclu- 
sions regarding  the  past  of  the  various  Negro  races.  They 
will  be  found  in  a  book  the  first  part  of  which  has  already 
appeared.166  But  I  can  give  a  summary  of  this  mass  of 
data  in  some  propositions  formulated  from  the  standpoint 
of  modern  study. 

The  Negro  type  was  originally  characterised  in  south- 
ern Asia,  of  which,  no  doubt,  it  was  the  sole  occupant  for 
an  indefinite  period  of  time.  From  there,  the  various 
representatives  of  the  type  have  migrated  in  various  di- 
rections, and,  in  passing  some  to  the  east  and  others  to 
the  west,  have  given  rise  to  the  black  populations  of 
Melanesia  and  of  Africa.  In  particular,  India  and  Indo- 
China  have  belonged  at  first  to  the  blacks.  Invasions  or 
infiltrations  of  various  yellow  and  white  races  have  sepa- 
rated the  Negro  populations,  which  formerly  occupied  a 
continuous  area,  and,  in  mixing  with  them,  have  pro- 
foundly altered  them.  The  actual  condition  of  things 
is  the  final  result  of  straggles  and  mixtures,  of  which  the 
most  ancient  date  back  to  prehistoric  times.  The  Negrito 
subtype  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  race,  and  was  at  least 
predominant  in  India  and  Indo-China  when  the  crossing 
began. 

It  would  evidently  be  impossible  to  even  approximately 
fix  the  time  of  the  first  crossings,  but  we  can  establish 
some  of  the  more  recent  ones.  The  Malays  had  settled 
at  Luzon  before  their  conversion  to  Mohammedanism,  as 

*  It  is  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  since  I  propounded  at 
the  museum  ideas  founded  on  facts  then  known,  similar  to  those 
which  I  express  here,  and  which  have  only  been  confirmed  and  ex- 
panded since  then.142  I  gave  in  that  lesson  a  resume  of  my  course 
of  the  preceding  year. 


52  THE  PYGMIES. 

they  were  still  pagans  on  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards.  To 
all  appearances  they  must  have  arrived  there  before  the 
conquest  of  Madjapahit  by  the  Mohammedans,  which 
takes  us  back  at  least  to  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury.* 

But  this  settlement  must  have  been  quite  recent,  since 
the  first  Europeans  could  collect  traditions  according  to 
which  the  Indians  with  straight  hair — that  is,  the  Malays 
or  their  crosses, — already  masters  of  the  plain,  had  never- 
theless to  pay  a  certain  tribute  to  the  pure  blacks.162 

This  itself  shows  that  the  latter  had  been  the  first 
occupants.  It  is,  moreover,  very  probable  that  the  move- 
ment of  expansion,  determined  in  Malaysia  as  in  Arabia 
by  the  triumph  of  Islam,  must  have  been  fatal  to  our  little 
Negroes,  who  must  have  seen  themselves  encroached  upon 
in  many  islands  where,  up  to  that  time,  they  had  lived 
in  peace. 

In  India,  the  legend  of  Rama  may  suggest  some  con- 
jectures. The  history  of  the  Aryan  hero,  though  dis- 
figured by  fable,  surely  contains  a  nucleus  of  truth.  The 
account  of  the  services  which  he  receives  from  Hauouman 
is  very  simple,  if  we  see  in  this  one  and  his  monkey  people 
a  Negrito  chief  and  his  tribe.  This  interpretation  gains 
from  modern  discoveries  a  character  of  probability.  If  it 
is  well  founded,  as  one  may  believe,  it  would  result  that 
in  the  heroic  times  of  the  Aryan  conquest  the  Negritos 
still  formed  flourishing  populations,  whose  assistance  the 
newcomers  did  not  disdain,  although  regarding  them  as 
creatures  of  inferior  rank.f 

Race  pride  and  the  differences  of  religion  and  customs 

*  The  conquest  of  this  city  may  be  considered  as  marking  the  ad- 
vent of  Mohammedanism  in  Malaysia.  It  took  place  in  1478.160 

f  I  recognise,  however,  the  fact  that  the  legend  of  Hanouman 
may  be  equally  applied  to  any  of  the  Dravidian  tribes  which  had 
already  emerged  from  savagery. 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OP  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    53 

have  never  prevented  the  Europeans, — the  Anglo-Saxons 
no  more  than  others — from  crossing  with  the  lowest  of 
savages.*  The  Aryans  were  no  more  reserved.  We  see 
their  heroes  of  the  oldest  times,  the  Pandavas  themselves, 
set  the  example  of  these  unions.  Bhimasena,  after  having 
vanquished  and  killed  the  rakchasa  Hidimba,  at  first  re- 
sists the  solicitations  of  the  sister  of  this  monster,  who, 
having  become  enamoured  of  him,  shows  herself  under 
the  form  of  a  charming  female.  But  upon  the  represen- 
tations of  his  oldest  brother,  Youdhichshira,  the  King  of 
Justice,  and  with  the  assent  of  his  mother,  he  yields,  and 
spends  some  time  in  the  enchanted  dwelling  of  this  Dra- 
vidian  or  Negrito  Armida.134 

Thus  ever  since  the  heroic  times  of  the  Aryan  race  it 
has  mixed  its  blood  with  that  of  local  populations.  But 
these  mixtures  certainly  date  farther  back,  and  have  con- 
tinued ever  since.  One  well  knows  how  numerous  in- 
vasions have  been,  generally  from  the  west  or  northwest. 
The  inevitable  result  was  the  more  and  more  marked 
effacement  of  the  Negrito  type.  Thus  all  these  mixed 
races  have  arisen,  within  which  the  white,  yellow,  or 
black  type  predominates  alternately,  and  which  are  com- 
prised under  the  common  name  of  Dravidians.  But  the 
fundamental  type  persists,  nevertheless,  in  a  sometimes 
very  curious  and  significant  manner. 

The  Dravidian  races  have,  from  the  point  of  view  that 
occupies  us,  an  interest  easily  understood.  They  teach  us 
regarding  the  ancient  extension  of  the  Negritos.  We  can 
with  almost  absolute  certainty  say  that  this  race  former- 
ly occupied  all  the  territory  where  at  present  we  meet  the 
Dravidians.  Here  I  must  make  an  important  remark. 

*  Witness  the  English  and  Australian  crosses.  The  Tasmanian 
race  is  only  represented  now  by  the  half  breeds  of  the  seal  fishermen, 
and  we  know  from  Bonwick  that  there  were  often  many  children  in 
a  family. 


54:  THE  PYGMIES. 

Until  now,  only  those  groups  have  been  considered 
Dravidians  who  speak  one  of  those  languages  to  which 
linguists  have  given  the  name  Dravidian,  and  the  charac- 
teristic feature  of  which  seems  to  be  that  they  are  inti- 
mately related  to  the  Australian  idioms.  Physical  char- 
acteristics were  not  taken  into  account.  Hence  all  tribes 
speaking  an  Aryan  or  Iranian  language  have  not  been 
considered  as  belonging  to  the  ensemble  of  peoples  occu- 
pying us,  and,  consequently,  as  not  being  related  to  the 
Negritos.  This  exclusively  linguistic  point  of  view  could 
only  lead  to  serious  ethnological  errors. 

For  example,  Jauts,  who  are  in  the  opinion  of  Elphin- 
stone,  the  first  possessors  of  the  soil,  are,  according  to  his 
description,  small,  black,  and  ugly.  Nor  are  their  women 
any  more  beautiful.48 

But  this  short  characterisation  gives  all  the  essential 
traits  attributed  by  different  travellers  to  some  tribes 
which  have  been  considered  as  typically  Dravidian. 
Bishop  Heber  particularly  speaks  of  the  Bhils  in  this 
same  manner.76 

Elphinstone's  Jauts  then  are  by  their  physical  charac- 
teristics related  to  all  these  populations,  in  the  composi- 
tion of  which  the  Negrito  element  has  played  a  more  or 
less  important  part.  In  the  Punjab  they  are  considered 
as  the  oldest  inhabitants  of  the  country,  just  as  in  cen- 
tral India  the  Dravidians  are  universally  considered  the 
predecessors  of  the  Aryans.  But  the  Jauts  do  not  speak 
Dravidian  ;  their  language  is  related  to  the  Sanscrit  stock, 
and  Prichard  and  the  linguists  in  general  have  made 
them  Hindus.  The  physical  characteristics,  much  less 
easily  modified  than  language,  religion,  or  customs,  have 
for  all  anthropologists  preponderating  value,  and  I  can 
only  see  in  the  black  aborigines  of  the  Punjab  representa- 
tives of  the  race  which  farther  south  has  likewise  pre- 
ceded the  others,  and  shows  the  same  characteristics. 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OP  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    55 

The  Jauts  of  Elphinstone  especially  inhabit  the  lower 
parts  of  the  Punjab,  and  consequently  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  Indus.  The  Dravidian  type,  then,  still  extends  at 
least  as  far  as  the  neighbourhood  of  the  eastern  bank  of  that 
river.  But  we  must  go  one  step  farther,  and  carry  the 
habitation  of  Dravidians  to  the  western  bank  of  the  river. 

Very  high  up  the  Indus,  and  from  the  point  where  the 
river  makes  a  bend  towards  the  South,  is  the  Daman. 
This  province  lies  between  the  Sinde,  or  upper  Indus,  the 
Solirnan  Mountains  and  the  Salees  Mountains,  and  the 
Indus  itself.  It  is,  then,  entirely  on  the  right  bank.  One  of 
its  subdivisions,  the  Mackelwand,  occupies  the  whole  plain 
along  the  river.  There  lives  a  population  which  Elphin- 
stone considers  a  mixture  of  Belutchis  and  Jats.  But  at 
the  same  time  he  informs  us  that  the  inhabitants  along 
the  banks  of  the  Indus  are  "people  of  dark  complexion, 
and  lean  and  meagre  form." 

We  have  here  in  four  words  the  characteristics  of  the 
Jauts  of  the  Punjab.  But  the  true  Belutchis  are  large 
and  well  made.  So  are  the  Jats.110 

Neither  of  them  are  nearly  black,  or  the  travellers,  and 
especially  Rousselet,  would  have  spoken  of  it.  They  can- 
not, therefore,  have  given  rise  to  the  population  of  Mack- 
elwand. This  is  evidently  only  a  remnant  of  the  black 
peoples  of  Ctesias,  a  branch  of  the  Jauts  of  Elphinstone, 
who  have  crossed  the  river.  They  are  Dravidians. 

At  the  other  extremity  of  the  Indus,  and  always  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  river,  we  meet  with  entirely  different 
facts,  but  facts  which  lead,  nevertheless,  to  conclusions 
analogous  to  the  preceding.  They  are  supplied  by  the 
Brahouis,  of  whom  I  have  already  spoken,  but  to  whom  it 
may  be  useful  to  return. 

The  Brahouis  live  in  Beluchistan,  side  by  side  with 
the  Belutchis.  While  the  latter  have  an  aquiline  nose, 
deep-set  eyes,  and  a  clear  complexion,  the  former  have  a 


56  THE   PYGMIES. 

very  brown  skin,  flat  nose,  and  flat  figure,  but  large,  well- 
formed  eyes,  which  denote  a  very  mixed  origin.  These  lat- 
ter features,  which  so  plainly  recall  various  Dravidian  types, 
belong  essentially  to  the  mountain  Brahouis,  who  are,  be- 
sides, shorter  than  the  Belutchis  proper.  Let  us  add,  above 
all,  that  the  Belutchis  and  the  Brahouis  differ  in  language 
as  much  as  in  their  external  appearance.  The  former 
speak  an  Iranian  language ;  the  latter,  a  language  of  which 
Maury  tells  us  that "  it  is  related  to  the  Dravidian  tongues, 
and  forms  a  transition  between  them  and  the  Iranian  lan- 
guages." 

It  is  evidently  impossible  to  admit  that  a  Dravidian 
language  should  penetrate  from  east  to  west  into  an  Iran- 
ian or  Turanian  population,  which  had  remained  pure,  and 
that  it  should  have  been  adopted  by  them.  No  more  can 
it  be  supposed  that  Dravidians  should  have  come  to  settle, 
by  force  or  otherwise,  in  the  midst  of  these  races,  whom 
we  everywhere  see  to  be  their  superiors  and  to  push  them 
back  more  and  more.  It  must  be  admitted,  then,  that 
the  Iranian  Belutchis,  in  coming  into  these  regions,  found 
there  Dravidians,  Brahouis  who,  more  or  less  altered  and 
elevated  by  crossing,  still  in  part  preserve  their  physical 
characters  and  a  characteristic  language.  This  is,  more- 
over, shown  by  the  traditions  of  the  two  races.  The  Bra- 
houis consider  themselves  aborigines ;  the  Belutchis  admit 
that  they  are  of  foreign  origin.85 

The  Brahouis  are  very  likely  the  most  western  branch 
of  those  Koles,  Kholes,  Coles,  or  Coolees  which  are  al- 
ready quite  numerous  beyond  the  Indus  delta,  still  more 
so  in  Guzerat,  and  tribes  of  whom  extend  more  or  less 
scattered  across  almost  all  central  India  into  Behur  and 
to  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  Vindhya  Mountains.163 
Placed  thus,  under  such  diverse  conditions,  these  tribes 
have  either  preserved  their  primitive  characteristics  or  else 
have  changed  in  varying  degrees.  The  eastern  Kholes, 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN  PYGMIES.    57 

withdrawn  to  the  mountain  passes  of  Nerbuda  or  on  to 
high  plateaus,  are  at  times  inferior  to  the  Bhils,  and  re- 
semble some  Dravidian  groups.  The  western  Kholes,  in- 
habiting open  countries,  in  contact  with  the  conquering 
races,  have  been  strongly  influenced  by  them.  "  One  can 
find  among  them,"  says  M.  Eousselet,  "  a  series  of  types 
from  the  pure  Bhils  to  the  pure  Eajpoot."  What  has 
happened  in  Eajpootana  must  still  more  have  happened 
in  Beluchistan,  where  the  Dravidian  population,  even 
more  exposed  to  invasions,  could  not  recruit  itself  from 
tribes  which  had  remained  more  or  less  protected  against 
the  new  mixtures. 

Thus  the  black  races  of  India  have  passed  the  Indus. 
But  how  far  did  they  extend  west  of  that  river?  It  is  a 
question  difficult  to  answer. 

Hamilton  Smith  admits  that  true  Negroes  have  ex- 
isted within  historic  times,  or  still  exist  in  Laristan,  in 
Mekran,  in  Persia  proper,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Hel- 
mund,  which  rises  in  the  mountains  of  Cabul  and  empties 
into  Lake  Zerrah.174  Elphinstone  has  somewhere  said 
that  there  are  Negroes  along  the  borders  of  this  lake. 

We  can  easily  admit  that  the  Dravidian  tribes  of  the 
province  of  Lous  formerly  extended  farther  west  along  the 
seashore.  But  did  they  reach  the  Persian  Gulf  ?  Could 
the  existence  of  groups  more  or  less  like  the  Negro  in  Lar- 
istan not  be  easily  explained  by  the  importation  of  Afri- 
can Negroes  as  slaves  ?  The  examination  of  some  skulls 
will  remove  all  uncertainty. 

What  travellers  report  in  regard  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  shores  of  Lake  Zerrah  would  not,  it  seems  to  me,  be 
interpreted  in  that  manner.  They  represent,  we  are  told, 
the  first  inhabitants  of  the  country,  and  differ  from  the 
other  inhabitants  of  Seistan  in  features  as  well  as  in 
habits.  They  are  really  black  and  ugly.*  None  of  the 

*  They  are  big,  black,  and  ill-featured  (Latham). 


58  THE  PYGMIES. 

races  from  the  west  or  northwest  who  have  invaded  Af- 
ghanistan could  have  brought  in  either  these  features  or 
this  complexion.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  quite  easy  to  un- 
derstand that  Dravidian  tribes  from  the  upper  Indus 
might  have  gone  up  the  Cabul  River  and  crossed  the 
barrier  which  separates  it  from  the  sources  of  the  Hel- 
mund,  and  by  following  the  course  of  the  latter  have  ar- 
rived at  the  lake. 

The  facts  just  indicated  permit  us  to  solve  the  ethno- 
logical problem  which  an  oft-quoted  passage  of  Herodotus 
has  long  since  propounded.  It  is  known  that  in  enumer- 
ating the  different  peoples  which  figured  in  the  army  of 
Xerxes,  the  ancient  historian  expresses  himself  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner : 

"  The  Eastern  Ethiopians  (for  there  were  two  kinds  of 
Ethiopians  in  this  expedition)  served  with  the  Indians. 
They  resemble  the  other  Ethiopians,  and  only  differ  from 
them  in  their  language  and  their  hair.  The  Oriental 
Ethiopians  have,  in  fact,  straight  hair,  while  those  of 
Libya  have  more  crinkly  hair  than  any  other  men."* 

Here  again  we  find  the  Negroes  with  straight  hair  of 
Luzon.  The  father  of  history  expresses  himself  exactly 
as  P.  Bernardo  de  la  Fuente.  Only  when  India  or  the 
adjacent  countries  are  spoken  of  we  can  affirm,  taking 
into  account  all  known  facts,  including  the  observations 
of  Semper  and  Montano,  that  it  must  be  a  Dravidian  pop- 
ulation that  is  considered.  The  Ethiopians  of  whom  He- 
rodotus speaks  were  probably  the  Jauts  of  Elphinstone, 
less  altered  than  they  are  to-day,  and  having  preserved  in- 
tact the  fundamental  colour  of  the  type. 

*  Herodotus,  liv.  vii,  §  70. 


CHAPTER  III. 

PHYSICAL   CHARACTERS   OF   THE    EASTERN    PYGMIES. 

Negritos  and  Negrito-Papuans :  geographical  limits  of  these  two 
secondary  types. — Characters  of  the  Negrito-Papuans. — Ae'tas. 
— Mincopies. — Stature  of  different  Negrito  populations. — Com- 
parison of  statures  of  the  smallest  human  races. — Influence  of 
crossing. — Mincopies  taken  as  a  type. — Secondary  modifica- 
tions.— Proportions  of  body  and  limbs. — Ae'tas. — Sakaies. — 
Hair. — Colour. — Skeleton. — Skull. — Muscular  strength. — Agil- 
ity.— Acuteness  of  the  senses. — Duration  of  life. — Diseases. — 
Recent  introduction  of  consumption  into  the  Andaman  Islands. 
— Rapid  diminution  of  the  population. —  Approaching  extinc- 
tion of  the  Mincopies. 

A  RACE  spread  over  so  vast  a  space  as  that  spoken  of 
in  the  preceding  chapter  could  not  remain  everywhere 
identical.  I  have  stated  above  how  I  have  been  led  to 
refer  all  the  small  Oriental  Negroes  to  two  secondary 
types — the  Negritos  proper  and  the  Negrito-Papuans. 

It  is  not  easy  to  determine  the  respective  limits  of 
these  two  groups.  It  is  possible  that  there  are  none  in 
reality,  and  that  they  mutually  penetrate  and  give  rise  to 
peoples  with  mixed  characteristics.  At  all  events,  we 
know  that  the  Andaman  and  Philippine  Islands,  and,  ac- 
cording to  the  recent  researches  of  Montano,  Mindanao  also, 
belong  to  the  Negritos.  The  Negritos  of  the  continent 
seem  to  belong  to  the  same  type.  New  Guinea  appears  to 
be  the  centre  of  population  of  the  Negrito- Papuans,167 
who,  according  to  Earl,  extend  as  far  as  Gilolo  in  the 

6  59 


.60  THE   PYGMIES. 

Moluccas.  Hamy  has  traced  the  pure  Negrito  type  as  far 
as  Timor,69  and  the  individual  seen  by  d'Albertis  at  Epa 
seems  also  to  have  had  all  the  exterior  characteristics  of 
the  Negrito  proper,  among  others  the  perfectly  black  skin 
and  the  absence  of  prognathism.2  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Hindu  Negritos  of  Amarkantak  are,  as  it  seems,  only  dark 
brown.164  Altogether,  we  know  little  enough  about  the 
Negrito-Papuans.  This  ignorance  is  largely  due  to  the 
fact  that  they  have  been  and  still  are  too  often  confounded 
with  the  Papuans.  Both  Wallace  and  Earl  have  com- 
mitted this  error.155  Many  more  recent  travellers  have 
made  the  same  mistake.  Meyer,  who  has  tarried  in  New 
Guinea  and  brought  back  a  magnificent  collection  of 
skulls,  has  adopted  the  opinion  of  Wallace,  and  opposed 
the  idea  that  the  Negrito  type  is  represented  in  this  island 
by  two  distinct  types.* 

Beccari  himself,  although  struck  with  the  resemblance 
of  certain  New  Guineans  to  the  Ae'tas,  does  not  dwell  on 
this  question,14  and  the  few  words  quoted  by  Giglioli60 
from  a  letter  of  this  traveller  do  not  teach  us  much  more. 
D'Albertis,  while  maintaining  great  reserve,  which  he  jus- 
tifies by  saying  that  he  does  not  know  the  Negrito  type,  at 
least  understood  that  he  had  under  his  eyes  at  Epa  an  in- 
dividual entirely  different  from  any  he  had  seen  so  far, 
and  that  the  question  deserved  to  be  studied.  Such  was 
also  the  opinion  of  Lawes  in  regard  to  the  mountain  tribes 
of  Port  Moresby.90 

The  most  complete  description  of  the  Negrito- Papuans 
which  has  yet  been  published  we  certainly  owe  to  Craw- 
furd.  Notice  how  this  author  expresses  himself :  "  I  do 
not  think  I  have  seen  any  whose  stature  exceeded  five 

*  Meyer.114' m  Making  use  of  the  same  numbers  published  by  the 
German  traveller,  M.  Hamy,  in  his  monograph  on  the  Papuans,  pub- 
lished in  our  Crania  Ethnica,  has  shown  that  Meyer  had  brought 
new  proofs  to  the  support  of  the  very  idea  opposed  by  him. 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS.  61 

feet  (1*25)*  Moreover,  their  forms  are  lean  and  poor ; 
their  skin,  instead  of  being  dark  black,  like  that  of  the 
Africans,  is  soot  colour."  From  Everard  Home  he  quotes : 
"  The  skin  of  the  Papuan  is  lighter  than  that  of  the  Negro. 
His  hair  is  woolly,  and  grows  in  little  tufts ;  each  hair 
forms  an  entangled  spiral.  The  forehead  is  higher  than 
that  of  the  Negro,  the  nose  is  more  projecting,  the  upper 
lip  longer  and  more  prominent,  and  the  lower  lip  is 
thrown  forward  in  such  a  way  that  the  chin  disappears 
and  the  mouth  is  the  lowest  part  of  the  face.  The  but- 
tocks are  much  lower  than  those  of  the  Negro,  whence 
results  a  very  striking  distinctive  feature ;  but  the  calf  is 
also  high,  as  in  the  African."  33 

To  the  support  of  this  description  Crawfurd  borrows 
from  Baffles  the  drawing  of  the  young  Papuan  (Negrito- 
Papuan)  of  New  Guinea,  which  I  have  reproduced  above 
(Fig.  14). f  To  be  sure,  the  subject  is  only  a  child  of  ten 
years,  and  its  youthfulness  may  call  forth  criticism.  But 
we  must  not  forget  that  the  physical  development  of  these 
races  is  completed  at  an  earlier  period  than  among  Euro- 
pean populations.  This  single  thought  will  make  us  under- 
stand how  Earl,  so  good  a  judge  in  such  matters,  could 
affirm  the  resemblance  of  this  portrait  to  adults  whom  he 
saw.  He  tells  us  that  on  one  of  his  trips  he  had  as  a  com- 
panion a  Negro  from  Gilolo,  who  had  all  the  features  of 
Raffles  and  Crawfurd's  Papuan.  He  thus  testifies  to  the 
accuracy  of  the  English  writers,  as  well  as  to  the  extension 
of  this  type  in  the  Indian  archipelagoes. 

*  Beccari  attributes  to  the  small  New  Guineans,  whom  he  calls 
Alfourous,  a  stature  of  1™61  to  1™63.  According  to  Leon  Laglaise, 
the  Karons  never  exceed  1™60.8S  This  tribe  may,  however,  have 
gained  in  size  by  crossing. 

f  In  this  plate  the  author  has  placed  side  by  side  his  young  Pap- 
uan (Negrito-Papuan)  and  a  native  of  Bali,  taken  as  a  Malay  type. 
The  figure  of  the  Negrito  has  been  reproduced  in  the  History  of  Java, 
by  Raffles  and  Crawfurd. 


62  THE  PYGMIES. 

We  see  that  this  type  does  not  shine  by  beauty  of 
features ;  and  when  we  observe  it  in  its  native  country, 
the  proportions  of  its  body  harmonise  only  too  well  with 
its  face.  But  Earl  tells  us  further  that  these  Papuans, 
transported  as  slaves  to  the  Malay  Islands,  and  placed  in 
comfortable  circumstances,  such  as  they  have  never  known, 
gain  rapidly.  Their  scrawny  limbs  become  more  regular, 
rounder,  and  as  if  polished,  and  their  vivacity  and  grace 
of  movement  compensate  for  their  ugly  faces. 

The  lamentable  confusion  to  which  I  have  just  called 
attention  is  the  reason  why  the  differential  features  which 
might  distinguish  the  Negrito-Papuan  from  the  true 
Papuan  in  regard  to  social  state,  customs,  beliefs,  and 
industries  have  not  been  sought.  Wallace  and  Earl  go 
so  far  as  to  say  that,  great  or  little,  the  Papuans  have  only 
one  mode  of  life.  It  has  always  seemed  to  me  a  little  dif- 
ficult to  admit  this  assertion,  and  the  information  which 
begins  to  come  to  us  more  and  more  justifies  my  doubts. 
Yet,  in  the  actual  state  of  our  knowledge,  it  would  be  very 
difficult  for  us  to  define  with  certainty  what  belongs  to 
each  of  these  two  races,  the  more  so  as  they  surely  must 
have  crossed  often  and  given  rise  to  mixed  tribes.* 

*  This  seems  to  be  the  case  with  the  tribes  visited  by  Coinrie,  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Astrolabe  Bay.  Of  fourteen  skulls  collected, 
only  one  was  subbrachycephalic ;  the  others  were  dolichocephalic. 
But  the  average  stature  of  twenty  individuals  measured  was  only 
1™553,  and  one  measurement  was  as  low  as  1™321.  These  dwarfs 
can  neither  be  Papuans  nor  crosses  of  Polynesians.  Only  Negrito 
blood  could  have  decreased  the  stature  to  such  a  degree.  Dolicho- 
cephaly  connected  with  such  small  stature  is  an  example  of  that 
juxtaposition  of  characteristics  to  which  I  have  often  called  atten- 
tion in  a  general  way,  and  which  Montano  has  confirmed  among  the 
half  breeds  of  Negritos,  as  I  shall  state  further  on.81  Among  the 
works  to  be  consulted  on  all  of  these  questions,  I  would  call  atten- 
tion particularly  to  two  memoirs  of  Mantegazza.108> 106  In  the  first 
of  these  memoirs  Mantegazza  still  supported  the  idea  of  the  ethno- 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS.  63 

The  Negritos  proper  we  know  much  better  than  the 
Negrito-Papuans.  Since  the  middle  ages  the  Arabs,  and 
no  doubt  the  Chinese  before  them,  knew  that  the  Anda- 
man Islands  were  inhabited  by  black  men  with  crinkly 
hair.161  On  their  arrival  at  the  Philippine  Islands  the 
Spaniards  found  there  the  Ae'tas,  whom  at  present  we 
know  to  be  of  the  same  race  as  the  Mincopies.*  Since 
that  time,  as  the  Malay  Islands  and  the  two  Indian  penin- 
sulas have  become  better  known,  and  the  points  which 
these  little  Negroes  inhabit  have  been  seen  to  multiply 
and  extend  themselves,  more  accurate  information  in  re- 
gard to  them  has  been  gathered,  and  to-day  it  is  possible 
to  gain  a  general  idea  of  the  race,  as  well  as  of  the  varia- 
tions which  its  tribes  the  most  distant  from  each  other 
present. 

Let  us  state,  first,  that  these  variations  are  very  slight 
in  the  character  which  interests  us  most,  on  account  of 
the  special  consideration  which  has  led  us  to  these  studies. 
Everywhere  the  stature  of  the  Negritos  is  so  reduced  as 


graphic  unity  of  all  New  Guinean  Negroes.  He  has  since  been  con- 
verted to  the  duality  of  the  races  merely  by  the  sight  of  the  cranio- 
logical  collection  brought  back  by  D'Albertis,  and  in  a  note  ad- 
dressed to  the  Societe  d'Anthropologie  de  Paris  announces  his  new 
convictions.104 

*  This  name,  given  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Andaman  Islands, 
has  given  occasion  for  many  hypotheses.  In  my  first  publications 
I  thought  to  find  its  origin  in  the  vocabulary  collected  by  Cole- 
brooke.  This  traveller  asserts  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  islands 
called  their  country  Mincopy.  It  seemed  to  me  evident  that  from 
the  islands  the  name  had  passed  to  the  inhabitants.80  But  Man 
asserts  that  this  word  does  not  exist  in  any  of  the  dialects  spoken 
on  the  islands.  He  tells  us  that  the  only  utterances  the  sounds  of 
which  resemble  that  of  the  generally  adopted  name  are  Mmin  kapi 
(which  he  translates  by  stand  here)  and  min  kalch  (come  here).  The 
natives  often  use  the  latter  words ;  the  Europeans  might  have 
adopted  them  to  designate  those  who  used  them.101 


THE  PYGMIES. 


to  place  them  among  the  smallest  human  races.  The 
unanimous  testimony  of  various  travellers  can  leave  no 
doubt  upon  this  point.  It  has,  however,  usually  been 
vague  and  general  in  expression.  But  we  have  now  accu- 
rate measurements  in  sufficient  number  from  the  three 
principal  stations  of  the  race,  viz.,  Luzon,  the  Andaman 
Islands,  and  the  peninsula  of  Malacca. 

Two  French  travellers — Marche  and  Montano* — have 
visited  Luzon  and  measured  the  native  Ae'tas ;  the  former 
at  Binangonan  de  Lampon  on  the  Pacific  coast,  the  latter 
in  the  Sierra  de  Mariveles. 


Maximum, 
metre. 

Minimum, 
metre. 

Average, 
metre. 

( 

7  men  

1-472 

1-354 

1-397 

Marche    « 

3  women  

1-37(5 

1-310 

1-336 

18  men  

1-575 

1-425 

1-485 

Montano  •< 

12  women  

1-485 

1-350 

1-431 

These  figures  seem  to  indicate  that  the  mountain  pop- 
ulation is,  on  the  average,  a  little  taller  than  that  of  the 

*  Marche  and  Montano  received  from  the  Secretary  of  Public 
Instruction  two  scientific  missions  for  the  Philippine  Islands.  Both 
of  them  have  acquitted  themselves  in  a  remarkable  manner.  Marche 
has  limited  his  explorations  to  Luzon.  The  collection  which  he 
brought  back  is  of  great  zoological  and  anthropological  interest. 
What  has  been  exhibited  of  it  in  the  rooms  of  the  Geographical 
Society  has  attracted  great  attention  by  the  variety  of  its  objects 
and  by  the  ethnographical  importance  of  several  among  them. 

Montano,  after  having  stayed  for  some  time  about  Manilla,  went 
to  Mindanao,  where  he  explored  some  of  the  least  known  regions. 
He  also  has  brought  back  collections  interesting  from  various  points 
of  view.  Among  other  things,  he  sent  to  the  Societe  de  Geographic 
a  mass  of  observations,  notes,  itineraries,  and  charts  which  have  won 
for  him  the  Logerot  prize  (a  gold  medal),  awarded  to  him  at  the 
public  meeting  of  April  28,  1882,  in  consequence  of  a  report  made 
by  Hamy. 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS. 


65 


coast.  But  perhaps  the  difference  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
Montauo,  having  been  able  to  measure  a  greater  number, 
has  come  nearer  the  truth.*  However  that  may  be,  it  can 
be  seen  that  the  general  average  of  the  Philippine  Aetas, 
men  and  women,  is  about  1T413. 

Let  us  now  pass  to  the  other  end  of  the  maritime  area 
of  the  Negritos. 

When  I  published  my  first  studies  on  the  Mincopies 
there  had  been  only  five  measurements  taken  of  these 
islanders,  the  maximum  of  which  was  1™480,  the  mini- 
mum 1?370,  and  the  average  1™436.  Since  then  Flower 
has  tried  to  determine  the  stature  of  the  Mincopies 
from  an  examination  of  nineteen  skeletons  of  men  and 
women.51'53 

The  results  have  been  confirmed  in  a  remarkable  man- 
ner by  direct  measurements  taken  by  Brander  upon  fif- 
teen men  and  as  many  women.62'17  Finally,  Man  has 
published  detailed  measurements  taken  upon  forty-eight 
men  and  forty-one  women.101 

The  following  are  the  figures  obtained  by  these  two 
methods : 


Maximum, 
metre. 

Minimum, 
metre. 

Average, 
metre. 

men  

1-600 

1-385 

1-448 

Flower    • 

women  

1-481 

1-302 

1-375 

15  men  

1-562 

1-408 

1-476 

Brander  < 

15  women  

1-441 

1-308 

1-366 

i48  men  

1-598 

1-367 

1-484 

,r 

Man 

41  women  

1-496 

1-343 

1-397 

One  sees  that  the  difference  is  slight.    In  the  means,  it 
rises  only  to  0™036  for  the  men  and  0™031  for  the  women. 

*In  a  note  which  he  kindly  gave  me,  Montano  remarks  that 
among  the  eighteen  men  which  he  measured  only  five  surpassed 


66  THE  PYGMIES. 

Besides,  in  the  maxima  and  the  minima  the  extreme  num- 
bers mingle  with  each  other.  They  relate,  then,  to  a  real 
difference  of  the  statures,  and  not  to  the  inductive  method 
followed  by  one  of  the  authors.  Nearly  the  same  value 
may  be  placed,  then,  on  the  figures  of  Flower,  Brander, 
and  Man.* 

If  we  leave  the  sex  out  of  consideration  and  calculate 
the  general  average,  we  find  that  the  stature  of  1°358 
of  the  Andamans,  taken  all  together,  exceeds  that  of  the 
Ae'tas  only  by  0™055. 

The  first  accurate  information  relative  to  the  stature 
of  the  Negritos  of  the  peninsula  of  Malacca  was  given 
by  Major  Macines  and  reproduced  by  Crawfurd.f  Much 
more  recently  the  celebrated  Russian  traveller  Micluko- 
Maclay  has  published  a  work  on  these  peoples  which  I 
regret  knowing  only  through  the  analysis  which  Giglioli 
has  given  of  it.61' m  Finally,  Marche  and  Montano  have 
collected  new  measurements,  the  more  interesting  as  these 
travellers  took  pains  to  give  the  names  of  the  tribes  which 
furnished  them.J 

The  following  table  represents  all  but  the  observation 
of  Macines,  which,  referring  only  to  one  individual,  has 
now  lost  its  former  importance 

According  to  these  figures,  the  general  average  stature 
of  these  tribes  would  be  1™507 — 0?094  above  that  of  the 
Aetas  and  0™149  above  that  of  the  Mincopies.  The  latter 
are  the  smallest  of  the  Negritos. 

*  The  English  anatomist  has  not  given  the  number  of  skeletons 
for  each  sex. 

f  Crawfurd.33  The  stature  assigned  by  Macines  to  the  only  indi- 
vidual measured  by  him  is  1™445. 

|  Marche  has  not,  as  far  as  I  know,  published  the  figures  which 
he  kindly  gave  me.  Those  collected  by  Montano  have  appeared  in 
a  memoir.121 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS. 


67 


Maximum, 
metre. 

Minimum, 
metre. 

Average, 
metre. 

•»»•!>     HI     i      \  Men  *.  . 

1-620 

1-460 

1-540 

Micluko-Maclay|Wome-u-    ;;;;; 

1-480 

1-400 

1-440 

Marche  —  10  Sakaies  f  

1-705 

1-462 

1-584 

(12  Manthras  

1-580 

1-330 

1-461 

8  Knabouis  .  . 

1-578 

1-455 

1-517 

2Udais  

1-545 

l-b90 

1  467 

2  Jakuns  

1-550 

1-525 

1-537 

It  is  interesting  to  compare,  in  regard  to  their  statures, 
the  different  human  races  who  merit  the  name  of  dwarfs. 
The  Laplanders  have  long  been  considered  the  smallest 
of  men,  but  Capel  Brooke,  who  stayed  among  them  for  a 
long  time  and  measured  several  of  them,  ascribes  to  them 
a  mean  stature  of  1™550 — greater,  as  one  sees,  than  that 
of  the  Negritos.20' 2l  On  the  contrary,  that  of  the  Bush- 
men measured  by  Barrow  descends  to  1T370  among  the 
men  and  to  1°220  among  the  women,  thus  being  inferior 
to  that  of  the  Mincopies.  Let  us  add  that  this  traveller 
measured  one  woman,  the  mother  of  several  children,  who 
was  only  1™140  in  height. 

It  can  be  seen  that  in  regard  to  stature  the  three  races 
spoken  of  form  a  scale  in  the  following  order :  Bushmen, 
Negritos,  Laplanders;  but  perhaps  the  Negrillos  of  the 
Congo  are  still  smaller  than  the  Bushmen.  Dr.  Wolff, 

*  The  analysis  of  Giglioli  gives  neither  the  number  of  individ- 
uals nor  their  sources.  The  means  are  not  taken,  as  before,  from  the 
entirety  of  the  observations,  which  I  do  not  know.  They  only  express 
the  numbers  intermediate  between  the  extremes. 

f  The  observations  of  M.  Marche  were  collected  at  Nogen-Bara, 
in  the  province  of  Perak.  They  refer  only  to  adult,  men. 

i  I  have  combined  in  this  table  the  measures  taken  upon  both 
sexes.  Montano  has  published  another,  in  which  the  figures  of  men 
and  women  are  given  separately  as  regards  the  Manthras  and  Kna- 
bouis. Of  the  Udais,  he  measured  only  one  woman  and  none  of  the 
Jakuns.120 


#8  THE  PYGMIES. 

who  has  just  rediscovered  them  under  the  name  of  Satouas 
in  the  country  of  the  Bahoubas,  asserts  that  none  of  these 
dwarfs  exceed  I'MOO,  and  gives  as  their  average  height 
only  1-300.68 

In  the  study  of  these  little  peoples  we  must  always  take 
into  account  the  influence  of  crossing.  One  of  the  pho- 
tographs, which  I  owe  to  M.  de  la  Croix,  is  instructive  in 
this  respect.*  It  represents  seven  Sakaies,  standing. 
Three  of  them  have  straight  hair,  while  that  of  the  others 
is  more  or  less  woolly.  But  the  latter  are  much  smaller 
than  the  former  ;  the  difference  between  the  two  extremes 
is  nearly  one  tenth.  This  teaches  us  that  the  Negrito 
type  has  been  altered  in  this  tribe  by  mixture  with  an- 
other ethnic  element  with  a  much  greater  stature. 

This  fact,  which  can  be  seen  at  a  glance,  explains  the 
difference  which  Marche  and  Montano  have  found  between 
the  maximum  and  minimum  stature  of  the  tribes  just 
mentioned  and  among  the  Manthras.  This  difference  is 
0™243  among  the  first,  0™250  among  the  second.  Nothing 
like  it  is  seen  among  the  Aetas  and  Mincopies,  who  have 
remained  pure,  or  nearly  pure.  Here  the  same  difference 
only  reaches  0?117, 0?118,  0*?150, 0?133,  and  0?154,  accord- 
ing to  measurements  taken  upon  living  subjects. 

Finally,  in  all  these  tribes,  insular  or  continental,  the 
minima  are  much  the  same,  and  the  smallest  stature  has 
even  been  met  with  among  the  Manthras.  The  difference 
between  these  and  the  Aetas,  measured  by  the  French 
travellers,  and  the  Mincopies,  measured  by  Brander  and 
Man,  is  only  24,  95,  67,  and  78  millimetres. 

The  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  all  these  facts  is,  evi- 
dently, that  the  primitive  Negritos  at  Malacca  were  no 
taller  than  the  Aetas  and  the  Mincopies. f 

*The  two  photographs  which  I  have  from  this  traveller  were 
taken  by  M.  de  Saint-Pol  Lias,  whose  companion  he  was. 

f  In  order  to  have  more  precise  terms  for  comparison,  I  did  not 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS.  69 

Our  knowledge  in  regard  to  the  Negritos  of  India  is 
much  more  limited.  Here  crossing  has  caused  the 
primitive  stock  to  disappear  over  such  large  areas  that 
many  savants  have,  until  lately,  denied  the  existence  of 
true  Negroes  in  this  country.  The  observations  of  several 
English  travellers,*  and  those  of  Eousselet,164  should  have 
removed  our  last  doubts.  They  teach  us  that  some  rare 
representatives  of  this  primitive  type  still  exist  in  a  state 
of  purity,  and  even  form  entire  tribes,  but  only  in  the 
most  inaccessible  and  unwholesome  places.  Unfortu- 
nately, the  information  gathered  in  regard  to  them  is  very 
little.  The  individual  interviewed  by  our  countryman, 
and  whose  portrait  he  brought  back,  ran  away  during  the 
night,  terrified  by  the  commencement  of  the  study  of 
which  he  was  the  object.  The  English  observers,  who 
have  been  able  to  examine  them  more  at  leisure,  have  only 
brought  back  a  few  details.  Sometimes  they  even  say 
nothing  of  the  hair,  and  the  plates  only  give  us  informa- 
tion in  regard  to  it. 

Rousselet,  on  the  contrary,  has  not  failed  to  call  at- 
tention to  the  woolly  curls  which  partly  hid  the  forehead 
of  his  Bandar-lokh.f  This  character,  the  most  important 
of  all  when  we  consider  the  Negro  race,  testifies  to  the 

take  into  consideration  the  measures  calculated  by  Flower,  the 
women  measured  by  various  observers,  nor  the  Udais  and  Jakuns, 
of  whom  Montano  measured  only  two  individuals. 

*  I  will  mention  particularly  the  works  of  Justice  Campbell,98 
Dalton,38  Fryer,54  etc.  Among  the  plates  in  these  works  reproduc- 
ing photographs,  are  several  which  represent  individuals  whose  Ne- 
grito characteristics  are  striking  at  a  glance. 

f  Literally,  man  ape.  This  is  the  name  which  the  neighbouring 
tribes  give  to  the  Negritos.  They  also  call  them  Djangal,  or  men  of 
the  jungles — a  term  which  they  apply  to  all  peoples  more  savage 
than  themselves.  Finally,  the  village  visited  by  the  English  officer 
belonged  to  the  Puttouas,  or  leaf  people.  They  are  so  called  by  the 
more  or  less  civilised  Indians  from  the  fact  that  their  women  use 


70  THE  PYGMIES. 

purity  of  blood  of  the  individual,  even  though  the  skin  was 
a  reddish  black.* 

The  stature  of  this  individual,  says  Rousselet,  hardly 
reached  1™500.  The  Puttouas,  measured  by  an  English 
officer,  attained  ITS 70,  but  their  women  were  only  1*291. 

According  to  Dalton,  the  stature  of  the  Jouangs  with 
black  skin  and  curly  hair  is  P?525  among  the  men,  and 
1™416  among  the  women  ;  the  maximum  with  the  Oraons 
is  I'fSTO  ;  it  falls  to  1T525  among  the  Bhuihers,  who  in 
the  entirety  of  their  characteristics  reminded  him  of  the 
Andamans.  This  last  figure  recurs  often  in  the  descrip- 
tions of  other  more  strongly  crossed  tribes.  The  average 
of  all  these  numbers  is  1T488  at  the  most.  One  sees,  then, 
that  this  ensemble  of  populations  takes  us  back  to  the  same 
figures  as  the  preceding  groups. 

The  differences  in  height,  which  can  be  expressed  in 
figures,  can  be  made  plain  to  every  one.  It  is  not  so  with 
other  characteristics,  such  as  the  general  proportions  of 
the  body  and  the  features  of  the  face. 

I  have  by  me  the  photographs  which  I  owe  to  Col. 
Tytler,  and  which  represent  the  full-length  portraits  of 
seven  inhabitants  of  the  Andaman  Islands ;  f  the  photo- 

as  their  entire  dress  two  bunches  of  fresh  leaves,  the  one  suspended 
in  front  and  the  other  behind  (Rousselet).  This  custom  is  also 
found  in  the  Andamans  among  the  Mincopies. 

*  This  fading  out  of  the  black  colour  is  easily  explained  by  the 
sad  conditions  of  life  under  which  these  tribes  have  existed  since 
time  immemorial.  It  is  known  that  the  complexion  of  the  African 
negro  becomes  paler  by  disease. 

t  These  two  photographs  represent  one  adult  man,  one  young  boy, 
and  five  women  or  young  girls.  In  one,  all  the  individuals  are 
naked  ;  in  the  other  they  are  dressed  in  a  blouse  closed  at  the  neck 
and  bound  by  a  belt  at  the  waist.  This  dress,  however  simple,  is 
sufficient  to  partly  take  away  the  strange  appearance  which  these 
persons  present  in  a  state  of  nudity,  in  spite  of  their  closely  shaved 
heads. 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS. 


n 


types  published  by  Dobson,  which  reproduce  in  full  fig- 
ure and  grouped  in  various  ways,  sixteen  natives  of  the 
same  islands  ;  * 42  those  published  by  Man,  representing 


FIG.  16. — YOUNG  AETA  GIRL.    (After  a  photograph  of  M.  Montano.) 


*  These  phototypes  represent  five  men,  seven  women,  and  four 
young  girls.  The  original  photographs,  like  those  of  Col.  Tytler,  were 
taken  in  the  southern  part  of  what  was  for  a  long  time  called  the 


72  THE   PYGMIES. 

twelve  individuals  ; 101  twenty  photographs  of  these  same 
Mincopies,  which  the  museum  owes  to  Maxwell ;  and 
thirty-six  photographs  by  Montano,  showing  the  features 
of  forty-eight  Ae'ta  men  and  women,  young  and  adult, 
pure  and  mixed  (Figs.  16  and  17)  ;  finally,  the  two  photo- 
graphs of  M.  de  Saint- Pol  Lias,  of  nine  Sakaies  of  Ma- 
lacca, kindly  given  to  me  by  his  travelling  companion,  M. 
de  la  Croix.* 

Never  has  such  a  mass  of  authentic  material  been 
brought  together.  In  discussing  it  I  shall  take  as  a  term 
of  comparison  the  Mincopies,  who,  in  consequence  of  iso- 
lation prolonged  up  to  our  times,  hate  certainly  preserved 
an  ethnic  purity  very  rare  even  among  people  apparently 
the  best  protected  against  the  infiltration  of  all  foreign 
blood. 

The  Andaman  Islands  have  been  known  to  the  Arabs 
since  the  ninth  century,161  but  the  reputation  of  barbar- 
ism and  cannibalism  given  their  inhabitants  has  always 
kept  travellers  at  a  distance.  The  same  influence — and, 
no  doubt,  above  all,  the  absence  of  the  cocoa  tree,  which  is 
not  found  anywhere  in  this  archipelago — have  prevented 
the  Malays  from  invading  it,  as  they  have  the  Nicobars. 
Marco  Polo,  whose  voyages  date  back  to  1273-'95,  had 
heard  of  them,  and  gives  some  details  which  contain  noth- 
ing but  errors  regarding  their  inhabitants.  From  the 
time  of  the  celebrated  Venetian  traveller  to  the  end  of 
the  eighteenth  century  I  do  not  think  mention  was  made 

Great  Andaman,  and  which  is  now  known  to  consist  of  three  islands 
separated  by  three  narrow  channels. 

*  M.  de  Saint-Pol  Lias  and  M.  de  la  Croix  had  been  charged  with 
a  scientific  mission  by  the  Secretary  of  Public  Instruction.  M.  de 
la  Croix  intends  shortly  to  publish  his  observations  on  the  peoples 
in  question.  I  have  to  thank  him  all  the  more  for  having  put  at 
my  disposal  those  photographs  and  notes  of  which  I  shall  make  use 
later  on. 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS.  73 

of  these  islands.    In  1790  the  English  tried  to  found  there 
a  naval  establishment  (Fort  Cornwallis),  which  was  soon 


FIG.  17. — AETA.    (After  a  photograph  of  M.  Montano.) 

given  up.  The  project  was  revived  and  carried  out  only 
in  1857.  The  new  establishment  (Port  Blair)  brought 
thither  numerous  observers,  among  whom  it  is  only  juf?t 


74  THE   PYGMIES. 

to  mention  especially  Dr.  Mouat m  and  Mr.  Man.  Charts, 
drawings,  photographs,  skulls,  and  whole  skeletons  arrived 
in  Europe  and  were  studied  by  R.  Owen  131'130  and  Busk24 
in  England,  by  Pruner-Bey  14°  and  by  myself 148  in  France, 
and  by  others. 

What  strikes  one  at  once  in  examining  the  twenty-three 
portraits  of  Miucopies  is  the  great  similarity  they  pre- 
sent in  the  proportions  of  the  body,  the  features  of  the 
face,  and  the  almost  identical  physiognomy.  There  is 
nothing  strange  in  this  fact.  Isolated  from  the  world  for 
centuries,  marrying  only  among  themselves,  subjected  to 
the  same  conditions  of  existence,  these  inhabitants  of  the 
Great  Andamans  have  become  uniform,  just  as  a  race  of 
animals  watched  by  a  careful  breeder  becomes  uniform. 
As,  moreover,  the  two  sexes  lead  exactly  the  same  kind  of 
life,  it  is  not  surprising  that  many  differences,  which  else- 
where distinguish  men  and  women,  have  here  disap- 
peared. 

Measurements,  necessarily  only  approximate,  upon  the 
young  girl  in  the  middle  of  one  of  the  groups  of  Dobson 
have  given  me  a  little  more  than  seven  heads  lengths  as 
the  total  height  of  the  body.  The  same  result  was  gained 
from  studying  the  portrait  of  John  Andaman,  published 
by  Mouat.136  In  this  respect  the  Mincopies  approach  the 
Egyptian  Hercules  measured  by  Gerard  Audran;*  and 
as  their  head  is  also  broad,  it  results  that  it  is  large  in  pro- 
portion to  the  rest  of  the  body. 

The  same  peculiarity  is  found  among  the  Ae'tas.     It 

*  According  to  this  celebrated  artist,  this  Hercules  measured 
?if  heads.  The  Pythian  Apollo,  which  represents  the  other  ex- 
treme of  measurements  taken  by  Audran,  was  7|f.  It  is  known  that 
Audran  divided  the  head  into  four  equal  parts,  which  he  again 
divided  into  twelve  minutes.  To  make  this  result  more  readily  com- 
parable, I  have  reduced  all  these  fractions  to  a  common  denomina- 
tor. 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS.  75 

is  true  that  I  have  only  been  able  to  measure  one  of  the 
individuals  photographed  by  Montano,  the  others  having 
too  great  an  abundance  of  hair  covering  their  heads.  In 
this  individual  the  total  height  would  hardly  equal  seven 
heads.  So  far  as  it  is  possible  to  judge,  it  is  nearly  the 
same  among  the  Sakaies  of  M.  de  Saint- Pol. 

There  is  nothing  surprising  in  this.  Quetelet  has 
well  shown  that  among  ourselves  the  proportion  spoken 
of  varies  with  age  and  with  the  stature.  The  proportion 
of  the  head  to  the  entire  body  is  much  larger  in  the  child 
and  the  dwarf  *  than  in  the  adult  and  the  giant.159  This 
is  a  result  of  the  operation  of  morphological  transforma- 
tion which  begins  after  birth.  We  must,  then,  expect  to 
find  among  the  Negritos  a  relatively  larger  head  than 
among  ourselves. 

Among  all  Mincopies,  men  or  women,  the  body  is 
nearly  of  uniform  width,  and  scarcely  enlarges  around  the 
hips  and  the  trochanters  (Fig.  4).f  With  this  exception, 
both  sexes  are  well  proportioned.  The  breast  of  young 
girls  is  very  small  and  conical ;  in  women  it  remains  full, 
and  falls  very  little.  The  chest  and  shoulders  of  both 
sexes  are  large,  the  pectorals  very  strong,  arms  and  fore- 
arms muscular  but  well  rounded,  the  hands  rather  small 
than  large,  have  long  fingers,  well  separated,  at  times  of 
very  elegant  shape,  terminated  by  long  and  narrow  nails. 


*  The  question  is  here  only  of  true  dwarfs,  and  not  of  micro- 
cephalic  individuals,  too  often  confounded  with  them.  I  have 
insisted  upon  this  distinction  in  a  note  relating  to  the  true  dwarf 
known  under  the  name  of  Prince  Balthazar.146 

f  See 1M,  Fig.  114.  From  the  cut  we  can  easily  form  an  opinion 
of  the  anatomical  characteristics.  I  have  already  made  this  remark 
in  my  first  memoir.  Giglioli  urges  against  me  that  one  of  the 
women  observed  by  him  is  quite  large  around  the  hips.  If  it  is  so, 
this  woman  is  not  represented  in  the  engraving  which  he  has  pub- 
lished.89. w 

7 


76  THE  PYGMIES. 

The  abdomen  is  not  very  prominent.  The  lower  limbs 
have  the  same  general  characters  as  the  upper  ones.  The 
thigh  and  leg  are,  however,  often  less  fleshy  than  the  arm 
and  forearm,  and  the  calf  is  usually  a  little  high,  at  least 
in  the  women.  This  latter  characteristic,  to  which  I 
called  attention  in  my  first  work  as  recalling  what  exists 
among  African  Negroes,  is  lacking  in  the  only  man  whose 
legs  can  be  well  seen  in  the  phototypes  of  Dobson.  In 
him  the  calf,  very  pronounced,  is  perfectly  well-formed.* 
The  foot,  finally,  in  the  rare  cases  where  it  is  placed  so  as 
to  be  easily  seen,  is  small,  high-arched,  and  the  heel  does 
not  project  behind. f 

Montano's  photographs  of  the  Ae'tas  show  almost  en- 
tirely similar  characteristics  in  the  whole  upper  part  of  the. 
body  (Figs.  6  and  17).  Here  also  chest  and  shoulders  are, 
large,  the  pectorals  well  developed,  the  arms  fleshy  and 
likewise  without  any  conspicuous  muscular  protuberances. 
But  the  waist  line  of  a  certain  number  of  men  and  women 
is  conspicuous,  and  narrows  in ;  above  all,  in  both  sexes,  with 
the  exception  of  two  or  three  women,  the  lower  limbs  are 
much  less  fleshy  than  the  upper  ones,  and  sometimes  are 
really  thin.  From  this,  and  also  from  the  pose  adopted  by 
the  operator,  the  feet — at  least  of  a  part  of  them — seem  to 
be  much  thicker  and  larger  than  those  of  the  Mincopies 
(Fig.  6). 

It  is  quite  different  with  the  Sakaies,  particularly  with 
those  whose  hair  indicates  them  to  be  true  Negritos.  Their 

*  42  This  same  individual  is  remarkable  in  his  whole  appearance. 
Everything  about  him  indicates  strength.  His  chest  is  large,  the 
pectorals  very  well  developed,  as  is,  however,  the  case  with  all  the 
men ;  his  thighs  are  very  fleshy.  And  yet  we  find  again  that  round- 
ness of  contour  and  absence  of  muscular  prominences  which  occurs 
among  so  many  savages,  and  particularly  in  America. 

f  Colonel  Fichte  had  already  called  attention  to  this  feature  as 
distinguishing  the  Andamancse  from  the  African  Negro.60 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS.  77 

lower  limbs  are  quite  as  well  developed  as  the  upper  ones 
(Fig.  8).  One  of  them  particularly  is  remarkable  for  the 
thickness  of  his  legs  and  arms  without  the  roundness  of 
contours  being  lost.  All  have  the  calves  situated  where 
they  should  be  according  to  our  European  ideas,  and  the 
feet  seem  to  resemble  those  of  the  Mincopies.  At  all 
events,  the  heels  do  not  markedly  project. 

The  resemblance  of  the  Mincopies  to  the  African  Negro 
is  really  limited  to  their  hair  and  complexion.  In  all  my 
photographs  the  head  is  shaved,  but  the  unanimous  testi- 
mony of  travellers  can  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  woolly  qual- 
ity of  the  hair.  Fichte,  Mouat,  etc.,  have  added  that  the 
hair  seems  to  grow  in  tufts,  and  that  it  forms  curious  little 
round  balls,  so  often  described  by  various  travellers  among 
the  Papuans.  Giglioli  has  established  the  accuracy  of 
this  information  by  two  photographs.60  The  portraits  of 
Ae'tas  and  of  certain  Sakaies  show  that  this  characteristic 
is  exactly  the  same  with  them.  There  results  from  this, 
in  crosses,  wavy,  curly,  or  even  crimpy  hair  (according  to 
the  degree  of  the  mixture  of  blood),  very  different  from 
that  of  the  Malay  peoples.  On  his  part  Flower  has  dis- 
covered that  the  cross  section  of  this  hair  often  presents  a 
more  elongated  ellipse  than  that  of  any  other  human  race. 

All  travellers  affirm  that  the  Ae'tas,  like  the  Mincopies, 
have  a  skin  pronouncedly  black.*  As  to  the  more  or  less 
crossed  tribes  of  Malacca,  their  skin  seems  to  have  gener- 
ally become  lighter  by  the  mixture.  Montano  describes, 
in  one  of  the  notes  kindly  written  to  me,  those  he  observed 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kessang  f  as  having  frequently 

*  Only  Symes  and  Colonel  Fichte  have  spoken  of  a  sooty  black. 
I  have  already  remarked  that  this  opinion,  no  doubt,  is  based  on  their 
having  seen  individuals  who  still  had  on  them  traces  of  the  yellowish 
soil  with  which  these  islanders  are  prone  to  cover  themselves  in 
order  to  protect  themselves  against  mosquitoes. 
North  of  Malacca. 


78  THE  PYGMIES. 

an  almost  sooty  skin.*  To  judge  from  the  photographs, 
the  tint  seems  at  times  to  be  darker.  A  statue  of  black 
bronze  would  not  give  any  other  photographic  result 
than  the  robust  Sakaie  of  whom  I  have  already  spoken 
(Fig.  8). 

Despite  the  resemblance  of  hair  and  colour,  it  would 
be  impossible  to  confound  a  Mincopy  with  a  true  African 
Negro.  The  shape  of  the  head  and  the  features  of  the 
face  are  too  different.  The  head  of  the  former,  seen  from 
the  front,  looks  almost  round,  instead  of  being  compressed 
and  lengthened ;  the  forehead  is  large,  and  often  arched, 
instead  of  being  narrow  and  receding.f  The  face  becomes 
much  broader  at  the  cheek  bones,  which  gives  the  cheeks  too 
much  breadth ;  the  ears,  which  stand  out  markedly  on  these 
shaved  heads,  are  small,  and  elegantly  shaped ;  the  nose, 
very  much  sunken  at  the  root,  is  straight  and  rather  short, 
and  the  nostrils,  generally  little  separated,  are  sometimes 
narrow. \  The  lips,  without  being  very  fine,  are  not  thick, 
and  have  nothing  recalling  those  of  the  Negro ;  above  all, 
they  are  little  or  not  at  all  sticky  at  the  edges.  The  chin 
is  small,  round,  and  little  or  not  at  all  receding  ;  there  is 
no  prognathism,  or  scarcely  any.  The  men  rarely  have 
any  trace  of  beard.* 

In  examining  the  numerous  photographs  which  I  have, 
many  individual  differences  can  be  recognised,  and  yet  it 
is  impossible  not  to  be  impressed  by  the  uniformity  of 
physiognomy  common  to  nearly  all.  This  is  no  doubt 

*  Unpublished  note,  communicated  by  Dr.  Montano. 

f  This  feature  is  very  striking  in  the  only  woman,  seen  in  profile 
in  the  photographs  of  Colonel  Ty tier,  of  whom  I  have  given  a  sketch 
(Fig.  3).  All  the  individuals  represented  by  Dobson  have  been 
taken  full  face;  also  those  in  the  engraving  of  Giglioli. 

\  For  instance,  in  the  chief  figured  by  Dobson,  pi.  xxxi. 

*  The  body  is  equally  free  from  hair,  except  in  the  usual  places 
(Fig.  4). 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS.  79 

partly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  features  in  general  really 
differ  but  little,  but  perhaps  particularly  to  the  shape 
and  position  of  the  eyes.  These  organs,  quite  protruding 
and  round,  are  well  to  the  sides,  and  separated  by  a  very 
noticeably  larger  space  than  our  own,*  which  makes  the 
expression  of  the  face  somewhat  peculiar  and  strange. 
Their  eyes,  however,  are  brilliant  and  very  good,  as  is  the 
case  with  almost  all  savages. 

This  separation  of  the  eyes  is  not  found  so  generally, 
nor  to  the  same  degree,  among  the  Aetas.  It  is  not  sur- 
prising, then,  that  the  physiognomy  of  these  two  popula- 
tions differs.  Moreover,  although  the  features  may  be  varia- 
tions of  one  type,  they  are  usually  coarser  among  the  Phi- 
lippine blacks.  The  forehead  is  broad  and  arched,  as  can 
be  seen  when  not  covered  by  the  hair ;  but  the  root  of 
the  nose  has  become  flatter,  the  nostrils  are  wider,  and 
spread  more ;  the  lips  have  become  thicker,  but  do  not 
equal  those  of  the  Negro,  and  their  commissure  is  some- 
what clammy,  as  with  the  latter.  The  chin,  finally,  re- 
treats, without,  however,  being  as  receding  as  that  of  the 
Negrito-Papuan  (Figs.  16  and  17).  The  Aetas  seem, 
moreover,  to  be  as  smooth  as  the  Andamanese,  unless 
changed  by  crossing. 

The  photographs  of  M.  de  Saint-Pol  show  that  the 
Negritos  of  Malacca  in  features  resemble  more  the  Aetas 
than  the  Mincopies.  Behold  how  the  traveller  expresses 

*  This  characteristic  is  well  marked  in  the  photographs  of  Tytler 
and  in  the  phototypes  of  Dobson  ;  it  is,  on  the  contrary,  lacking  in 
almost  all  the  individuals  in  the  engraving  published  by  Giglioli. 
Moreover,  the  physiognomy  of  these  engraved  faces  does  not  at  all 
resemble  that  just  spoken  of.  The  shape  of  the  head  also  sometimes 
differs  absolutely  from  that  in  my  photographs  and  from  the  de- 
scription given  by  the  author  (p.  249).  1  will  mention  particularly 
that  of  the  large  individual  standing  at  the  left.  Are  these  indi- 
viduals crosses,  or  is  it  the  fault  of  the  artist,  who  has  badly  repro- 
duced the  photograph  1 


80  THE  PYGMIES. 

the  impression  made  upon  him  by  the  sight  of  about 
forty  Sakaies :  "  In  closely  examining  all  these  faces, 
generally  sympathetic,  animated,  and  laughing,  one  can 
soon  distinguish  characteristics  of  two  races,  of  which  the 
one  is  plainly  the  Negro  race,  in  spite  of  the  colour  of 
the  skin.  The  nose  is  straight,  but  the  nostril  is  very 
broad  and  the  wing  very  spreading.  Some  have  very  curly, 
crinkly,  or  even  woolly  hair,  although  the  majority  have 
long,  straight,  or  wavy  hair.  There  is  no  prognathism 
among  them.168  It  would  be  so  with  the  Negritos  of 
India  if  the  individual  figured  by  Eousselet  should  be 
placed  in  this  group.  But  it  is  necessary  to  admit  at  the 
same  time  that  the  type  had  been  much  deteriorated  by 
the  deplorable  conditions  of  existence  of  the  Djandals  of 
Amarkantak  (Fig.  10).  The  forehead  is  depressed;  the 
nose  has  grown  larger ;  the  lips  have  become  thicker,  but 
not  elongated,  as  those  of  the  Negrito- Papuan ;  the  chin 
has  remained  fairly  receding.  Despite  this  physical  de- 
generation, these  unfortunate  blacks  have  not  taken  on 
the  well-known  physiognomy  of  the  African  Negro,  much 
less  that  of  a  monkey  or  any  other  animal.  I  have  already 
said  that  they  rather  seem  to  incline  toward  the  Papuan 
type,  of  which  it  would  not  be  at  all  strange  to  find  some 
representatives  on  the  continent.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Oraon  and  the  two  Santals  figured  by  Dalton  incontesta- 
bly  recall  the  Negrito  type,  as  do  also  some  of  the  Mul- 
chers  figured  by  Fryer. 

This  description  would  be  incomplete  if  I  did  not  say 
a  few  words  about  the  skeleton.  But  here  I  shall  be  brief, 
and  shall  refer  the  reader  to  the  technical  works.  The 
skeleton  of  the  Mincopies,  in  spite  of  its  being  so  small, 
shows  no  sign  of  degeneration  or  weakness.  The  bones 
are  relatively  pretty  thick ;  the  muscular  impressions,  al- 
ways well  marked,  are  sometimes  remarkably  conspicuous. 
The  proportions  of  all  the  bones  compared  with  each 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS.  81 

other,  the  shape  of  the  pelvis,  etc.,  resemble,  on  the  whole, 
those  of  the  Australian  or  the  Negro.  Nevertheless,  the 
discussion  of  the  measurements  published  by  Owen  has 
led  Broca  to  make  a  curious  observation.  If  the  length  of 
the  humerus  is  taken  at  100,  that  of  the  radius  is  81*53, 
and  that  of  the  clavicle  42.  By  the  first  proportion,  the 
Mincopy  differs  from  the  European  more  than  the  Negro 
does ;  by  the  second,  he  differs  from  the  Negro  more  than 
the  European  himself  does.18  It  is  quite  different  with 
the  head.  The  Australian  and  the  true  African  Negro 
are  dolichocephalic.  All  Negritos  are  more  or  less  brachy- 
cephalic,  as  I  have  already  stated  (Figs.  2,  5,  12,  15,  18). 
The  Mincopies  are  found  to  have  this  characteristic.* 
It  is  connected  with  others  which  give  to  the  skull  quite 
a  special  character,  and  often  enable  us  to  distinguish  it  at 
a  glance.  Moreover,  individual  differences  are  as  little 
marked  in  the  skeletons  as  in  the  living.  Flower  has 
called  attention  to  this  uniformity,  and  declared  that 
among  no  other  race,  without  making  intentional  and 
systematic  choice,  would  it  be  possible  to  find  such  a  large 
number  of  heads  so  like  each  other.  It  is  clear  that  the 
causes  suggested  above  have  rendered  the  osteological  as 
well  as  the  exterior  features  very  uniform. 

The  head  of  the  Mincopy,  although  large  in  propor- 
tion to  the  body,  is  absolutely  very  small. f    Seen  from 

*  Hamy  and  I  had  found  as  the  horizontal  index  of  the  Anda- 
manese  82-38  for  the  man  and  84-00  for  the  woman.  The  measure- 
ments of  Flower,  taken  upon  a  larger  number  of  heads,  reduce  it  to 
80-50  and  82-70.  It  is  seen  that  the  difference  between  the  two 
sexes  remains  nearly  the  same,  and  that  the  woman  is  more  brachy- 
cephalic  than  the  man. 

f  The  cranial  capacity  of  the  men.  according  to  Flower,  is  only 
1.244  cubic  centimetres ;  that  of  the  women,  only  1,128.  Broca  had 
found  higher  figures,  but  he  had  only  seven  heads  at  his  disposition. 
The  latter  observer  gives,  as  the  average  cranial  capacity  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-four  modern  Parisians,  1,558  cubic  centimetres  of 


82 


THE  PYGMIES. 


the  front,  but  particularly  from  behind,  the  skull  is  no- 
ticeably pentagonal.  The  face  gives  an  impression  of 
being  massive,  owing  mainly  to  separation  of  the  zygo- 


FIG.  18. — SKULL  or  A  MINCOPY  OF  THE  GREAT  ANDAMANS. 


matic  arches,  to  the  little  depth  of  the  canine  fossa, 
and  to  the  direction  of  the  ascending  apophysis  of  the 
maxillary.  Instead  of  hollowing  in  such  a  manner  as 

men  and  1,337  of  women.  The  lowest  average  he  found  was  that 
of  the  Nubians  (1.329  and  1,298  cubic  centimetres).  One  sees  that 
the  Mincopies,  as  Flower  thinks,  would  rank  among  the  lowest  of 
human  races  in  this  respect;  but  the  observers  have  only  given 
the  rough  numbers  which  they  found,  without  taking  the  stature 
into  account.  But  it  is  known  that  the  weight  of  the  brain  in- 
creases and  decreases  almost  in  proportion  to  the  stature,  and  it  can 
hardly  be  otherwise  with  the  case  which  encloses  the  brain. 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS.  83 

to  raise  and  narrow  the  skeleton  of  the  nose,  it  rises 
directly  upward.  Consequently  the  interorbitary  space  is 
considerably  enlarged,  and  the  bones  of  the  nose  can  only 
unite  in  a  very  obtuse  angle.  It  can  be  seen  that  the 
form  and  disposition  of  these  bony  parts  necessitate  and 
explain  the  external  characteristics  pointed  out  above. 
Flower  has  insisted,  as  I  did  earlier,  upon  the  peculiar 
features  of  the  skull.  They  are  just  as  marked  among 
the  pure  Ae'tas  as  among  the  Mincopies. 

After  having  long  and  minutely  studied  twenty-four 
skulls  of  Mincopies,  Flower  wrote :  "  My  actual  impres- 
sion is  that  I  should  never  fail  to  recognise  as  such  the 
skull  of  an  Andamanese  of  pure  race,  and  that  I  have 
never  seen  a  single  skull  coming  from  any  other  part  of 
the  world  which  I  could  ascribe  to  any  of  these  island- 
ers."* These  words  of  the  eminent  English  anatomist 
make  us  understand  how  it  is  possible  to  follow  up 
and  recognise  this  type  even  very  far  from  the  places 
where  it  has  preserved  its  purity.  Craniological  charac- 
teristics are  very  persistent.  When  crossing  intervenes, 
they  sometimes  modify  each  other;  but  often,  perhaps 
ordinarily,  a  sort  of  exchange  takes  place,  and  the  two 
types  are  each  represented  on  the  head  of  the  half  breed 
by  a  certain  number  of  perfectly  well-marked  features. 
When  these  characteristics  are  very  peculiar,  as  those 
which  I  have  just  pointed  out,  they  can  at  once  be  recog- 
nized. Thus,  at  a  time  when  our  opinion  must  have 
seemed  somewhat  paradoxical,  Hamy  and  I  were  able  to 
assert  that  the  Negrito  element  had  a  more  or  less  con- 
siderable part  in  the  formation  of  the  populations  of  Ben- 
gal and  of  Japan. 

From  the  physiological  point  of  view,  we  have  hardly 

*  The  same  traits,  though  less  accentuated,  are  found  among  the 
Negrito- Papuans. 


84  THE  PYGMIES. 

anything  to  say  about  the  Negritos  but  what  a  number 
of  travellers  have  reported  in  regard  to  almost  all  savage 
peoples.  Nevertheless,  the  Mincopies,  who  have  been 
most  seriously  studied  in  this  respect,  have  some  pecul- 
iarities which  it  will  be  interesting  to  point  out. 

Although  true  Negroes  by  the  colour  of  their  skin,  the 
Mincopies  do  not  exhale  that  repulsive  odour  which  seems 
to  characterise  all  the  African  Negroes,  and  their  breath 
is  sweet  unless  they  have  eaten  something  which  makes  it 
unpleasant.  Man  particularly  mentions  the  flesh  of  the 
turtle  as  producing  this  effect. 

But,  in  spite  of  their  tiny  figures  and  round  forms,  the 
muscular  strength  of  these  islanders  is  relatively  great. 
They  use  with  ease  bows  which  the  strongest  English 
sailors  could  not  even  string.*  Man  observes,  with  jus- 
tice, that  habit  counts  for  a  good  deal  in  this  practice. 
But  more  than  skill  is  necessary  to  shoot  an  arrow 
pointed  with  shell,  so  that  it  pierces  the  clothing  of 
Europeans  and  enters  deep  into  the  flesh,  at  a  distance 
of  forty  to  fifty  metres. 

In  speaking  of  the  rapidity  of  their  running,  Mouat 
uses  the  ball,  the  bullet,  as  terms  of  comparison.  The  de- 
tails given  by  Man  would  lead  us  to  think  that  there  was 
some  slight  exaggeration  here.  But  one  point  on  which 
the  two  observers  agree  is  in  regard  to  the  acuteness  of 
the  senses.  Mouat  tells  us  that  the  Mincopies  distin- 
guish by  their  odour  fruits  hidden  in  the  thick  foliage  of 
the  jungle.  Man  asserts  that  they  recognise  by  means  of 
smell  only  on  what  flowers  bees  have  gathered  the  honey 
which  they  seek.  Sight  and  hearing  are  also  extremely 
delicate.  The  first  of  these  senses,  however,  is  more  de- 
veloped among  the  tribes  who  live  in  the  jungle,  and  the 
second  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast.  The  latter 

*  Mouat. 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS.  35 

during  the  darkest  night  pierce  with  their  harpoons  the 
turtles  which  come  to  breathe  at  the  surface  of  the  water, 
guided  only  by  the  very  feeble  noise  which  these  make  at 
such  a  time. 

The  life  of  the  Mincopy  is  short,  although  the  length 
of  the  period  of  development  is  nearly  as  great  as  with  us. 
Men  reach  puberty  at  about  sixteen,  women  at  fifteen ; 
but  the  average  duration  of  life  is  only  about  twenty-two 
years,  and  fifty  is  for  them  extreme  old  age. 

The  pathological  history  of  the  Mincopies  presents 
some  features  which  deserve  our  attention.  A  Sepoy  de- 
serter who  lived  long  among  them,  and  from  whom  Mou- 
at  and  Owen  have  received  much  information,  has  men- 
tioned the  diseases  from  which  these  islanders  suffered 
before  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans.  He  gives  asthma, 
rheumatism,  diarrhoeas,  intermittent  fevers,  etc.  He  for- 
mally declares  that  he  has  not  observed  either  syphilis 
or  eruptive  diseases ;  he  does  not  even  mention  phthisis, 
and  from  his  silence  we  may  conclude  that  during  his 
stay  this  disease  was  as  unknown  at  the  Andaman  Islands 
as  it  formerly  was  in  the  archipelagoes  of  the  Pacific, 
which  to-day  are  depopulated  by  it.*  The  founding  of 
the  penal  establishment  has  sadly  changed  this  state  of 
affairs.  Man  gives  precise  details  on  the  subject.  Some 
Hindoo  convicts  brought  syphilis,  which  was  rapidly 
propagated  among  the  whole  population,  owing  to  the 
custom  of  the  women  of  giving  the  breast  to  all  sucklings 

*  I  have  long  accounted  for  the  strange  mortality  among  the 
Polynesians  by  phthisis.141  I  have  been  more  affirmative  in  a  work 
published  under  the  title  Les  Polynesians  et  leurs  migrations.  I 
can  to-day  be  still  more  so,  as  recent  studies  have  demonstrated  that 
phthisis  not  only  causes  the  death  of  the  individual,  but  also  his 
sterility.  Thus  the  extreme  mortality  and  the  singular  decrease  of 
births  which  concur  in  the  extinction  of  the  Polynesians  can  both 
be  explained. 


86 


THE  PYGMIES. 


of  the  tribe.  Smallpox,  it  is  true,  had  not  appeared  at 
the  Andaman  Islands  before  the  departure  of  our  in- 
formant, but  in  1877  the  greater  part  of  the  population 
were  stricken  by  the  measles,  imported  by  convicts  from 
Madras,  and  about  one  fifth  of  the  sick  died. 


FIG.  19.     WILLIAM  LANNEY. 

Man  gives  phthisis  as  one  of  the  diseases  that  he  ob- 
served, but  I  have  just  given  the  reasons  which  lead  me  to 
regard  it  as  being  recently  introduced.  This  conclusion 
seems  to  me  confirmed  by  the  fact  which  Ellis  has  recently 
pointed  out.47  The  painful  phenomenon  found  in  Ocean- 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS. 


87 


ica  wherever  Europeans  have  arrived  is  found  again  at  the 
Andaman  Islands.  Here,  as  well  as  at  Tahiti,  at  the  Mar- 
quesas Islands,  and  at  New  Zealand,  mortality  has  consid- 
erably increased,  while  births  have  at  the  same  time  de- 
creased. The  number  of  deaths  far  exceeds  that  of  births. 


FIG.  20. — TRUGANINA,  OR  LALLA  ROOKH.    (After  the  bust  cast  by 
Dumoustier.) 

The  population  of  the  South  Island,  which  at  the  time  it 
was  taken  into  possession  numbered  fifteen  hundred  souls, 
was  reduced  in  1882  to  five  hundred.  In  twenty-four 
years  it  was  diminished  by  two  thirds.  It  is  evident  that 
phthisis  is  at  work  in  this  little  archipelago ;  and  although 
there  has  not  been  there  any  Uack  war,  and  the  English 
have  treated  these  islanders  in  an  almost  paternal  manner, 


88  THE  PYGMIES. 

yet  the  Mincopies  are  destined  to  disappear  within  a  few 
years,  just  as  the  Tasmanians  have  disappeared.* 

*  The  race  which  used  to  people  Tasmania  is  at  present  repre- 
sented only  by  a  few  mixed  breeds.  The  last  man  of  pure  race, 
William  Lanney,  died  in  1869  (Fig.  19) ;  the  last  woman,  Truganina, 
the  heroine  of  the  black  war,  died  in  1877  (Fig.  20).  The  English 
colonists  have  been  considered  responsible  for  this  total  extinction 
of  a  human  race,  and  surely  their  conduct  towards  the  natives  has 
furnished  serious  reasons  for  this  accusation.  But  I  have  shown 
elsewhere  that  the  principal  cause  of  the  disappearance  of  the  Tas- 
manians has  been  what  I  then  called  le  mal  (T Europe,  which  at  pres- 
ent is,  for  me,  nothing  but  phthisis.144- 166 


CHAPTER  IV. 

INTELLECTUAL,     MORAL,     AND     RELIGIOUS     CHARACTERS 
OF   THE    MINCOPIES. 

Intellectual  Characteristics  of  the  Mincopies. — Language. — Transla- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Prayer. — Relation  of  the  Mincopy  to  the 
Dravidian  languages. — Poetical  dialect. — Diversity  of  languages. 
— Numeration :  Remarkable  poverty. — General  intelligence.— 
Social  state  :  Tribes. — Hierarchy. — Family. — Monogamy. — Hor- 
ror of  incest.  The  Guardian  of  Youth. — Nuptial  ceremonies. — 
Nursing  of  infants. — Adoptions. — Names. — Initiations. — Deli- 
cacy in  social  relations. — Property. — Hospitality. — Quarrels. — 
Wars. — Funerals. — Mourning. — Preservation  and  use  of  bones. 
—  Industries. — Fire. — Drawing. — Music. — Dwellings. — Pottery. 
— Weapons. — Utensils. — Comparison  with  the  Tertiary  man  of 
Thenay. — Dress  :  Ornaments. — Food.  Moral  Characteristics. 
— Ideas  of  crime  and  sin. — Shame. — Corrupting  influence  of 
Europeans.  Religious  Characteristics. — A  supreme  God. — His 
family. — Evil  divinities. — Sun  and  moon. — Triple  nature  of 
man. — Hell  and  paradise. — Migration  of  the  soul. — Resurrec- 
tion.— The  first  men. — The  Deluge. — Legends. — Various  super- 
stitions.— Elevated  religious  ideas  among  savages. — Binouas. — 
A  supreme  God  and  Shamanism  or  Fetichism. — Various  exam- 
ples.— Conclusions. 

So  far  as  physical  characters  are  concerned,  I  have 
been  able  to  compare  the  Mincopies  and  the  other  Ne- 
gritos point  by  point.  In  passing  to  the  intellectual, 
moral,  and  religious  characters,  it  is  very  difficult  to  do 
the  same,  because  too  often  we  lack  information  on  the 
subject  now  among  one,  now  among  the  other  of  the 

89 


90  THE  PYGMIES. 

black  populations  of  the  continent  and  the  great  archi- 
pelagoes of  the  extreme  East. 

The  Mincopies  only,  are  at  present  well  known  to  us, 
thanks  particularly  to  the  publications  of  Mr.  Man.  Con- 
nected for  eleven  years  with  the  penal  establishment  at 
the  Andaman  Islands,  charged  for  four  years  with  every- 
thing that  concerned  the  government  and  the  direction  of 
the  natives,  this  man  of  intellect  and  heart  became  at- 
tached to  these  islanders,  learned  their  language,  gained 
their  confidence,  and  endeavoured  to  make  us  acquainted 
with  them  from  every  point  of  view.  He  has  placed  at 
our  disposition  a  veritable  monograph. 

I  have  thus  been  led  to  take  them  again  as  a  type 
and  to  give  first  their  history  exclusively,  only  putting  at 
the  end  of  this  sketch — which  would  be  quite  complete 
in  itself — the  little  that  we  know  about  their  brethren. 

INTELLECTUAL    CHARACTERS. 

Language. — Linguistic  studies  being  entirely  foreign 
to  me,  I  can  only  present  here  the  information  obtained 
by  travellers  and  linguists  without  discussing  it,  al- 
though allowing  myself  to  make  a  general  observation 
thereon. 

Of  all  the  languages  used  by  the  Negritos,  that  of  the 
Mincopies  would  without  doubt  be  the  most  interesting 
to  study.  Owing  to  the  almost  complete  isolation  in 
which  these  islanders  have  lived,  particularly  on  the 
islands  of  the  Great  Andaman,*  their  language  could  not 

*  It  is  well  known  at  present  that  the  lands  until  recently 
spoken  of  as  the  Great  Andaman  consist  in  reality  of  three  islands 
separated  by  narrow  channels.101  In  my  first  fitude  sur  les  Min- 
copies et  la  race  negrito  en  general,  I  showed  that  some  signs 
of  mixture  are  found  in  the  Little  Andaman,  lying  south  of  the 
former. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MINCOPIES.  91 

have  altered  except  by  natural  evolution  without  foreign 
influence.  But  this  language  surely  dates  very  far  back, 
and  has  probably  preceded  all  those  at  present  spoken  at 
Malacca,  at  Siam,  and  perhaps  even  in  India.  Under 
these  circumstances  a  knowledge  ef  it  would  certainly  be 
of  the  greatest  interest  from  the  ethnological  as  well  as 
from  the  linguistic  standpoint. 

Man  seems  to  have  comprehended  this.  Before  him, 
Symes,  Colebrooke,  Eoepstorff,  Tickel,  and  others,  had 
contented  themselves  with  collecting  brief  vocabularies. 
Being  in  daily  contact  with  the  natives  in  consequence  of 
his  official  duties,  Man  learned  their  languages,  as  I  have 
already  said ;  he  has  made  them  the  subject  of  several 
publications ;  *  he  has  collected  a  vocabulary  of  about  six 
thousand  words ;  f  he  has  translated  into  one  of  them  the 
prayer  which  all  Christians  repeat,  and  has  published  it 
with  a  commentary  and  notes  by  Lieutenant  R.  C.  Tem- 
ple. J  Colonel  Lane  Fox  has  reproduced  this  translation83 
in  two  communications,  and  has  given,  altogether  too 
briefly,  the  general  conclusions  of  the  authors.  I  trans- 
late literally  what  he  says  on  the  latter,  and  believe  myself 
to  be  useful  and  agreeable  to  readers  engaged  in  linguis- 
tic studies  in  transcribing  the  document  which  has  served 
as  a  starting  point  for  this  study.  This  translation  is  in 
the  language  of  the  tribe  occupying  the  south  of  the 
Great  Andaman,  where  Port  Blair,  the  English  establish- 
ment, is  situated. 

*  Independently  of  the  work  which  I  especially  quote  here,  Mail 
has  given  elaborate  details  in  his  book,101  pages  49,  195. 

f  It  is  principally  upon  this  vocabulary,  and  upon  entire  phrases 
given  by  Man  in  the  appendix  F  of  his  book,101  that  Ellis  has  based 
his  work  which  I  quoted  above. 

|  The  Lord's  Prayer,  translated  into  Boyig-ngi-ji-da  by  E. 
H.  Man,  with  preface  and  notes  by  R.  C.  Temple.  Calcutta, 
1877. 


92  THE  PYGMIES. 

He  Maw-ro  koktar-len         yate  molladilru        Ab-Mayola. 

Oh  Heaven          in        (is)  where  our  (lit.  all  of  us  of)     Father. 
Ngia  ting-len    dai-i-i-mugu-en-inga  itan.      Ngolla-len    inolladuru 
Thy    name-to      be  reverence  paid       let.         You  (to)         we  all 
meta  mayola  ngenake  ab-chanag  iji-la  bedig  Maw-ro  koktar-len  tegi- 
our    chief    wish  for  supreme    only   and    Heaven        in  is 

lut-malin    yate     ngia  kanik,         ka-ubada          arla-len    arla-len 
obeyed     which    thy    will,    in  the  same  way  ever  (daily  always) 
erem-len  itan.      Ka-wai     mollaardaru-len  arla-nackan 

earth  on    let.     This  day        all  of  us         to  daily  (lit.  daily  like) 
yat   man.     Mollarduru      mol-oichik-len       tigrel  yate  oloichik-len 
food  give.        We  all       us  (to),  i.  e.,  against  offend  who       them 
artidubu.  Mollarduru-len  otig-ujunba  itan  ya-ba  dona  mollarduru-len 
forgive.        Us  all  (to)       be  tempted  let    not    but       us  all  (to) 
abja-bag-tek    otraj.  Ngol     kichi-kan  kanake. 

evil    from      deliver.    (Do)  thou      thus       order  (i.  e.,  Amen). 

The  study  of  the  vocabularies  alluded  to  had  led  La- 
tham to  admit  some  relation  between  the  Mincopy  and 
Burman  languages.86  Pruner-Bey  has  pointed  out  some 
features  common  to  the  Mincopy  and  the  New  Caledonian. 
Hyde  Clark  thought  he  discovered  in  the  Andaman  lan- 
guage affinities  with  those  of  several  peoples  of  Asia,  Af- 
rica, and  both  Americas.29 

In  their  first  publications  Man  and  Temple  admitted 
that  certain  relations  exist  between  the  Mincopy,  Dra- 
vidian,  Australian,  and  Scythian  languages.  In  return- 
ing to  the  subject  the  latter  of  the  two  collaborators  has 
developed  and  systematised  his  opinions,  which  I  briefly 
repeat.101 

For  Mr.  Temple  the  Mincopy  languages  are,  above  all, 
purely  and  simply  agglutinative.  They  form,  however,  a 
special  group,  perfectly  distinct  from  all  others,  in  that 
they  at  the  same  time  make  large  use  of  affixes  and  suf- 
fixes. In  the  use  of  the  former  they  do  not  differ  from 
other  agglutinative  languages ;  in  the  use  of  the  latter  they 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MINCOPIES.  93 

follow,  the  author  says,  the  well-known  principles  of  the 
South  African  languages.  This  complete  development  of 
the  use  of  two  kinds  of  particles  is,  in  Temple's  view,  a 
unique  exception.  To  the  presence  of  certain  prefixes  he 
attributes  the  ability  of  the  Mincopies  to  frequently  form 
long  compound  words  of  an  almost  polysynthetic  nature, 
and  which  sometimes  represent  a  complete  sentence. 

In  view  of  these  divers  opinions  it  is  difficult  not  to 
think  of  the  relations  pointed  out  by  so  many  linguists, 
among  others  by  Maury,  as  existing  between  the  African 
and  Australian  Dravidian  languages.*  To  those  men- 
tioned, Man  and  Temple  add  a  third  linguistic  group, 
but  the  latest  recognised  has  probably  preceded  the  other 
two  in  time.  Everything  tends  more  and  more  to  demon- 
strate that  the  Negrito  race,  of  whom  the  Mincopies  are 
the  purest  representatives,  form  the  fundamental  Xegro 
element  of  all,  or  of  almost  all,  Dravidian  tribes,  and  also 
of  those  who,  without  speaking  a  language  of  that  name, 
resemble  the  Dravidians  in  physical  characters.  If  this  is 
so,  would  it  not  be  allowable  to  expect  that  the  snbst-ratum 
of  this  linguistic  family  would  be  found  in  Mincopan 
languages  ?  At  all  events  there  is  an  interesting  problem 
for  solving,  and  we  can  only  hope  that  Man  and  Temple 
may  pursue  their  researches,  which  have  already  led  to 
such  curious  results. 

Independent  of  their  usual  language,  the  Mincopies 
have  a  poetic  dialect  which  they  use  in  their  songs.  Here, 
says  Man,  everything  is  subordinated  to  rhythm,  and  the 
composer  enjoys  the  most  perfect  liberty.  He  modifies 
not  only  the  form  of  words,  but  also  the  grammatical 
construction.  The  example  quoted  by  our  author  seems 


*  Maury112  is,  moreover,  inclined  to  connect  these  two  groups  of 
languages  with  the  Medo-Scythian,  probably  spoken,  he  says,  by  the 
native  tribes  of  Media  and  Susiana. 


94:  THE  PYGMIES. 

to  me  to  justify  his  claims,  although  I  am  a  judge  of  no 
great  competence.* 

Man  several  times  states  an  important  fact — viz.,  that 
there  are  in  the  Andaman  Islands  as  many  distinct  lan- 
guages as  there  are  tribes.  "  The  difference,"  says  he,  "  is 
such  that  it  would  be  as  utterly  impossible  for  an  inhab- 
itant of  the  North  Andamans  to  make  himself  understood 
by  a  native  of  the  South  as  it  would  be  for  an  English 
peasant  to  make  himself  understood  by  a  Russian."83 

Mr.  Man  enumerates  eight  tribes  in  the  four  islands 
constituting  the  Great  Andaman,  and  these  four  islands 
scarcely  equal  in  size  one  of  our  ordinary  departments.! 
There  are  four  tribes  in  the  Middle  island  alone,  which 
contains  not  quite  half  of  the  total  territory.  The  num- 
ber of  these  languages,  spoken  by  peoples  of  incontestably 
the  same  race,  themselves  admitting  their  common  origin, 
and  located  side  by  side  in  such  a  limited  territory  with- 
out being  separated  by  any  real  barriers,  is  certainly  one 
of  the  most  curious  facts,  contrasting  strangely  with  what 
exists  in  Polynesia. 

One  knows  that  here  (Polynesia),  in  spite  of  space  and 
extended  migrations,  the  original  language  has  given  rise 
only  to  dialects;  so  that  inhabitants  of  Tahiti,  Easter 
Island,  or  New  Zealand  can  at  once  understandingly  talk 
to  each  other.  Moreover,  the  Mincopies  have  preserved 

*  The  usual  phrase  Mija  yadi  chebalen  la  kachire  (who  missed  the 
hard-backed  turtle?)  becomes,  in  the  refrain  of  a  song,  Cheklu  ya 
laku  mejra. 

f  The  lands  long  known  as  the  Great  Andaman  have  been  recog- 
nised as  four  distinct  islands  separated  by  narrow  channels,  and 
have  been  named  North,  Middle,  and  South  Andaman  and  Rut- 
land. These  islands  extend  almost  directly  north  and  south,  and 
are  together  not  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  kilometres  long, 
and  at  their  maximum  about  thirty-two  kilometres  wide.  (Map 
of  the  Andaman  Islands,  illustrating  the  distribution  of  the 
tribes.101) 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MIXCOPIES.  95 

the  memory  of  a  time  anterior  to  the  division  of  the  tribes 
and  separation  of  the  languages.  I  shall  return  to  this 
point  in  speaking  of  their  traditions. 

Mr.  Man  has  thoroughly  learned  only  one  of  these  lan- 
guages, and  "has  taken  care  to  announce  that  all  details 
given  by  him  apply  only  to  the  one  spoken  by  the 
Bojigngijida  of  the  South  Andaman  Island.*  I  cannot 
follow  the  author  in  this  subject,  and  limit  myself  to  calling 
attention  to  the  multiplicity  of  words  used  to  express  pos- 
sessive pronouns  and  adjectives,  according  to  whether  the 
object  is  inanimate,  a  human  being,  parts  of  the  body,  or 
relatives  of  a  certain  degree.  Man  enumerates  seven 
different  words  relating  to  the  head,  to  the  limbs,  to  the 
trunk,  etc.,  and  eight  words  applicable  to  the  mother,  son, 
older  or  younger  brother. 

The  preceding  remarks,  although  very  incomplete,  are 
sufficient,  I  think,  to  show  what  a  mistake  it  was  to  rep- 
resent the  Mincopan  languages — as  has  been  done  quite 
recently — as  being  in  a  rudimentary  stage  and  comprising 
only  a  small  number  of  words,  most  of  them  monosyl- 
labic. 

Numeration. — This  at  least  relative  richness  of  the 
language  in  general  makes  its  excessive  poverty  as  to 
numerals  all  the  more  striking.  The  Andamanese  has 
cardinal  numbers  to  express  only  one  and  two.  From 
these  he  counts  to  ten  by  touching  his  nose  with  each  of 
his  fingers  successively,  and  adding  each  time  the  words 
this  one  also.  But  further  he  does  not  go,  and  for  any 

*  In  his  first  communication  Mr.  Man  wrote  this  name  Bojingijida 
(Journal  of  the  Anthropological  Institute,  vol.  vii,  p.  107).  The  syl- 
lable da  at  the  end  of  both  of  these  names  is  a  particle  added  to 
most  substantives  or  adjectives,  and  to  several  adverbs  when  they 
are  isolated  or  at  the  end  of  a  sentence.  Its  use  being,  however, 
arbitrary,  Man  habitually  puts  it  into  a  parenthesis  and  writes 
Bojingiji  (da). 


96  THE   PYGMIES. 

higher  numbers  he  has  only  the  general  terms  several, 
many. 

He  has,  however,  six  ordinal  numbers.  Furthermore, 
the  words  expressing  these  numbers  are  not  always  the 
same.  They  vary  at  times  with  the  kind  of  individuals 
or  objects  spoken  of,  but  beyond  the  sixth  order  gen- 
eral terms  only  are  used.  It  is  evident  that  the  poverty 
of  language  in  this  respect  betrays  a  gap  in  the  intellec- 
tual functions  of  these  islanders.  The  lack  of  numerical 
ideas  has  often  been  observed  among  various  savage  peo- 
ples, but  I  do  not  think  that  anything  so  complete  has 
been  stated  in  this  direction.  In  this  regard  the  Minco- 
pies  must  be  placed  in  the  lowest  rank  of  mankind. 

They  are  scarcely  more  advanced  as  to  astronomy,  and 
are  in  this  respect  inferior  to  the  Tasmanians  and  Aus- 
tralians, who  distinguish  various  stars  and  constellations, 
with  which  legends  are  connected.  The  Andamanese 
have  only  given  names  to  the  belt  of  Orion  and  the  Milky 
"Way,  which  they  call  the  Eoad  of  Angels.  They  have,  how- 
ever, known  enough  to  recognise  the  four  cardinal  points 
and  the  phases  of  the  moon  in  their  relation  to  the  tides, 
and  they  have  divided  the  day  of  twenty-four  hours  into 
thirteen  periods,  each  of  them  having  a  special  name. 

General  Intelligence. — In  spite  of  this  inferiority  of 
the  Mincopies  in  regard  to  ideas  which  might  be  called 
scientific,  other  weaknesses  which  one  may  observe  in 
their  intellectual  manifestations  cannot  be  considered  as 
due  to  a  radical  incapacity.  Dr.  Brander,  for  several 
years  in  charge  of  the  hospital  at  the  Andaman  Islands, 
has  very  well  remarked  that  their  mind  seems  to  be  asleep 
in  consequence  of  their  savage  life,  but  that  it  can  be  easily 
awakened.  Experience  has  shown  that  up  to  the  age 
of  twelve  or  fourteen  the  little  Mincopies  are  as  intelligent 
as  children  of  the  same  age  among  our  middle  classes. 
One  of  them,  educated  in  the  orphan  school,  read,  wrote, 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  M1NCOPIES.  97 

and  spoke  fluently  English  and  Urdu,  without  having 
forgotten  his  mother  tongue.  He  had  also  learned  arith- 
metic very  well.  Mr.  Man  adds  that  this  is  not  an  excep- 
tional case ;  that  he  could  quote  other  examples  of  the 
same  kind,  and  among  them  a  young  man  even  superior 
to  the  pupil  spoken  of  by  Dr.  Brander.  It  may  then  be 
fully  admitted  that  a  suitable  education  would  soon  place 
the  Mincopies  on  the  level  of  peoples  who  at  present  are 
much  superior  to  them. 

Social  State — Tribes. — Meanwhile,  until  that  time  shall 
come  their  social  organisation  already  elevates  them  some- 
what. Hitherto  exclusively  hunters  or  fishermen,  they 
have  been  subjected  to  the  necessities  imposed  by  their 
mode  of  life.  The  population  has  been  scattered  about 
in  bits,  so  to  say.  "We  have  seen  that  there  are  eight 
tribes  in  what  is  called  the  Great  Andaman.  A  ninth 
inhabits  the  whole  of  the  Little  Andaman,  and  has,  fur- 
thermore, sent  colonies  to  Kutland  and  South  Andaman 
Islands,  where  they  live  in  a  state  of  continual  hostility 
with  the  tribes  of  local  origin.  The  following  are  the 
names  and  distribution  of  these  nine  tribes,  according  to 
the  last  memoir  of  Mr.  Man  : 

North  Andaman:  Aka-Chariar  (da),  Aka  Jaro  (da). 

Middle  Island:  Aka-Kol  (da),  Aka-Kede  (da),  Oko- 
Juwai  (da),  Aka-Bouig-Yab  (da).. 

South  Andaman  and  Rutland  islands :  Bojigngiji 
(da). 

Little  archipelago :  Aka-Balawa  (da). 

Little  Andaman :  Jarawa  (da). 

All  the  tribes  of  the  old  Great  Andaman  and  of  the 
little  archipelago  adjoining  it  have  the  same  customs  and 
the  same  industries,  and  recognise  each  other  as  sister 
tribes.  The  inhabitants  of  the  Little  Andaman,  as  yet 
slightly  known,  seem  to  be  somewhat  different,  owing, 
perhaps,  as  Man  thinks,  to  the  influence  of  the  Nicobarese. 


98  THE  PYGMIES. 

I  have  elsewhere  called  attention  to  a  fact  from  which  it 
results  that  this  southern  extremity  of  the  archipelago  has 
suffered  some  of  those  accidental  minglings  which  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  avoid,  which  the  Great  Andaman 
seems  to  have  entirely  escaped. 

It  has  been  repeatedly  affirmed  that  the  interior  of  the 
Andaman  Islands  was  not  inhabited  and  was  not  inhabit- 
able on  account  of  the  density  of  the  jungles  and  the  ab- 
sence of  fruit  trees.  These  assertions  have  no  founda- 
tion whatever. 

It  is  a  fact  which  Man  has  established  beyond  a  doubt. 
As  I  have  said  above,  each  tribe  comprises  inhabitants 
of  the  coast  (aryoto),  and  inhabitants  of  the  interior 
(eremlaga),  forming  two  great  divisions,  each  having  a 
great  chief  independent  of  the  other  (malaigla).  These 
two  divisions  are  again  divided  into  an  indefinite  number 
of  little  groups  or  communities  of  from  twenty  to  fifty  in- 
dividuals, each  with  a  secondary  chief  (maiola),  who  rec- 
ognises the  authority  of  the  principal  chief.  But  this 
authority  does  not  amount  to  very  much.  Its  privileges 
consist  mainly  in  regulating  the  movements  of  the  tribe 
or  group  and  in  organising  their  assemblies  and  feasts. 
Moreover,  neither  the  great  nor  the  secondary  chief  can 
punish  or  reward.  Their  influence,  then,  is  entirely 
moral ;  but,  for  all  that,  it  is  none  the  less  real  and  con- 
siderable, principally  over  the  young  unmarried  men,  who 
zealously  serve  the  chiefs  and  do  their  hardest  work  for 
them.  The  office  of  chief  is  elective,  but  generally  passes 
from  father  to  son  if  the  son  has  the  desirable  qualities. 

The  wife  of  the  chief  occupies  among  her  companions 
a  position  analogous  to  that  which  her  husband  occupies 
among  the  men.  She  keeps  these  privileges  when  a 
widow,  if  she  has  children  ;  otherwise  she  loses  her  lofty 
position. 

Marriage,  Family. — However  simple  and  rudimentary 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MINCOPIES.  99 

this  social  organisation  may  be,  it  answers  all  the  needs  of 
these  little  societies.  It  contradicts  certain  exaggerations, 
too  easily  accepted,  regarding  the  Mincopies.  What 
Man  tells  us  relative  to  the  constitution  of  the  family 
shows  still  better  how  much  these  islanders  had  been  ca- 
lumniated by  those  who  have  accepted  without  investiga- 
tion the  reports  of  some  travellers.  Duradawau  claimed 
that  mother  and  daughter  had  been  given  to  him  in  mar- 
riage. Brown  and  Sir  Edward  Belcher  stated  that  the 
union  of  husband  and  wife  ceases  with  the  weaning  of  the 
child,  and  that  the  parties  then  become  free.  It  was 
added  that  marriage  as  we  understand  it  was  unknown 
to  them,  and  that  there  existed  among  them  a  veritable 
promiscuity.  Basing  my  opinion  upon  some  facts  col- 
lected by  Mr.  Day,40  I  long  since  expressed  the  strongest 
doubts  regarding  these  assertions  and  the  consequences 
drawn  from  them.  One  will  now  see  how  far  I  was 
right. 

Among  the  Mincopies,  as  among  many  other  savages, 
the  young  people  of  both  sexes  enjoy  equal  freedom  before 
marriage.  But,  Man  adds,  in  spite  of  this  liberty,  the 
young  girls  preserve  the  strictest  modesty  in  their  man- 
ners. Various  precautions  are,  moreover,  taken  to  make 
too  intimate  relations  difficult,  or  to  stop  them.  When, 
however,  a  young  girl  becomes  pregnant,  the  guardian  of 
youth  makes  a  sort  of  legal  inquiry  to  discover  the  father 
of  the  child  ;  he  never  refuses  to  make  the  reparation  de- 
manded, and  marriage  properly  adjusts  the  position  of  the 
lovers. 

The  Mincopies  are  strictly  monogamous.  Bigamy 
and  polygamy  are  unknown  to  them,  and  marriage  is  a 
serious  matter  with  them.  Children  are  often  betrothed 
by  their  parents  at  a  tender  age,  and,  no  matter  what 
happens,  this  contract  must  be  carried  out  soon  after 
the  young  people  have  attained  the  required  age.  The 


100  THE  PYGMIES. 

joung  fiancee  is  considered  as  being  already  a  wife,  and 
any  weakness  on  her  part  would  be  considered  a  crime. 

Marriage  between  relatives  is  absolutely  interdicted 
to  the  last  degree  of  relationship  recognised  by  these 
islanders.  This  rule  extends  to  relationship  by  adoption, 
but  not  to  relationship  by  marriage.  Our  marriages  among 
cousins  german  are  highly  immoral  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Mincopies,  and  they  reproach  us  with  it.  Thus  they 
justify  again  the  general  observation  made  by. an  English 
author,  that  it  is  "  among  the  least  civilised  people  that 
the  greatest  horror  of  incestuous  marriage  exists." 

When  a  marriage  is  in  question  it  is  not  the  interested 
ones  themselves  who  take  the  first  steps.  This  duty  falls 
upon  the  guardian  of  youth  who  also  has  to  watch  all 
relations  among  his  subordinates  and  to  recognise  which 
ones  may  promise  a  permanent  attachment.  If  a  young 
man  or  widower  is  found  sleeping  in  the  hut  of  a  young 
girl,  marriage  necessarily  follows.  But  this  union  is  con- 
sidered irregular,  and  has  a  particular  name — tigwanga ; 
there  is  no  ceremony  connected  with  it,  and  it  entails  a 
certain  loss  of  respect  and  consideration. 

Marriage  is  purely  civil.  On  the  appointed  day  the 
company  assemble  in  the  hut  of  the  chief.  The  bride  re- 
mains seated,  assisted  by  some  women ;  the  groom  stands, 
surrounded  by  the  young  men.  The  chief  approaches 
him  and  leads  him  to  the  young  girl,  whose  legs  are  held 
by  several  women.  After  some  pretended  resistance  on 
the  part  of  both,  the  groom  sits  down  on  the  knees  of 
his  bride.  Then  torches  are  lighted,  so  that  all  present 
can  attest  that  the  ceremony  has  been  regularly  carried 
out.  Finally,  the  chief  declares  the  young  people  duly 
married,  and  they  retire  to  a  hut  prepared  in  advance. 
There,  Man  says,  they  spend  several  days  without  speak- 
ing to  or  even  looking  at  each  other,  receiving  provisions 
and  presents  of  all  kinds,  which  friends  busy  themselves 


CHARACTERISTICS  OP  THE  MIXCOPIES.         101 

to  bring  to  them,  and  soon  their  housekeeping  equipment 
is  complete.  Finally,  the  young  couple  resume  ordinary 
life,  and  then  only  is  the  marriage  celebrated  by  a  dance, 
in  which  the  whole  community,  with  the  exception  of 
young  married  people,  takes  part. 

These  marriages  are  happy.  "The  women,"  says 
Man,  "  are  models  of  constancy,  and  their  husbands  do 
not  yield  to  them  in  this  respect."  The  woman  is  far 
from  being  a  slave,  as  has  been  said,  and  the  two  live  on 
a  perfectly  equal  footing;  their  mutual  relations  are 
marked  by  courtesy  and  affection ;  each  has  particular 
duties,  but  is  always  ready  to  help  the  other  if  necessary. 
Altogether,  Man  concludes,  the  consideration  and  respect 
with  which  the  Mincopy  women  are  treated  might  advan- 
tageously be  imitated  by  certain  classes  of  our  own  popu- 
lations. 

To  marry  a  second  time  is  not  forbidden,  and  the  mar- 
riage of  a  widow  with  a  younger  brother  of  her  husband 
is  almost  obligatory.  Yet  profound  respect  is  shown  to 
the  widower  or  widow,  who  proves  affection  to  the  de- 
funct by  chastely  living  alone.  It  is  not  rare  to  see  even 
young  men  remain  faithful  to  the  memory  of  their  com- 
panions for  several  years,  or  even  for  their  whole  lives. 

The  mother  nurses  her  children  as  long  as  she  has 
milk.  Consequently  the  function  of  lactation,  kept  up  by 
practice,  becomes,  as  it  were,  chronic,  and  not  rarely  two 
younger  brothers  may  be  seen  sharing  the  breasts  of  the 
mother. 

These  children  are  tenderly  loved,  and  yet  they  rarely 
stay  with  their  parents  after  their  sixth  or  seventh  year, 
by  reason  of  the  custom  of  adoption,  which  has  been  de- 
veloped to  such  a  degree  in  these  islands.  Every  married 
man  received  into  a  family  requests,  as  an  expression  of 
gratitude  and  proof  of  friendship,  the  privilege  of  adopt- 
ing one  of  the  children  of  the  family.  The  request  is 


102  THE  PYGMIES. 

usually  granted,  and  the  adopted  child  changes  his  abode. 
The  parents  often  go  to  see  him,  but  they  cannot  take  him 
with  them,  even  temporarily,  without  permission  of  the 
foster  father.  He,  moreover,  can  dispose  of  his  adopted 
son  as  he  can  of  his  own,  and  may  pass  him  over  to 
a  new  adopter. 

It  has  been  said  of  the  Mincopies  that  they  have  no 
proper  names.  Quite  to  the  contrary,  they  have  a  some- 
what complicated  system  of  appellation. 

As  soon  as  a  woman  is  pregnant  the  parents,  as  with 
us,  begin  to  choose  a  name,  which  the  child  receives  at 
birth.  This  name  is  always  followed  by  a  qualificative 
common  to  the  individuals  of  the  same  sex,  varying  with 
the  sex,  which  is  kept  until  the  age  of  two  or  three  years. 
At  this  time  the  first  qualificative  is  replaced  by  a  second, 
which  the  young  men  keep  until  their  initiation,  which  is 
described  farther  on,  and  for  which  the  young  girls  sub- 
stitute the  name  of  a  tree,  the  blossoming  of  which  coin- 
cides with  the  appearance  of  signs  of  puberty.  Eighteen 
kinds  of  trees  have  the  privilege  of  thus  decorating  with 
flowers  the  young  Mincopies,  and  Man  has  given  the  names 
of  some  of  them.  Once  married  and  become  the  mother 
of  a  family,  the  woman  loses  her  flower  name.  She  takes 
the  title  of  chana,  which  Mr.  Man  translates  by  madam 
or  mother,  and  which  is  added  to  her  name,  like  the  pre- 
ceding qualificatives. 

From  the  age  of  eleven  to  thirteen  begins  for  individu- 
als of  both  sexes  a  period  of  abstinence,  called  okay  aha, 
which  for  the  young  .girls  extends  nearly  to  the  time  of 
their  marriage,  and  for  the  young  men  to  the  time  of 
puberty.  While  it  lasts  they  cannot  eat  turtle,  pork,  fish, 
or  honey — that  is  to  say,  the  food  forming  the  staple  of 
their  usual  diet  is  forbidden  to  them.  They  must  also  ab- 
stain from  the  use  of  certain  delicacies,  such  as  the  meat 
of  the  iguana,  the  larvae  of  a  large  beetle,  etc.  They  may, 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MINCOPIES.         103 

however,  satisfy  their  hunger  with  any  other  native  dishes. 
This  kind  of  taboo  can  only  be  removed  by  the  chiefs, 
who  keep  it  in  force  until  the  time  when  the  candidates 
have  given  sufficient  proof  of  their  perseverance. 

The  akayaba  comprises  three  periods,  named  from  the 
three  principal  kinds  of  food  tabooed :  the  meat  of  the 
turtle,  honey,  and  the  fat  of  pork  kidneys.  At  the  expi- 
ration of  each  a  feast  is  celebrated,  during  which  the 
neophyte  must  observe  silence,  deprives  himself  of  sleep 
for  twenty-four  hours,  and  then  with  ceremony  eats  one 
of  those  dishes,  the  use  of  which  is  henceforth  permitted 
him.  The  ceremony  closes  with  a  special  dance,  reserved 
for  these  kinds  of  initiations. 

Everything  concerning  family  relations  is  to  the  Min- 
copy  of  prime  importance.  His  language  expresses  this 
sentiment  in  a  striking  manner.  Mr.  Man  has  given  a 
list  of  seventy-one  terms,  each  indicating  a  degree  of  re- 
lationship, and  specifying  at  the  same  time  the  relation  of 
age  existing  between  the  speaker  and  the  person  in  ques- 
tion. 

The  practice  of  frequent  adoptions  adds  greatly  to 
this  complication,  from  which  comes  also  the  idea  that 
relationship  does  not  extend  to  more  than  three  genera- 
tions. Father  and  mother  use  different  words  in  speak- 
ing of  a  son.  The  former  calls  him  Tie  whom  I  have  be- 
gotten •  the  latter,  he  whom  I  have  borne.  This  in  itself 
shows  us  what  part  these  islanders  attribute  to  each  sex  in 
the  act  of  generation. 

The  distinction  of  ages  is  always  observed.  In  speak- 
ing to  an  older  relative,  the  title  ma'iola,  which  we  have 
seen  to  be  that  of  the  secondary  chief,  is  added 'to  his 
name ;  in  speaking  to  a  younger  relative,  he  is  called  by 
his  name  only.  The  same  distinction  is  observed  in  re- 
gard to  women,  but  the  terms  are  different. 

Within  families  the  relations  between  the  individuals 


104  THE  PYGMIES. 

of  the  two  sexes  show  great  delicacy.  The  man  observes 
the  greatest  reserve  toward  the  wife  of  a  cousin  or  younger 
brother.  He  can  only  address  her  through  a  third  per- 
son, and  can  never  marry  her.  The  wife  of  an  older 
brother,  on  the  contrary,  receives  from  her  brothers-in-law 
tokens  of  affection  and  respect  such  as  are  shown  to  a 
mother. 

Property,  Hospitality. — The  preceding  is  no  doubt 
sufficient  to  show  that  the  Mincopies  are  anything  but 
those  barbarous  and  intractable  creatures,  nearer  to  brutes 
than  to  man,  too  often  described.  A  mass  of  details,  given 
by  those  few  travellers  who  had  seen  them  closely  in  their 
daily  life,  and  particularly  by  Mr.  Man,  puts  an  end  to 
these  unjust  assertions.  I  limit  myself  to  point  out  two 
characteristic  facts. 

The  rights  of  property  are  recognised  and  respected  by 
these  islanders.  Territories  of  tribes  are  only  bounded  by 
rather  undefined  limits — a  chain  of  hills,  a  belt  of  jungles, 
etc. ;  nevertheless,  they  are  rarely  crossed  without  a  formal 
invitation  or  special  permission.  Violations  of  this  rule, 
though  not  frequent,  entail  almost  always  a  bloody  fight. 
Individual  property  is  equally  respected.  "  No  Andaman 
Islander,"  says  Mr.  Man,  "  would  take  or  disturb  a  weapon 
or  utensil  belonging  to  a  neighbour."  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  customary  that  the  proprietor  of  a  canoe,  a  vessel, 
or  a  plank  drum  should  put  them  at  the  service  of  his 
community  if  he  should  be  asked  to  do  so. 

Hospitality  is  one  of  the  characteristic  virtues  of  the 
Mincopies.  Children,  from  their  most  tender  age,  are 
taught  to  respect  guests  and  friends.  In  each  family 
there  is  constantly  kept  a  certain  amount  of  food  for 
visitors  who  may  arrive.  Strangers  introduced  by  mutual 
friends  are  always  warmly  received  by  the  whole  commu- 
nity. They  are  the  first  served  ;  the  best  dishes  that  the 
camp  contains  are  offered  to  them  ;  they  are  accompanied 


CHARACTERISTICS  OP  THE  MINCOPIES.         105 

at  their  departure  ;  before  separating  they  clasp  hands,  and, 
instead  of  embracing,  they  blow  at  each  other's  faces ;  then 
they  engage  in  an  affectionate  dialogue.  Finally  they  sep- 
arate with  mutual  promises  of  meeting  again. 

Quarrels,  Wars. — Nevertheless,  no  more  in  the  Anda- 
mans  than  elsewhere  does  life  always  preserve  this  idyllic 
character.  Here,  as  everywhere,  quarrels,  strifes,  and 
wars  arise.  The  Mincopies  are  sensitive  and  quick-tem- 
pered. In  such  a  case  the  one  who  considers  himself 
damaged  manifests  his  irritation  usually  by  shooting  an 
arrow  near  the  offender ;  but  at  times  he  tries  to  hit  him. 
Sometimes  he  is  seized  by  a  sort  of  frenzy,  and  begins  to 
break  and  destroy  everything  that  he  can  lay  hands  on, 
without  sparing  even  his  own  property.  In  such  a  case 
he  is  considered  as  being  possessed,  and  not  responsible  for 
his  actions.  This  is,  as  can  be  seen,  a  sort  of  amuck,  but 
less  dangerous  than  that  of  the  Malays,  as  it  vents  itself 
on  things,  and  not  on  persons. 

The  bad  instincts  of  the  savage  appear  again  in  the 
war  which  sometimes  breaks  out  among  the  tribes  in  the 
midst  of  an  entirely  peaceful  feast.  Of  course  all  the 
property  of  the  vanquished  is  carried  off  or  destroyed. 
The  wounded  are  massacred.  Women  and  children  suffer 
the  same  fate.  The  latter,  however,  are  sometimes  spared 
and  kindly  treated,  in  the  hope  of  making  of  them  so 
many  members  of  the  victorious  tribe. 

The  Mincopies  have  always  been  accused  of  killing 
strangers  thrown  upon  their  islands  by  shipwrecks.  They 
seem  to  have  deserved  this  sad  reputation.  Duradawan, 
the  Sepoy  spoken  of  above,  had  not  escaped  alone ;  but  all 
his  companions  were  killed.  These  acts  of  ferocity  are 
easily  explained  by  the  facts  to  which  Lieutenant  Blair,15 
one  of  the  first  explorers  of  these  islands,  called  attention. 
The  Malays  and  Chinese  have  for  centuries  frequented 
these  islands  in  order  to  gather  edible  swallows'  nests ; 


106  THE  PYGMIES. 

but  on  various  occasions  they  have  laid  traps  for  the 
natives,  to  catch  and  make  slaves  of  them.  It  is  natural 
that  a  general  spirit  of  distrust  and  hatred  towards  stran- 
gers should  be  the  result  of  these  treacherous  and  violent 
acts.  The  English  also  were  at  first  received  by  arrows 
shot  at  them ;  but  when  the  Mincopies  saw  that  there 
was  nothing  to  fear,  they  quickly  attached  themselves  to 
these  newcomers,  and  wherever  the  explorers  went,  ac- 
companied by  natives  to  introduce  them,  they  were  well 
received. 

Funerals. — Death,  according  to  the  slanderers  of  the 
Mincopies,  does  not  cause  these  islanders  to  manifest  any 
grief.  On  the  contrary,  these  manifestations  are  usually 
most  lively,  and  the  whole  community  takes  part  in  them. 
The  funeral  rites — for  it  is  proper  to  use  this  expression — 
are  nearly  the  same  for  children  as  for  adults.  The  for- 
mer, however,  are  always  buried  in  the  midst  of  the  camp, 
while  the  latter  are  transported  to  the  thickest  part  of  the 
jungle,  where  they  are  either  buried,  or  exposed  on  a  plat- 
form built  at  the  bifurcation  of  two  large  branches. 

On  the  death  of  a  child  the  relatives  and  friends  for 
hours  weep  by  the  little  body.  Then,  as  a  sign  of  mourn- 
ing, they  paint  themselves  from  head  to  foot  with  a  paste 
of  olive-coloured  clay.  Moreover,  after  having  their  heads 
shaved,  the  men  put  a  lump  of  the  same  clay  just  above 
the  forehead,  and  the  women  place  a  similar  lump  upon 
the  top  of  the  head. 

Eighteen  hours  are  usually  taken  in  making  the  toilet 
of  the  dead.  The  mother  shaves  the  head  and  paints  it,  as 
well  as  the  neck,  wrists,  and  knees,  with  ochre  and  white 
clay.  Then  the  limbs  are  folded  and  wrapped  in  large 
leaves  held  by  cords.  The  father  digs  the  grave  under 
the  fireplace  in  the  hut.  "When  everything  is  ready  the 
parents  say  a  last  farewell  to  their  dead  by  gently  blowing 
two  or  three  times  upon  his  face.  Then  one  finishes  the 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MINCOPIES.         107 

wrapping  in  leaves,  and  places  the  corpse  in  a  sitting  po- 
sition in  the  grave,  which  is  immediately  filled.  The  fire 
is  lighted  again,  and  the  mother  places  upon  the  grave 
a  shell  containing  a  few  drops  of  her  own  milk,  that  the 
spirit  of  her  child  may  quench  its  thirst.  The  Minco- 
pies  believe,  indeed,  that  one  of  the  two  principles  which 
animate  the  body  will  haunt  for  some  time  its  old  abode. 
In  order  that  it  may  not  be  troubled,  the  community  leave 
their  camp,  after  having  surrounded  the  hut,  or  even  the 
whole  village,  with  a  garland  of  rushes  (ara),  the  presence 
of  which  informs  any  visitor  that  death  has  stricken  one 
of  the  inhabitants  and  that  he  must  depart. 

During  the  period  of  mourning  the  village  is  aban- 
doned. At  the  end  of  about  three  months  they  return, 
the  funeral  garland  is  removed,  and  the  body  exhumed. 
'  The  father  gathers  the  bones,  cleans  them  carefully,  and 
divides  them  into  small  fragments  suitable  for  use  in 
necklaces.  The  skull  is  carefully  painted  yellow,  covered 
again  with  a  sort  of  network  ornamented  by  little  shells, 
and  the  mother  puts  -it  on  a  string  round  her  neck.  After 
a  few  days  the  father  in  his  turn  wears  this  relic.  The 
other  bones  are  used  to  make  necklaces,  which  the  parents 
distribute  among  their  friends  as  souvenirs.  At  the  same 
time  the  lump  of  clay,  which  was  worn  until  then  as  a  sign 
of  mourning,  is  removed,  and  the  usual  painting  and  orna- 
ments are  resumed. 

However,  all  the  ceremonies  are  not  yet  accomplished. 
On  a  day  agreed  on,  the  friends  of  the  family  gather  about 
the  hut.  The  father,  holding  in  his  arms  the  children  left 
to  him,  chants  some  ancient  song,  the  refrain  of  which  is 
taken  up  by  the  women,  while  all  assistants  express  their 
sympathy  by  noisy  lamentations.  Then  the  parents,  after 
having  executed  the  dance  of  tears  (titolatnga),  retire 
to  their  hut,  while  the  dance  goes  on  for  several  hours 
longer. 


103  THE   PYGMIES. 

The  manifestations  of  grief  at  the  death  of  an  adult 
are  nearly  the  same  as  those  just  described.  He  also  is 
buried  in  a  sitting  position,  with  his  face  turned  towards 
the  east.  A  fire  is  lighted  on  the  tomb  or  under  the  plat- 
form which  bears  the  body ;  a  nautilus  shell  full  of  water 
and  divers  other  objects  are  placed  about  him.  The  vil- 
lage is  abandoned  and  surrounded  by  the  ara.  At  the 
fixed  time  the  bones  are  cleaned  and  distributed,  to  be 
used  in  necklaces.  The  skulls  preserved  in  the  camp 
are  carried  in  turn  for  several  hours  by  all  the  members 
of  the  community.* 

Industries. — In  regard  to  industrial  achievements  the 
Mincopies  have  been  at  once  belittled  and  overpraised. 

Let  us  first  state  the  fact  of  one  remarkable  deficiency. 
It  seems  to  be  demonstrated  by  the  researches  of  Mr.  Man 
that  these  islanders  know  no  means  of  making  fire.  They 
only  know  how  to  keep  it  alive.  Man  thinks  that  they 
must  have  originally  taken  it  from  one  of  the  two  volca- 
noes situated  on  islands  near  their  archipelago.  They 
themselves  say  that  they  obtained  it  directly  from  their 
supreme  god,  but  in  their  traditions  relative  to  it  there 
are  some  facts  which,  it  seems  to  me,  would  allow  us  to 
conjecture  that  their  ancestors  knew  how  to  obtain  fire  by 
the  process  so  common  among  all  savages — of  rubbing  two 
kinds  of  wood  together.  However  that  may  be,  their 


*  The  Mincopies  are  of  existing  peoples  the  only  one  among 
whom  these  singular  customs  in  rendering  homage  to  the  dead  have 
been  found.  But  they  may,  perhaps,  have  existed  among  some  of 
our  Quaternary  tribes.  This  hypothesis  would  explain  the  repeated 
discoveries  of  broken  human  bones  and  isolated  skulls,  since  many 
other  circumstances  tend  to  do  away  with  the  idea  of  cannibalism. 
Perhaps  it  might  be  added  that  traces  of  these  old  practices  could 
be  found  in  the  custom  existing  in  some  of  our  provinces,  of  dis- 
tributing among  relatives  and  friends  objects  which  belonged  to  the 
deceased  as  reminders  of  the  loved  one. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE   MINCOPIES.         109 

present  ignorance  in  this  respect  places  them  below  all 
other  human  races — perhaps  below  all  known  peoples.* 

It  is  evident  that  the  preservation  of  fire  must  be  the 
object  of  special  cares.  Man  gives  upon  this  point  some 
details  which  it  is  needless  to  reproduce.  He  deprives 
the  Mincopies,  however,  of  the  credit  of  an  invention 
which  Mouat  had  attributed  to  them.125  According  to 
this  traveller,  they  preserved  in  the  interior  of  large  trees 
chosen  for  this  purpose  a  perpetual  fire.  The  fire,  burn- 
ing out  the  trunk  downward,  would  have  formed  a  kind 
of  vertical  furnace,  where  the  glowing  cinders  were  pre- 
served almost  indefinitely.  Man  sees  in  this  description 
only  a  fable  invented  no  doubt  by  Duradawan. 

One  may  say  that  the  Mincopies  are  unacquainted  with 
the  first  rudiments  of  the  art  of  drawing.  Their  master- 
pieces in  this  line  consist  of  simple  zigzag  lines  engraved 
upon  their  bows,  pottery,  or  oars,  the  effect  of  which  is 
sometimes  quite  pleasing.101 

They  seem  never  to  have  attempted  to  reproduce  the 
form  of  an  animal  or  a  plant.  In  this  respect  they  are 
below  the  Bushmen,  or  even  the  Tasrnanians.  Conse- 
quently there  cannot  exist  among  them  anything  resem- 
bling pictography.  They  have  no  means  of  communicat- 
ing at  a  distance  or  of  perpetuating  their  thoughts  ;  only, 
when  they  want  to  indicate  the  way  to  follow  in  the  jun- 
gles, they  break  or  bend  some  branches  in  the  direction  to 
be  taken. 

The  music  of  the  Mincopies  is  also  very  rudimentary. 
It  is  a  short  musical  -refrain,  which,  indefinitely  repeated* 
recalls  somewhat  those  of  certain  dances  still  in  use  in 

*  The  same  ignorance  has  been  ascribed  to  the  inhabitants  of  some 
islands  of  Micronesia,  but  these  casual  observations  need  to  be  con- 
firmed. It  is  known  that  the  Tasmanians  also  were  long  repre- 
sented as  being  incapable  of  producing  fire,  and  this  assertion  was 
disproved  later. 


HO  THE  PYGMIES. 

lower  Brittany.  To  accompany  these  melodies  our  island- 
ers have  no  instrument  but  a  little  board  in  the  shape  of 
a  truncated  ellipse,  which  serves  to  mark  time  for  the 
dancers.101  They  are,  then,  inferior  to  all  other  savage 
peoples,  who  have  at  least  invented  the  drum. 

The  manner  of  life  of  the  Audamanese  tribes  necessi- 
tates frequent  migrations  within  their  territories.  This 
fact,  poorly  observed,  has  led  to  their  being  represented 
as  absolutely  nomadic,  without  having  any  fixed  dwell- 
ings, and  as  knowing  how  to  construct  only  the  simplest 
shelter  as  a  protection  against  rain  or  wind.  Nothing  of 
the  kind.  The  Mincopies  have  in  reality  three  kinds  of 
huts ;  the  simplest,  of  which  they  make  use  in  their  ex- 
cursions, represent,  so  to  speak,  the  tents  of  our  soldiers. 
They  are  quickly  put  up  at  each  stopping  place,  and  the 
task  is  incumbent  upon  the  women ;  but  the  men  con- 
struct more  substantial  huts  when  a  longer  sojourn  is  pro- 
jected. Finally,  in  the  villages  proper  their  dwellings  are 
made  with  great  care,  and  are  of  considerable  dimensions. 
In  the  tribe  of  the  Jarawas  they  are  thirteen  metres  by 
twelve.  Poles  set  in  the  ground,  cross-pieces  attached  to 
them  so  as  to  form  the  framework  of  the  roof,  and  palm 
leaves  artistically  adjusted,  make  up  the  material  of  these 
buildings,  which  can  brave  the  most  terrific  rain  storms. 
Let  us  add  that  in  the  interior  there  are  always  mats  or 
leaves  serving  as  beds.  These  huts  are  generally  placed 
around  an  elliptical  space  intended  for  dances.  At  one 
end  is  what  might  be  called  the  public  kitchen.  The  boys 
and  girls  sleep  in  special  huts,  to  separate  them  from  the 
married  people.  This  separation  of  the  young  people  of 
both  sexes  is  observed  even  in  the  interior  of  the  huts,  and 
this  fact  in  itself  contradicts  certain  assertions,  too  readily 
accepted,  in  regard  to  these  islanders. 

Thus,  as  regards  dwellings,  the  Mincopies  show  them- 
selves superior  to  the  Fuegians,  and  at  least  equal  to  the 


CHARACTERISTICS  OP  THE   MINCOP1ES. 

most  advanced  tribes  of  Tasmania  and  Australia.  In  one 
other  matter,  whose  importance  is  universally  admitted, 
they  are  very  superior  not  only  to  these  peoples,  but  also 
to  the  most  advanced  Polynesians.  They  make  pottery 
which  stands  the  fire,  and  vessels  in  which  they  cook  most 
of  their  food.  These  pots,  generally  with  rounded  bottom 
are  made  by  hand,  and  are  decorated  on  the  outside  with 
wavy  or  various  cross  lines,  engraved  by  means  of  a  wooden 
style.  Their  dimensions  vary ;  the  largest  hold  ten  litres 
and  more.  The  Mincopies  also  know  how  to  make 
wooden  vessels,  to  which  they  sometimes  give  the  form  of 
a  double  bamboo  knot. 

These  islanders  are  not  inferior  in  most  primitive  in- 
dustries to  any  fishing  or  hunting  populations.  For  in- 
stance, they  make  nets  more  than  twenty  metres  long  by 
five  metres  wide,  with  which  they  bar  narrow  creeks  and 
the  curves  in  streams.  They  have  also  arrows  and  har- 
poons, whose  points  are  fastened  to  the  shaft  by  a  long 
cord.  The  animal  struck  unwinds  this  cord  in  trying  to  get 
away,  and,  hindered  and  stopped  by  the  shaft  which  it 
drags  along,  it  is  easily  caught.  Nothing  similar  exists 
among  many  savages  considered  superior  to  the  Minco- 
pies. 

Their  bow  also  deserves  a  special  mention.  At  the 
Little  Andaman  this  weapon  has  the  usual  form,  but  at 
the  Great  Andaman  it  is  entirely  different.  Here  the 
middle,  serving  as  a  handle,  is  thick  and  cylindrical.  The 
two  side  pieces  are  flat,  relatively  very  large  in  the  middle, 
and  tapering  towards  the  ends.  They  are,  moreover,  curved 
in  contrary  directions  in  the  strung  bow,  so  that  it  then 
resembles  a  much  elongated  S  or  a  large  integration  sign. 
This  arrangement  results  in  protecting  the  hand  of  the 
archer  from  the  shock  of  the  string,  which  is  stopped  by 
the  convexity  of  one  half  of  the  bow.  The  lack  of  sym- 
metry in  this  weapon  does  not  impair  either  its  force  or 


112  THE  PYGMIES. 

its  surety.  With  a  bow  two  metres  long  a  Mincopy  can 
at  a  distance  of  thirty  to  forty  metres  pierce  a  pine  board 
four  centimetres  thick ;  at  about  a  hundred  metres  he 
can  still  inflict  a  serious  wound.  It  is  a  curious  fact 
that  the  Mincopy  bow  has  only  been  found  elsewhere  in 
some  parts  of  eastern  Melanesia,  among  others  at  Malli- 
colo — that  is,  among  a  population  connected  at  least  in 
part  with  a  type  of  Negro  very  near  the  Andamanese. 

Utensils  of  the  Mincopies — Application  to  the  Problem 
of  the  Existence  of  Tertiary  Man. — The  Miucopies  have 
only  the  most  rudimentary  instruments  with  which  to 
hew  the  trees  and  cut  the  poles  which  form  the  frame- 
work of  their  huts,  or  to  shape  their  bows,  hollow  their 
vessels  and  canoes,  and  to  carve  the,  at  times  complicated, 
designs  with  which  they  are  decorated.  In  every  way 
this  part  of  their  history  is  of  special  interest.  It  touches, 
moreover,  the  vigorous  controversies  in  regard  to  our  Euro- 
pean fossil  races,  and  particularly  those  in  reference  to  the 
existence  of  Tertiary  man.  I  therefore  consider  it  neces- 
sary to  enter  here  into  more  elaborate  details,  and  to  repeat 
in  part  what  I  have  elsewhere  said  upon  this  subject.151 

The  Abbe  Bourgeois,  in  1868,  presented  to  the  Con- 
gress of  Prehistoric  Anthropology  at  Paris  flints  which 
he  believed  to  have  been  chipped  by  man.  These  flints 
had  been  collected  by  him  in  a  deposit  belonging  to  the 
Lower  Miocene,  in  the  village  of  Thenay,  near  Pontlevoy 
(Loir-et-Cher).16  He  concluded  from  this  fact  that  man 
existed  in  Europe  from  the  Tertiary  epoch.  This  commu- 
nication was  the  starting  point  of  discussions  which  are 
still  going  on.  Three  great  objections  were  made  to  the 
conclusions  drawn  by  the  learned  abbe  from  his  discov- 
ery. The  number  of  chipped  flints  seemed  excessive ;  the 
fracturings  which  many  showed  were  attributed  to  vari- 
ous causes  entirely  independent  of  the  intervention  of 
man ;  one  emphasised  the  predominance  of  flints  bearing 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE   A1INCOPIES.         H3 

no  traces  of  human  labour,  and  the  retouches  which  the 
abbe  and  his  adherents  attributed  to  such  labour  were  ex- 
plained by  the  action  of  natural  forces.  Objections  were 
also  raised  by  some  geologists,  based  upon  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  flints  in  the  layer  in  which  they  were  found. 

The  history  of  labour  among  the  Mincopies  an- 
swers all  of  those  objections  which  do  not  depend  upon 
geology. 

The  Mincopies,  to  judge  from  one  of  their  legends, 
have  known  iron  for  a  long  time  ;  but  before  the  arrival 
of  the  English  they  had  to  content  themselves  with  what 
they  could  get  from  the  few  ships  wrecked  upon  their 
coasts.  Whenever  they  could  procure  any  they  hammered 
it  cold  between  two  stones  into  arrow  points  or  hatchets, 
or  rather  that  kind  of  adze  which  was  their  principal 
tool.  But  we  can  understand  that  this  metal  was  very 
rare,  and  the  Mincopies  had,  in  fact,  remained  in  the 
stone  age.  Although  iron  has  become  more  abundant 
among  them  since  the  advent  of  Europeans,  yet  the  quan- 
tity scattered  among  the  natives  is  far  from  being  suffi- 
cient for  their  daily  wants.  Man  tells  us  that  those  tribes 
at  a  distance  from  the  English  establishment  still  are  at 
the  same  point  where  their  fathers  were,  and  know  even 
now  scarcely  any  other  tools.  Even  those  close  to 
the  colony  use  by  preference  the  first  three  kinds  of 
stone  instruments  in  the  list  which  I  am  about  to  repro- 
duce. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  oldest  traditions  of  these 
islanders  do  not  mention  any  stone  as  having  served  as 
blades  for  their  hatchets  or  as  points  for  their  arrows. 
They  used  different  shells  for  these  purposes.  Man  men- 
tions the  Perna  ephippium  as  having  particularly  been 
used  to  point  arrows,  and  a  kind  of  Pinna  as  having  been 
employed  as  material  for  adzes.  A  species  of  Cyrena  also 
was  largely  used  in  these  tools.  Bamboo  and  the  bones  of 


114  THE  PYGMIES. 

large  fish  and  the  spine  of  the  tail  of  certain  rays  were 
also  utilised  in  various  ways. 

Stone  nevertheless  played  an  important  part  in  the  in- 
dustry of  the  Andamanese,  and  five  tools  or  instruments 
made  out  of  it  are  distinguished  by  particular  names.  I 
shall  translate  literally  what  Man  says  on  the  subject, 
adding  some  short  reflections. 

"  1.  Rarap,  the  anvil." 

From  details  given  elsewhere  it  appears  that  this 
anvil  consisted  of  a  block  of  hard  stone,  more  or  less 
rounded. 

"  2.  Taili-bana,  the  hammer  (smooth,  rounded  frag- 
ment of  dolerite  or  fine-grained  basalt). 

"  3.  Talag,  whetstone,  fragments  of  sandstone  slightly 
micaceous." 

Lane  Fox  has  given  a  drawing  and  cross  section  of 
one  of  these  whetstones.101  It  closely  resembles  certain 
of  our  prehistoric  knives.  These  knives  seem  to  be  used 
exclusively  to  whet  the  edge  of  the  points  of  javelins  or  of 
arrows. 

"  4.  Tolma-loko-tug  (quartz  tooth}.  These  are  small 
blades  and  splinters  used  for  shaving  and  tattooing." 

They  are  taken  from  veins  of  quartz,  sometimes 
opaque  and  sometimes  transparent,  like  crystal,  or  from 
semitrauslucent  pebbles  of  a  bluish-white  colour  (Man). 

"  5.  Z#,  cooking  stone.  These  are  common  pebbles, 
about  two  inches  in  diameter,  which  are  heated,  and  with 
which  the  foods  to  be  cooked  are  covered." 

Here  we  find  a  curious  variation  of  the  oven  used 
throughout  Polynesia.  The  Mincopies  had  not  thought 
of  scooping  out  the  ground  to  utilise  heat  better  and  pre- 
serve it  longer,  but  one  sees  that  stones  in  the  Andaman 
Islands  play  a  similar  role  to  that  which  has  always  been 
reported  from  New  Zealand,  the  Sandwich  Islands,  Tahiti, 
and  Tonga. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MINCOP1ES.         H5 

Mr.  Man  adds  the  following  remarks,  which  I  trans- 
late, italicising  the  passages  relating  particularly  to  the 
question  which  I  have  especially  in  view : 

"  When  a  new  whetstone  is  needed,  the  Mincopies, 
not  knowing  the  art  of  chipping  stone,  choose  a  block  of 
sandstone.  If  it  is  too  large,  it  is  put  in  the  fire  until  it 
breaks.  The  operator  chooses  the  fragment  correspond- 
ing best  to  his  purposes,  and  shapes  it  by  means  of  his 
hard,  smooth,  stone  hammer.  At  the  end  of  a  little  time 
the  edge  of  the  stone  becomes  blunted,  but  it  serves  for 
several  months  to  give  a  finer  edge." 

In  this  passage  Mr.  Man  contrasts  the  whetstone  and 
the  fine  stone.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  author  here 
is  too  chary  of  detail.  But  it  seems  to  me,  from  the  en- 
semble of  passages  relating  to  this  subject,  that  these  stones 
are  essentially  used  as  scrapers  (radoirs  or  grattoirs}. 
As  will  be  seen,  these  knives  are  the  only  stone  utensils  at 
the  Andaman  Islands  which  are  really  fashioned.  There 
is  there,  it  seems  to  me,  a  suggestion  which  might  be  ap- 
plied to  those  found  in  our  own  country  in  such  large 
numbers. 

"  Tlie  small  blades  and  splinters  are  never  used  more 
than  once.  In  fact,  quite  often  several  are  used  for  a  sin- 
gle operation.  The  sharp-edged  splinters  are  used  for 
shaving;  those  with  a  sharp  point  are  used  for  tattooing 
or  for  sacrificial  purposes. 

"  When  the  operation  is  finished,  these  instruments  are 
thrown  away  upon  some  pile  of  debris,  or  they  are  disposed 
of  in  some  other  manner.  Whoever  happens  to  step  on 
one  of  them,  even  unintentionally,  runs  the  risk  of  great 
suffering.  The  manufacturing  of  these  little  splinters  is 
considered  one  of  the  duties  of  the  women,  and  there  are 
those  who  habitually  devote  themselves  to  it. 

"  Two  pieces  of  white  quartz  are  necessary  to  obtain 
the  small  blades.  They  are  neither  pressed  against  the 


116  THE  PYGMIES. 

thighs  nor  surrounded  by  a  tight  string  to  determine  a 
line  of  least  resistance  to  the  blows ;  but  one  of  the  stones 
is  first  heated  and  then  exposed  to  the  cold  ;  then,  holding 
it  firmly  in  one  hand,  it  is  struck  squarely  with  the  other 
stone.  By  this  process  the  number  of  fragments  desired 
is  obtained  in  a  short  time.  A  certain  knack  is  no  doubt 
necessary  to  obtain  the  kind  of  splinter  desired.  The 
smallest  are  made  in  the  same  way,  without  even  using 
pressure. 

"  No  superstition  is  attached  to  these  cutting  stones. 

"  The  whetstones  are  never  used  to  cut  wood  or  bones. 
These  last  are  habitually  broken  with  the  hammer  to  get 
at  the  marrow.  Before  the  introduction  of  iron,  little 
holes  were  pierced  with  a  fragment  of  bone  or  shell,  per- 
haps rarely,  if  ever,  with  a  stone.  No  instrument  has 
'ever,  been  found  which  might  be  supposed  to  have  served  as 
a  stone  saw  or  scraper.  Shells,  no  doubt,  were  used  for 
this  purpose." 

I  call  the  close  attention  of  archaeologists  to  the  for- 
mal declaration  put  at  the  head  of  this  paragraph.  I  have 
said  above  that  the  whetstones  absolutely  resemble  our 
Quaternary  knives.  Could  they  have  been  used  in  the 
same  manner  ?  I  am  tempted  to  believe  it.  By  the  word 
scraper  Mr.  Man  certainly  wished  to  designate  the  utensil 
to  which  European  archaeologists  have  given  the  names 
grattoir,  racloir,  and  which  is  surely  known  to  our  read- 
ers. But,  as  I  have  already  said,  the  brief  allusions  which 
the  English  author  makes  show  that  the  whetstones  are 
particularly  used  to  scrape  and  smooth  the  blade,  the  edge, 
or  point  which  the  Mincopies  wish  to  sharpen.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  they  would  do  so  if  they  had  only  shells,  bones, 
or  a  long  point  of  wood  hardened  in  the  fire  to  point  their 
hunting  weapons,  and  they  have  preserved  the  same  pro- 
cess since  they  have  possessed  iron. 

"  In  his  note  on  the  Kjoekkenmoeddings  of  the  Anda- 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MINCOPIES.         H7 

man  Islands,  the  late  Dr.  Stoliczka  speaks  of  a  celt,  found 
in  one  of  those  heaps  of  refuse,  as  a  small  but  typical  ar- 
rowhead, and  describes  it  as  being  made  of  Tertiary  sand- 
stone. The  Andamanese,  hoioever,  maintain  that  never, 
even  when  iron  was  very  rare,  have  they  used  stone  for  ar- 
rowheads, hatchets,  adzes,  or  chisels.  They  assert,  besides, 
that  the  fragments  found  in  the  kjoekkenmoeddings  and 
regarded  as  being  one  or  the  other  of  these  instruments, 
were  only  quartz  splinters  or  broken  fragments  of  cooking 
stones  or  whetstones,  which  formerly  as  well  as  at  present 
were  thrown  among  refuse  objects  when  they  were  no 
longer  of  any  service." 

But  Dr.  Stoliczka  found  more  than  this  arrowhead.178 
He  also  found  an  axe,  about  two  and  a  half  inches  long, 
which  it  would  have  been  impossible,  he  says,  to  distin- 
guish from  celts  of  the  neolithic  period  of  Europe  and 
Asia.  He  also  mentions  a  real  chisel,  three  inches  long, 
with  a  sharp  edge  at  one  extremity.  It  is  difficult  to  sup- 
pose that  an  educated  man,  even  if  not  very  familiar  with 
such  objects,  should  be  misled  in  this  regard  so  as  to  mis- 
take a  quartz  splinter  or  the  fragment  of  a  knife  for  an 
axe  or  a  neolithic  chisel.  I  shall  accept,  then,  the  facts 
mentioned  by  Dr.  Stoliczka  as  exact  until  more  fully  in- 
formed. 

But  these  facts  do  not  in  any  way  affect  the  informa- 
tion gathered  with  so  much  care  by  Mr.  Man.*  They  only 
teach  us  that  the  ancestors  of  the  present  Mincopies  were 
more  advanced  than  these,  and  in  possession  of  industries 
now  lost.  It  would  be  easy  to  cite  analogous  examples 
of  degeneration.  It  is,  moreover,  evident  that  a  people 

*  Several  times  Man  dwells  upon  the  care  which  he  took  to  secure 
his  information  from  those  islanders  whose  customs  had  been  least 
modified  by  the  neighbourhood  of  Europeans,  and  from  individuals 
who  were  regarded  by  their  countrymen  as  being  the  best  versed  in 
their  traditions. 


118  THE  PYGMIES. 

capable  of  forgetting  the  means  used  by  their  ancestors  to 
obtain  fire  could  also  more  easily  have  forgotten  the  art  of 
polishing,  and  even  of  chipping  stone  except  by  the  rudest 
methods. 

However  that  may  be,  we  find  at  the  Andaman  Islands 
men  who,  as  far  back  as  their  memory  goes,  and  indeed 
probably  for  many  centuries,  have  used  stone  in  various 
ways,  but  never  to  make  from  it  either  hatchets,  chisels, 
saws,  scrapers,  piercers,  lance  points,  or  arrowheads.  The 
whetstones,  razors,  and  lancets  of  the  Mincopies  do  not 
need  any  retouching,  and  surely  Mr.  Man  would  not  have 
failed  to  speak  of  it  if  this  were  practised.  Evidently 
there  is  nothing  to  indicate  any  intentional  chipping,  ex- 
cept in  the  first-mentioned  of  these  instruments. 

But  the  Mincopy  tribes,  though  knowing  how  to  build 
substantial  huts  and  having  settled  villages,  are  habitually 
wandering  about  in  the  territories  belonging  to  them. 
They  go  from  camp  to  camp,  the  length  of  their  sojourn 
depending  on  the  success  of  their  fishing  or  hunting. 
Everywhere,  Man  tells  us,  they  find  the  stones  which 
they  are  in  the  habit  of  using.  Consequently  they  scatter 
over  the  whole  island,  among  the  stones  that  have  never 
been  used,  their  cooking  stones,  more  or  less  altered  by  fire  ; 
the  debris  of  the  blocks  broken  in  the  fire ;  fragments 
of  whetstones  no  longer  of  value,  which  also  show  the 
action  of  the  fire ;  small  blades  and  fragments  of  quartz 
showing  no  secondary  chipping,  and  of  which  some,  no 
doubt,  bear  also  evidence  of  having  undergone  the  action 
of  heat. 

And  now  let  us  return  to  Thenay.  If  we  admit  that 
in  Tertiary  times  the  plains  of  Beauce  were  inhabited 
by  tribes  leading  the  life  of  the  Mincopies,  having  anal- 
ogous industries,  using  stone  as  these  islanders  do,  with- 
out, however,  having  yet  developed  the  special  art  of  chip- 
ping whetstones — that  is  to  say,  knives  (couteaux) — al- 


CHARACTERISTICS  OP  THE  MIN COPIES.         119 

most  all  the  facts  which  I  mentioned  at  the  beginning  of 
this  note  are  explained  very  naturally. 

But  in  the  midst  of  the  most  savage  people,  as  among 
the  most  civilised  nations,  we  always  meet  some  men  su- 
perior to  their  contemporaries.  To  these  individuals  I 
would  attribute  the  small  number  of  objects  from  Thenay 
which  to  my  mind  bear  incontestable  evidence  of  being 
shaped  by  an  intelligent  hand.  Such  are  the  scraper 
which  the  Abbe  Bourgeois  has  shown  me,  and  the  piercers 
which  at  Brussels  caused  Tertiary  man  to  be  accepted  by 
many  eminent  judges,  among  them  D'Omalius,  Cartailhac, 
Capellini,  Worsaae,  Engelhardt,  De  Vibraye,  Franks,  and 
others. 

Tli us  we  can  very  simply  explain  the  existence  and 
the  small  number  of  these  exceptional  specimens.  If  I 
am  not  mistaken,  the  ethnographic  history  of  the  Minco- 
pies  answers  all  the  objections  that  can  be  made  to  the  ex- 
istence of  the  Tertiary  man  of  Thenay,  as  far  as  these  ob- 
jections concern  this  man  himself  and  his  manner  of  life. 
I  fully  recognise  that  it  does  .not  remove  all  difficulties, 
but  those  remaining  are  exclusively  in  the  domain  of 
geology.  They  are  not  within  my  field,  and  I  can  only 
ask  specialists  for  their  solution.  I  hope  they  will  find  it. 

Moreover,  we  fortunately  have  other  proofs  that  man 
lived  in  Europe  during  the  Tertiary  period.  The  chipped 
flints  of  Puy-Courny,  discovered  by  Rames  in  the  Upper 
Miocene  of  Cantal,  the  incised  bones  found  by  Capellini 
in  the  Pliocene  of  Monte  Aperto,  would  leave  no  doubt  as 
to  that.  Finally,  Ragazzoni  has  been  so  fortunate  as  to 
unearth  the  bones  of  a  whole  family  buried  in  the  Lower 
Pliocene  of  Castenedolo,  and  we  know,  thanks  to  him, 
that  Tertiary  man  already  possessed  all  the  characteristics 
of  the  human  species  and  belonged  to  the  Canstadt  race. 

After  this  digression,  let  us  return  to  our  Mincopies. 

Dress,  Ornament. — The  children   of  both   sexes  are 


120  THE  PYGMIES. 

entirely  nude.  At  the  age  of  five  or  six  the  little  girl 
adopts  the  small  apron  of  leaves  (obunga)  which  consti- 
tutes her  only  garment,  which  she  never  thereafter  leaves 
off.  The  men  usually  have  only  a  narrow  belt  (tachonga) 
made  of  a  cord,  to  which  is  attached  a  tuft  of  paudanus 
leaves.  Certain  ideas  of  decency,  or  perhaps  of  simple 
convention,  seem  to  be  connected  therewith.  Moreover, 
here  as  everywhere,  the  women  cover  themselves  as  much 
as  they  can  with  ornaments,  which  here  consist  of  neck- 
laces and  girdles.  One  of  these  girdles,  made  of  panda- 
nus  leaves  (rogun),  can  only  be  worn  by  married  women. 

Both  sexes  tattoo  their  entire  bodies  in  a  very  simple 
way,  by  little  horizontal  and  vertical  incisions  in  alternat- 
ing series.  Man  seems  to  think  that  no  special  signifi- 
cance is  attached  to  this  practice.  Some  of  the  details 
which  he  gives,  however,  would  lead  us  to  think  the  con- 
trary. The  women  are  generally  charged  with  the  opera- 
tion, and,  as  instrument,  employ  a  piece  of  quartz  or  glass ; 
but  the  first  three  incisions,  made  low  on  the  back,  can 
only  be  made  by  a  man,  and  with  an  arrow  used  for  hunt- 
ing wild  pigs.  Moreover,  while  these  wounds  are  open 
the  patient  must  abstain  from  the  meat  of  these  animals. 
These  are,  one  sees,  indications  of  a  sort  of  initiation,  or 
of  a  rite,  consecrated  at  least  by  usage. 

Besides  their  tattooing,  the  Mincopies  trace  on  their 
bodies  designs  in  clay  of  three  different  tints,  the  colour 
and  arrangement  of  which  vary,  according  to  whether  the 
individual  is  sad  or  gay,  in  mourning  or  preparing  for  a 
feast.  Finally,  at  certain  times'  they  cover  their  entire 
body  with  a  sort  of-  clay  paste,  which,  when  dry,  forms  a 
kind  of  crust  or  shell.  This  is  one  of  the  things  they 
have  been  reproached  for  doing.  It  was  said  that  men 
who  covered  themselves  with  mud  could  only  be  some 
kind  of  pigs.  In  reality,  the  purpose  of  this  practice  is, 
according  to  Mouat,  protection  against  the  bites  of  mos- 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MINCOPIES. 

quitoes,  and,  according  to  Man,  protection  against  the 
burning  heat  of  the  sun.  To  this  antihygienic  practice 
are  perhaps  largely  due  the  frequent  rheumatisms  and 
diarrhoeas  reported  among  these  islanders. 

The  Mincopies  have  long  been  considered  one  of  the 
most  miserable  of  populations,  scarcely  finding  enough 
about  them  to  support  existence.  Their  imputed  canni- 
balism was  attributed  to  this  cause.  Day  had  already 
done  partial  justice  to  these  assertions,  when  Mr.  Man 
confirmed  his  statements  and  added  precise  details  from 
which  it  appears  that  these  islanders,  so  far  as  food  is 
concerned,  are  in  conditions  far  better  than  most  tribes 
which  have  remained  at  the  same  social  stage.  The  sea 
which  washes  their  coasts  is  full  of  fish,  and  abounds  in 
turtles ;  the  jungles  are  filled  with  wild  pigs ;  the  bees 
furnish  abundance  of  honey.  To  these  three  articles  of 
food,  which  furnish  the  staple  of  their  diet,  are  added 
some  mammals  and  reptiles,  more  rarely  captured,  vari- 
ous birds,  and  several  fruits  and  edible  roots.  This  abun- 
dance of  wild  food  readily  explains  how  this  population, 
so  intelligent  and  industrious,  has  yet  never  felt  the  ne- 
cessity of  domesticating  an  animal  or  cultivating  a  plant ; 
how  it  does  not  even  know  that  rude  form  of  gardening 
and  farming  met  with  among  its  sisters  of  the  continent 
and  of  the  Eastern  archipelagoes. 

To  this  matter  of  food  supply  are  attached  a  number 
of  superstitions  really  amounting  to  a  veritable  taboo.  I 
have  already  mentioned  some  facts  of  this  kind,  but  there 
are  others  yet  more  striking.  Thus  there  are  certain 
fruits  and  roots  from  which  the  Mincopies  at  set  seasons 
abstain,  in  order  to  obey  the  commands  of  their  supreme 
god,  Puluga.  We  have  here,  then,  a  real  religious  prac- 
tice. 

The  flesh  of  the  dugong  and  of  the  porpoise  is  forbid- 
den to  every  one  who  has  not  yet  undergone  the  initiatory 


122  THE  PYGMIES. 

ceremonies  already  mentioned.  The  pregnant  woman 
and  her  husband  must  also  abstain  from  certain  foods. 
Moreover,  every  person  is  forbidden  during  his  entire 
life  the  use  of  some  one  definite  food  (yattab).  A  simi- 
lar practice  has  been  mentioned  among  some  American 
tribes. 

MORAL    CHARACTERS. 

Notions  of  Crime  and  Sin. — The  Mincopies  have  a 
word — yubba — which  Mr.  Man  translates  as  sin,  wrong- 
doing. This  word,  according  to  him,  is  applied  to  lying, 
theft,  grave  violence,  murder,  adultery.  All  these  acts 
are  regarded  as  arousing  the  wrath  of  Puluga,  the  cre- 
ator. But  more,  in  these  little  societies  as  in  our  greater 
ones,  they  interfere  with  good  order;  and  perhaps  for 
that  reason  they  are  ranked  as  misdemeanours  and  civil 
crimes.  There  are  other  acts  which,  indifferent  in  them- 
selves and  only  shocking  religious  ideas,  are  true  sins  in 
our  sense  of  the  word.  Such,  for  example,  is  the  throw- 
ing of  beeswax  into  the  fire.  The  odour  it  gives  out  in 
burning  is  most  offensive  to  Puluga,  who  manifests  his 
anger  by  raising  a  tempest.  Thus,  when  a  Mincopy  de- 
sires to  damage  some  enemy  who  he  knows  is  about  to 
take  part  in  a  hunting  or  fishing  party,  he  burns  some 
beeswax  in  the  hope  of  causing  his  foe  to  perish,  or  at 
least  of  putting  him  to  much  distress.  One  sees  that 
these  islanders  have  veritable  wizards. 

Thus  these  little  Negroes,  isolated  through  so  many 
centuries  in  mid-ocean,  have  moral  ideas  similar  to  our 
own,  and  are  attached  to  religious  beliefs  like  those  of 
the  most  civilised  peoples.  Their  conduct  is  generally 
in  accord  with  their  principles.  The  crimes  of  rape,  se- 
duction, and  unnatural  vice  appear  to  be  unknown  to 
them.108' 125  Adultery  is  very  rare.  In  case  of  its  occur- 
rence, the  injured  party  takes  summary  vengeance,  with- 
out the  intervention  of  a  chief. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MINCOPIES.         123 

Some  of  the  details  already  given  show  that  modesty 
exists  among  the  Mincopies.  Man  several  times  speaks 
upon  this  point.  The  woman  who  removes  one  of  her 
girdles  in  order  to  make  a  present  to  a  friend  does  it 
with  a  shyness  which  almost  amounts  to  prudery.  She 
never  changes  her  apron  before  a  companion.  To  do  so, 
she  always  retires  to  some  secret  place.  She  acts  like  a 
European  woman  who  removes  her  last  article  of  dress ; 
apparently  she  obeys  the  same  instinctive  impulse. 

Mr.  Man  denies  to  the  Mincopies  that  sort  of  courage 
which  leads  one  to  court  danger  for  the  pleasure  of  meet- 
ing it.  In  their  wars  they  operate,  so  far  as  they  can,  by 
surprises,  and  only  attack  when  they  feel  certain  that  they 
are  the  stronger  party.  In  their  first  encounters  with  the 
Europeans,  however,  they  conducted  themselves  gallantly, 
and  displayed  a  great  contempt  for  death.  The  Jarawas, 
the  only  tribe  which  has  refused  itself  friendly  relations 
with  the  English,  still  show  the  same  warlike  virtues. 
Mouat  has  brought  into  prominence  the  courage  with  which 
some  of  these  islanders  had  braved  firearms,  and  the  expres- 
sion of  dignity  which  marked  the  face  of  a  chieftain  fall- 
ing under  a  mortal  blow.  Man,  however,  sees  in  all  this 
bravery  only  the  consequence  of  ignorance  of  the  power 
of  our  arms.  But  here  he  seems  to  me  little  just  towards 
these  islanders.  It  is  plain  that  to-day  the  Jarawas  must 
pretty  well  know  the  character  and  effect  of  European 
arms.  All  that  our  author  relates  of  the  mode  of  warfare 
among  the  Mincopies  is  much  like  what  authors  recount 
regarding  the  redskins;  and  who  has  ever  denied  the 
bravery  of  the  Hurons  and  of  the  Delawares? 

What  precedes  is  applicable  only  to  the  islanders  who 
have  not  yet  come  into  close  relation  with  Europeans. 
The  contact  of  these  savages  with  our  compatriots  has 
been  not  at  all  helpful.  They  have  borrowed  from  the 
foreigners  vices  before  unknown  among  them,  in  especial 
10 


124  THE    PYGMIES. 

the  taste  for  strong  drink  and  tobacco,  the  immoderate 
use  of  which  appears  to  have  seriously  impaired  their  con- 
stitution. On  the  whole,  says  Man,  the  Mincopies  in  con- 
tact with  civilisation  have  lost  their  characteristic  virtues 
— their  frankness,  honesty,  love  of  labour.  Unfortunately, 
this  is  a  remark  one  must  make  much  too  frequently. 

RELIGIOUS    CHARACTERS. 

Tlie  Supreme  God  and  Demons. — Man  has  assured 
himself  of  the  very  real  existence  of  religious  ideas  and  of 
legends  connected  therewith,  by  questioning  those  natives 
who  were  considered  by  these  fellows  as  most  au  courant 
with  local  traditions,  addressing  himself  also  to  those  in- 
dividuals who  had  had  until  then  no  intercourse  with 
whites.  It  seems  to  me  that  we  may  accept  with  confi- 
dence the  information  he  has  collected.  I  shall,  how- 
ever, return  to  this  question  later. 

I  have  already  suggested  that  the  Mincopies  believe  in 
a  supreme  god.  Behold  the  terms  in  which  Mr.  Man 
summarises  what  they  have  told  him.  I  translate  liter- 
ally: 

1.  Although  he  resembles  fire,  he  is  invisible. 

2.  He  was  never  born,  and  he  is  immortal. 

3.  By  him  were  created  the  world,  all  things  animate 
and  inanimate,  except  the  powers  of  evil. 

4.  During  the  day  he  is  omniscient,  and  knows  the 
very  thoughts  of  the  heart. 

5.  He  is  angry  when  one  commits  certain  sins.     He  is 
full  of  pity  for  the  unhappy  and  miserable,  and  some- 
times he  deigns  to  help  them. 

6.  It  is  he  who  judges  the  souls  after  death  and  pro- 
nounces for  each  of  them  its  sentence  (which  sends  them 
to  paradise  or  to  a  sort  of  purgatory).    The  hope  of  escap- 
ing the  torments  which  one  endures  in  this  latter  place 
influences  the  conduct  of  the  islanders. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE   MINCOPIES.         125 

Behold  a  truly  lofty  and  spiritual  conception !  But 
the  childish  and  crude  mind  of  the  savage  shows  itself 
very  quickly  in  the  ideas  which  the  Mincopies  have  of  the 
mode  of  life  of  their  god.  Puluga  dwells  in  a  great  stone 
mansion  in  the  sky ;  he  eats  and  drinks ;  when  it  rains 
he  descends  to  earth  to  gather  food ;  during  the  dry  sea- 
son he  spends  most  of  his  time  in  sleep.  The  foods  which 
Puluga  prefers  are  certain  fruits,  roots,  and  seeds.  To 
touch  these  during  the  first  half  of  the  rainy  season 
would  so  enrage  the  god  that  another  deluge  would  be  the 
result. 

It  is  from  the  hand  of  Puluga  that  the  Mincopies  say 
they  have  received  all  that  which  supports  them — mam- 
mals, birds,  turtles.  When  one  angers  him  he  comes 
forth  from  his  house,  blows,  thunders,  and  hurls  blazing 
faggots.  Thus  are  explained  the  dreadful  tempests  accom- 
panied by  violent  gales,  thunder,  and  lightning.  One 
offends  Puluga  in  very  many  ways.  I  have  indicated  the 
principal  ones  above.  I  will  add  that  to  cut  up  a  pig 
badly,  to  cook  it  in  an  oven,  or  to  roast  its  flesh  are  crimes 
deserving  death  penalty.  Yet  Puluga  himself  never  kills 
the  guilty.  He  points  them  out  to  a  class  of  bad  spirits 
called  chol,  and  immediately  one  of  these  destroys  them. 

Puluga  is  not  alone  in  his  palace.  He  lives  with  a 
woman  of  green  colour,  whom  he  has  created  for  himself, 
and  who  has  two  names,  one  of  them  signifying  the 
" mother  eel"  (Chanaaivlola).  By  her  he  has  had  a  son 
(Pijchor),  who  lives  with  his  parents-  and  is  their  prime 
minister.  There  are  many  daughters.  They  bear  the 
name  of  spirits  of  heaven  (Morowiri).  They  are  a  kind  of 
black  angels,  who  amuse  themselves  by  throwing  into 
bodies  of  fresh  or  salt  water  fishes  and  crustaceans  for 
human  food. 

By  the  side  of  Puluga,  the  beneficent  and  just  god, 
and  by  the  side  of  these  good  spirits,  the  Mincopies  have 


126  THE  PYGMIES. 

placed  many  spirits  of  evil.  The  most  dreaded  are  Erem- 
chawgala,  Juruwin,  and  Nila.  These  are  self-created, 
and  have  existed  from  time  immemorial.  The  first  is 
the  demon  of  the  forest.  He  has  had,  by  his  wife  Chana- 
badgilola,  many  children  of  both  sexes.  While  the 
mother  and  daughters  remain  at  home,  Eremchawyala 
and  his  sons  wander  through  the  jungle,  ready  to  pierce 
with  their  invisible  arrows  any  one  who  remains  in  the 
darkness  without  bearing  some  firebrand,  the  light  of 
which  scares  off  the  spirits.101  Falling  stars,  meteors, 
are  so  many  flaming  brands  which  Eremchawgala  hurls 
through  the  air  to  discover  the  unfortunate  beings  who 
may  be  in  his  neighbourhood.  Hence,  when  they  per- 
ceive one  of  these  heavenly  fires  the  Mincopies  conceal 
themselves  as  much  as  possible,  and  remain  some  time 
silent  before  resuming  their  interrupted  occupations. 

Juruwin  is  the  demon  of  the  sea.  He  also  has  a  nu- 
merous family.  He  possesses  several  submarine  dwellings, 
and  goes  from  one  to  the  other,  carrying  in  a  net  the 
fishes  and  human  beings  upon  whom  he  subsists.  Every 
fisherman  who  is  taken  with  a  cramp  or  experiences 
some  sudden  pain  believes  he  has  been  stricken  by 
Juruwin. 

Nila  is  unmarried.  He  lives  in  ant-hills,  and  al- 
though always  armed  with  a  knife  he  rarely  attacks  hu- 
man beings.  He  never  kills  and  devours  men,  as  he  sub- 
sists upon  dirt. 

The  chol,  whom  we  have  seen  to  be  the  executors 
of  Puluga's  vengeance,  have  a  totally  different  origin. 
They  descend  from  a  common  ancestor  named  Maiachal. 
This  being  was  a  man  who  perished  miserably  for  having 
stolen  a  pig  killed  by  one  of  his  fellows.  The  spirit  of 
the  man  could  not  go  to  Hades,  but  stopped  upon  the 
invisible  bridge,  to  which  I  shall  refer  later  on.  There 
he  lives,  with  his  descendants,  who,  by  Pulnga's  orders, 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MINCOPIES.        127 

have  joined  him  under  the  form  of  black  birds  with  long 
tails. 

The  sun  (Chanalodo)  is  a  female.  The  moon  (Maiao- 
gar)  is  her  husband.  The  stars  (Chats)  are  their  chil- 
dren. This  brilliant  family  lives  near  the  palace  of 
Puluga,  but  never  enters  it.  The  stars  sleep  during  the 
daytime.  The  sun  and  the  moon,  after  having  given  us 
light,  pass  under  the  earth,  and,  while  sleeping,  cast  a 
mild  light  over  the  unhappy  spirits  confined  in  Hades. 
The  phases  of  the  moon  are  due,  according  to  the  Min- 
copies,  to  the  habit  which  this  luminary  has  of  covering 
itself  with  clouds  as  they  cover  themselves  with  paint- 
ings. Partial  or  total  eclipses  of  the  moon  are  a  sign  of 
displeasure  on  its  part ;  they  make,  however,  little  impres- 
sion. Eclipses  of  the  sun,  on  the  contrary,  strike  them 
with  profound  terror. 

The  moon  and  the  sun  figure  as  secondary  divinities 
in  this  mythology.  At  times  they  are  ministers  of 
Puluga ;  but  they  also  have  their  own  wishes,  which  must 
be  respected,  under  penalty.  The  supreme  god  has  for- 
bidden the  employment,  in  cooking  turtles,  of  the  wood 
of  the  tree  which  gives  in  its  bark  a  material  for  textile 
fibres.  The  man  who  disobeys  this  command  will  have 
his  throat  cut ;  if  the  offender  is  a  woman,  her  breasts 
are  cut  off.  When  the  crime  has  been  done  in  the  day- 
time the  sun  is  the  executor  of  the  sentence ;  if  it  has 
taken  place  at  night,  the  moon  must  inflict  the  penalty. 
Between  the  first  faint  dawn  and  sunrise,  one  must  en- 
gage in  no  noisy  occupation ;  above  all,  he  should  avoid 
twanging  the  bow-string,  for  this  noise  particularly  angers 
the  sun,  which  avenges  itself  by  producing  an  eclipse, 
raising  a  tempest,  etc.  When  the  moon  is  in  its  third 
quarter  and  rises  at  the  setting  of  the  sun,  he  wishes  that 
one  should  occupy  himself  with  him  alone,  and  is  jealous 
of  all  other  light.  The  Mincopies,  therefore,  then  cease 


123  THE  PYGMIES. 

all  occupations,  halt  if  they  are  journeying,  and  cover 
up  all  fires.  When  the  luminary  has  risen  some  degrees 
above  the  horizon  they  resume  their  toil  and  rekindle 
their  fires. 

Mr.  Man  found  no  sign  of  adoration  addressed  to 
trees,  to  rocks  or  stones,  or  to  stars,  among  the  Minco- 
pies.  Puluga  himself,  according  to  our  traveller,  would 
not  be  the  object  of  any  worship.  Yet  Captain  Stokoe, 
who  also  lived  among  the  Mincopies  and  was  much  in- 
terested in  these  islanders,  declares  that  they  addressed 
homage  to  the  sun  and  the  moon.179  Lieutenant  Saint 
John,  on  his  part,  believes  he  has  discovered  a  certain  re- 
ligious character  in  some  of  the  nocturnal  dances,  during 
which  an  old  man  intones  the  chant  alone,  quite  unlike 
what  takes  place  in  all  the  others.167 

Finally,  some  precise  details,  supplied  by  Mr.  Man 
himself,  tend  to  invalidate  his  negations  regarding  wor- 
ship. The  shaman  called  to  a  sick  man,  whose  desperate 
condition  he  recognises,  declares  that  no  prayer  can  pre- 
vail upon  Puluga  to  return  to  him  his  spirit. 83  One 
prays,  then,  to  the  supreme  god  in  some  circumstances. 
Moreover,  at  the  time  of  a  violent  tempest  the  Min- 
copies burn  leaves  of  the  Mimusops  indica,  believing 
that  their  crackling  pleases  the  ear  of  Puluga  and  calms 
his  rage.  This  practice  has  really  all  the  characteristics 
of  a  veritable  offering. 

Nature  of  Man — The  Other  Life. — According  to  the 
Mincopies,  every  man  possesses,  independent  of  his  body, 
two  active  principles,  the  spirit  (cliawga)  and  the  soul 
(otyolo).  The  spirit  is  black,  the  soul  is  red.  From  the 
former  proceeds  all  good ;  all  bad  from  the  latter.  Al- 
though both  are  invisible,  they  reproduce  the  form  of 
the  body.  When  a  man  is  very  ill,  it  is  that  his  spirit 
hesitates  between  this  world  and  the  other  one.  When 
one  dreams,  it  is  that  his  soul  has  quitted  his  body,  while 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MIN'COPIES.         129 

the  sleeper  is  conscious  of  what  it  sees  and  does.  Thus 
the  Mincopies  have  absolute  confidence  in  the  warnings 
which  they  believe  they  receive  in  dreams.  At  death,  the 
soul  and  spirit  are  separated,  but  they  will  be  reunited 
at  the  resurrection.  While  awaiting  that  moment  their 
destiny  is  very  different. 

The  world  is  flat.  It  rests  upon  an  immense  palm 
tree  *  (barata).  This  raises  itself  in  the  midst  of  a  vast 
jungle  which  occupies  all  the  space  below  man's  dwelling 
place,  and  which  is  called  chditan,  a  word  translated 
Hades  by  Mr.  Man.  It  is  a  very  sad  abode  ;  for,  although 
visited  by  the  sun  and  moon,  it  receives  but  a  feeble  light 
from  them,  as  I  have  already  stated. 

When  a  man  dies,  his  spirit,  after  haunting  for  some 
days  the  region  about  his  tomb  and  the  camping  ground 
of  the  tribe,  passes  into  cha'Uan.  Arrived  there,  it  is 
what  the  individual  of  whom  it  formed  part  was  at 
his  death,  and  continues  all  its  earthly  occupations. 
Adults  pass  their  time  in  hunting  the  spirits  of  mammals 
and  birds  which  Puluga  sends  them ;  but  the  spirits  of 
fishes,  turtles,  etc.,  remain  in  the  sea,  where  they  become 
the  prey  of  Juruwin. 

Between  the  earth  and  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
sky  stretches  a  bridge  made  of  invisible  rushes  (pidgar- 
larchawga),  connecting  the  earth  with  a  place  of  delights 
(fereg),  which  Mr.  Man  calls  paradise.  Above  it  lies 
jereglarmugu.  This  is  a  sort  of  purgatory,  a  place  of 
torments  which  do  not  continue  forever.  Like  the 
ancient  Scandinavians,  and  contrary  to  the  ideas  most 
prevalent,  Mincopies  depict  this  temporary  inferno  as  ice- 
cold.  This  is  where  Puluga  sends  the  souls  of  dead  who 
are  guilty  of  certain  crimes,  particularly  those  of  mur- 
derers. 

*  Caryota  sobolifera  (Man). 


130  THE  PYGMIES. 

If  the  dead  person  is  a  child  under  six  years  of  age, 
its  soul  and  spirit  do  not  separate.  They  betake  them- 
selves together  to  Hades,  and  are  placed  under  a  fig  tree 
(Ficus  laccifera),  the  fruits  of  which  serve  them  as  food. 
Moreover,  they  are  not  destined  to  await  the  general  resur- 
rection. The  Mincopies  believe  that  every  newborn  child 
has  already  lived,  but  only  for  a  few  years.  Every 
woman  who  has  lost  a  little  child  and  becomes  pregnant 
hopes  to  see  live  again  the  little  one  whom  she  has 
mourned  ;  consequently  she  gives,  before  it  is  born,  to 
the  little  one  whom  she  carries  within  her  the  name  of 
the  deceased.  If  she  bears  a  child  of  the  same  sex  as  the 
earlier  one,  the  identity  is  considered  demonstrated.  In 
the  contrary  case  they  say  the  first  child  has  remained 
under  the  fig  tree. 

A  considerable  number  of  legends  refer  to  some  vague 
ideas  of  metempsychosis.  The  Mincopies  relate  that 
certain  of  their  ancestors  have  quitted  the  world  under 
the  form  of  various  terrestrial  or  marine  animals.  The 
spirits  of  those  who  have  not  undergone  this  metamor- 
phosis, although  dwelling  in  Hades,  can  assist  the  living. 
It  is  one  of  these  who,  after  the  deluge,  brought  to  men 
the  fire  which  had  been  extinguished  by  the  inundation, 
and  which  he  knew  how  to  steal  from  Pulnga.  More- 
over, all  spirits  know  to  a  certain  extent  what  takes  place 
in  the  world  formerly  inhabited  by  them,  and  can  be  help- 
ful to  such  as  have  not  forgotten  them. 

The  Mincopies  believe  in  a  resurrection.  This  event 
will  take  place  as  consequence  of  an  earthquake  brought 
about  by  Puluga's  orders.  The  palm  tree  which  supports 
the  earth  will  be  broken  ;  the  earth  itself  will  turn.  All 
living  will  perish,  and  change  places  with  their  deceased 
ancestors.  These  last  will  secure  a  new  life  in  all  respects 
like  this  present  one ;  but  sickness  and  death  will  have 
disappeared,  and  there  will  be  no  more  marriage.  The 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MINCOPIES.        131 

spirits  in  Hades  sigh  for  the  happy  moment  which  shall 
deliver  them  from  their  monotonous  existence,  and  from 
time  to  time  attempt  to  shake  the  palm  tree  which  sup- 
ports the  earth,  thus  causing  earthquakes. 

The  First  Men. — After  having  created  the  world,  Pu- 
luga  made  a  man,  whose  name  was  Tomo.  He  was  black, 
like  the  modern  islanders,  but  much  larger,  and  bearded. 
Puluga  made  him  to  know  the  different  kinds  of  fruit 
trees  scattered  over  the  jungle,  which  then  covered  only 
a  part  of  the  Middle  Island ;  *  he  showed  him  the  foods 
from  which  he  should  abstain  during  the  rainy  season, 
and  procured  fire  for  him.  For  this  purpose  he  arranged 
two  kinds  of  wood  in  alternate  layers,  and  then  called 
upon  the  Sun  Mother  to  ignite  the  pile.f  The  origin  of 
the  first  woman,  Ghana  Elewadi,  is  told  in  various  forms ; 
all  of  them,  however,  suppose  the  intervention  of  Puluga. 
It  was  he  also  who  taught  Tomo  the  art  of  making  a  bow 
and  arrows,  of  hollowing  out  a  canoe,  of  hunting  and 
cooking  pigs,  etc.  It  was  he  also  who  taught  Elewadi 
to  weave  baskets,  to  make  nets,  to  paint  herself  with  red 
ochre  (koibo]  and  white  clay  (talaog),  etc.  One  sees  that 
these  islanders  refer  to  their  god  the  origin  of  all  arts 
practised  among  them. 

Become  very  aged,  Tomo  was  drowned  accidentally, 
and  was  transformed  into  a  cachalot  (karaducn],  and  be- 
came the  father  of  all  that  kind  of  whale.  Elewadi  hav- 
ing gone  by  boat  in  search  of  her  husband,  he  overturned 
boat  and  crew  and  drowned  the  whole  party.  Elewadi 
became  a  species  of  crab,  and  her  companions  were 
changed  into  iguanas. 

The  direct  descendants  of  the  first  pair  are  called 

*  The  first  inhabited  locality  is  called  Wotaemi.  Mr.  Man  re- 
gards this  word  as  equivalent  to  garden — Eden.  I  shall  consider 
this  tradition  again. 

f  The  composition  of  the  pile,  formed  of  two  kinds  of  wood, 


132  THE  PYGMIES. 

Tomola.  Become  too  numerous  even  during  the  life  of 
their  father,  they  scattered  by  couples  over  all  the  coun- 
try after  having  been  provided,  by  the  bounty  of  Puluga, 
with  all  the  necessities  of  life.  This  dispersion  produced 
diversity  of  languages.  After  having  created  Tomo  and 
Elewadi,  Puluga  taught  them  a  language  which  the  An- 
daman tribes  say  was  that  now  spoken  by  the  inhabitants 
of  the  south  part  of  the  Middle  Island  (Bojigyab).  Thus 
this  one  is  considered  as  the  mother  language.  At  the 
time  of  the  separation  each  group  of  the  Tomola  received 
its  own  peculiar  idiom  from  God. 

The  Deluge. — After  the  death  of  Tomo  and  his  oldest 
son  men  neglected  more  and  more  the  observance  of 
Puluga's  prescriptions.  In  his  anger  the  god  sent  a  great 
flood,  which  covered  the  whole  earth  and  destroyed  all 
living  things.*  Two  men  and  two  women,  who  were  by 
chance  in  a  canoe,  alone  escaped,  and  were  the  ancestors 
of  the  present  islanders,  f  Puluga  created  anew  for  them 
animals  of  every  species,  but  he  neglected  to  give  them 
fire.  Then  it  was  that  one  of  their  deceased  friends, 
touched  by  their  distress,  went  to  seek  a  brand  at  the  very 
hearth  of  God,  as  I  have  suggested  above.  Shortly  after, 
the  last  interview  between  Puluga  and  men  took  place. 
The  god  declared  to  them  that  the  deluge  was  a  punish- 
ment for  their  disobedience  to  his  commands,  and  that 
they  would  undergo  the  same  punishment  again  if  they 
fell  once  more  into  the  same  faults.  From  that  time,  the 

makes  me  believe  that  the  Mincopies  formerly  knew  how  to  kindle 
fire  by  the  process  practised  among  so  many  savage  peoples. 

*  According  to  one  tradition,  the  anger  of  Puluga  was  brought 
to  a  head  by  an  assassination  committed  through  treason.  In  her 
grief,  the  mother  of  the  victim  openly  violated  the  commands  of 
Puluga,  and  excited  her  companions  to  do  the  same,  uttering  a  curse 
which  is  preserved  in  the  legend. 

f  The  names  of  the  men  were  Loralolu  and  Pdllola ;  those  of 
the  women  were  Kalola  and  Rimalla. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OP  THE  MINCOPIES.        133 

Mincopies  say,  the  prescriptions  of  Puluga  have  been  care- 
fully observed.  The  code  of  these  tribes — if  one  may  use 
that  word — dates  back,  then,  in  all  probability,  to  a  very 
remote  time. 

Up  to  that  time  Puluga  frequently  inhabited  the  vol- 
canic peak  on  Barren  Island  and  visited  the  Andamans 
under  a  visible  form.*  But  since  then  he  has  retired  to 
heaven,  and  no  one  has  seen  him. 

A  great  number  of  legends  are  connected  with  the 
beliefs  which  I  have  just  summarised.  Metamorphosis 
frequently  appears  as  the  finale  of  the  story.  Man  enu- 
merates eighteen  species  of  mammals,  birds,  reptiles,  and 
crustaceans  which  have  descended  from  transformed  To- 
mola ;  and  he  adds  that  several  species  of  fish  have  the 
same  origin.  No  tree  or  plant  figures  in  this  list. 

Only  three  rocks  have  given  rise  to  legends.  All  three 
are  situated  in  the  neighbourhood  of  man's  first  home. 
Two  of  them  are  said  to  be  marine  monsters  of  unknown 
species  and  of  gigantic  size,  who,  after  having  devoured 
some  islanders,  remained  caught  in  the  mud  and  were 
changed  into  stone.  The  third  is  of  greater  interest.  It 
is  a  block  of  sandstone,  about  nine  metres  in  diameter, 
whose  surface  presents  many  irregular  gutterings,  appar- 
ently due  to  atmospheric  agencies.  It  is  situated  on  the 
border  of  a  large  but  shallow  lake.  This  is  the  Wotaemi — 
the  Garden  of  Eden — of  the  Mincopies,  where  man  first 
appeared.101  The  islanders  believe  the  depressions  ex- 
cavated in  the  rock  narrate  the  history  of  creation  and  of 
the  exploits  of  the  Tomola.  This  is  a  remarkable  belief 
in  a  population  who,  as  we  have  seen,  have  no  material 
means  of  transmitting  its  thought.  Is  there  here  an  un- 

*  Barren  Island,  distant  about  thirty  leagues  from  the  Andamans, 
possesses  a  volcano  still  semiactive.  It  is  the  extreme  point  reached 
by  the  Mincopies  around  their  archipelago,  and  perhaps  it  is  hence 
that  they  have  taken  fire. 


THE  PYGMIES. 

conscious  recollection  of  a  forgotten  art  ?  However  that 
may  be,  it  is  a  place  respected  by  all  the  tribes  with  whom 
Mr.  Man  communicated. 

Miscellaneous  Superstitions — Sorcerers. — The  Minco- 
pies  have  no  priests,  properly  so  called,  but  they  have  some 
kinds  of  sorcerers — or  better,  shamans — called  okopaiad, 
a  word  which  Mr.  Man  translates  dreamer.  It  is,  in  fact, 
during  sleep  and  in  a  dream  that  the  okopaiad  exercises 
his  power.  It  is  then  that  he  becomes  clairvoyant,  com- 
municates with  the  powers  of  good  and  evil,  converses 
with  spirits,  and  exercises  a  mysterious  influence  over  the 
property,  health,  and  even  life  of  those  about  him.  Thus 
he  is  much  dreaded,  and  is  loaded  with  presents.  No 
ceremony  or  special  initiation  confers  the  quality  of 
okopaiad.  A  remarkable  dream,  followed  by  an  unfore- 
seen event  presenting  some  relation  with  it,  suffices  to 
make  even  a  child  to  be  considered  as  endowed  with  the 
exceptional  faculties  necessary  to  penetrate  into  the  super- 
natural. 

Independently  of  these  superstitions,  which  are  more 
or  less  directly  connected  with  their  religious  beliefs,  the 
Mincopies  have  others  not  so  related,  whose  origin  it 
would  be  difficult  to  explain.  I  limit  myself  to  mention- 
ing two  of  these.  Meeting  with  or  hearing  the  song  of 
certain  birds  is  for  these  islanders  a  presage,  now  good, 
now  ill.  Sneezing  is  a  good  augury,  and  indicates  that 
one  is  thought  of  by  an  absent  friend.  One  knows  that 
similar  ideas  have  prevailed  and  still  remain  to-day  in  the 
less  intelligent  classes  of  the  most  civilised  nations. 

General  Observations. — The  Mincopies  are  among  the 
best  known  savage  tribes.  Instead  of  such  monsters  as 
were  described  before  Marco  Polo,  one  has  found  some 
little  men,  with  black  skin  and  woolly  hair,  but  who — 
thanks  to  their  relatively  regular  features,  their  slight 
or  lacking  prognathism,  their  lips  scarcely  thicker  than 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MINCOPIES.        135 

our  own — are  much  superior  to  the  large  majority  of  Ne- 
gro races. 

As  regards  intellectual  manifestations,  we  have  just 
seen  that  these  islanders  are  now  inferior,  now  superior, 
to  other  populations  of  the  globe  who  lead  a  life  analo- 
gous to  theirs.  Experience  has  shown  that  if  intelligence 
is  as  if  dormant  among  them,  it  is  easily  awakened,  and 
appears  then  nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  European  races 
themselves.  All  observations  made  upon  Mincopies  who 
had  not  been  in  contact  with  whites,  and  bandits  intro- 
duced into  the  Andamans  by  penal  establishments,  show 
beyond  doubt  that  in  the  matter  of  morality  these  Negri- 
tos bear,  without  disadvantage,  comparison  with  our  own 
populations. 

Finally,  to  me  it  is  impossible  not  to  regard  men  who 
believe  in  a  supreme  divinity,  uncreated,  omniscient,  who 
has  created  all  things  except  maleficent  powers,  as  having 
a  veritable  religion.  This  exception  appears  to  place 
limits  to  the  power  of  God,  but  has  it  not  a  just  cause? 
All  the  grand  religions,  to  use  Burnouf's  expression,  have 
tried  to  account  for  the  coexistence  of  good  and  evil. 
The  Mincopies  have  solved  the  problem  in  their  way. 
Consciously  or  unconsciously,  they  seem  to  have  been  un- 
able to  admit  that  he  whose  children  they  claim  to  be, 
and  from  whom  they  declare  they  receive  all  earthly 
goods,  was  directly  or  indirectly  the  author  of  their  ills. 
Was  this  not  also  the  thought  of  Zoroaster? 

These  very  comparisons  raise  a  question  which  has 
been  often  and  in  many  places  propounded.  Do  the  lofty 
ideas  whose  existence  among  the  Mincopies  Mr.  Man  has 
established  really  belong  to  these  islanders  ?  Are  they 
the  spontaneous  product  of  their  instincts  and  intelli- 
gence? Or  have  they  indeed  come  from  outside?  Have 
they  been  brought  to  the  Andamans  by  some  follower  of 
the  great  religious  of  the  Orient?  Has  not  Islam  in  par- 


136  THE  PYGMIES. 

ticular  had  an  influence  in  shaping  this  conception  of  a 
supreme  god  and  almost  pure  spirit,  which  fits  in  so 
strangely  with  the  bizarre  superstitions  which  accom- 
pany it  ? 

This  is  precisely  the  question  which  Logan  asked  him- 
self when,  to  his  great  surprise,  he  discovered 92  among 
the  Binouas,  until  then  regarded  by  him  as  without  re- 
ligion,* what  he  calls  "  a  simple  and  to  a  certain  extent 
rational  theology."  These  Binouas  form  part  of  a  group 
of  populations  which  represent  in  the  Malay  peninsula 
the  Dravidians  of  India,  f  Although  in  contact  with  the 
Malays  since  the  twelfth  century,  and  perhaps  from  the 
ninth  century,  they  have  preserved  their  independence, 
their  manners,  and  their  customs  in  the  interior  of  the 
peninsula,  of  which  the  conquerors  really  occupy  only  the 
coast  regions.  They  live  in  simple  huts,  know  only  a  very 
rudimentary  agriculture,  live  chiefly  upon  the  products  of 
the  chase  and  fishing,  or  the  fruits  of  the  forest.  They 
are  plainly,  then,  in  the  category  of  populations  which  we 

*  On  various  occasions  the  Malays  had  assured  Logan  that  the 
Binouas  had  no  religious  belief,  and  that  their  sorcerers  (poyang) 
acted  for  good  or  ill  only  through  the  mediuraship  of  spirits  which 
they  controlled. 

f  When  Logan  wrote,  these  tribes  were  still  little  known,  and 
the  eminent  ethnologist  was  unable  to  distinguish  the  different  ele- 
ments whose  fusion  and  mixture  had  produced  the  existing  condi- 
tion. Recent  materials,  especially  the  photographs  brought  back 
by  de  Saint-Pol  Lias  and  de  la  Croix,  have  fully  informed  us  in 
this  respect,  as  one  has  seen  above.  The  Binouas,  the  UdaTs,  the 
Manthras,  the  Sakaies,  all  have  a  Negrito  foundation  more  or  less 
altered  by  various  mixtures.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  penin- 
sula the  Malay  element  seems  strongly  dominant,  but  even  there 
the  intervention  of  a  very  different  type  is  marked.  The  Malay 
blood  could  not  have  given  to  certain  Binouas  of  Johore  an  oval 
face,  a  well-made  chin,  and  an  aquiline  nose.  These  features 
can  only  be  due  to  crossing  with  either  Aryan  or  Allophyllian 
whites. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MINCOPIES.        137 

call  savages,  whatever  may  be  their  moral  qualities.*  But 
among  these  Binouas  one  believes  in  a  god  named  Fir- 
man, who  created  the  world,  and  whose  will  maintains 
the  existence  of  all  things,  who  is  invisible  and  dwells 
beyond  the  skies.  Below  him  are  spirits  (jin),  the  most 
powerful  of  whom  is  the  spirit  of  the  earth,  Jin  Bumi. 
This  one  plays  the  role  of  a  bad  angel  ;  to  him  are 
due  sickness  and  death,  but  all  his  power  comes  from 
Pirman. 

By  the  side  of  these  beliefs,  so  spiritual,  there  are 
found  also  many  kinds  of  superstitions,  which  it  is  need- 
less to  enumerate  here.  In  reality,  the  Binouas  have 
neither  priests  nor  worship  ;  but  their  sorcerers — or,  bet- 
ter, shamans  (poyang] — at  times  play  the  part  of  the  for- 
mer, and  preside  at  certain  ceremonies  which  might  be 
called  religious.  They  communicate  with  the  supreme 
god  through  a  mediator,  a  secondary  divinity,  Jeiuajswa, 
who  dwells  in  heaven,  and  who  alone  can  approach  Pir- 
man. To  render  him  favourable  to  them,  they  utter  in- 
vocations and  burn  benzoin,  the  odour  of  which  is  agree- 
able to  his  nostrils.  The  poyang  can  cure  diseases  ;  they 
can  also  cause  death.  They  owe  their  supernatural 
powers  to  spirits  or  genii  whom  they  command  and  from 
whom  they  draw  inspiration. 

In  conclusion,  to  Logan's  eyes  the  whole  of  the  re- 
ligious beliefs  of  the  Binouas  constitutes  a  very  remark- 
able mixture  of  theism  and  Shamanism,  very  similar  to 
that  which  exists  among  the  Dyaks  of  Borneo  and  the 
Battas  of  Sumatra.  Among  these  peoples,  one  believes 
also  in  a  supreme  god  called  by  the  same  names,  Diebata, 

*  In  this  respect,  and  in  many  features  of  character  and  customs, 
the  Binouas  approach  the  Mincopies.  But,  contrary  to  what  we 
have  seen  among  these  last,  it  appears  that  war  between  tribes  is 
unknown  among  them  and  the  other  populations  of  the  same 
origin.** 


138  THE  PYGMIES. 

Juhata,  Deivata,  in  the  two  islands,  while  at  the  same 
time  admitting  numerous  superstitions  connected  with 
Shamanism.  The  poyang  of  the  Binouas  and  neighbour- 
ing tribes,  the  Uians  of  the  Dyaks,  and  the  dato  and  si 
basso  of  the  Battas,  are  at  once  priests,  sorcerers,  and 
curers  of  disease — that  is  to  say,  true  shamans. 

From  these  facts  and  from  certain  philosophical  con- 
siderations, Logan  concludes  that,  in  Malacca  as  in  the 
Indian  Archipelago,  the  religion  is  at  bottom  only  an 
ancient  Shamanism,  which  probably  prevailed  throughout 
eastern  Asia  before  the  rise  of  Buddhism.  A  theistic  idea, 
borrowed  either  from  Malay  Mussulmans  or  from  Hin- 
doos, has  placed  itself  alongside  of  the  primitive  beliefs 
without  changing  them  greatly,  especially  among  the 
Binouas.  Moreover,  he  considers  it  very  probable  that 
this  introduction  has  come  from  India.  He  says:  "  Not  a 
Mussulman  would  speak  of  the  single  and  only  God  with- 
out adding  that  Mahomet  is  his  prophet." 

Such  are  Logan's  conclusions ;  but,  whatever  may  be 
the  authority  of  that  eminent  ethnologist,  they  do  not 
appear  to  me  to  be  justified.  They  have  for  their  source 
the  thought  that  barbarians  or  savages  like  the  Dyaks 
and  Binouas  cannot  rise  of  themselves  to  the  conception 
of  a  creative  and  all-powerful  God.  But  the  facts  do  not 
well  agree  with  such  a  view. 

Let  us  recall,  first,  that  Shamanism,  under  forms  quite 
varied  indeed,  still  prevails  over  a  great  portion  of  Asia, 
and  even  extends  into  Europe.  But  in  this  whole  area, 
among  all  the  nations  concerning  whom  our  information 
is  exact,  one  finds  by  the  side  of  secondary  divinities,  or 
rather  spirits  more  or  less  deified,  a  supreme  God,  creator 
and  preserver  of  the  universe.  It  is  the  Jumbel  of  the 
Laplanders,  the  Num  of  the  Samoyeds,  the  Jumman  of 
the  Votiaks,  the  Yuma  of  the  Tcheremis,  the  Artoyon, 
Schugotoygon,  or  Tangara  of  the  Jakouts,  etc.87  All 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MINCOPIES.        139 

these  great  divinities  are  evidently  the  single  and  eternal 
God,  of  whom  Mangou  spoke  to  Rubruquis,  although  he 
was  surrounded  by  shamans,  the  chief  of  whom  dwelt 
close  by  the  great  Khan.*  Far,  then,  from  being  in- 
compatible with  a  very  lofty  and  spiritual  religious  con- 
ception, Shamanism  shows  itself  associated  with  this 
in  the  countries  where  it  holds  the  greatest  sway.  There, 
as  at  many  other  points  on  the  globe,  coarse  practices 
and  absurd  or  childish  superstitions  have  too  frequently 
covered  up  and  concealed  from  Europeans  the  superior 
notions  existing  among  these  savage  populations. 

We  usually  do  not  possess  information  concerning  the 
ideas  which  the  sectaries  of  Shamanism  hold  regarding 
their  supreme  divinity  and  his  attributes,  or  upon  the 
worship  rendered  to  him.  We  do,  however,  know  that, 
while  they  consecrate  to  him  rude  images,  the  Jakouts 
declare  that  their  Tangara  is  invisible  ;87  we  know  that 
the  Votiaks,  the  Tcheremis,  etc.,  celebrate  special  festivals 
in  honour  of  their  great  God,  and  address  to  him  prayers, 
which  present  them  to  us  in  a  most  favourable  light. 
Moreover,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  Kalevala  gives  us  suf- 
ficient information  in  this  matter.  It  is  true  that  the 
most  ancient  chants  of  this  multiple  epic  date  back  only 
to  the  tenth  century  at  most ; 155  but  it  appears  to  me 
that  the  revelations  which  Antero  Wipunen  made  to  Wai'- 
namoinen  clearly  show  that  the  words  put  in  the  mouth 
of  a  magician,  dead  centuries  before,  really  teach  us  the 
most  ancient  traditions  of  the  race  relative  to  these  diffi- 
cult questions,  f  In  fine,  in  the  whole  geographical  area 
here  in  question,  the  religious  beliefs  appear  to  me  to 
have  a  very  great  analogy  with  those  of  the  ancient 


*  **  Rubruquis  arrived  at  Mangou's  court  at  the  end  of  the  year 
1253. 

f  The  Kalevala. 
11 


140  THE   PYGMIES. 

Chinese,  who  also  believed  in  a  supreme  sovereign  of 
heaven  and  in  subordinate  spirits.* 

Those  who  refuse  to  savages  the  possibility  of  attain- 
ing to  the  spiritual  conceptions  which  I  have  just  de- 
scribed will  perhaps  give  the  honour  of  these  to  the  com- 
patriots of  Confucius,  and  will  attribute  them  to  an  in- 
fluence proceeding  from  China.  But  one  establishes 
similar  facts  upon  many  other  parts  of  the  globe.  I  limit 
myself  to  mentioning  a  few  of  these. 

In  America,  among  true  redskins,  we  find  again  coarse 
Shamanism  associated  with  belief  in  a  Great  Spirit,  only 
Creator,  and  directing  by  his  will  all  the  events  of  this 
world,  just  as  does  Jumala  of  the  Kalevala.f 

Among  the  black  tribes  of  California,  one  of  the  most 
savage  populations  of  that  country,  where  sorcerers  inspire 
the  profoundest  terror,  Chinig-chinig  has  created  all 
things ;  he  is  invisible  and  ubiquitous ;  he  sees  all,  even 
in  the  midst  of  darkness  ;  he  is  the  friend  of  the  good,  and 
punishes  the  bad.118 

Among  the  Natchez,  who  have  neither  sorcerers  nor 
conjurers,  Coy ocop- chill  has  likewise  created  all  things, 
but  he  governs  the  whole  world  through  the  intermediary 
of  secondary  spirits  (Coyocop-techou).™ 

In  Polynesia,  at  Tahiti,  Taaroa  is  toivi ;  he  has 
neither  father,  mother,  nor  children.  He  has  a  body,  but 
this  body  is  invisible,  and  the  god  sheds  it  as  birds  shed 
their  feathers.  It  is  this  god  who  has  created  the  world, 

*  The  Emperor  Chun,  2,255  years  before  our  era,  "  made  sacrifice 
to  the  supreme  sovereign  of  heaven  (Chang-ti),  and  the  usual  cere- 
monies to  the  six  great  spirits,  to  the  mountains,  the  rivers,  and  to 
spirits  generally."  m 

f  Among  others,  consiilt  Heckewelder.  A  spirit  truly  profound 
and  religious  in  the  Christian  acceptation  of  the  word  appears  re- 
markably in  the  prayer  which  the  Lenape  warriors  addressed  to  the 
Great  Spirit  before  departing  upon  an  expedition. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OP   THE   MINCOPIES.         141 

or  who  has  drawn  it  out  of  chaos,  according  to  another 
tradition.  But  his  work  once  finished,  he  has  given  its 
direction  over  to  inferior  divinities.123' 56* 

It  is  indeed  difficult  to  explain  these  facts  upon 
Logan's  hypothesis.  Nevertheless  the  Polynesians  are 
only  Malay  emigrants,  and  ancient  relations  between 
America  and  the  most  advanced  nations  of  Asia  seem  to 
me  to-day  beyond  question.166  One  might,  then,  still  argue 
that  the  former  have  carried  with  them  to  the  very  ends  of 
Polynesia  ideas  borrowed  by  their  ancestors  from  some 
civilised  nation  ;  that,  among  the  latter,  the  existence  of 
similar  notions  is  due  to  a  sort  of  infiltration  of  ideas 
coming  from  the  Old  World  and  penetrating  even  to  the 
most  savage  tribes  of  the  new  continent.  But  let  us 
betake  ourselves  to  Africa  and  to  the  Gulf  of  Guinea. 
There  we  meet  again  everywhere  fetichism  with  its  train 
of  beliefs  and  practices,  in  turn  ridiculous,  puerile,  or 
sanguinary.  And  yet  there  also  we  find  again  the  belief 
in  a  supreme  God,  often  unique,  and  having  under  his 
command  spirits  who  execute  his  will,  rather  than  veri- 
table secondary  deities.  The  great  surprise  of  D'Avezac 
when  Ochi-Fekoue  recited  to  him,  in  place  of  a  transla- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  prayer  which  all  the  Yebous, 
prostrating  themselves,  repeat  to  Obba-ol-  Oroun,  is  well 
known.10  This  King  or  Master  of  Heaven  is,  according  to 
these  Negroes,  "an  immaterial,  invisible,  eternal  being; 
it  is  his  supreme  will  which  has  created  and  which  gov- 
erns all  things."  D'Avezac  has  mentioned  seven  travellers 
whose  narratives  contain  similar  information  regarding 
the  religions  of  the  different  peoples  of  the  same  region. 
He  might  have  lengthened  his  list  by  adding  the  name  of 
a  Negro  captain.175 

*  I    have   summarised   and   discussed    the   authorities   in   Les 
Polynesiens  et  leurs  migrations. 


142  THE  PYGMIES. 

Thus  in  all  four  quarters  of  the  globe,  and  among  pop- 
ulations of  very  different  race  but  all  belonging  to  the 
lowest  culture  stages  of  mankind,  we  establish  the  co- 
existence, in  one  same  religious  belief,  of  superstitions  the 
most  degraded  and  of  spiritual  conceptions  the  most  pure 
and  elevated.*  There  is,  then,  nothing  strange  in  the  same 
fact  occurring  among  the  Mincopies  and  the  Binouas. 

The  latter  are  a  crossed  race.  Moreover,  placed  in  con- 
tact for  centuries  with  the  Malays,  they  might  well  have 
borrowed  something  from  their  more  civilised  neighbours. 
But  if  this  is  true,  the  details  given  by  Logan  would  tend 
to  prove  that  they  have  given  the  notions  so  acquired  an 
entirely  peculiar  form.  The  Mincopies  were  placed  in 
conditions  very  different.  Thanks  to  various  circum- 
stances already  indicated,  they  have  remained  isolated  in 
their  little  world,  and  have  preserved,  especially  in  the  four 
northern  islands,  an  ethnic  purity  attested  by  the  uni- 
formity of  their  external  and  craniological  characteristics. 
This  in  itself  would  go  to  show  that  their  intellectual, 
moral,  and  religious  characteristics  have  remained  almost 
unaltered,  or  have  only  changed  in  accordance  with  the 
predispositions  of  the  race  and  the  conditions  of  existence 
which  had  produced  these. 

In  saying  this,  I  do  not  absolutely  deny  that  the  Min- 
copies have  drawn  something  from  outside.     They  mas- 

*  It  would  be  only  too  easy  to  show  that  the  same  juxtaposition 
of  dogmas  apparently  irreconcilable  has  existed  and  still  exists  in 
the  grandest  religions  and  among  ourselves.  No  savage  population 
has  believed  more  firmly  in  sorcery  than  the  Catholics  of  the  middle 
ages  or  the  Puritan  refugees  in  America.  How  many  Europeans 
are  still  in  that  condition  !  The  mixture  of  ideas  here  discussed, 
and  which  appears  so  strange  to  an  enlightened  mind,  is,  then,  really 
very  frequent,  perhaps  even  general,  and  must,  possibly,  be  accepted 
as  connected  most  intimately  with  the  nature  of  man.  I  have  em- 
phasised considerations  of  this  kind  in  my  L'Espece  humr.ine.  and 
Introduction  a  1'etude  des  races  humaines. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE   MINCOPIES.         143 

sacred  foreigners  whom  chance  threw  into  their  hands ; 
they  killed  the  companions  of  Duradawan,  but  spared 
him.  Similar  occurrences  might  well  happen  during  the 
centuries  preceding  the  English  occupation  of  the  islands. 
The  Andamanese  have,  perhaps,  accepted  some  notions 
which  have  adjusted  themselves  to  their  stock  of  primitive 
beliefs.  Yet,  however  extensive  one  may  consider  such 
borrowings,  it  is  necessary  at  least  to  recognise  that  these 
islanders  have  appropriated  them  in  such  a  way  as  to  make 
from  all  an  ensemble  of  beliefs  having  its  own  peculiar 
characteristics. 

Thus,  long  before  the  arrival  of  Europeans,  the  Min- 
copies,  although  reported  as  one  of  the  clearest  examples 
of  a  people  without  religion,  possessed  a  whole  rudi- 
mentary mythology,  and,  with  the  Samoyeds,  Jakouts, 
and  black  Californians,  they  believed  the  great  funda- 
mental ideas  of  the  proudest  religions.  They  deserve, 
then,  in  every  way  the  attention  of  men  who  interest 
themselves  in  the  study  of  the  human  races  and  the  mani- 
fold problems  which  this  history  raises ;  and  we  owe  many 
thanks  to  those  English  officers,  those  civil  employees,  and 
those  physicians  who  have  made  us  acquainted  with  it. 


CHAPTER  V. 

NEGKITOS    OTHER   THAN    THE    MINCOPIES. 

Language. — Luzon:  Invasion  of  the  Malays. — Malacca:  Mixture  of 
languages  ;  camphor  language.— Linguistic  affinities. — Social 
state. — Mincopies  ;  Aetas  ;  culture  ;  ancient  social  condition  ; 
family ;  marriage  ;  inheritance  ;  adultery. — Industries. — Fire  ; 
dwellings;  food;  arms;  poisoned  arrows. — Religious  and  moral 
characteristics:  Superior  beings ;  spirits;  future  life:  chastity; 
modesty ;  general  character. 

Language. — Although  dispersed  from  Andaman  to  the 
Philippines,  the  Negrito  tribes  have  preserved  in  a  remark- 
able way  all  their  external  and  osteological  characters.  It 
is  otherwise  with  their  language.  This  has  at  times  almost 
completely  disappeared  at  the  touch  of  superior  popula- 
tions, even  when  some  Negrito  groups,  still  numerous  and 
enjoying  a  certain  independence,  have  preserved  a  relative 
purity  of  blood. 

This  fact  has  been  recognised  at  the  Philippines  from 
the  beginning  of  the  Spanish  occupation.  Even  in  that 
island,  which  owes  its  name  to  them,  our  little  blacks 
speak  the  Bisaya — that  is  to  say,  a  local  Malay  dialect 139 — 
but  they  mingle  with  it  many  foreign  words.  It  seems  to 
me  probable  that  these  last  are  so  much  evidence  preserved 
of  the  primitive  language. 

At  Luzon  it  must  be  even  more  truly  the  same.  The 
evidence  given  upon  that  point  by  de  la  Fuente  has  been 
fully  confirmed  by  the  researches  of  Dr.  Montano,  who  has 
kindly  placed  his  unpublished  notes  at  my  disposition  with 

144 


NEGRITOS  OTHER  THAN  THE  MINCOPIES.      145 

a  liberality  which  I  here  gladly  acknowledge.  This  author, 
who  speaks  Malay  fluently,  and  is  familiar  with  several  of 
its  dialects,  has  discovered  in  the  language  of  the  Ae'tas  not 
only  grammatical  forms  but  a  vocabulary  almost  exclu- 
sively Tayaloc.  He  has  verified  one  by  one  an  hundred 
and  four  words  collected  by  Meyer  in  the  dialect  of  Mari- 
veles ;  he  has  noted  those  which  have  seemed  to  him  for- 
eign to  the  Malay  languages,  and  found  but  seventeen. 
He  even  believes  it  necessary  to  make  reservations  regard- 
ing some  of  those.* 

Montano  has  not  been  able  to  collect  as  precise  infor- 
mation regarding  the  language  of  the  Mamanouas  or  Ne- 
gritos of  Mindanao ;  but  he  has  seen  them  make  them- 
selves understood  by  his  guides,  who  spoke  a  corrupt,  or 
rather  simplified,  Bisaya.  There  also,  without  doubt,  the 
original  language  has  disappeared. 

Has  it  been  the  same  in  the  Malay  peninsula  ?  Mon- 
tano considers  himself  unable  to  answer  this  question. 

*  Montano  counts,  moreover,  thirteen  non-Malay  words  in  the 
same  vocabulary  translated  into  the  Negro  dialect  of  Zambales.    He 
has  also  obtained  with  difficulty  from  Aetas,  with  whom  he  found 
himself  in  contact,  one  couplet  of  a  song,  which  I  here  reproduce : 
Makaalis      ako  ina, 

I  leave   (oh,  my)  loved  one, 
Makpaka    bait,       ka,         ina. 
Be  very  prudent,  thou  loved  one. 
Ta !    ma   papaka  sayou,   ako       ina, 
Ah  !  I  go     very       far,      my  loved  one, 
Into     ka        man       a      bibing    ianmo. 
While  thou  remainest  in  dwelling  thine. 
Hanag  banuan         dolipatan  mo. 

Never  (thy)    village  will  be  forgotten  (by)  me. 
The  Negritos  of  the  province  of  Albay  (southeast  of  Luzon)  speak 
the  Bicol  fluently.    But  they  are  mixed  with  Malay.    The  Bisaya, 
the  Tagaloc,  the  Bicol,  the  Pampango,  etc.,  are  merely  dialects  of 
Malay,  more  or  less  modified. — Montano. 


146  THE  PYGMIES. 

He  understood  his  Manthra  *  guide  readily  when  he  spoke 
Malay,  but  could  scarcely  pick  out  words  here  and  there 
when  the  same  individual  spoke  with  his  savage  compatri- 
ots. He  believes  that  the  Manthras  have  at  least  a  pe- 
culiar accent,  which  may  be  due  to  several  causes. 

The  Father  Pouget,  long  located  at  Malacca,  who  has 
visited  all  the  tribes  of  the  interior,  told  Montano  that 
these  savages  had  neither  language  nor  dialect  of  their 
own,  and  that  their  speech  is  a  mixture  of  altered  Malay 
and  Siamese. 

Yet,  in  his  curious  work  upon  the  Binouas  of  Johore,f 
Logan  considers  it  demonstrated  that  this  tribe,  evidently 
much  more  mixed  with  Malay  than  the  Manthras,  for- 
merly had  its  own  language,  and  supports  his  opinion  by 
many  arguments.93  In  the  special  language,  which  these 
indigenes  employ  when  they  go  into  the  forest  to  look  for 
camphor  trees  \  the  same  author  has  discovered  a  certain 
number  of  non-Malay  words.  I  have  compared  some  of 
them  with  words  contained  in  two  vocabularies  from  Siam 
and  Laos,  published  by  Latham,86  and  could  detect  no  re- 
semblance. A  comparison  of  these  same  vocabularies  with 
that  which  M.  de  la  Croix  collected  among  the  Sakaies  of 
Perak  *  led  to  the  same  result.  On  his  part,  de  la  Croix 

*  The  Manthras  are  mixed  breeds  from  the  neighbourhood  of 
Kessang,  province  of  Malacca,  in  the  peninsula  of  that  name. 

f  The  most  southern  district  of  the  Malacca  peninsula. 

\  This  language  is  called  bdssd  kdpor — "  camphor  language." 
Logan  found  it  in  use,  and  among  all  the  tribes  who  give  themselves 
up  to  the  gathering  of  camphor.  These  tribes  believe  that  they 
could  not  discover  camphor  trees  if  they  used  any  other  language 
on  these  expeditions.  Montano,  who  speaks  of  it  in  his  notes,  calls 
it  bahasa  kapour. 

*  The  province  of  Perak,  two  or  three  degrees  north  of  that  of 
Malacca,  is  located  near  the  central  western  part  of  the  peninsula. 
We  have  no  information  regarding  the  Negrito-Malay  tribes  that 
may  live  farther  north. 


NEGRITOS  OTHER  THAN  THE  MINCOPIES.      147 

counts  only  twelve  Malay  words  out  of  the  ninety  com- 
posing his  vocabulary.  The  Russian  traveller,  Miklucho- 
Maclay,  had  brought  together  from  among  the  savage 
tribes  of  Johore  and  of  the  interior  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty, which,  when  submitted  to  the  judgment  of  several 
Malays,  had  been  regarded  by  them  as  not  of  their  lan- 
guage.* Finally,  de  Castelnau,  on  his  part,  arrived  at 
analogous  conclusions.26 

From  all  these  facts  it  seems  to  me  certain  that  the 
ancient  Negritos  of  the  peninsula  of  Malacca  must  have 
had  a  language  of  their  own,  almost  entirely  forgotten  by 
one  part  of  their  descendants,  a  little  less  forgotten  per- 
haps by  others,  because  all  have  been  more  or  less  mixed 
with  the  Malays,  Siamese,  and,  it  may  be,  with  other  eth- 
nologic elements.  Is  this  language  related  to  that  of  the 
Mincopies  ?  There  is  only  a  theoretical  reply,  but  the 
relative  proximity  of  the  populations  permits  propounding 
it.  Perhaps  Man  and  Temple  will  some  day  tell  us  how 
much  of  truth  there  is  in  it.f 

Perhaps,  too,  they  will  be  able  to  recognise  whether 
the  singular  affinities  claimed  by  Hyde  Clark  to  exist  be- 
tween the  different  Mincopy  languages  and  African  and 
American  tongues  are  well  founded.29  Finally,  it  would 
be  very  interesting  to  learn  whether  the  language  of  the 

*  98  The  Russian  traveller  established  the  identity  of  language 
among  these  tribes,  isolated  and  with  no  other  connection  between 
them,  from  Johore  at  the  south  of  the  peninsula  to  Ligor  in  the 
south  of  Siam.  This  result  appears  to  have  struck  him  with  aston- 
ishment, but  there  is  nothing  surprising  in  it  for  one  who  has  oc- 
cupied himself  with  the  history  of  the  Negritos,  considered  as  a 
whole. 

f  I  think  it  would  be  very  interesting  in  this  connection  to  find 
out  what  language  is  spoken  by  the  Negritos  recently  discovered  in 
the  little  archipelago  of  Tenasserim.  Their  relative  isolation  might 
lead  us  to  hope  that  the  primitive  language  is  here  less  altered  than 
on  the  continent. 


148  THE   PYGMIES. 

Puttouas,  of  the  mountains  of  Amarkantak,  which  differs 
from  all  the  Dravidian  languages  in  its  neighbourhood,164 
is  in  any  way  related  to  those  spoken  in  the  Andaman 
Islands  or  in  the  Malay  Peninsula. 

Social  Condition.  —  The  Mincopies  are  exclusively 
hunters  and  fishermen.  Living  upon  the  shores  of  a  sea 
filled  with  fishes,  close  to  great  forests  where  boars  run  at 
large,  and  which  furnish  them  besides  honey  and  fruits, 
they  have  not  felt  the  necessity  of  wringing  by  labour 
from  the  soil  a  supplement  to  their  food  supply;  and 
this  very  luxuriance  of  food,  perhaps,  has  been  of  influ- 
ence in  keeping  them  at  the  lowest  point  in  the  social 
scale.* 

Most  travellers  who  have  visited  the  Philippines  have 
spoken  of  the  Ae'tas  as  never  having  passed  this  status, 
although  placed  in  much  less  favourable  surroundings. 
Father  La  Girouiere64  and  Meyer113  are  very  emphatic 
on  this  point,  and  Giglioli  has  accepted  their  statements 
without  hesitation.60' 69  Rienzi  himself,  to  whom  we  owe 
information  upon  the  more  happy  past  of  this  population, 
represents  them  as  to-day  living  exclusively  upon  wild 
fruits  and  the  products  of  the  hunt  or  fishing.162 

But  it  is  evident  that  in  the  Philippines  this  inferior 
social  condition  is  the  result  of  the  persecution  waged 
against  the  Negritos  by  more  powerful  and  vigorous  races. 
No  doubt,  also,  false  information,  interestedly  given  by  the 
petty  chiefs  of  Tagal  villages  to  travellers,  has  led  to  con- 
sidering as  general  a  state  of  affairs  perhaps  more  or  less 
exceptional.!  I  believe  I  cannot  better  reply  to  such  exag- 

*  Francis  Day  informs  us  that  a  very  small  tribe  of  Mincopies, 
camped  near  the  English  establishments  and  receiving  daily  rations, 
took  besides,  in  a  single  year  five  hundred  boars,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  turtles,  twenty  wild-cats,  fifty  iguanas  and  six  dugongs. — Proc. 
Asiat.  Soc.  of  Bengal. 

f  Manuscript  note  from  Montano. 


NEGRITOS  OTHER  THAN  THE  MINCOPIES.      149 

gerations  than  by  quoting  almost  literally  some  of  the 
notes  kindly  sent  me  by  Montano  :  * 

"  The  Negritos  of  the  province  of  Bataan  apppear  to 
fully  appreciate  the  security  which  the  just  and  enlight- 
ened administration  of  the  governor,  Don  Estanislao 
Chaves,  gives  them.  I  have  visited  them  in  the  moun- 
tains. .  .  .  The  abode  of  the  chief,  very  comfortable,  was 
situated  upon  a  hillock  surrounded  by  other  eminences. 
Several  houses  were  built  there,  each  in  a  clearing  of 
some  arpents,  where  they  raised  bananas,  rice,  sugar-cane, 
and,  above  all,  yams.  .  .  .  The  chief  shouted  ;  immedi- 
ately cries  broke  forth  in  every  direction.  Soon  after  the 
whole  tribe  was  about  me.  ...  In  the  province  of  Albay, 
where  conditions  must  be  much  as  in  Bataan,  I  have  seen 
a  considerable  quantity  of  cacao  collected  by  the  Negritos 
in  the  islands  of  the  gulf." 

Even  among  the  Mamanuas  of  Mindanao,  whose  last 
survivors  are  constantly  pursued  by  the  fierce  Manobos, 
the  French  traveller  saw  upon  the  east  coast  of  Lake 
Mai'nit  "  a  timid  tribe,  excessively  suspicious,  but  which 
had  nevertheless  built  houses,  cleared  a  bit  of  the  forest, 
and  planted  bananas  and  yams." 

Thus  all  that  has  been  said  about  the  uncontrollable 
vagabond  instincts  of  the  Ae'tas  is  inexact.  If  these  little 
Negroes  in  some  parts  of  the  archipelago  lead  a  wander- 
ing life,  build  no  huts,  cultivate  no  land,  the  fault  is  that 
of  their  persecutors. 

The  very  rude  agriculture  of  which  we  have  just  spoken 
is  again  met  with  among  the  mixed-breed  Negritos  of 
India  and  the  Malay  Peninsula.  Among  all,  the  method 
appears  to  be  the  same.  The  Gond,  as  the  Manthra, 
commences  by  destroying  the  trees,  to  which  he  sets  fire 
when  they  are  half  dry.  Then  he  sows  or  plants  in  the 

*  These  notes  have  been  published  now  by  this  traveller  in  his 
Voyages  aux  Philippines  et  en  Malaisie. 


150  THE  PYGMIES. 

midst  of  the  hollows  among  the  interlacing  trunks  grain 
and  yams.  When  the  underbrush  springs  up  again  he 
leaves  his  hut,  makes  some  slight  wicker  shelters  of  leafy 
boughs,  and  begins  again  elsewhere.  A  dog,  a  few  fowls, 
some  pigs,  live  as  they  can  on  these  poor  clearings.  The 
chase,  fishing,  roots,  and  wild  fruits  seem  to  furnish  the 
principal  resources  of  these  populations.* 

Such  is  the  present  condition  of  things.  But  have  not 
these  tribes,  to-day  half  wandering  and  scattered,  known 
better  days  and  a  higher  social  condition  ?  One  can  only 
reply  to  this  question  in  a  general  way. 

Excepting  the  implements  of  polished  stone  which  I 
have  mentioned,  there  is  nothing  about  the  Mincopies 
which  indicates  that  they  were  ever  higher  than  they  are 
to-day.  Having,  so  to  speak,  in  their  hands  all  that  is 
necessary  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  needs  of  savage  life, 
without  relations  with  foreigners,  nothing  has  come  to 
arouse  in  them  new  aspirations  ;  and  their  intellectual 
activity  has  simply  spent  itself  in  multiplying  and  per- 
fecting the  stock  of  utensils  suited  to  their  mode  of  life. 
We  have  seen  that  in  this  direction  they  have  given  proof 
of  real  energy. 

On  the  contrary,  in  the  Philippines  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  the  Ae'tas  have  been  more  advanced.  Ri- 
enzi,  who  has  summarised,  unfortunately  in  a  very  con- 
fused way,  the  traditions  relative  to  these  people,  repre- 
sents them  as  having  formerly  occupied  the  whole  of 
Luzon,  and  as  having  long  resisted  the  Tagal  invasions. 
They  then  had  a  sort  of  government.  A  council  of  chiefs 
and  old  men  attended  to  the  execution  of  the  laws.f 
It  is  difficult  not  to  suppose  that  at  that  time  the  soil 

*  Unpublished  notes  of  Montane ;  also  his  book,  loc.  cit.; 
also  IM>  «. 

f  Exactly  as  now  exists  among  the  Bhils,  half-breed  Negritos. — 
Rousselet. 1M 


NEGRITOS  OTHER  THAN  THE  MINCOPIES.      151 

was  cultivated  at  least  to  the  degree  described  by  Mon- 
tane. 

Much  more  probably  is  it  the  same  of  the  more  or  less 
crossed  tribes  of  Malacca.  Montano  tells  us  that  the  Man- 
thras  still  recall  the  time  when  their  ancestors  were  mas- 
ters of  the  whole  country.  At  that  time  they  say  they 
possessed  many  writings  traced  upon  tree  leaves.  This 
fact  supposes  in  itself  a  social  condition,  of  which  Mon- 
tano seems  to  have  found  a  trace  in  the  very  name  of 
his  guide.  This  man  was  called,  as  his  father,  his  grand- 
father, and  no  doubt  their  ancestors,  Pang-lima-dalan, 
a  word  which  our  traveller  translates  "  a  lord  who  admin- 
isters the  palace  of  a  sultan" 121>  122  This  descendant  of 
some  great  dignitary  to-day  performs  the  function  of  a 
coolie  on  the  place  of  a  Chinese  planter.  In  the  peninsula 
of  Malacca,  as  in  India,  the  conquest  has  perhaps  de- 
stroyed states  already  considerable  and  flourishing,  but 
memory  of  which  has  gone  completely;  it  has  crowded 
back  into  the  forests  and  mountains  the  more  or  less 
negroid  race  which  founded  them.  There  this  race  has 
fallen  into  savagery  again,  just  as  the  Dravidians  have 
done.*  It  is  as  if  broken  and  crumbled  down  into  tribes 
or  single  families,  and  the  hierarchy  of  chiefs  which 
Logan  has  made  known  among  the  populations  of  Bermun 
is  probably  all  that  remains  of  its  ancient  social  state.f 

*  Among  others,  the  Bhils  ;  yet  these  still  have  permanent 
dwellings,  well  constructed  and  grouped  in  villages.  That  which 
can  be  considered  only  hypothetical  so  long  as  it  concerns  tribes 
of  Bermun,  appears  certain  for  their  brothers  the  Binouas.  Logan 93 
tells  us  that  these  were  governed  by  kings  whose  origin  was  super- 
natural, and  whose  descendants  still  live. 

f  In  his  memoir  upon  the  Binouas  of  Johore,  Logan  gives  some 
details  upon  five  tribes,  to  whom  all  this  practically  applies.  They 
are  the  Udais  or  Orang-Pagos,  the  Jakuns,  the  Sakaies,  the  Min- 
tiras  or  Manthras,  and  the  Besisis.  These  tribes  inhabit  the  high- 
land of  Cunong-Bermun,  one  of  the  highest  chains  of  the  Malay 


152  THE  PYGMIES. 

Everywhere  it  appears  among  the  Negritos  that  the 
family  has  resisted  this  disintegration  of  the  race.  The 
assertions  of  a  Sepoy  deserter,  too  readily  accepted  by 
some  writers,  represented  it  as  somewhat  loosely  organised 
at  the  Andamans.  The  evidence  gathered  by  Lieutenant 
Saint-John  and  Mr.  Day  had  already  shown  how  inexact 
these  first  statements  were.  Those  which  we  owe  to 
Mouat,125  and,  above  all,  to  Man,  have  finished  enlighten- 
ing us  upon  this  point;  and  after  what  I  have  already 
said  I  need  not  return  to  the  subject. 

At  the  Philippines,  even  in  the  unhappy  and  savage 
tribe  which  he  visited,  Father  la  Gironiere  determined 
some  analogous  facts.  "  The  Aetas,"  said  he,  "  are  faith- 
ful in  marriage,  and  have  but  one  wife."  The  young  man 
who  has  made  his  choice  addresses  himself  to  the  parents, 
who  never  refuse,  but  send  the  girl  into  the  forest,  where 
before  day  she  conceals  herself.  The  young  man  must 
find  her.  If  he  does  not  succeed  he  must  renounce  all 
claim  to  her.  One  sees  that  in  reality  the  whole  matter 
is  settled  by  the  girl. 

The  notes  and  work  of  Montano  confirm  and  complete 
those  of  Father  la  Gironiere.  Our  traveller  makes  known 
also  the  curious  ceremony  which  sanctions  marriage  among 
the  Aetas  of  Luzon.  The  two  parties  climb  two  flexible 
trees  growing  near  together,  which  an  old  man  then  makes 
to  bend  toward  each  other.  When  the  head  of  the  man 
touches  that  of  the  girl  they  are  legally  married.122  A 
great  feast  and  warlike  dances  complete  the  festival  occa- 
sion. Family  bonds  are  very  close  between  these  poor 

Peninsula.  Among  the  Manthras  there  exist  some  upper  chiefs 
(batin),  whose  jurisdiction  extends  over  definite  regions.  Each  batin 
has  under  his  orders  ajinang,  ajukra  or  ajorokra,  and  an  indefinite 
number  ofpanglimas  and  of  ulubalangs.  At  the  death  of  a  batin 
his  successor  is  chosen  from  among  the  sons  of  one  of  his  sisters. — 
Logan 93. 


NEGRITOS  OTHER  THAN  THE  MINCOPIES.      153 

savages.  The  affection  of  parents  for  children  is  lively, 
and  they,  in  turn,  have  for  their  father  and  mother  equal 
love  and  respect.  Adultery,  theft,  or  murder  are  pun- 
ished with  death.  But  these  crimes  are  extremely  rare. 

The  Ae'ta  does  not  purchase  his  wife  ;  he  simply  gives 
a  small  present  to  his  future  father-in-law.  This  one 
gives  his  daughter  a  dowry — some  articles  which  remain 
her  personal  property.  "Thus,"  says  Montano,  "these 
Negritos  know  '  Mens  paraphernaux?  " 

One  cannot  object  to  my  quoting  further  the  following 
details  from  Montano  relative  to  the  Negritos  of  Min- 
danao : 

"  Among  the  poor  Mamanuas,  those  former  masters  of 
the  soil,  who  have  been  reported  as  so  much  like  brutes, 
I  have  found  the  same  usages  as  among  the  Negritos  of 
Mariveles,  the  same  respect  for  the  aged,  the  same  love 
for  children,  the  same  worship  of  the  dead.  In  this  popu- 
lation, so  soon  to  disappear,  custom  has  the  same  undis- 
puted power.  These  customs  are  no  doubt  simple,,  and 
their  performance  easy,  but  still  something.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  believe  that  every  Mamanua  acts  as  he  likes, 
regardless  of  every  one  else.  The  deceived  husband  kills 
his  wife,  but  only  if  the  adultery  is  clear,  in  which  case 
the  relatives  of  the  guilty  woman  give  their  consent  to 
her  death.  Otherwise  he  would  be  considered  an  assassin, 
and  subject  himself  to  the  death  penalty,  pronounced  by 
the  chief  of  the  tribe  upon  complaint  of  the  relatives  of 
the  victim. 

"Adultery  is,  moreover,  as  all  crimes,  excessively  rare 
among  the  Negritos  of  all  these  regions.  The  manners  of 
young  girls  are  very  correct ;  the  slightest  suspicion  on  this 
point  would  hinder  their  finding  husbands. 

"  Property  is  perfectly  established,  and  passes  by  sale 
or  inheritance.  The  cleared  field  is  the  incontestable 
property  of  him  who  has  made  it  and  of  his  heirs.  At 


154:  THE  PYGMIES. 

the  death  of  a  father,  if  the  mother  still  lives,  the  prop- 
erty is  divided  into  halves ;  one  goes  to  the  mother,  the 
other  to  the  children  in  equal  shares. 

"  If  the  children  are  already  grown,  the  widow  contin- 
ues to  occupy  the  house  of  her  husband ;  if  the  children 
are  little,  she  takes  them  with  her  to  the  house  of  her 
people. 

"All  differences  are  settled  by  the  chief  of  the  tribe, 
but  he  seldom  has  to  intervene.  His  decisions  are  always 
scrupulously  obeyed." 122 

One  readily  admits  that  Montano  gives  us  a  very  dif- 
ferent idea  of  things  from  his  predecessors.  It  is  one 
more  example  to  be  added  to  the  many  which  show  how 
wrongly  one  does  to  depend  upon  superficial  observation 
of  the  more  backward  and  savage  peoples. 

Although  more  or  less  mixed  with  other  races,  the  Ne- 
gritos of  Malacca  would  no  doubt  present  analogous  fea- 
tures of  customs  if  one  knew  them  better.  Montano  tells 
us  that  they  never  make  war ;  *  that  parents  watch  care- 
fully over  their  young,  at  need  depriving  themselves  of 
food  for  their  sakes.  Logan  tells  us  that  among  the  Man- 
thras  adultery  is  punished  by  death,  but  only — as  among 
the  Mamanuas — if  proved  by  evidence.  Arrest,  pro- 
nounced by  the  chief  (batiri),  is  executed  by  the  panglima. 
The  two  guilty  ones  are  laid  in  a  stream,  and  their  heads 
held  under  water  by  a  fork.  The  husband  who  is  con- 
vinced of  his  wife's  infidelity,  but  who  cannot  prove  it, 
may  leave  her,  on  condition  of  giving  her  the  house  and 
its  surrounding  fields,  a  certain  quantity  of  stuffs,  some 
rings,  and  a  little  sum  of  money.  The  children  remain 
with  their  mother ;  she  cannot  marry  again  until  her  di- 
vorced husband  has  taken  another  wife. 

M.  de  Saint- Pol  Lias  talked  for  a  long  time  with  To- 

*  Logan  had  already  mentioned  this  very  remarkable  fact  on  the 
part  of  savage  and  hunting  tribes.93 


NEGRITOS  OTHER  THAN  THE  M1NCOPIES.      155 

lilo,  chief  of  a  tribe  of  Sakaies,  before  Malays  who  could, 
if  there  had  been  reason  for  it,  have  denied  his  statements. 
The  information,  then,  is  probably  correct.  In  the  Sakaies 
tribes  the  family  is  fully  organised.  The  man  marries 
two  women,  and  ordinarily  gives  the  father  ten  ringguits 
(fifty  francs).  If  he  is  himself  a  chief,  he  gives  as  much 
as  thirty  ringguits  for  a  wife.  Divorce  is  allowed,  but  is 
very  rare.  Adultery  is  considered  criminal,  but  can  be 
atoned  for  by  money  payments  to  the  husband — of  thirty 
ringguits  from  each  of  the  two  guilty  persons.  Murder, 
theft,  are  unknown  in  these  tribes.  Whoever  is  in  need 
of  food  asks  of  the  first  one  met,  who  never  refuses.168 

Industries. — I  have  already  stated  how  the  different 
Negrito  populations  support  themselves.  I  should  add 
that  none  of  those  of  whom  I  have  spoken  are  canni- 
bals.* This  accusation  has  rested  upon  several  among 
them,  particularly  the  Mincopies.  But,  far  from  seeking 
human  flesh,  the  Andamanese  regard  it  as  a  deadly  poison. 

All  Negritos  boil  or  roast  meats ;  all  but  the  Mincopies 
know  how  to  make  fire,  and  very  probably  all  employ  the 
same  method,  by  friction  of  two  bits  of  wood ;  but  even 
for  savages  this  is  a  painful  and  sometimes  long  labour. 
Thus  the  Manthras,  for  example,  who  employ  two  pieces 
of  dry  bamboo  for  the  purpose,  take  much  care  of  their 
fireplace.  This  is,  in  fact,  their  chief  piece  of  furniture, 
and  consists  of  a  mass  of  earth  enclosed  in  a  frame  of 

*  The  Negrito- Papuans,  mixed  with  the  Papuans  of  New  Guinea 
and  the  neighbouring  archipelagoes,  may  have  yielded  to  the  influ- 
ence of  example  and  gone  over  into  anthropophagy,  but  from  lack 
of  precise  information  it  is  not  possible  to  decide  upon  this  matter. 
The  confusion  which  has  long  existed  in  reference  to  these  two 
races,  and  which  some  recent  travellers  more  or  less  maintain,  ren- 
ders any  study  of  either  of  them  alone  very  difficult.  Examination 
of  skulls  enables  us  to  refer  to  one  or  the  other  any  given  popula- 
tion, but  it  does  not  enlighten  us  upon  distinctive  characteristics 
in  other  relations. 
12 


156  THE  PYGMIES. 

wood,  where  one  takes  care  to  keep  the  fire  constantly  sup- 
plied with  fuel.  Some  vessels  in  coarse  clay,  for  cooking 
roots  and  yams,  and  some  baskets,  complete  the  furniture. 
Moreover,  a  little  basket  containing  lime  and  betel-nut, 
which  these  savages  use  in  the  same  way  as  Malays  do,  is 
almost  always  present. 

In  climates  cold  or  temperate  the  most  urgent  needs, 
after  food,  are  those  of  lodgment  and  clothing.  It  is  quite 
otherwise  in  tropical  regions.  Here  clothing  is  really  a 
question  of  luxury;  it  is  often  more  inconvenient  than 
useful.  It  is  much  the  same  with  lodgment ;  and,  in  any 
case,  the  simplest  shelter,  capable  of  giving  shade  in  the 
daytime,  of  preventing  radiation  at  night,  and  of  protect- 
ing against  rain,  fully  suffices.  This  is  too  often  forgotten 
by  travellers,  writers  who  see  in  extreme  simplicity  of  cos- 
tume or  habitations  a  sign  of  intellectual  inferiority  and 
lack  of  industry. 

The  Aetas  are  not  more  clothed  than  their  brothers  of 
the  Andamaris.  Moreover,  those  of  their  tribes  who  are 
constantly  pursued  by  relentless  foes  do  not  even  build 
temporary  shelters,  and  lie  down  in  trees  or  roll  them- 
selves in  the  warm  ashes  of  a  great  fire  kindled  to  keep 
off  the  chill  of  the  night.  But  we  have  seen  that,  placed 
in  more  regular  conditions  of  life,  they  raise  huts  and  can 
settle  down. 

The  photographs  of  de  Saint-Pol  Lias  show  us  the 
Sakaies  wearing  a  simple  girdle  knotted  loosely  in  front, 
with  the  ends  hanging  down  upon  the  thighs.  Montano 
has  described  the  hut  of  a  Manthra  family  living  alone 
in  the  midst  of  the  woods.  It  is  certainly  anything  but 
luxurious;  yet  it  presented  this  peculiarity — a  flooring 
two  feet  above  the  ground.  Most  peasant  houses  here 
have  only  bare  earth  for  floor.  The  poor  savage  of  Ma- 
lacca has  been  able  to  place  himself  in  better  hygienic 
conditions  than  the  European. 


NEGRITOS  OTHER  THAN  THE  MINCOPIES.      157 

We  have  seen  that  among  the  Mincopies  industries 
of  daily  application  are  at  times  remarkably  perfected. 
Their  bows,  arrows,  canoes,  potteries  and  the  like,  place 
them  on  the  level  of  the  most  advanced  savages,  who  are 
far  ahead  of  them  in  some  respects.  It  is  different  with 
the  tribes  of  Ae'tas,  whom  persecution  keeps  constantly  on 
the  move,  which  is  not  surprising.  Among  them  the  arms 
for  hunting  and  war  are  reduced  to  a  short  lance,  the  bow, 
and  a  single  kind  of  arrows.  But  these  last  are  poisoned, 
and  the  slightest  wound  produces,  if  not  death,  at  least 
long  and  terrible  sufferings,  of  which  La  Gironiere  has 
drawn  a  picture  from  his  own  experiences.* 

The  poison  is  also  used  by  the  Manthras,  the  Sakaies, 
and  the  other  tribes  of  Bermun.  But  these  Negrito  mixed 
breeds,  although  they  are  acquainted  with  the  bow  and 
arrows,  have  replaced  them  by  the  sarbacane.\  One  easily 
recognises  in  this  fact,  as  in  many  others,  the  Malay  in- 
fluence. 

The  Negrito  half-breeds  of  Malacca  know  also  how  to 

*  The  Father  la  Gironiere  was  hurt  in  the  thumb  by  one  of 
these  arrows  as  the  result  of  digging  up  an  Ae'ta  skeleton,  the  first 
brought  to  Europe,  and  now  in  the  museum  collections.  He  scarcely 
noticed  the  wound,  which  he  thought  a  scratch  made  by  some  spine. 
After  three  days  of  incubation  the  effect  of  the  poison  became  no- 
ticeable by  frightful  pains ;  the  entire  arm  swelled ;  then  the  trouble 
reached  the  chest.  After  a  month  of  torture  the  patient  appeared 
to  be  near  his  end ;  but  he  resisted.  During  more  than  a  year, 
however,  he  still  suffered  in  his  chest.  This  ensemble  of  symptoms 
does  not  at  all  suggest  that  which  travellers  and  experimenters  tell 
us  of  the  effect  of  other  known  poisons.  It  would  appear  that  that 
which  the  Ae'tas  employ  is  of  a  peculiar  nature.  But  perhaps  the 
treatment  pursued  by  the  intrepid  traveller  may  have  had  some 
share  in  the  sufferings  undergone. 

f  Montano ;  Bro  de  Saint- Pol  Lias.  The  latter  has  seen  a  rifled 
sarbacane.  Was  this  an  imitation  of  one  of  our  perfected  firearms, 
or  have  these  savages  really  independently  discovered  this  method 
of  assuring  correctness  of  aim  I 


158  THE  PYGMIES. 

set  a  dreadful  trap  for  great  game,  in  which  they  capture 
even  tigers.  They  place  at  the  end  of  a  long  path,  cut 
artificially  through  the  underbrush,  a  strong  lance  at- 
tached to  a  tree  bent  and  held  in  place  by  a  snap  or  catch. 
The  animal  in  passing  sets  the  catch  free  and  falls  pierced 
through.93 

In  India  to-day,  as  in  the  time  of  Ctesias,  the  bow  is, 
so  to  speak,  the  characteristic  weapon  of  the  Dravidian 
populations.  The  Gonds  alone,  it  appears,  have  given  it 
up,  adopting  the  hatchet  and  pick.164 

RELIGIOUS   AND    MOKAL   CHARACTERISTICS. 

Belief  in  Superior  Beings. — As  many  other  savage 
populations,  the  Negritos,  who  form  the  principal  subject 
of  this  chapter,  have  many  times  been  described  as  abso- 
lutely without  religion.  It  is  not  at  all  so.  Only  in  un- 
derstanding their  rudimentary  beliefs  we  must  not  start 
with  the  ideas  which  instructed  Europeans  hold  upon 
religious  matters,  even  such  as  declare  themselves  un- 
believers. 

One  knows  already  of  this  matter  in  reference  to  the 
Mincopies.  One  knows  how  these  reputed  atheists  have 
a  complete  mythology,  where  exist  side  by  side  singularly 
spiritual  conceptions  and  childish  and  bizarre  ideas. 
When  the .  other  Negritos  shall  have  been  studied  as 
thoroughly  as  the  Andamanese,  equivalent  beliefs  may 
perhaps  be  found ;  but  such  study  has  not  yet  been  made. 

We  are  indeed  less  informed  in  regard  to  the  Ae'tas. 
Montano  in  his  notes  reports  that  he  found  no  sign  of  re- 
ligion ;  but,  enlightened  by  a  personal  experience,  he  has 
guarded  himself  against  concluding  that  they  have  no 
belief.*  La  Gironiere,  while  stating  that  these  little  Ne- 

*  Montano  had  been  told  that  the  Bagobos  had  no  religion. 
Aided  by  circumstances,  he  has  found  among  them  a  perfectly  defi- 


NEGRITOS  OTHER  THAN  THE  MINCOPIES.      159 

groes  have  no  religion,  informs  us  that  they  adore,  at  least 
temporarily,  rocks  or  tree  trunks,  in  which  they  find  a  re- 
semblance to  some  animal.  It  appears  to  me  probable 
that  the  homage  is  addressed  to  something  superior  to 
these  material  objects — may  be  to  spirits  or  genii  of  the 
mountains  or  forests ;  for  Eienzi  tells  us  that  these  sav- 
ages believe  in  bad  spirits  called  nonos,  and  offer  them 
sacrifices. 

This  belief  in  spirits  and  genii  reappears  among  all  the 
tribes  of  Bermuu,  and  consequently  among  the  Sakaies, 
the  Manthras,  etc.  Here  it  has  for  official  representative 
a  body  of  priests — or,  better,  of  sorcerers — called  poyand 
or  pawang.  After  having  given  upon  this  point  details 
which  I  cannot  reproduce  here,  Logan  summarises  his 
opinion  in  almost  the  following  terms  :  "  We  find  in 
these  tribes  a  pure  Shamanism  with  its  accompaniment 
of  charms  and  talismans.  This  is  a  living  faith,  dating 
from  the  remotest  times  in  Asia,  which  has  preserved  its 
original  simplicity  and  vigour,  unspoiled  by  either  Bud- 
dhism or  Mohammedanism." 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  recall  that  among  the  greater 
part  of  the  Dravidian  tribes,  among  even  those  which 
have  attained  a  high  degree  of  civilisation,  one  recognises 
a  foundation  of  beliefs  analogous  to  the  preceding,  under- 
lying the  facts  borrowed  from  the  various  Hindoo  sects 
and  from  Islam. 

Belief  in  a  Future  Life. — The  Negritos  all  believe  that 
the  spirit  survives  the  body ;  that  it  feels  needs  analogous 
to  those  of  the  living,  and  wishes  that  one  should  show  it 
attention.*  I  have  previously  summarised  what  Man  has 

nite  religious  conception,  not  at  all  rudimentary,  which  he  has 
made  known  in  one  of  his  communications  to  the  Geographical 
Society. 

*  The  Sakaie  questioned  by  de  Saint- Pol  Lias  stated  that  ho 
had  no  idea  of  superior  beings  or  of  another  life ;  but  can  this  re- 


160  THE  PYGMIES. 

told  us  regarding  the  Andamanese.  The  so  precise  de- 
tails which  we  owe  to  him  have,  moreover,  confirmed  in 
general  the  conclusions  which  I  had  drawn  in  my  Etude 
sur  les  Mincopies  from  the  facts  already  mentioned  by 
Day.40 

The  Ae'tas  have  a  great  veneration  for  the  dead.  La 
Gironiere  says  :  "  During  several  years  they  go  to  deposit 
a  little  tobacco  and  betel  upon  their  graves.  The  bow 
and  arrows  which  belonged  to  the  deceased  are  hung,  the 
day  when  he  is  buried,  over  his  grave,  and  every  night, 
according  to  the  belief  of  his  comrades,  he  comes  forth  to 
go  to  the  chase." 64 

The  Negritos  of  Malacca  appear  not  to  have  such  pre- 
cise ideas.  Logan  says  that  the  tribes  of  Bermun  light 
a  fire  for  several  nights  in  succession  upon  the  tomb,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  spirit  from  crying.  Montano  adds, 
that  among  the  Manthras  the  tomb  is  placed  far  from  the 
houses,  "  in  order  that  the  dead  may  not  hear  the  crowing 
of  the  cock."  But  neither  of  them  speak  of  offerings  in- 
tended for  the  spirit  of  the  dead  man,  although  among 
the  Manthras  the  tomb  is  evidently  the  object  of  peculiar 
cares. 

Chastity,  Modesty, — Montano  has  given  us  informa- 
tion relative  to  the  chastity  of  young  Ae'ta  girls,  Man 
upon  those  of  young  Mincopies.  Symes  had  already  rec- 
ognised this  virtue  among  these  latter,  and  adds  a  very 
significant  fact.  Two  young  Mincopy  girls,  prisoners  on 
an  English  vessel,  soon  became  reassured  in  regard  to  all 
other  dangers ;  but  although  they  were  lodged  in  a  room 

suit  of  a  short  conversation  invalidate  the  circumstantial  and  pre- 
cise information  given  by  Logan  I  Evidently  not.  It  is  probable 
that  Totilo  did  not  care  to  reply  upon  a  subject  touching  upon  the 
most  sacred  sentiments.  Any  one  who  has  attempted  to  draw  out  a 
Basque  or  Breton  peasant  upon  the  superstitions  generally  received 
in  his  region  will  readily  admit  this. 


NEGRITOS  OTHER  THAN  THE  MINCOPIES.      161 

by  themselves,  they  never  slept  at  the  same  time.     They 
watched  alternately  over  their  honour. 

Let  us  add  that  no  one  who  has  so  far  visited  the  Anda- 
mans  has  made  the  slightest  allusion  to  facts  or  scenes 
analogous  to  those  which  the  discoverers  of  the  Pacific 
archipelagoes  so  frequently  describe.  So  far  as  chastity  is 
concerned,  the  Andaman  women  appear  incontestably 
superior  to  the  Polynesian  women. 

Among  the  accusations  usually  made  against  a  crowd 
of  savage  tribes,  one  of  the  most  frequent  is  that  of  lack 
of  modesty.  But  one  already  knows  that  travellers  have 
often  been  mistaken  in  this  matter,  so  far  as  to  have  con- 
sidered as  a  refinement  of  immodesty  exactly  that  which 
in  the  mind  of  the  natives  was  only  an  act  of  the  com- 
monest decency. 

We  lack  precise  information  upon  this  point  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  Negrito  populations ;  but  at  the  Anda- 
mans,  where  the  dress  is  as  scanty  as  possible,  we  know, 
thanks  to  Mr.  Man,  that  this  clothing  exists,  that  it  has  a 
particular  name,  and  that  to  show  one's  self  unclad  is  re- 
garded as  indecent  by  the  natives.  Although  showing 
itself  in  other  ways  than  among  us,  modesty  exists  no  less 
among  these  islanders. 

Moreover,  the  history  of  a  Mincopy  brought  to  Europe 
shows  how  much  these  islanders  are  affected  by  the  senti- 
ments of  which  we  speak.  When  one  wished  to  photo-., 
graph  John  Andaman  standing  naked,  he  took  off  his 
garments  with  visible  reluctance ;  he  put  them  on  again 
with  evident  satisfaction.  This  man,  almost  a  savage, 
blushed  at  the  thought  of  being  seen  naked. 

General  Character. — From  the  entirety  of  the  facts 
here  presented,  it  appears  that  the  Negritos  are  far  from 
meriting  the  accusations  of  which  they  are  too  often  the 
object. 

The  Mincopies,  so  long  looked  upon  as  dreadful  can- 


162  THE   PYGMIES. 

nibals,  when  seen  near  by  have  become  a  sort  of  spoiled 
children,  a  little  capricious,  but  good  in  character.  Mouat 
paints  this  people  as  gay,  laughing,  fond  of  singing  and 
dancing.  Far  from  being  intractable  and  fierce,  it  has 
shown  itself  humane  and  hospitable  as  soon  as  it  has 
ceased  to  fear. 

The  English  traveller  adds :  "  It  is  courageous,  hard- 
ened to  toil,  adroit,  extremely  active,  and  under  the  in- 
fluence of  civilisation  it  would  become  intelligent  and 
industrious."  We  have  seen  that  Man  confirms  all  these 
opinions. 

Montano  tells  me,  in  one  of  his  notes :  "  Not  only  are 
the  Negritos  not  fierce,  they  are  truly  humane.  They  care 
for  the  sick  with  much  devotion,  even  when  they  do  not 
belong  to  their  family." 

The  same  traveller  writes :  "  The  Manthra  does  not 
lack  intelligence,  but  his  thoughtlessness  and  idleness  bar 
his  progress."  At  the  same  time  he  attributes  to  this  peo- 
ple mild  manners — as  we  have  already  seen.  Montano  is 
here  entirely  in  agreement  with  Logan.  There  are,  how- 
ever, found  among  the  tribes  of  Bermun  generally  a  cer- 
tain inconstancy  and  a  ready  susceptibility  to  emotion. 
"  It  is  necessary  to  treat  them  like  children,"  said  he.  This 
is  precisely  the  expression  employed  by  Saint-John  in 
speaking  of  the  Mincopies.  The  two  populations  resem- 
ble each  other.  One  sees  it  in  moral  as  in  physical  char- 
acter, and  to  deny  them  fundamental  ethnic  identity  is 
evidently  impossible  for  any  one  who  has  at  all  studied  the 
question. 

Conclusion. — There  results  from  this  study,  it  seems 
to  me,  one  conclusion,  evident  and  easy  to  formulate. 
Almost  unanimously  the  populations  we  have  been  con- 
sidering have  been  regarded  as  very  low  in  the  scale  of 
humanity.  In  regard  to  the  Mincopies  particularly,  some 
savants,  of  great  merit  otherwise,  seem  to  have  believed 


NEGRITOS  OTHER  THAN  THE   MINCOPIES.      163 

that  here  finally  one  had  placed  his  hand  upon  the  miss- 
ing link  between  man  and  the  ape.  We  have  just  seen 
that  this  is  not  so ;  and  that  where  they  have  lived  most 
outside  of  movement  and  mixture — which  alone  elevate 
societies — the  Negritos  show  themselves  true  men  in  all 
things  and  for  all  things. 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

THE   NEGRILLOS,  OR    PYGMIES   OF   AFRICA. 

Ancient  travellers;  modern  discoveries. — Western  Negrillos :  M'Bou- 
lous ;  Baboukas ;  Akouas. — Eastern  Negrillos :  Cincalles ;  Mazo ; 
Maleas. — Negrillos  of  the  Welle  ;  Akkas. — Stature  ;  features ; 
colour ;  proportions. — Tebo  and  Chairallah. — General  observa- 
tions.— Primitive  migrations. — Importance  of  traditions  and  of 
legends. 

THE  little  men  of  Africa,  interviewed  by  the  ancients, 
and  whose  very  real  existence  has  given  rise  to  so  many 
fables,  have  been  rediscovered  only  very  recently  by  the 
moderns. 

In  1625  Battel  first  made  known  certain  facts  col- 
lected by  him  in  Loango.*  At  eight  days'  journey  to  the 
east  of  Cape  Negro  f  is  located,  according  to  him,  the  ter- 
ritory of  Mani  Kesock,  and  to  the  northeast  of  this  "dwells 
a  nation  of  pygmies  who  call  themselves  Matimbas^  of  the 
height  of  a  boy  of  twelve  years,  but  of  extraordinary  big- 
ness. Their  food  is  the  flesh  of  beasts,  which  they  shoot 

*  Andrew  Battel.  English  sailor,  made  prisoner  by  the  Portuguese 
in  1589,  was  taken  to  the  Congo  district,  where  he  remained  a  cap- 
tive nearly  eighteen  years.  His  adventures  were  published  in  the 
collection  of  Purchas.  Walckenaer  m  has  given  a  detailed  synopsis 
of  them,  after  having  shown  the  evidences  of  truthfulness  in  the 
narrative. 

f  Not  the  Cape  Negro  at  16°  3'  south  latitiide  and  9°  34'  east 
longitude,  on  the  south  of  Benguela,  but  Cape  Negro  at  the  western 
limit  of  the  Bay  of  Mayomba — perhaps  at  3°  30'. 

164 


THE  NEGRILLOS,  OR  PYGMIES  OF  AFRICA.    165 

with  arrows.  They  pay  Mani  Kesock  a  tribute  of  ele- 
phants' tusks  and  tails.  Although  there  is  no  great  fierce- 
ness in  their  characters,  they  do  not  wish  to  enter  the 
houses  of  the  Marambas,  nor  to  receive  them  into  their 
villages.  .  .  .  Their  women  use  the  bow  and  arrows  with 
as  much  skill  as  the  men.  They  are  not  afraid  to  go  alone 
into  the  woods  with  no  other  protection  than  their  poi- 
soned arrows."  185 

Without  making  known  the  sources  of  his  informa- 
tion, Dapper39  gives  analogous  details  about  the  Mimos 
or  Bakke-Bakkes,  whom  he  seems  to  place  a  little  farther 
south,  in  the  heart  of  Loango. 

Some  very  recent  observations,  of  which  the  oldest 
does  not  appear  to  date  back  beyond  1861,180>  74  have  come 
to  confirm  these  'eld  statements.  The  members  of  a  Ger- 
man expedition  have  rediscovered  in  Loango,  under  the 
name  of  Babonkos,  the  Bakke-BakTcfaisi  Dapper,  and  have 
brought  back  some  portraits,  and  some  photographs.*  -188' 7B 
Dr.  Touchard  has  reported  the  recent  disappearance  of  a 
Gaboon  population,  the  Akoas™  of  which  one  small  group 
was  yet  settled,  in  1868,  in  the  woods  to  the  north  of  the 
Eiver  Nazareth.  The  Admiral  Fleuriot  de  Langle  was 
able  to  photograph  one  of  its  representatives  (Fig.  21). 
This  Akoa  was  a  veritable  dwarf.  It  is  the  same  of  the 
M'Boulous,  Chekianis  or  Osiekanis,  visited  by  Touchard 
and  Marche.107  Wedged  in  between  the  Fans  and  the 
Pongoues,  they  are  likely  to  disappear  like  their  brotheis 
the  Akoas. 

In  grouping  together  the  various  information  derived 
from  these  photographs  and  descriptions,  Hamy  has  been 
able  to  trace  a  very  nearly  complete  portrait  of  some  of 

*  188,  «  I  borrow  from  Hamy's  work  these  references,  as  also  the 
greater  part  of  the  following  ones  relative  to  the  history  of  the  west- 
ern Negrillos. 


166  THE  PYGMIES. 

these  dwarfs  of  Africa.  The  Akoa  studied  by  Admiral 
Fleuriot  "  appeared  about  forty  years  of  age,  and  meas- 
ured 1?39  to  1?40.  He  was  admirably  proportioned, 
He  had  a  very  little  head,  hairs  well  planted  and  less 
woolly  than  those  of  Negroes  properly  so  called,  a  straight 
nose,  the  commissure  of  the  lips  well  marked  without  dis- 
playing anything  of  that  brutal  muzzle  which  some  types 
of  African  Negroes  present."*  The  photograph  justifies 
these  expressions.  The  head  is  round  but  relatively  strong ; 
its  height,  as  compared  with  the  total  height  of  the  figure, 
would  be  pretty  nearly  in  the  same  proportion  already  re- 
ported by  Hamy  in  a  Babongo — one  sixth. f  The  face  is 
scarcely  a  little  prognathous.  The  muscular  masses  of 
the  thorax  and  the  upper  members  have  outlines  at  once 
rounded  and  firm,  but  the  lower  members  are  thin,  the 
feet  are  plainly  flat  soled,  and  the  heels  project  a  little 
too  much. 

Marche  attributes  to  his  M'Boulous  a  dirt-brown  col- 
our. J  The  Admiral  Fleuriot  confines  himself  to  saying 
that  these  dwarfs  are  less  dark  than  their  taller  neigh- 
bours. 

One  has  just  seen  that  the  admiral  has  spoken  of  the 
stature  of  his  Akoa  only  approximately.  Marche  also  lim- 
its himself  to  saying  that  the  M'Boulous  do  not  exceed 
1?60.  Dr.  Falkenstein  has  been  more  precise.  The  adult 
Babouko  photographed  by  him  was  about  forty  years  old, 
and  measured  1?365.*  The  mean  of  these  four  numbers 


*  Letter  from  the  admiral,  quoted  by  Hamy. 

f  This  proportion  is  the  greatest  yet  reported  in  a  human  race. 
In  this  particular  the  Negrillos  outdo  the  Negritos. 

^  These  M'Boulous  are  generally  lean  and  scrawny,  in  place  of 
being  robust  as  the  Akoas.  Marche  saw  in  this  the  result  of  the  un- 
wholesome environment  within  which  they  are  confined. 

*  The  other  was  a  youth  of  fifteen  years,  whose  stature  was  only 
1">025. 


Fio.  21. — AKOA.    (After  Admiral  Fleuriot  de  Langle.) 


THE  NEGRILLOS,  OR  PYGMIES  OP  AFRICA.    167 

at  our  disposition  is  1?439,  but  as  two  of  the  numbers 
were  maxima,  it  is  almost  certain  that  this  figure  is  too 
large.  So  far  as  stature  goes,  these  little  western  Negroes 
are  slightly  inferior  to  the  Negritos,  and  approach  the 
Bushmen,  whose  mean  stature  is  r?370.  But  we  shall  see 
that  there  are  other  Negrillos  whose  stature  descends 
even  lower. 

Moreover,  the  Negrillos  differ  from  the  Bushmen  in  an 
anatomical  character  of  even  greater  importance.  The 
latter  are  clearly  dolichocephalic  or  subdolichocephalic.* 
On  the  contrary,  the  Akoas,  the  Bongos,  etc.,  are  brachy- 
cephalic,  or  at  least  subbrachy  cephalic,  f  The  measures 
taken  on  the  skulls  brought  back  by  de  Langle,  Marche, 
etc.,  have  placed  this  fact  beyond  question ;  moreover,  it 
is  apparent  from  a  simple  inspection  of  the  photographs 
(Figs.  21,  25). 

Hamy  has  not  contented  himself  with  recognising  and 
characterising  the  Negrillo  type  among  the  tribes,  remained 
more  or  less  pure,  in  the  Gaboon,  lower  Ogowe,  and  Lo- 
ango  regions.  He  has  pursued  it  further,  and  shown  that 
this  type  has  played  a  very  real  and  important  ethnologic 
role  in  the  formation  of  several  populations  of  those  coun- 
tries and  neighbouring  districts ;  populations  all  of  which 
are  related,  moreover,  to  the  Negro  type  properly  so  called. 
Making  use  of  information  of  every  kind,  he  has  shown 
that  crossing  between  dolichocephalic  and  brachycephalic 
Negroes  could  alone  account  for  the  mixture  of  characters, 
and  especially  for  the  morphological  differences  of  the 
head  established  from  individual  to  individual  among  the 
various  tribes  of  the  basins  of  the  Ogowe,  of  Fernand  Vaz.  J 

*  Index,  77-45.  f  Ibid.,  83-23. 

$  I  ought  to  recall  here,  among  other  studies,  that  made  by  Hamy 
of  the  craniometric  results  obtained  by  Owen  upon  a  collection  of 
skulls  brought  back  from  this  region  by  Du  Chaillu.  The  learned 
Englishman  presented  the  measurements  themselves.  From  them 


168  THE  PYGMIES. 

On  their  return  from  the  perilous  voyage  which  was 
crowned  by  the  discovery  of  the  Alima  and  of  the  Li- 
coma,  Brazza  and  Ballay  collected  in  an  island  of  the 
upper  Ogowe  four  skulls  and  one  complete  skeleton — to- 
day in  the  anthropological  gallery  of  the  museum.  But, 
of  these  five  skulls,  two  have  a  mean  horizontal  index  of 
82*24,  and  are  therefore  almost  truly  brachycephalic ; 73 
the  other  three  are  dolichocephalic.  The  former  are  the 
heads  of  Negrillos,  the  latter  of  Negroes. 

Let  us  add  that  observations  gathered  by  Marche 
among  the  N'Javis,  the  Apindjis,  the  Okotas,  and  the 
Akoas  show  that  among  these  populations  with  relatively 
round  heads  the  stature  is,  moreover,  notably  reduced.* 
Among  the  N'Javais  it  does  not  reach  1"P60.  Among  the 
Akoas  the  mean  stature  of  men  is  1°50  to  1T52,  that  of 
women  from  1™40  to  1T43.107  At  the  same  time  the  colour 
pales,  the  forms  are  elegant — above  all,  among  the  women, 
whose  figure,  a  little  plump,  is  very  agreeable.  Evidently 
the  Negro  type  proper  is  here  modified  in  places  by  a  dis- 
tinct ethnological  element,  and  we  may  consider  all  this 
region  as  having  formerly  been,  as  even  now  being  in  a 

our  countryman  calculated  the  indices,  and  showed  that,  among 
ninety-three  skulls  in  the  collection,  forty-nine  only  were  dolicho- 
cephalic or  subdolichocephalic,  thirty-three,  were  mesaticephalic. 
eleven  subbrachycephalic,  two  brachycephalic.  The  intervention  of 
an  ethnic  element  pertaining  to  this  last  type  appears  very  clearly 
from  this  discussion,  which  has  been  for  Hamy  the  beginning  of  all 
his  works  upon  the  subject.13 

*  Hamy  connects  the  Obongos  met  with  by  Du  Chaillu  near 
Niembouai  in  the  land  of  the  Ashangos  (1°  58'  54"  south  latitude 
and  11°  56'  38"  east  longitude).  But  the  dirty-yellow  color,  and, 
above  all.  the  hair  growing  in  little  tufts  tightly  coiled,  have  led  to 
connecting  these  dwarfs  with  the  Bushmen.  Yet  the  traveller  did 
not  observe,  in  any  of  the  women  seen,  either  steatopygia  or  tablier. 
Some  uncertainties,  then,  are  possible  relative  to  the  ethnic  affinities 
of  the  Obongos  which  cranial  measurements  alone  can  remove.41 


THE  NEGRILLOS,  OR  PYGMIES  OF  AFRICA.    169 

degree,  a  centre  of  Negrillo  population.  I  shall  later  re- 
turn to  this  distinction  to  be  made  between  the  past  and 
the  present. 

I  believe  that  the  Tenda  Maie,  country  of  small  area 
included  within  a  bend  of  the  Rio  Grande,  should  be  con- 
sidered as  another  centre  of  the  same  nature,  but  located 
more  to  the  north  and  west.  Behold  what  Mollien  said 
of  it,  who  visited  these  countries  in  1818  :  "  There  is  little 
uniformity  in  the  general  character  of  the  physiognomy 
of  these ;  but  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  of  Faran  are 
remarkable  for  the  littleness  of  their  stature,  the  slight- 
ness  of  their  limbs,  and  the  gentleness  of  their  voice. 
They  are  truly  the  pygmies  of  Africa."  * 119  In  spite  of 
the  incompleteness  of  this  brief  notice,  it  is  easy  to  see 
that  the  Tenda  Maie  supports  a  mixed  population,  of 
which  the  Negrillos  are  an  element. 

Although  the  Tenda  Maie  is  very  distant  from  the 
spot  where  the  Nasamones  of  Herodotus  were  taken  pris- 
oners, it  is  difficult  not  to  connect  the  little  men  of  whom 
the  Greek  historian  speaks  with  the  pygmies  of  Mollien. 
The  upper  basins  of  the  Rio  Grande  and  the  Niger  cannot 
be  very  distant  from  each  other,  and  it  is  easy  to  admit 
that  they  formerly  supported  the  same  races  of  men. 

The  Gaboon,  the  Ogowe,  the  Loango,  are  very  distant 
from  the  Tenda  Maie,  and  between  the  two  extreme 
points  one  has  as  yet  reported  no  Negrillos.  I  am  dis- 
posed, however,  to  admit  that  these  different  populations 
of  little  stature  are  related.  We  know  that  the  whole 
Guinean  region  has  been  the  theatre  of  successive  inva- 
sions, which  have  led  to  the  seacoast  conquerors  coming 
from  the  interior.  The  direction  in  which  these  swarm- 
ing tribes  marched,  their  murderous  habits,  of  which  the 
Dahomans  still  give  to-day  an  example  only  too  well 

*  The  village  of  Faran  is  situated  at  about  14°  15'  west  longitude 
and  10°  +  north  latitude. 
13 


170  THE  PYGMIES. 

known,  easily  explain  how  a  relatively  feeble  race  might 
— must  necessarily — have  disappeared  over  a  considerable 
area.  We  have  just  seen  this  disappearance  taking  place 
in  our  days,  under  our  eyes,  among  some  of  these  tribes. 
It  is  doubtless  one  of  the  last  scenes  of  a  drama  whose 
earlier  acts  go  far  back  into  the  past. 

I  believe  we  may,  from  the  entirety  of  the  facts,  con- 
clude that  the  Negrillos  of  the  Eio  Grande  and  those  of 
the  Gulf  of  Guinea  district  are  near  relatives,  and  that 
both  are  related  to  the  little  men  reported  to  Herodotus 
by  the  pilgrims  of  Gyrene. 

Almost  directly  east  of  the  Gaboon  pygmy  group,  in 
Central  Africa,  there  probably  exists  a  great  Negrillo  cen- 
tre of  population,  of  which  the  ancients  could  hardly 
have  known.  The  information  gathered  by  Stanley  from 
Ahmed,  son  of  Djoumah,  seems  to  me  too  precise  not 
to  have  a  basis  of  truth.177  This  ivory  dealer  had  seen 
the  little  men  of  whom  he  spoke ;  he  had  fought  with 
them  ;  he  admitted  that  he  had  been  beaten  by  them  ; 
and  his  accounts  agree  with  all  the  other  information 
gathered  by  the  great  American  traveller.  From  all  evi- 
dence it  appears  that  towards  the  centre  of  the  region 
comprised,  in  the  great  bend  of  the  Livingstone  theie 
dwells  a  numerous  population  of  dwarfs  called  Vouatouas, 
spread  over  a  great  area,  and  perfectly  independent.*  On 
his  journey  to  Ikoundou  (2°  53'  south  latitude)  Stanley 
captured  an  individual  belonging  to  this  tribe  or  a  neigh- 
bouring one.  This  Vouatoua  was  1™41 ;  he  had  a  large 
head,  a  face  surrounded  with  an  uneven  growth  of  beard, 
and  a  light  chocolate  colour.  Like  the  little  Negroes  of 


*  Upon  Stanley's  great  map  this  region  is  placed  at  about  3° 
south  latitude,  and  at  19°  east  longitude.  The  trader  adds  that  the 
Vouatouas  are  also  called  Vouakouaangas,  Vauakoumas,  and  Voua- 
koumous. 


THE  NEGRILLOS,  OR  PYGMIES  OF  AFRICA.    171 

Battel,  these  Vouatouas  are  hunters  of  the  elephant  and 
users  of  poisoned  arrows. 

Dr.  Wolff,  in  betaking  himself  to  Loullengo,  king  or 
chief  of  the  Bahoubas,  met  with  a  population  which  is 
no  doubt  related  to  Stanley's  Vouatouas.  These  Batouas, 
as  he  calls  them,  are  evidently  of  the  same  colour — a  yel- 
lowish brown,  lighter  than  that  of  the  Negroes  of  greater 
stature.  Yet  the  traveller  asserts  that  they  have  no 
beard.  These  Batouas,  moreover,  would  be  the  smallest 
race  known  if  the  information  given  by  Dr.  Wolff  is 
exact.  None  of  them,  according  to  him,  surpass  1T40, 
and  the  mean  stature  would  be  1?30.  The  Batouas  are 
numerous  in  the  region,  but  they  do  not  for  that  mix 
with  the  rest  of  the  population.  They  live  by  themselves 
in  villages  scattered  over  the  Bahouba  territory.68  In 
spite  of  the  meagreness  of  our  information  relative  to  the 
Negrillos  of  Central  Africa,  the  ensemble  of  their  physical 
and  social  characters  plainly  connects  them  with  those  of 
whom  we  have  already  spoken.  We  are  now  about  to 
find  entirely  similar  features  among  their  brothers,  the 
descendants  of  the  pygmies  of  Homer  and  of  Pomponius 
Mela. 

The  tradition  relative  to  these  latter  has  never  been 
lost.  It  has  been  preserved  particularly  among  the  Ara- 
bian geographers,  who  have  placed  a  River  of  the  Pygmies 
to  the  south  of  Abyssinia.  Leon  d'Avanchers  thinks  he  has 
identified  this  river  with  a  stream  which  rises  in  the  Anko 
Mountains,  a  little  north  of  the  equator.  It  is  in  this  re- 
gion and  under  the  thirty-second  degree  of  east  longitude 
that  the  eminent  missionary  placed  his  Wa-Berikimos? 
called  also  Cincalles,  which  is  equivalent  to  What  a  marvel ! 
The  eminent  missionary  himself  saw  in  the  kingdom  of 
Gera  several  of  these  "dwarfs,  beings  deformed,  short, 
big-headed,  at  most  four  feet  in  height"  (1T30  circa}* 

The  information  collected  by  d'Abaddie  from  Amace, 


172  THE   PYGMIES. 

ambassador  of  the  King  of  Kullo,  and  from  a  woman,  na- 
tive of  Kaffa  (near  6°  north  latitude  and  34°  east  longi- 
tude), confirm  the  preceding  fact.  The  Malas  or  Maze- 
Maleas  were  a  little  over  1?50  in  height ;  they  are  black, 
and  rarely  reddish  (taym}.*  The  information  kindly 
supplied  to  me  by  d'Abbadie  appears  to  locate  these 
small  Negroes  a  little  farther  to  the  north.  But  this  very 
fact  would  suggest  that  here,  as  in  western  Africa,  they 
are  dispersed  over  a  more  or  less  extended  area,  and  that 
their  tribes  bear  different  names.  Everything  suggests, 
then,  that  there  exists  south  of  the  country  of  the  Gallas 
a  centre  of  Negrillo  population,  and  I  believe  I  am  not 
rash  in  connecting  these  eastern  tribes  with  the  pygmies 
of  Pomponius  Mela,  just  as  I  have  identified  with  the  lit- 
tle men  of  Herodotus  the  dwarfs  of  Senegambia. 

As  modern  travellers  have  advanced  farther  and  farther 
up  the  Nile,  they  have  gathered  new  testimonies  relative 
to  populations  of  very  little  stature.  The  existence  of 
true  pygmies  thus  became  more  and  more  probable,  so 
much  so  that  in  the  Instructions,  drawn  up  by  a  commit- 
tee of  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  for  the  expedition  pro- 
jected by  d'Escayrac  de  Lauture88' 89  it  was  deemed  neces- 
sary to  call  especial  attention  to  the  subject.  But,  one 
knows  it,  the  Europeans  met  no  little  men  in  ascending 
the  Nile  to  its  sources.  Speke  alone  saw  at  the  court  of 
Kamrasi  a  deformed  dwarf,  whose  portrait  he  gives  us. 
But  this  design  and  the  details  accompanying  it  show 
that  Kymenia,  far  from  belonging  to  a  pygmy  race,  did 
not  even  know  of  the  existence  of  these  little  blacks.176 

It  is  Schweinfurth  who  has  had  the  honour  of  demon- 
strating what  truth  the  myth  of  Homer  concealed,  and  of 
justifying  the  words  of  Aristotle.  But  to  do  so  he  was 
obliged  to  quit  the  Nile  Valley,  to  gain  the  valley  of  the 

*  Manuscript  communication  from  M.  d'Abbadie;  also  '. 


THE  NEGRILLOS,  OR  PYGMIES  OF  AFRICA.    173 

Welle,  to  pass  through  the  country  of  the  Niam-Niams, 
and  to  penetrate  to  that  of  the  Monbuttos,  whom  he  first 
visited.  It  was  at  the  court  of  Munza  that  he  discovered 
the  dwarf  race  still  called  in  the  country  by  the  name  of 
Akkas  which  Mariette  has  read  by  the  sile  of  a  portrait 
of  a  dwarf  upon  a  monument  of  the  ancient  Egyptian 
empire. 

From  information  given  to  the  eminent  traveller  by 
Adimokou,  chief  of  the  little  colony  supported  by  Munza 
near  his  royal  residence,  it  appears  that  the  country  of  the 
AkJzas  or  Tikki-Tikkis,  is  situated  at  about  3°  north  lati- 
tude and  25°  east  longitude.*  This  country  is  probably 
great.  Tolerated  by  the  surrounding  populations  and 
protected  by  their  powerful  neighbours,  the  Akkas  appear 
to  occupy  a  continuous  area  and  number  nine  distinct 
tribes,  each  with  its  own  chief  or  king.f  172  At  the  time 
of  Schweiuf  urth's  visit  these  tribes  had  submitted,  at  least 
in  part,  to  Moummeri,  one  of  Munza's  vassals,  who  had 
come  to  render  homage  to  his  sovereign  at  the  head  of  a 
veritable  regiment  of  these  little  Negroes,  so  that  the 
European  traveller  had  at  once  under  his  eyes  several 
hundred  of  these  dwarf  warriors.172 

In  exchange  for  one  of  his  dogs  Schweinfurth  obtained 

*  Munza  employed  the  word  Akka  to  designate  these  little  blacks ; 
Moummeri,  their  ruler,  called  them  Tikki-Tikkis. 

f  This  journey  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  among  those  which 
have  so  rapidly  increased  our  knowledge  of  the  interior  of  Africa. 
It  lasted  from  July,  1868,  until  the  first  part  of  November,  1871. 
The  greater  part  of  it  was  in  countries  absolutely  unexplored  pre- 
viously by  Europeans.  The  explorer  had  gathered  rich  collections 
of  every  kind,  numerous  observations,  notes,  drawings,  maps.  Al- 
most all  these  scientific  treasures  perished  in  a  fire.  One  can  appre- 
ciate the  profound  grief  of  a  savant  compelled  to  recount  his  journey 
almost  entirely  from  his  memory.  His  work  is,  none  the  less,  the 
most  precious  for  a  knowledge  of  regions  until  then  entirely  un- 
known. 


174  THE  PYGMIES. 

from  Munza  one  of  these  Akkas,  whose  portrait  he  has 
given.*  He  intended  bringing  him  hack  with  him  to 
Europe,  but  the  poor  Nsevoue  died  of  dysentery  at  Berber, 
to  the  south  of  Khartoum.  Perhaps  his  skeleton,  found 
by  some  traveller,  will  figure  some  day  in  one  of  our  mu- 
seums, and  will  furnish  to  science  the  anatomical  facts 
which  now  are  lacking  to  it. 

In  fact,  the  information  which  we  have  regarding  the 
Akkas  has  all  been  collected  upon  living  individuals,  and 
but  few  of  them.  The  measurements  and  notes  taken  by 
Schweinfurth  perished  in  the  fatal  fire  which  devoured 
the  fruit  of  three  years  of  travels  and  studies,  and  it  was 
very  difficult  to  make  up  this  loss  even  in  part.  However, 
Marno  had  the  good  fortune  in  his  travels  to  meet  with 
two  female  Akka  slaves,  a  young  girl  and  an  adult109' 74>  73 
Another  adult  female,  Sai'da,  sent  to  Italy  by  Gessi  Pacha, 
has  been  hastily  studied  by  Giglioli.68  Chaille-Long  Bey 
also  saw  a  woman  who  came  from  the  country  of  the 
Niam-Niams  in  company  with  a  sister  of  Munza.99'  10°  I 
reproduce  her  picture  here  (Fig.  22).  Vossion,  vice-con- 
sul of  France  at  Khartoum,  has  briefly  described  a  male 
adult  in  an  unpublished  letter,  which  he  has  permitted  me 
to  consult.  But  although  these  pieces  of  evidence  confirm 
and  supplement  each  other  in  some  points,  they  would 
have  left  much  to  be  desired  if  a  most  fortunate  circum- 
stance had  not  supplied  European  anthropologists  the  op- 
portunity of  studying  for  themselves  the  curious  human 
race  of  whom  we  speak. 

*  Since  Munza  has  learned  the  value  of  the  Akkas  as  an  object, 
of  curiosity,  he  has  given  some  of  them  from  time  to  time  to  the 
great  merchants  of  ivory  who  visit  him  each  year.  Thus  an  indi- 
vidual of  this  race  reached  Khartoum,  sent  as  a  present  to  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Soudan  by  Emin  Bey  (Dr.  Schnitzer).  This  is  the  one 
briefly  described  by  Mr.  Vossion,  vice-consul  of  France,  in  a  letter 
from  which  I  present  an  extract  further  along. 


Fio.  22. — AKKA  WOMAN  PLACED  BESIDE  A  MAN  OF  AVERAGE  HEIGHT. 
(After  Chaille"-Long-Bey.) 


THE   NEGRILLOS,  OR  PYGMIES  OP  AFRICA.    175 


A  traveller  more  courageous  than  wise,  Miani,  had 
followed  in  Schweinfurth's  footsteps,  and  had  arrived 
among  the  Monbuttos.  Less  for- 
tunate than  his  predecessor,  he  suc- 
cumbed to  the  fatigues  of  the  jour- 
ney and  died,  bequeathing  to  the 
Society  of  Italian  Geography  two 
young  Akkas  whom  he  had  got  in 
exchange  for  a  dog  and  a  calf. 
After  some  vicissitudes,  Tebo  and 
Chairallah  were  received  by  a  man 
of  science  and  of  heart  —  Count 
Miniscalchi  Erizzo — who  had  them 
brought  up  under  his  own  eyes.*57 
They  could  thus  be  followed  and 
studied  at  leisure,  while  their  photo- 
graphs, liberally  distributed  by  the 
Geographical  Society,  went  to  arouse 
everywhere  the  observations  of  an- 
thropologists (Figs.  23,  24,  25). 

This  mass  of  data  has  had  for 
first  result  the  dissipation  of  certain 
doubts  which  had  been  expressed 
upon  the  subject  of  the  reality  of 
Schweinfurth's  discovery.  Some 
persons  regarded  the  first  individ- 
uals measured  by  travellers  as  chil- 

*  Already,  on  their  arrival  at  Cairo, 
Tebo  and  Chairallah  had  been  examined 

by  Colucci  Pacha,  Regny  Bev,  Dr.  Gaillar-    FlG-    23-  —  TEBO>     SlDE 
•  ,   ,       ,,  ."  ,     ,,      „  VIEW.    (After    photo- 

dot,  and  by  Messrs.  Schwemfurth,  Owen,         graph  of  CountFMin. 

Cornalia,  and  Panceri,  whom  chance  had         iscalchi.) 

brought  together  in  the  capital  of  Egypt. 

Their  observations   have  appeared  in  the  Bulletins  de  1'Institut 

Egyptien  in  1873  and  1874.     These  little  Negroes  have  also  given 

occasion   for  many  publications.18*.  m>  IB3»  '»•  m>  m>  "»• 62-  • 


176 


THE  PYGMIES. 


dren,  and  wished  to  consider  Tebo  and  Chairallah  chil- 
dren destined  to  grow  larger.*     The  precise  observations 


24  25 

FIG.  24. — TEBO,  FRONT  VIEW.      FIG.  25. — CHAIRALLAH,  FRONT  VIEW. 
(After  photographs  of  Count  Miniscalchi.) 

of  Marno,  those  of  Giglioli  and  Chaille-Long,  upon  three 
women,  those  of  Vossion  upon  a  man,  have  replied  to  the 

*  Panizza  ;133  also  the  Anthropological  Society  of  Madrid. 


THE  NEGRILLOS,  OR  PYGMIES  OF  AFRICA.     177 

first  hypothesis ;  and  the  growing  old  of  at  least  one  of 
the  Akkas  of  Miani,  without  his  passing,  without  even 
reaching,  the  maximum  stature  suggested  by  Schwein- 
furth,  has  refuted  the  second.* 

The  Eussian  traveller  measured  six  men  ;  none,  he  said, 
exceeded  l^oO.  Vossiou's  man,  aged  thirty-two,  was  only 
r?31.  Tebo,  the  older  of  Miani's  Akkas,  had  taken  on  the 
characteristics  of  manhood,  and  appears  to  have  stopped 
growing  at  the -height  of  1?42,  very  nearly  the  mean  of 
the  three  numbers.  The  woman  of  twenty  to  twenty-five 
years  old,  measured  by  Marno,  was  1™36  ;  that  of  Chaille- 
Long,  r?216  at  most;  Sai'da,  1™34;  giving  a  mean  of 
1™305.  The  mean  of  the  two  sexes  would  be  r°356. 
These  numbers  place  the  Akkas  in  the  matter  of  stature 
below  the  Mincopies,  or  even  below  the  Bushmen.  But 
the  number  of  measures  taken  upon  African  pygmies  is 
yet  much  too  small  for  us  to  regard  the  result  as  satis- 
factory. This  reservation  is  so  much  the  more  justifiable 
as  no  traveller  has  yet  found  an  Akka  presenting  a 
stature  so  short  as  that  of  the  Bushman  woman,  measured 
by  Barrow,  of  1™14,  or  that  individual  of  the,  same  race 

*  Some  doubt  has  arisen  upon  the  purity  of  blood  of  the  Akkas 
of  Miani,  and  Hamy  has  made  formal  reservations  on  the  subject. 
These  reservations,  perhaps,  have  some  foundation  in  the  case  of 
Chairallah.  On  the  one  hand,  his  cephalic  index  is  very  low  (77'52) ; 
on  the  other  hand,  in  their  beautiful  work  upon  the  Akkas,  Mante- 
gazza  and  Zannetti,  founding  the  prediction  upon  the  presumed  ages 
of  the  two  subjects  and  upon  the  laws  of  growth,  stated  that  Tebo 
would  cease  growing  at  a  lower  stature  than  Chairallah.  The  result 
has  confirmed  this  prediction.  Chairallah,  still  growing,  was  already 
1™41  ;  Tebo,  with  all  the  characteristics  of  an  adult,  and  whose 
growth  appeared  to  have  ceased,  had  stopped  at  1™42  (Giglioli). 
Moreover  the  latter  had  a  very  high  cephalic  index  (80-23).  Even 
then,  if  one  should  have  some  doubts  about  Chairallah,  and  believe 
that  he  had  perhaps  some  little  blood  from  the  Negro  race,  it  would 
not  be  the  same  regarding  Tebo. 


178  THE   PYGMIES. 

to  which  Dr.  Weisbach  attributes  I?  only.  Yet  the  ob- 
servations of  Dr.  Wolff,  which  I  have  above  recalled, 
appeared  to  confirm  the  general  conclusion  resulting  from 
these  measures.  One  might  indeed  say  that  these  African 
Negrillos,  evidently  all  of  the  same  stock,  were  in  reality 
the  smallest  human  race. 

Schweinfurth  attributed  to  the  Akkas  a  very  large 
head  and  a  large  and  almost  spherical  skull.  This  last 
detail  is  certainly  exaggerated.  The  highest  index  accu- 
rately made  is  that  resulting  from  the  measurements  of 
Marno ;  it  is  only  82-85 — equal  to  about  80-85  upon  the 
dry  skull.  The  mean  for  three  young  subjects  is  78'03, 
or  more  than  76  on  the  dry  skull.*  We  are  far  from  the 
true  dolichocephaly  of  the  Negroes,  and  find  again  the 
figures  which  we  found  to  characterise  the  Negrillos. 

The  colour  of  the  Akkas,  according  to  Schweinfurth, 
recalls  the  colour  of  coffee  slightly  roasted.  The  obser- 
vations upon  Tebo  and  Chairallah  confirm  this  opinion ; 
but  Count  Miniscalchi  has  noticed  that  this  colour  is 
deeper  in  summer,  paler  in  winter.  The  hair  is  almost 
the  same  colour,  lighter  in  Chairallah  than  in  Tebo.  In 
both  it  is  distinctly  woolly  and  tufted.  The  beard,  which 
has  appeared  in  Tebo  upon  the  chin  and  the  upper  lip,  is 
of  the  same  character. 

Schweinfurth  has  represented  Nsevoue  as  very  prog- 
nathous with  an  aquiline  nose  in  profile,  but  the  end  of 
which  is  as  if  immersed  in  the  thickness  of  the  upper  lip. 
In  him  the  chin  protrudes.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  very 
retreating  in  Bombi,  whose  nose  is  also  more  detached. 
The  photograph  of  Tebo  is  in  these  two  points  more 
like  the  latter  than  the  former  type.  The  lips  are,  more- 

*  Hamy,  taking  into  consideration  the  slight  development  of  the 
temporal  muscles  in  young  subjects,  diminishes  the  index  obtained 
from  measurements  made  upon  the  living  by  one  unit  only,  in  order 
to  secure  that  of  the  dry  skull.  He  would  call  this,  then,  at  least  77. 


THE  NEGRILLOS,  OR  PYGMIES  OF  AFRICA.    179 

over,  not  so  thick  as  in  Negroes,  and  are  even  described  as 
thin  by  Vossion  and  Schweinfurth. 

All  the  descriptions  agree  in  attributing  to  the  Akkas,  / 
men  and  women,  an  extreme  abdominal  development, 
which  causes  the  adults  to  resemble  the  children  of 
Arabs  and  Negroes.  In  the  photographs  of  Tebo  and 
Chairallah  this  feature  is  most  pronounced.  Panizza, 
making  an  anatomical  examination  of  the  causes  of  this 
development,  attributed  it  to  the  unusual  size  of  the  left 
lobe  of  the  liver  and  the  spleen,  as  well  as  to  the  large 
amount  of  fat  accumulated  in  the  mesentery. 

This  exaggeration  of  the  contents  of  the  abdomen  en- 
tailed anatomical  consequences  which  have  also  attracted 
the  attention  of  all  observers.  The  chest,  relatively  nar- 
row and  flattened  above,  is  dilated  below  in  order  to  con- 
tain this  enormous  paunch.  On  the  other  hand,  this  pro- 
jection of  the  abdomen  demands,  for  maintenance  of  the 
equilibrium,  that  the  lower  portion  of  the  spinal  column 
should  also  project  forward.  Hence  results  among  the 
Akkas  the  remarkable  hollowing  which  has  led  to  com-  / 
paring  the  curve  of  the  spinal  column  to  an  S.* 

*  This  conformation  has  given  rise  to  a  singular  misunderstand- 
ing, which  has  led  to  many  discussions.  In  a  communication  made 
to  the  Egyptian  Institute  (December  5,  1873)  Schweinfurth  com- 
pared the  curvature  of  the  spinal  column  to  a  C.  The  eminent 
traveller  was  apparently  speaking  only  of  its  lower  portion,  and 
meant  that  the  concavity  of  the  C  should  face  backward.  But 
under  the  influence  of  preconceived  ideas,  and  in  the  hope  of  find- 
ing in  the  Akkas  that  link  between  man  and  the  apes  for  which 
search  has  so  long  been  made,  some  adventurous  spirits  thought 
that  the  whole  column  was  in  discussion,  that  the  concavity  of  the 
C  turned  forward,  and  that  consequently  the  Akkas  resembled  in 
this  respect  anthropomorphic  apes.  Before  having  seen  the  photo- 
graphs I  combated,  at  the  Society  of  Anthropology  and  elsewhere, 
this  idea  as  incompatible  with  the  mode  of  locomotion  in  man  and 
with  the  agility  which  all  evidence  attributed  to  the  Akkas.  Broca, 


180  THE  PYGMIES. 

But  it  is  evident  that  the  abnormal  development  of  the 
abdomen  is  not,  among  the  Akkas,  a  true  race  character- 
istic, and  that  it  is  largely  due  to  their  manner  of  life,  to 
the  quality  of  the  food,  perhaps  also  to  the  general  con- 
ditions of  their  habitat.  This  fact  results  from  some- 
observations  of  Count  Miniscalchi,  who  has  seen,  after 
some  weeks  of  regular  and  wholesome  diet,  "  the  extreme 
development  of  the  abdomen  disappear  and  the  vertebral 
column  resume  its  normal  state."  The  same  change  was 
wrought  in  Sai'da. 

In  order  to  terminate  this  physical  sketch  of  the  Ak- 
kas, it  remains  to  speak  of  the  limbs.  The  upper  are  long, 
and  terminate  in  hands  of  great  delicacy  (Schweinfurth).* 
The  lower  limbs  are  short  relatively  to  the  trunk,  and 
curve  in  somewhat.  The  feet  also  are  bent  in  the  same 
direction,  rather  more  than  those  of  other  Africans. 

The  Akka  women  seem  to  greatly  resemble  their  hus- 
bands. Giglioli  speaks  of  Saida  as  having  a  thick  figure, 
short  neck,  arms  neither  slim  nor  long,  hands  rather  large 
than  small.  The  colour  of  this  Akka  was  like  that  of 
Chairallah,  very  like  that  of  a  mulatto.  The  hair,  of  a 
sooty  black,  formed  little  balls  less  clearly  isolated  than  his; 
prognathism  very  pronounced.  This  description  agrees 
very  well  with  the  pictures  of  Chaille-Long.  This  last 
authority  adds  that  in  his  Tikki-TikTci  the  breasts  hung 
down  markedly,  although  she  asserted  that  she  had  had 
no  children.  He  says,  too,  that  she  had  very  little  hands 
and  feet  (Fig.  22). 

The  physiological  characteristics  of  the  Akkas  are 
those  of  most  savage  races.  Their  senses  are  very  acute, 

as  well  as  Mantegazza  and  Zannetti,  later  developed  the  same  argu- 
ments in  support  of  an  opinion  common  to  us  all,  and  which  all  the 
facts  now  acquired  justify. 

*  The  photographs  of  Tebo  and  Chairallah  and  the  cast  tatcn 
upon  Tebo  do  not  justify  these  praises. 


THE  NEGRILLOS,  OR  PYGMIES  OP   AFRICA.    181 

and  Schweinfurth  on  several  occasions  insists  upon  their 
extraordinary  agility.  According  to  the  Monbuttos,  these 
little  Negroes  leap  about  in  the  high  herbage  like  grass- 
hoppers. Nsevoue  partly  preserved  this  little  habit  dur- 
jng  his  stay  with  Schweinfurth,  and  could  never  carry  a 
plate  without  spilling  more  or  less  of  its  contents. 

The  Akkas  are  very  courageous.  "  They  are  men,  and 
men  who  know  how  to  fight,"  said  Moummeri,  in  speaking 
of  those  who  accompanied  him.  They  are  great  elephant 
hunters ;  they  assault  them  with  very  short  bows,  and 
with  lances  hardly  longer  than  themselves.*  Long  Bey 
confirms  all  these  details,  and  adds  that  the  women  are 
as  warlike  as  the  men — which  recalls  in  every  particular 
the  facts  given  by  Battel.99'  10° 

Schweinfurth  gives  a  very  sad  picture  of  the  character 
and  intelligence  of  Nsevoue.  He  represents  him  as  lov- 
ing to  see  men  and  animals  suffer,  as  being  unable  to 
learn  Arabic  or  any  of  the  dialects  of  the  country.  Count 
Miniscalchi,  on  the  other  hand,  found  in  Tebo  and  Chai- 
rallah  affectionate  pupils,  appreciative,  and  disposed  to 
learn.  Both,  but  especially  Tebo,  had  a  real  fondness  for 
music.  Two  years  after  their  arrival  in  Europe  these 
two  Akkas  could  read  and  write.  Their  father  by  adop- 
tion placed  under  the  eyes  of  his  colleagues,  in  1879,  two 
letters  written  and  composed  by  them  without  any  aid,  a 
facsimile  of  which  was  inserted  in  the  transactions  of  the 
congress.  They  had  not,  on  that  account,  forgotten  their 
own  language.  Miniscalchi  has  been  able  to  gather  from 
them  several  hundred  words,  and  to  prepare  with  their 
help  a  grammar  of  their  tongue,  which  he  considers  the 
same  as  the  idioms  of  the  Niam-Niams.f 

*  See  the  portrait  of  Boinbi.  Schweinfurth  does  not  say  that 
the  arrows  are  poisoned. 

f  Miniscalchi  used  with  them  the  Arabic  language,  which  they 
spoke  fluently. 


182  THE  PYGMIES. 

What  have  these  Akkas  become  under  the  influence  of 
European  climate  and  of  an  education  applied  for  the 
first  time  to  representatives  of  this  ancient  race,  always 
savage,  and  found  two  or  three  degrees  south  of  the 
equator?  One  understands  how  much  interest  attaches 
to  this  question,  and  we  owe  much  to  Giglioli  for  having 
replied  to  it  in  detail.* 

Tebo  has  always  perfectly  stood  the  usually  cold  win- 
ters of  Verona.  Chairallah  has  had  fevers,  had  much 
coughing,  and  suffered  with  rheumatism  during  his  first 
two  or  three  years.  Both  are  now  entirely  acclimated. 
It  is  the  same  with  Sai'da. 

Tebo  has  been  modelled,  and  his  bust  is  in  the  museum. 
In  comparing  it  with  his  photograph  taken  in  1874  it  is 
seen  that  he  has  lost  his  childish  air.  His  forehead  is  less 
full,  without,  however,  being  as  retreating  as  Nsevoue.  In 
this  respect  he  is  more  like  Bombi.  His  prognathism 
is  somewhat  more  marked.  His  other  features  are  little 
modified.! 

The  general  character  of  the  two  Akkas  has  remained 
sensitive,  impulsive,  and  recalls  that  of  our  children.  They 
love  to  play ;  their  movements  are  quick ;  when  they  walk 
they  naturally  go  at  quickstep. \ 

Tebo  is  more  affectionate,  more  faithful  to  his  duties ; 

*  63  This  memoir  was  written  in  1880,  consequently  five  years  later 
than  Count  Miniscalchi's. 

f  Giglioli  thinks  he  can  recognise  with  the  eye  some  slight  elon- 
gation of  the  head.  An  examination  of  the  bust  and  the  measure- 
ments, necessarily  only  approximate,  which  I  have  taken  upon  the 
plaster,  do  not  give  me  such  an  impression. 

$  All  the  preceding  might  also  apply  to  Saida,  yet  she  has  not 
been  dealt  with  as  her  fellow-countrymen.  She  has  remained  a  serv- 
ant, without  learning  either  to  read  or  write.  She  speaks  Italian 
fluently,  and  a  little  German,  which  is  the  language  of  her  mis- 
tress. She  is  at  times  capricious,  and  she  loves  to  play  with  children 
(Giglioli). 


THE   NEGRILLOS,  OR  PYGMIES  OF  AFRICA.    183 

his  conduct  has  always  been  excellent.  Chairallah,  more 
intelligent,  has  shown  at  times  some  instincts  of  hatred 
and  revenge.  Yet  they  have  never  had  quarrels  with  their 
young  companions,  and  they  love  each  other  tenderly. 

Both  have  been  baptised,  and  show  a  certain  amount  of 
devotion  in  religious  exercises,  yet  their  spiritual  director 
does  not  regard  their  convictions  as  very  deep. 

Both  of  them  have  forgotten  their  mother  tongue,  and 
have  almost  forgotten  Arabic.  They  speak  Italian  per- 
fectly, but  had  at  first  much  difficulty  in  pronouncing 
words  where  two  z's  occur — bellazza,  carezza. 

Both  experience  very  strongly  the  sentiment  of  emula- 
tion. In  class  they  have  shown  themselves  superior  to 
their  European  schoolfellows  of  ten  or  twelve  years  old. 
The  grades  which  their  teacher  placed  before  Giglioli 
prove  that  they  have  stood  remarkably  well  in  the  tests 
they  have  passed  through  in  composition,  arithmetic, 
grammatical  analysis,  and  in  dictation.* 

The  Countess  Miniscalchi  gave  music  lessons  to  Tebo. 
Giglioli  has  heard  him  play  upon  the  piano,  with  some 
sentiment  and  much  exactness,  two  quite  difficult  pas- 
sages, f 

One  sees,  in  spite  of  their  little  stature,  their  long 
arms,  their  pot-bellies,  and  their  short  legs,  that  the  Akkas 
are  indeed  really  men ;  and  those  who  have  thought  to 
find  in  them  half  apes  should  by  this  time  be  fully  dis- 
abused. 


*  Chairallah  had  obtained  ten  (perfect  mark)  for  dictation  and 
penmanship ;  Tebo,  ten  for  dictation.  The  other  grades  are  eight 
and  nine  in  all  subjects  except  arithmetic,  where  Chairallah  falls  to 
seven  and  Tebo  to  six.  One  finds  here  again  the  general  fact  that 
savages  are  inferior  in  the  direction  of  scientific  aptitudes. 

f  Unfortunately  the  education  of  Tebo  and  Chairallah  has  been 
interrupted.  Both  to-day  perform  service  in  the  Miniscalchi  family 
(Giglioli). 

14 


184  THE  PYGMIES. 

The  totality  of  facts  just  presented  leads  me  to  general 
considerations,  which  I  shall  state  briefly.  And,  first,  in 
going  from  Senegambia  and  the  Gaboon  towards  the 
country  of  the  Gallas  and  Monbuttos,  we  have  established 
the  existence  of  several  human  groups  which  are  charac- 
terised by  little  stature,  by  a  head  relatively  large  and 
round,  by  a  colour  less  dark  than  that  of  the  Negroes 
proper,  by  instincts  and  manners  almost  similar.  With 
Hamy,  we  would  recognise  in  these  groups  so  many  rep- 
resentatives of  a  special  race — the  race  of  Negrillos — who 
in  Africa  correspond  to  the  Negritos  of  Asia  and  Melanesia. 

It  is  evident  that  the  ancients  have  had  concerning 
these  Negrillos — as  concerning  the  Negritos — some  more 
or  less  precise  knowledge,  and  that  they  have  made  from 
them  their  African  pygmies ;  but  they  have  placed  them 
in  three  geographical  localities  where  they  do  not  to-day 
exist ;  one  must  go  farther  from  Europe  in  order  to  find 
them.  Moreover,  these  pygmies  appear  to  us  as  forming 
centres  of  population  isolated  and  widely  separated.  Fi- 
nally, at  one  of  these,  centres  at  least,  we  witness  the 
decadence  of  the  race  and  its  fusion  with  neighbouring 
populations  of  greater  size  and  strength. 

All  these  facts  recall  too  strongly  what  we  have  seen 
has  taken  place,  and  is  now  taking  place,  among  the  Ne- 
gritos for  us  not  to  refer  it  to  the  same  causes.  Every- 
thing unites  to  make  us  believe  that  the  Negrillos  were 
formerly  more  numerous ;  that  they  formed  populations 
denser  and  more  continuous ;  that  they  have  been  crowded 
back,  separated,  divided,  by  superior  races.  Their  history, 
if  we  could  only  know  it,  would  certainly  present  resem- 
blances to  that  of  their  Eastern  brothers. 

But  we  have  seen  that  in  the  Orient  everything  sug- 
gests that  the  Negritos  have  preceded,  on  the  soil  where 
we  find  them,  the  races  which  have  oppressed,  dispersed, 
and  almost  annihilated  them.  As  to  the  Negrillos,  anal- 


THE  NEGRILLOS,  OR  PYGMIES  OF  AFRICA.    185 

ogous  facts  lead  to  a  similar  conclusion.  We  are  thus 
led  to  admit  as  very  probable  that  the  little  brachy- 
cephalic  Negroes  have  occupied  at  least  a  large  part  of 
Africa  prior  to  the  Negroes  properly  so  called,  who  are 
characterised  by  a  greater  stature  and  by  dolichocephaly. 
These  last  are  the  Papuans  of  Africa,  as  the  Negrillos 
are  its  Negritos. 

These  comparisons  do  not  result  from  a  superficial 
examination  of  the  African  and  Indo-Melanesian  blacks ; 
they  are  justified  by  a  detailed  study  of  their  skulls. 
This  study  places  in  evidence  extremely  striking  resem- 
blances between  the  two  great  anthropological  formations 
which  represent  the  Negro  type  at  the  two  extremities  of 
our  continent.*  m 

Whence  can  come  this  close  relationship  between  popu- 
lations separated  by  such  vast  spaces  and  by  so  many  and 
such  diverse  races?  Are  these  resemblances  and  agree- 
ments due  to  a  community  of  origin?  These  questions, 
and  many  others,  had  been  formulated  even  before  the 
discovery  of  the  Negrillos,  which  causes  their  still  more 
imperious  presentation.  There  have  been  many  replies. 

Logan  has  sustained  with  much  wisdom,  and  in  exam- 
ining the  question  from  various  points  of  view,  the  idea 
that  the  Negroes,  originating  in  Africa,  have  penetrated 
into  Asia  and  into  Melanesia  by  a  slow  infiltration  taking 
place  over  the  sea.  He  makes  them  play  an  important  role 
among  the  populations  of  Madagascar.94- 96  Flower  is  dis- 
posed to  admit  that  the  little  black  race,  developed  in  the 
southern  part  of  India,  has  spread  east  and  west,  peopling 
Melanesia  and  Africa.  It  is  from  it  that  have  come  the 
Negroes  of  large  stature.61  Allen  also  derives  the  African 
Negroes  from  Asia,  and  seeks  to  show  that  they  have  left 
some  traces  of  their  passage  upon  several  points  in  the  in- 

*  De  Quatrefages  and  Hamy. 


186  THE   PYGMIES. 

termediate  countries.3  Prof.  Seeley  claims  that  the  Negro 
race  formerly  occupied  a  belt  of  land  stretching  from 
Africa  to  Melanesia,  which  is  now  submerged.3 

The  authors  whom  I  have  just  cited  have  considered 
only  the  origin  of  the  black  races.  I  have  shown  long 
since  in  my  courses,  and  suggested  in  one  of  my  books, 
that  one  cannot  separate  the  history  of  these  races  from  that 
of  their  yellow  and  white  sisters.*  I  have  returned  to  a  de- 
tailed study  of  the  subject  in  another  work.156  Behold,  in 
a  few  words,  the  solution  which  I  believe  I  have  given  to 
the  general  problem.  Mankind  originated  in  Tertiary 
times,  somewhere  in  northern  Asia.  Migrations  began  at 
that  period ;  and  without  doubt  from  that  moment  the 
species  commenced  to  differentiate  itself  on  account  of 
the  differing  conditions  of  existence  which  its  tribes  en- 
countered. The  Glacial  period  caused  a  great  migration, 
radiating  out  in  every  direction ;  yet  either  then,  or  ear- 
lier, the  various  populations  grouped  themselves  about,  or 
in  the  interior  of,  the  central  highland  of  Asia.  There 
the  three  fundamental,  physical,  and  linguistic  types  of 
mankind  arose.  All  are  yet  represented  in  this  region. 
No  other  point  on  the  globe  shows  anything  similar,  and 
this  fact  justifies,  I  believe,  the  conclusions  I  have  drawn. 

The  black  type  appeared  in  the  south  of  Asia,  between 
the  highland  and  the  sea.  Its  representatives,  pressed  be- 
tween the  yellow  peoples  on  the  north  and  the  whites  on 
the  west,  could  not,  like  their  brothers,  extend  over  vast 
continental  areas.  Very  early  they  had  to  seek  by  sea  a  new 
country — above  all,  when  invasions,  which  the  existence 
of  mixed  races  clearly  proves,  came  to  dispute  with  them 
the  possession  of  a  domain  relatively  narrow.  To  escape 
the  invaders,  there  was  no  resource  but  flight  by  sea ;  and, 
in  consequence  of  difference  in  habitat,  they  migrated, 

*  The  Human  Species. 


THE  NEGRILLOS,  OR  PYGMIES  OF  AFRICA.    187 

some  east,  others  west.  Thus  they  were  the  first  to  peo- 
ple the  eastern  archipelagoes  and  the  islands  of  the  Bay 
of  Bengal.  They  arrived  in  Africa  by  crossing  the  Strait 
of  Bab-el-Mandeb  and  the  Gulf  of  Aden.  Everywhere, 
moreover,  the  Negritos  and  the  Negrillos  preceded  the 
Papuans  and  the  true  Negroes.  This  fact  is  proved  by 
the  geographical  distribution  of  these  different  races,  as  I 
have  shown  on  various  occasions. 

The  study  of  the  little  Negro  races  will  suggest  one 
last  thought. 

In  speaking  of  their  pygmies  the  ancients  have  mingled 
very  true  facts  with  exaggerations  and  fables.  Modern 
science,  sometimes  misled  by  its  rigidity,  has  long  consid- 
ered only  that  which  was  impossible  in  the  tradition  rela- 
tive to  the  little  men  of  Asia  or  of  Africa,  and  has  there- 
fore rejected  the  whole  at  once.  We  have  just  seen  where- 
in it  was  wrong,  and  from  that  even  we  may  draw  a  lesson. 

When  we  are  dealing  with  traditions  or  legends  of 
people  less  learned  than  ourselves,  and  above  all  with 
those  of  savage  peoples,  however  strange  or  bizarre  they 
may  appear  to  us,  it  is  well  to  study  them  carefully.  A 
good  number  of  these  legends  enclose  interesting  and  very 
real  facts,  concealed  by  superstitions,  misunderstandings, 
habits  of  language,  errors  of  interpretation.  The  task  of 
the  man  of  science  should  be  like  that  of  the  miner  who 
separates  gold  from  the  rock.  Very  often  he  may,  with  a 
little  study  and  wise  criticism,  bring  out  some  important 
truth  from  this  mass  of  errors. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

RELIGIOUS    BELIEFS    OF   THE   HOTTENTOTS    AND   THE 
BUSHMEN. 

Hottentots  and  Bushmen. — Hottentots  :  physical  characters. — Role 
of  the  woman. — Poetry. — Language. — Place  of  origin  of  the 
race. — Age  of  stone  at  the  Cape. — Religious  beliefs  of  the  Bush- 
men ;  dualism ;  superstitions. — Religious  beliefs  of  the  Hot- 
tentots ;  old  information  on  the  subject. — Good  gods. — Tsui-goa, 
supreme  god. — The  strife  against  Gaunab. — Profound  faith  of 
the  Hottentots  in  Tsui-goa — Absence  of  religious  edifices  and 
of  idols. — Great  religious  festivals  ;  hymn  to  Tsui-goa. — A  mar- 
tyr of  Tsui-goa. — Heitsi-eibib. — His  tombs. — His  births. — His 
strife  against  the  lion  and  against  Gama-gorib. — One  of  his 
deaths,  followed  by  resurrection. — Khab  (the  moon). — The  le- 
gend of  the  hare.— Nanub  (the  storm-cloud) ;  Gurub  (the  thun- 
der) ;  Nabas  (the  lightning). — Hymn  and  chanted  dialogues. — 
Khunuseti  (the  Pleiades). — Bad  gods. — Gaunab,  the  great  god 
of  evil. — The  Mantis  Gaunab. — The  vassals  of  Gaunab. — Refu- 
tation of  an  hypothesis  of  Mr.  Hahn. — GurikhoTsib,  the  first 
man. — His  combat  with  the  lion. — The  future  life. — Spirits  of 
the  dead,  bad  and  good.  —  Spirits  of  ancestors.  —  Worship; 
priests ;  sorcerers. — Various  superstitions. — Mythological  theory 
of  Mr.  Hahn. 

WHEN  the  Dutch,  under  the  leadership  of  van  Rie- 
beek,  founded  Cape  Colony,  in  1652,  the  southern  end 
of  Africa  was  occupied  by  two  populations  very  similar 
in  some  respects,  but  distinguished  nevertheless  by  cer- 
tain physical  characters  and  of  very  dissimilar  modes 
of  life.  The  first,  the  more  important,  and  whom  the 
Europeans  already  knew,  inhabited  only  the  coast  and  the 

188 


RELIGION  OP  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  189 

fertile  plains.  It  was  of  somewhat  tall  stature,  attaining 
a  mean  of  1!"663.  The  features  of  the  face  were  anything 
but  beautiful  (Fig.  26).  To  a  skull  narrow  and  elongated 
from  in  front  backward,  to  the  characteristic  hair  of  the 
Negro,  this  type  joined  a  yellow-brown  colour,  more  or 


FIG.  26. — BUST  OF  SWOON,  HOTTENTOT.    (From  a  bust  modelled  upon  the 
living  subject.    Collection  of  the  Museum.) 

less  dark  and  often  ruddy — so  much  so  that  even  to-day 
these  natives  call  themselves  red  men  (Fig.  27).*  These 
Africans  were  essentially  herders,  possessing  numerous 
herds  of  cattle,  of  sheep,  and  of  goats,  knowing  how  to 

*  Ava  Khoib.  "  This  word,"  Hahn  says,  "  is  synonymous  with 
Khol-Jfhol.  The  Hottentots  call  the  Europeans  Uri  Khoin  (white 
men),  and  the  Bantus  Nu  Khoien  (black  men)."  w 


190 


THE  PYGMIES. 


work  iron  and  copper,  and  acquainted  with  the  art  of  pot- 
tery. At  the  time  of  Kolbe  they  formed  sixteen  distinct 
nations,  each  designated  by  a  special  name,  but  divided  into 
petty  tribes.*  They  dwelt  in  tem- 
porary villages,  the  huts  of  which 
were  easy  to  take  down  and  trans- 
port, convenient  for  the  mode  of 
life  of  a  nomadic,  pastoral  people. 
These  kraals  usually  contained 
three  to  four  hundred  souls,  and 
at  times  even  five  hundred.  Some 
customs,  having  the  force  of  laws, 
regulated  these  little  communities, 
placed  under  the  direction  of  hie- 
rarchised  chiefs. 

When  the  Europeans  penetra- 
ted into  the  interior  of  the  con- 

tj         t   th        found    there  another 

J 

population,  characterised  by  a  still 
lighter  yellow  tint,  but  quite  as 

homely  as  the  preceding  (Figs.  28,  29).  Although  having 
hair  of  the  same  sort,  these  men  had  a  skull  relatively  broad- 
er and  shorter  (Figs.  30,  31)  ;  but  their  most  striking  feature 
was  their  little,  stature.  As  we  have  already  stated,  the 
stature  of  these  pygmies  of  the  Cape  descends  to  a  mean 
of  1™37  among  the  men  and  1™22  among  the  women. 
They  are,  however,  vigorous  and  remarkably  agile.  These 
little  men  live  exclusively  by  hunting  ;  they  scarcely  erect 
the  simplest  temporary  shelters,  and  their  industry  is  lim- 
ited to  the  making  of  a  bow,  arrows,  and  a  coarse  pottery. 

*  80  Walckenaer  admits  seventeen  nations.  But  he  does  not 
recognise  that  •'  the  Bushies  "  are  only  hordes  of  dispersed  Hotten- 
tots who  have  adopted  the  mode  of  life  of  the  Bushmen.  Perhaps, 
too,  he  meant  these  latter  themselves,  who  were  not  then  distin- 
guished from  the  Hottentots. 


Fio.  2T.-SKULL  OF  Ho™- 
TOT    FROM    CAPE   COLONY. 

(Museum  collection.) 


RELIGION  OP  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  191 

Always  wandering  in  little  bands  of  from  fifteen  to  fifty 
persons,  and  having  no  bond  of  union,  these  typical  sav- 
ages, driven  back  into  the  most  frightful  deserts,  were  in- 
cessantly warring  with  all  the  other  inhabitants  of  the 
country,  who  hunted  them  and  killed  them  like  wild 
beasts. 


FIG.  28. — BUST  OF  YUNKA,  BUSHMAN.    (From  a  mould  made  upon  the  liv- 
ing.   Collection  of  the  Museum.) 

These  last  are  those  who  are  habitually  called  Bush- 
men, Bosjesmans,  Boschismans.  Those  of  whom  I  spoke 
first  are  the  Hottentots.  These  names  are  purely  Eu- 
ropean in  origin.  The  first  are  easily  understood  ;  no  one 
has  discovered  the  etymology  of  the  second.  Until  very 
recently  no  one  knew  what  the  Bushmen  called  them- 
selves, and  even  Hahn  says  nothing  in  this  matter.  But 
Arbousset  and  Daumas  have  discovered  that  they  call 


192 


THE  PYGMIES. 


themselves  among  themselves  'Khuai'.6  The  Hottentots 
call  them  San,*  an  expression  which  may  be  translated  by 
aborigines,  and  style  themselves  Khoi-Khoi,  literally  men- 
men  or  THE  men.f 


FIG.  20. — BUST  OF  SOARTJE  BARTMANN,  CALLED  THE  HOTTENTOT 
(From  a  mould  taken  after  death.     Collection  of  the  Museum.) 

*  In  the  singular,  Sab  (Hahn).67    The  official  documents  of  the 
Cape  call  them  Sonqua.     One  also  finds  them  called  by  the  names 
Batuas,  Baroas,  Bushies,  Bosmanneken,  Housouanas.  ...  It  is  neces- 
sary not  to  confound  with  the  San  those  Khoi-Khoi  whom  persecu- 
tion has  driven  back  into  the  deserts,  where  they  lead  the  same  life  as 
the  true  Bushmen.    This  is  an  error  into  which  Levaillant  and  other 
authors  have  fallen-.    It  may  be  that  we  can  thus  explain  the  con- 
tradiction in  the  narrative  of  Captain  F.  Alexander  and  the  reflec- 
tions that  Hahn  makes  upon  it. 

*  81  Various  authors  or  travellers  have  written  Cftoi-CJioin,  Koe- 
Kaeb,  Quaiqua,  Quaqita,  etc. 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  193 


FIG.  30. — SKULL   OF   BUSHMAN. 
lection  of  the  Museum.) 


(Col- 


From  this  very  fact  one  might  draw  the  conclusion 
that  the  Bushmen  have  at  first  occupied  the  whole  region, 
that  the  Khoi-Khoi  are  conquerors.  All  the  studies  made 
to  the  present  time  sup- 
port such  a  conclusion  ; 
they  even  permit  us  to  go 
further.  Already  some 
travellers  and  anthropol- 
ogists have  regarded  the 
Bushmen  as  representing 
the  local  pure  race,  and 
the  Hottentots  as  being 
the  result  of  a  crossing 
of  this  race  with  various 
Negro  populations.  The  detailed  examination  of  skulls 
has  fully  confirmed  this  result,  which  may  be  considered 
a  definite  acquisition  to  science.157 

The  San  and   the  Khoi-Khoi' 
are  far  from   being  to-day  what 
/.  \  \     they  were  at  the  time  of  the  dis- 

*'  \  co very.    Here,  as  in  so  many  parts 

of  the  globe,  the  so-called  civilised 
and  Christian  European  has  ac- 
complished the  dreadful  work  with 
which  he  seems  to  be  charged. 
Over  a  vast  region  he  has  substi- 
tuted himself  for  the  local  races, 
after  having  exterminated  them. 
He  has  shown  himself  as  cruel,  as 
cravenly  fierce,  as  any  band  of 
savage  heathen.  Of  the  sixteen 
nations  of  Hottentots  enumerated 
by  Kolbe,  the  greater  part  have 
disappeared.  The  survivors  are  more  or  less  modified  by 
contact  with  the  whites  and  as  the  result  of  the  influence 


FIG.  31. — SKULL  OF  SOARTJE 
BARTMANN,  BUSHMAN 
WOMAN.  (Collection  of 
the  Museum.) 


194  THE   PYGMIES. 

of  the  missionaries,  yet  some  tribes  have  preserved  intact 
the  manners  and  beliefs  of  their  ancestors.  To  save  from 
oblivion  these  remnants  of  the  past  of  one  of  the  most 
curious  human  races  is  evidently  to  render  a  service  to 
anthropology.* 

This  is  the  work  which  Mr.  Hahn  seems  to  have  un- 
dertaken. His  authority  seems  to  me  incontestable.  He 
has  lived  for  nine  years  among  the  Khoi'-Khoi,  and  knows 
their  language  perfectly ;  he  is  interested  in  them,  but  not 
to  the  degree  that  sympathy  gets  the  better  of  his  judg- 
ment ;  he  guards  himself  against  the  sources  of  error, 
which  he  enumerates ;  generally  he  first  simply  presents 
the  facts,  reserving  their  discussion  until  afterwards.  If 
he  has  gone  further  than  his  predecessors  in  the  examina- 
tion of  the  question  specially  considered  in  his  book,  I 
can  see  no  reason  for  doubting  the  new  facts  which  he 
teaches  us. 

Hahn  devotes  his  first  chapter  to  making  the  San  and 
the  Khoi'-Khoi'  known  to  us,  but  this  chapter  is  very  short. 
The  author  only  aims  to  give  a  summary  idea  of  the  de- 
gree of  industry  attained  by  the  different  tribes  of  the 
Khoi'-Khoi',  and  of  the  good  qualities  he  has  met  with 
in  them.  This  double  purpose  is  sufficiently  attained. 

The  Hottentots  were  apparently  a  valiant  population, 
who  made  much  of  military  courage,  and  had  instituted  a 
sort  of  order  of  chivalry  to  honour  individuals  who  distin- 
guished themselves  by  military  exploits.  Their  customs 
were  pure  and  their  impulses  honest.  Unfortunately  all 
their  good  qualities  were  connected  with  an  extreme 
filthiness.  The  Khoi'-Khoi'  were  perhaps  the  dirtiest 

*  In  colour  the  KhoI-KhoT.  and  above  all  the  San,  are  connected 
with  the  yellow  type ;  by  their  hair  both  are  essentially  Negroes. 
Among  the  San  the  horizontal  cephalic  index  is  almost  exactly  the 
same  as  that  of  the  south  Chinese  (San,  7745;  Chinese,  77'22). 
Among  the  Khoi-Kho!  the  index  is  lower. 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS- AND  BUSHMEN.  195 

people  on  the  globe.  Kolbe  and  many  other  travellers 
have  given  details  on  this  subject,  which  it  is  useless  for 
us  to  repeat  here. 

Without  insisting  upon  the  manners  and  customs  of 
this  curious  people,  I  ought  to  mention  what  Hahn  tells 
us  of  the  condition  of  the  women.  All  travellers  have 
made  them  out  a  kind  of  slaves,  charged  with  the  heaviest 
burdens  of  labour,  and  badly  treated  by  their  husbands, 
whose  task  was  confined  to  hunting  and  caring  for  the 
animals.  It  is,  in  fact,  so  outside ;  but  indoors,  Hahn  tells 
us,  the  positions  are  reversed.  Here  the  woman  (taras) 
reigns  supreme  mistress.  She  controls  and  owns  every- 
thing, and  the  husband  cannot,  without  her  permission, 
take  a  bit  of  meat  or  a  drop  of  milk.  If  he  thinks  to 
infringe  the  law,  the  neighbours  punish  him  by  taking 
away  a  certain  number  of  sheep  and  cows,  which  go  to 
increase  the  personal  property  of  the  wife.  More  :  at  the 
death  of  a  chief  whose  son  is  under  age  it  often  happens 
that,  his  wife  inherits  his  power  and  becomes  gau-tas, 
" queen  of  the  tribe"  Some  of  these  women  chiefs  have 
left  honoured  names  in  the  native  traditions. 

The  oldest  daughter  has  also  great  privileges.  She 
alone  milks  the  cows,  and  it  is  to  her  that  one  applies  for 
a  little  milk,  as  is  shown  in  the  short  song,  of  which  Hahn 
gives  text  and  translation  :  "  My  lioness,  art  thou  afraid 
that  I  will  bewitch  thee?  Thou  hast  milked  the  cow 
with  thy  gentle  hand.  Embrace  me.  Turn  me  out  some 
milk,  my  lioness,  daughter  of  a  powerful  man." 

I  find  another  custom  mentioned  by  Mr.  Hahn  which 
I  have  not  seen  described  elsewhere.  Children  take  the 
names  of  their  parents,  but  by  a  sort  of  exchange,  the 
girls  bearing  that  of  their  father,  the  boys  that  of  their 
mother,  the  last  syllable  showing  the  sex.  The  son  of  a 
woman  named  Arises  is  named  Ariseb ;  the  daughter  of 
her  husband,  Xam-hab,  takes  the  name  of  Xam-has. 


196  THE  PYGMIES. 

The  religious  chants  and  profane  songs  of  the  Hotten- 
tots are  generally  accompanied  by  dances,  and  sometimes 
by  pantomimes.  Further  on  I  will  give  same  examples 
of  the  former.  The  latter  are  often  satirical.  An  un- 
popular chief  is  often  sung  by  the  girls,  who  compare  him 
with  the  ravenous  hyena  and  the  cowardly  jackal.  An 
unequal  marriage,  or  the  slightest  incident,  may  become 
material  for  couplets.  Behold  lan  example  of  them  : 

The  poor  young  Kharis  is  much  frightened  ; 
She  suffers  with  colics, 

And  rolls  herself  on  the  ground  like  a  hyena  which  has  eaten  poison. 
The  town  runs  to  assist  at  the  scene. 
Everyone  is  terrified ! 
But  they  become  calm,  and  one  says, 
"  Oh,  that  is  nothing  ! " 

Hahn  discusses  the  question  of  language  at  some  length. 
I  limit  myself  to  mentioning  an  interesting  fact.  The  San 
and  the  Khoi'-Khoi  occupy  almost  the  same  area,  yet  the 
last  have  a  common  language,  the  dialects  of  which  resem- 
ble each  other  so  closely  that  the  most  widely  separated 
tribes  understand  each  other  at  once.  On  the  contrary, 
the  San  languages  differ  from  Khoi'-Khoi  as  much  as  the 
English  from  the  Sanscrit,  and  have  no  relationship  among 
themselves.  Yet  these  San  languages  and  the  Khoi'-Khoi 
spring  from  the  same  stock,  as  is  shown  by  their  common 
possession  of  the  series  of  clicks.  The  vocabularies  them- 
selves have  preserved  numerous  resemblances.  Linguistic 
facts  agree,  then,  with  the  results  drawn  from  the  exami- 
nation of  the  physical  characteristics,  and  lead  us  to  admit 
again  the  fundamental  unity  of  that  human  race  which  has 
originally  populated  the  Cape  regions.  As  to  the  diver- 
sity of  languages  spoken  by  the  San,  it  is  easily  explained 
by  the  disintegration  and  isolation  of  their  tribes. 

We  may  also  remark  that  the  San  can  count  only  to 
two,  or  at  most  to  three.  A  single  tribe  forms  an  excep- 


RELIGION  OP  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  197 

tion  to  this  rule  ;  it  counts  to  twenty.  Hahn  thinks  it 
has  received  its  numerals  from  some  other  tribe.  The 
Khoi'-Khoi',  however,  all  have  a  complete  decimal  system 
of  numeration.  Hahn  gives  them  the  credit  of  this  in- 
vention, which  he  ascribes  to  the  necessity  of  counting 
their  cattle  when  they  gave  up  their  hunting  for  a  pas- 
toral life.  It  is  much  more  probable  that  their  domestic 
animals  and  the  means  of  knowing  their  number  came 
to  them  equally  from  the  Negro  tribes  whose  blood  flows 
in  their  veins. 

On  different  occasions  Hahn  makes  allusion  to  the 
separation  of  the  Khoi'-Khoi'  into  two  branches,  to  a  great 
migration  having  for  its  point  of  departure  the  tomb  of 
their  ancestor  Gurikholsib  j  but  he  does  not  define  him- 
self in  the  matter.  He  speaks  of  their  first  home,  but 
nowhere  does  he  locate  it.  Without  doubt  he  has  ex- 
plained these  matters  in  some  publication  which  I  do  not 
know.  In  any  case  there  can  exist  no  doubt  either  as  to 
the  fact  of  the  migration  or  its  general  direction.  Living- 
stone, in  summarising  the  information  gathered  by  himself 
and  that  scattered  through  the  writings  of  other  travellers, 
expressed  himself  thus  regarding  the  Hottentots  :  "  The 
race  of  cattle  which  they  raise  come  probably  from  the 
north-northeast,  a  part  of  the  continent  from  which  the 
natives  all  make  the  first  emigrations  of  their  ancestors 
start."  ^  It  is  in  that  direction,  in  the  mountains  of 
Abyssinia,  that  Negroes  are  yet  found  whose  language 
presents  certain  analogies  to  those  of  the  Hottentots. 
The  importance  of  these  analogies  may  be  exaggerated,  but 

*  91  The  sheep  of  the  Cape,  like  those  of  Senegal,  are  covered 
with  stiff  hair,  and  not  with  wool.  This  fact  also  seems  to  indicate 
that  the  race  came  from  the  hottest  parts  of  Africa.  Our  Eu- 
ropean sheep  have  perfectly  preserved  at  the  Cape  their  fleece 
of  wool,  which  they  owe  to  their  domestication  in  the  temperate 
regions. 


198  THE  PYGMIES. 

they  are  none  the  less  very  real.*  It  is  also  to  the  north- 
northeast  of  the  Cape  that  was  located  the  Land  of  Punt 
of  the  old  Egyptians ;  and  whoever  has  seen  the  queen  of 
that  country  figured  by  Mariette  in  the  paintings  of  the 
Exposition  of  1867,  will  admit  the  extreme  resemblance 
between  her  and  the  Hottentot  Venus  whose  cast  is  at 
the  Museum.  These  facts,  added  to  some  others,  into  the 
details  of  which  I  cannot  here  enter,  teach  us,  at  least 
approximately,  at  once  regarding  the  ancient  habitat  of 
one  of  the  elements  of  the  race,  the  origin  of  its  indus- 
tries, and  the  extent  of  the  migrations  which  it  must  have 
accomplished  in  order  to  reach  the  Cape  regions.  Perhaps 
tradition  had  preserved  some  remembrance  of  those  great 
journeys  among  the  nations  which  flourished  before  the' 
coming  of  the  Europeans ;  but  one  readily  understands  how 
the  extermination  of  some,  the  dispersion  of  others,  must 
have  caused  the  historical  legends  to  be  forgotten.67 

Yet  one  may  certainly  affirm  that  none  of  these  legends 
dates  back  to  the  time  when  the  first  ancestors  of  the 
Khoi'-Khoi  came  to  take  possession  of  extreme  South  Af- 
rica, no  more  than  our  most  distant  memories  mention 
the  time  when  man  in  our  land  dwelt  side  by  side  with 
the  elephants  and  rhinoceroses.  Like  the  rest  of  the  world, 
the  Cape  districts  have  their  ages  of  stone,  of  which  the 
most  ancient  was  contemporaneous  with  our  Palaeolithic 
epoch.  The  discoveries  of  some  English  investigators170' 49 
prove  it,  and  the  beautiful  work  of  Mr.  Gooch,  who,  after 

*  The  celebrated  missionary  Robert  Moffat  relates  that,  having 
one  day  given  a  Syrian  an  idea  of  the  Hottentot  languages,  this  one 
told  him  that  he  had  seen  in  the  market  at  Cairo  some  slaves  much 
lighter  in  colour  than  the  Negroes,  who  spoke  such  a  language.117 
These  could  certainly  not  be  Hottentots  from  the  Cape.  Alfred 
Maury  m  had  admitted  the  existence  of  clicks  among  some  Abys- 
sinian tribes,  but  after  a  conversation  with  Schweinfurth  he  was 
much  less  certain,  although  still  holding  that  clicks  occur  among 
some  Kaffir  and  Nubian  peoples. 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  199 

having  described  and  figured  the  geological  structure  and 
the  physical  geography,  summarises  in  the  following  terms 
the  result  of  his  researches  upon  this  important  point : 
'-  All  these  terraces,  all  these  levels,  yield  instruments  of 
stone  in  their  Quaternary  deposits."*  Thus  from  that 
epoch  man  was  at  the  Cape  as  well  as  on  the  plateaus  of 
Brazil  and  in  the  pampas  of  Buenos  Ayres. 

The  religious  beliefs  are  much  better  preserved.  It  is 
to  these  that  Mr.  Hahn's  book  is  specially  devoted.  In 
treating  of  this  subject,  in  showing  that  there  is  among 
the  Khoi-Khoi  anything  more  than  a  rude  Shamanism, 
the  author  has  to  fear  lest  persons  shall  attribute  the  rela- 
tively high  conceptions  which  he  makes  known  to  an  in- 
filtration of  Christian  doctrines.  He  has  foreseen  the 
objection.  He  declares  that,  to  avoid  such  an  interpre- 
tation, he  has  omitted  every  legend  or  myth  which  could 
be  subject  to  it,  even  though  he  has  felt  sure  of  its  purely 
indigenous  character. 

Truly,  one  can  only  approve  of  such  scruples ;  but  may 
Mr.  Hahu  not,  have  carried  them  too  far  ?  No  one  was 
more  capable  than  he  of  discriminating  between  what  was 
original  and  what  was  added  on  later.  The  result  of  this 
labour  would  have  enabled  the  reader  to  form  a  more  com- 
plete idea  of  the  sum  total  of  beliefs  to  which  this  people 
had  attained,  and  would  perhaps  have  justified  some  con- 
clusions on  the  subject,  to  which  I  shall  later  have  to  make 
some  reservations. 

*  w  The  author  divides  the  age  of  stone  of  South  Africa  into  five 
periods.  The  first  alone  belongs  to  Quaternary  times,  and  corre- 
sponds to  our  Palaeolithic  :  the  four  others  are  contained  within  the 
Recent  Epoch  of  the  geologist.  These  four  periods  are  characterised 
at  once  by  the  nature  of  the  rock  employed  and  by  the  progressive 
development  of  industries.  In  the  discussion  to  which  the  above 
cited  memoirs  have  given  rise  one  has  several  times  remarked  the 
great  resemblance  existing  between  certain  objects  collected  at  the 
Cape  and  others  which  have  been  found  in  Europe  and  in  India. 
15 


200  THE  PYGMIES. 

It  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  populations  here  consid- 
ered can  have  been  represented,  even  in  these  days,  as 
without  religion  and  materialistic.  Long  have  I,  in  my 
courses  and  elsewhere,  shown  how  little  foundation  such 
statements  have,*  and  how  very  much  all  the  testimony 
collected  upon  points  the  most  remote,  by  travellers  the 
most  different,  confirm  the  general  statement  made  by 
Livingstone91 :  "  However  degraded  these  peoples  may  be, 
there  is  no  need  of  telling  them  of  the  existence  of  God  or 
of  a  future  life.  These  two  truths  are  universally  admit- 
ted in  Africa.  All  the  phenomena  which  the  natives  can- 
not explain  by  an  ordinary  cause  are  attributed  to  the 
divinity.  ...  If  we  speak  to  them  of  a  dead  man,  they 
reply,  '  He  is  gone  to  God.' " 

Mr.  Hahn,  wishing,  no  doubt,  to  keep  strictly  to  the 
special  fact  which  he  aimed  to  make  clear,  speaks  only 
of  the  Khoi-Khoi  or  Hottentots  proper,  and  considers 
the  beliefs  of  the  San  or  Bushman  only  very  incidentally. 
Since  he  contrasted  the  two  branches  of  the  South  African 
race  in  social  and  industrial  matters,  it  is  singular  that  he 
did  not  show  how  they  resemble  or  diverge  from  each  other 
in  reference  to  the  matters  specially  treated  in  this  work. 
Perhaps  he  has  not  himself  collected  the  necessary  mate- 
rials. We  must  not  forget  that  the  Bushmen  are  most 
difficult  to  study.  For  a  long  time  travellers  only  knew 
them  by  hearsay ;  meetings  have  been  rare,  interviews 
have  been  short,  and  usually  disturbed  by  mutual  dis- 
trust. In  such  circumstances  it  is  very  difficult  to  inform 
one's  self  regarding  the  beliefs  which  refer  to  what  is  most 
sacred  in  the  human  heart,  and  of  which  the  savage  speaks 
only  with  the  greatest  reluctance.  What  we  can  state  of 
ourselves  will  illustrate  the  matter.  It  is  not  in  tarrying 
at  an  inn  that  a  Parisian  would  obtain  from  a  Brittany 
peasant  the  slightest  detail  regarding  korigans  or  the 

*  The  Human  Species. 


RELIGION  OP  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  201 

laveuses  de  nuit.  Three  months  of  residence  and  inti- 
mate relations  with  a  Basque  family  with  whom  I  lodged 
was  necessary  before  I  could  obtain  some  incomplete  no- 
tions regarding  superstitions  which  still  exist  at  the  gates 
of  Bayonne. 

Yet,  as  the  Europeans  have  gone  in  greater  numbers 
and  farther  into  these  lands,  the  Bushmen  have  become 
better  and  better  known.  At  the  end  of  his  first  jour- 
ney (1812)  Campbell  knew  that  these  natives  had  a  con- 
fused idea  of  a  great  Being  to  whom  they  attribute  all 
that  which  is  beyond  human  power.  But,  in  spite  of 
his  friendly  relations  with  Makoun,  Bushman  chief  of 
Malalarin,  he  could  find  out  nothing  about  the  future 
life.  He  was  more  fortunate  on  his  second  voyage.185 
He  learned  that  the  Bushmen  believe  in  a  sort  of  resur- 
rection, and  place  a  spear  by  the  side  of  the  dead,  that 
they  may  hunt  and  defend  themselves.  Having  found 
Makoun  again,  he  learned  from  him  with  difficulty  some 
details  concerning  a  male  god  named  Golia,  who  lives 
above  them,  and  concerning  a  female  god  named  No, 
who  lives  below.  The  name  of  the  former  singularly 
recalls  that  of  the  great  god  of  the  Khoi-Khoi,  and  I  shall 
later  speak  again  of  this  point.  They  also  told  Campbell 
of  a  kind  of  spirits  or  nymphs  who  come  at  times  to 
mingle  in  the  dances  of  the  natives. 

Later,  Arbousset  and  Daumas,  favoured  by  circum- 
stances, obtained  some  more  precise  details  regarding 
the  religious  ideas  of  the  Bushmen  who  live  in  the  Blue 
Mountains.  These  savages  say  that  there  is  in  heaven 
a  Icaang,  or  chief,  to  whom  they  give  the  title  of  Kue- 
Akengteng,  "  the  master  of  all  things.'1''  This  kaang 
makes  to  live  and  to  die  ;  he  gives  or  withholds  rain  and 
game.  One  prays  to  him  at  times  of  famine  and  before 
going  to  war,  while  executing  the  dance  of  the  mokoma 
during  an  entire  night,  "  In  the  words  of  the  natives, 


202  THE   PYGMIES. 

'  he  cannot  be  seen  with  the  eyes,  but  one  knows  him  with 
the  heart,' "  says  Arbousset.6  These  Bushmen  also  be- 
lieve in  another  life,  and  have  a  proverb  :  "  Death  is  but 
a  slumber." 

If  the  San  have  a  good  god,  they  have  also  a  bad  one 
(Ganna).61  Thus  even  among  the  savages — unquestion- 
ably the  lowest  among  mankind — we  find  again  this  con- 
ception of  the  two  principles  which  under  one  form  or 
another  recurs  in  all  religions.  We  shall  see  further  oil 
that  it  is  the  same  among  the  Khoi-Kho'i,  and  that  the 
spirits  of  good  and  of  evil  recognised  among  the  two  sister 
races  are  identical. 

These  same  Bushmen  also  venerate  certain  antelopes, 
among  them  the  blesbok  (Antilope  pygargd),  and  adore 
a  species  of  caterpillar,  which  they  call  rfgo.  This  crea- 
ture constructs  for  itself  from  straws,  etc.,  a  little  tube, 
much  like  the  case  of  a  caddis-fly  larva,  from  which  it 
only  extends  its  head  and  the  first  pair  of  legs,  in  order  to 
seek  food  and  to  move  from  place  to  place.  When  the 
Bushmen  go  hunting  they  try  to  find  one  of  the^e  cater- 
pillars and  address  it  a  veritable  prayer,  that  it  may  guide 
their  arrows  to  the  prey,  which  shall  nourish  them.* 

Thus  we  see  united  in  these  Bushmen  the  grossest 
fetichism  and  some  notions,  vague,  no  doubt,  but  touch- 
ing upon  the  most  lofty  conceptions.  Yet  Arbousset  says 
these  tribes  have  far  less  superstition  than  the  blacks. 
Their  very  precarious  mode  of  life  and  their  social  dis- 
integration have  no  doubt  dwarfed  among  them  the  de- 
velopment of  mythological  conceptions.  From  the  same 

*  Arbousset 6 :  'Racing  ta,  ha  a  ntanga  e  ?  'Kaang  ta,  'griou  a 
kna  a  se  ge.  Itanga  'kogou  'koba  hou  ;  i'konte,  i  kage,  itanga,  i'kogon 
'koba  hou  ;  'kaang  ta,  'gnou  a  kna  a  se  ge.  "  Lord,  do  you  not  love 
me  1  Lord,  a  male  gnu  bring  me.  I  love  to  fill  my  stomach.  My 
older  son,  my  older  daughter,  love  to  fill  their  stomachs.  Lord,  lead 
a  male  gnu  under  my  arrows." 


RELIGION  OP  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  203 

causes  there  has  not  been  able  to  form  itself  among  these 
wandering  populations  anything  like  a  class  of  men  spe- 
cially charged  with  presiding  over  religious  manifesta- 
tions. Nowhere  have  I  found  mention  among  the  Bush- 
men of  any  one  who  directs  the  dance  of  the  mokoma,  who 
plays  any  role  in  the  preliminaries  of  marriage,  etc.  It 
seems  that  among  them  pure  fetichism  has' placed  itself 
side  by  side  with  those  fundamental  instinctive  beliefs 
common  to  all  the  other  South  African  tribes. 

It  is  different  with  the  Hottentots.  Among  them  trav- 
ellers have  always  found,  and  still  do  find,  those  surri,  who 
play  alternately  the  part  of  master  of  ceremonies  and 
priest — those  doctors,*  those  makers  of  rain,  whom  so 
many  voyagers  have  described,  and  whom  Livingston 
has  made  to  speak  so  strangely 91 — that  is  to  say,  that 
here  superstitions  are  definite  and  numerous.  At  the 
same  time  the  principal  events  of  life  are  celebrated  by 
festivals  and  ceremonies  having,  at  least  in  a  degree,  a 
religious  character.  I  shall  refer  for  the  details — often 
revolting — to  the  travellers  who  have  collected  them,  and 
principally  to  Kolbe. 

One  knows  that  the  facts  given  by  Kolbe  have  been 
declared  untrustworthy  by  a  certain  number  of  those  who 
have  followed  him,  and  have  bitterly  assailed  him  even 
when  they  have  done  naught  but  to  quote  him.  Walck- 
enaer  has  already  warmly  protested  against  these  attacks, 
and  has  shown  their  origin.  Among  others,  he  has  well 
shown  how  our  celebrated  astronomer  La  Caille  was  led 
into  error  by  the  employees  of  the  Cape  Company,  which 
Kolbe  had  made  too  well  known.80  This  rehabilitation 
of  the  old  German  voyager  is  fully  confirmed  by  the  tes- 
timony of  Mr.  Hahn.  Every  traveller  well  acquainted 


*  80  Kolbe  distinguishes  the  priest  (surri)  from  the  doctor,  and 
ascribes  to  this  latter  a  superior  rank  in  the  clan. 


204  THE  PYGMIES. 

with  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Bergdamaras  *  could 
endorse  the  greater  part  of  the  book  of  Kolbe  upon  the 
Hottentots.  One  may,  then,  with  confidence  consult  these 
data  collected  before  Europeans  had  been  able  to  disperse 
or  transform  the  local  populations. 

But  I  have  already  stated  that  these  coarse  supersti- 
tions are  not  all  of  the  religion  of  the  Hottentots.  Even 
the  first  travellers  who  explored  their  territory  have  been 
able  to  see  this.  These  have  recognised  their  belief  in 
a  great  chief,  called  by  them  the  supreme  regulator 
(Khourrou),  the  Lord  (KhuV),™  and  also  a  devil  (Dan- 
goh  or  Damoh)  ;  they  have  mentioned  homage  rendered 
to  the  moon.  Kolbe  confirmed  by  new  observations  and 
fuller  details  all  that  his  predecessors  had  said.  He  made 
known  the  ceremonies  performed  at  the  different  phases 
of  the  moon,  the  general  sense  of  the  prayers  addressed  to 
that  luminary,  and  saw,  in  the  ensemble  of  the  practices, 
all  the  characteristics  of  a  true  worship.  At  about  the 
same  period  George  Smith  reported  the  festivals  cele- 
brated in  honour  of  the  Pleiades ;  he  summarised  in  a  few 
words  the  prayer  which  the  Khoi'-Khoi  chanted  in  chorus 
to  the  supreme  god,  and  which  I  shall  reproduce  fur- 
ther on. 

These  citations  suffice  to  put  the  general  fact  beyond 
doubt.  Before  any  theological  notion,  derived  from  Eu- 
rope could  have  modified  the  conceptions  of  the  Khoi'- 
Khoi',  these  peoples  admitted  the  existence  of  superior 
beings  able  to  influence  their  destinies  for  good  or  ill ; 
they  addressed  prayers  and  homages  to  them ;  they  had 
a  religion  and  a  worship.  But  we  had  no  details  regard- 
ing these  good  or  bad  beings,  concerning  their  number  or 
their  hierarchy ;  we  knew  nothing  of  their  legendary  his- 

*  Tribe  of  Negro  origin,  located  in  the  country  of  the  Grand 
Namaquas,  whose  customs  and  language  it  has  adopted,  and  which 
it  preserves  better  than  the  Khoi-Khoi  themselves  (Hahn). 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  205 

tory.  It  would  have  been  strange,  however,  if  the  Hot- 
tentots had  not  possessed  a  mythology,  at  least  rudiment- 
ary, for  traces  of  one  have  been  found  even  among  the 
Australians.  Mr.  Hahn  has  filled  up  this  gap.  He  makes 
known  the  names  of  the  gods  of  the  Khoii-Khoi  ;  he 
teaches  us  regarding  their  relationship  and  their  adven- 
tures ;  then  he  tries  to  trace  back  to  the  beginning  of 
these  fables.  Let  us  see,  then,  what  he  teaches  us  on  the 
subject. 

Tsui-goa* — The  supreme  god  of  the  Hottentots  is 
Tsuni-goam,  Tsui-goa,  Tsui-goab,  whose  name  is  found 
more  or  less  altered  or  modified  in  the  narratives  of  various 
travellers.  One  legend  collected  by  Hahn  recounts  that 
this  god  was  differently  named  formerly.  It  described 
him  as  having  been  a  great  chief,  from  whom  were 
descended  all  the  Khoi-Khoi'  tribes.  He  declared  war 
against  another  chief  called  Gaunab.\  This  one  had  at 
first  the  advantage  in  several  conflicts ;  but  at  each  new 
combat  his  adversary  felt  his  strength  increase,  while  he 
(Gaunab)  felt  his  own  decrease.  Finally  Gaunab  was 
conquered  and  killed,  but  in  his  death  agony  he  struck 
his  enemy  in  the  knee.  From  that  time  the  conqueror 
took  the  name  of  Tsui-goa,  "  the  wounded  knee." 

In  this  legend  the  god  assumes  certain  human  charac- 
teristics, but  at  the  same  time  he  is  represented  as  capa- 
ble of  accomplishing  marvellous  things.  According  to 
the  old  man  who  informed  Mr.  Hahn,  Tsui-goa  foresaw 
the  future ;  he  died  and  rose  again  a  number  of  times ; 
he  has  reappeared  a  number  of  times  among  his  children, 
and  his  coming  has  been  celebrated  with  festivals  and 
dances.  He  it  is  who  has  given  men  abundance  of  sheep 
and  of  cattle  ;  it  is  he  who  collects  the  clouds  and  sends 

*.This  is  the  title  Mr  Hahn  usually  employs, 
f  One  will  see  further  on  that  this  Gaunab  is  nothing  else  than 
the  bad  god. 


206  THE  PYGMIES. 

rain  ;  it  is  he  who  renders  the  cows  and  the  ewes  fertile. 
All  good  things  come  from  him.  He  lives  in  a  beautiful 
heaven,  all  red  ;  his  enemy,  Gaunab,  dwells  in  a  dark 
heaven,  all  black. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  this  narrative  reproduces,  in  a 
form  and  with  details  inspired  by  the  mode  of  life  of  the 
Khoi'-Khoii,  that  idea  of  the  strife  between  the  spirit  of 
good  and  the  spirit  of  evil  which  has  given  birth  to  so 
many  mythological  stories.  We  shall  see  later  that  Gau- 
nab is  in  fact  the  name  which  these  peoples  give  to  a  bad 
divinity.  Yet  the  superior  role  played  by  Tsui-goa  in  the 
belief  of  these  people  is  not  very  plainly  marked.  But 
informations  more  precise  will  complete  our  enlighten- 
ment on  this  point.  Those  which  Kolbe  collected,  either 
himself  or  from  other  writers,  show  us  that  the  Hottentots 
believed  in  a  supreme  being,  Gounia-Tiguofa,  "God  of  all 
the  gods,"  regarded  by  them  as  creator  of  the  world  and 
living  things,  and  as  governing  all  things.67 

One  finds  this  belief  again  in  the  words  of  Harisimab, 
present  chief  of  the  pagan  tribe  of  the  Habobes,  and  sworn 
enemy  of  the  missionaries.  Interrogated  by  our  author 
regarding  the  origin  of  his  people,  he  replied  :  "All  things, 
the  Habobes  also,  have  been  made  by  Tsui-goa  in  this 
country ;  and  the  Lord  (KkuV)  *  has  made  us  and  given 
us  the  country ;  he  gives  us  rain  and  makes  the  grass 
grow."  This  agreement  between  the  words  of  the  old 
traveller  and  the  Haboba  chief  should  settle  all  doubts. 
Tsui-goa  was,  and  is  still,  among  the  unconverted  Kho'i- 
Kho'i,  the  creator  of  all  things,  the  dispenser  of  things  the 
most  precious  to  pastoral  tribes.  Much  other  evidence 
comes  to  the  support  of  this  conclusion. 

It  is  nevertheless  unfortunate  that  Hahn  has  not  in- 
sisted more  strongly  upon  this  point,  especially  in  so  far 

*  This  word  was  also  used  with  the  same  meaning  at  the  time  of 
Valentyn.67 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  207 

as  it  relates  to  the  creation  of  man.  It  is  incidentally,  and 
in  a  note  that  he  calls  Tsui-goa  the  creator  of  the  Khoi'- 
Khoi',  and  makes  known  the  tradition  of  the  Koranas. 
According  to  the  old  men  of  that  tribe,  Tsui-goa,  after 
having  made  a  man  and  a  woman,  Kanisma  ("  the  ostrich 
feather")  and  Hau-na-maos  ("yellow  copper"),  gave  them 
cows,  whose  milk  they  should  drink,  a  jackal's  tail  to  dry 
the  sweat  from  their  brow,  a  stick  for  a  kiri^  a  quiver, 
arrows,  a  bow,  and  a  shield.  It  is  from  Tsui-goa  that  they 
expect  all  that  good  fortune  which  is  to  come  to  them. 
Moreover,  Hahn  calls  the  Khoi-Kho'i  Adam,  Eixalkhana- 
biseb,  or  Gurikho'isib,  and  identifies  the  latter  with  the 
god  Heitsi-eiMl,  of  whom  I  shall  speak  later.  Perhaps 
the  tradition  is  silent  on  this  point ;  perhaps  here  also 
the  author  is  influenced  by  a  theory  which  I  shall  later 
discuss. 

However  that  may  be,  the  Hottentots  speak  and  act  as 
if  they  saw  in  Tsui-goa  a  beneficent  father,  all-powerful 
and  omniscient.  The  sentiments  which  this  belief  inspires 
singularly  resemble  those  which  the  firmest  Christians  gain 
from  their  convictions.  Hahn  does  not  say  so  in  just  those 
v/ords ;  he  does  better — he  proves  it  by  examples.  The 
interjection  Tsui-goatse!  (Thou,  0  Tsui-goa!}  is  equivalent 
to  our  "  Great  God  ! "  Stricken  by  some  misfortune  which 
he  deems  unmerited,  the  Hottentot  cries,  "  0  Tsui-goa, 
what  have  I  done  to  be  so  severely  punished  ?"  Unjustly 
accused,  and  unable  to  prove  his  innocence,  he  calls  on 
his  god,  "  0  Tsui-goa,  thou  alone  knowest  that  I  am  not 
guilty  ! "  Exposed  to  some  grave  danger,  he  counts  upon 
the  help  of  Tsui-goa,  and,  escaping  from  it,  he  gives  him 
the  credit  of  his  deliverance.  So  much  Hahn  has  been 
able  to  establish  for  himself.  He  traversed  the  Kalahari 
Desert  in  a  wagon.  The  heat  was  frightful ;  in  conse- 
quence of  an  unexpected  delay  the  supply  of  water  was 
exhausted,  and  they  were  very  far  from  the  nearest  sprirg. 


208  THE  PYGMIES. 

The  night  came  ;  they  were  lost.  The  caravan  was  threat- 
ened with  death  by  thirst,  and  the  traveller,  filled  with 
rage,  began  to  vent  it  on  the  guide,  who  was  a  hardened 
pagan  Haboba.  "  What  have  you  done  ?  To-morrow  we 
shall  be  eaten  by  jackals  and  vultures  !  Who  will  help  us 
in  this  danger  ?  "  he  cried.  The  Hottentot  coolly  replied, 
"  Tsui-goa  will  come  to  our  help." — "  What  foolishness  ! 
You  and  your  Tsui-goa  are  two  stupid  fools." — "Cer- 
tainly, master,  he  will  help  us."  In  the  morning  they 
found  water,  and  when  each  had  refreshed  himself  the 
guide  said  to  Mr.  Hahn  :  "  My  dear  master,  yesterday  you 
were  on  the  point  of  killing  me,  but  the  Lord  prevented 
you  ;  and  now  are  you  convinced  that  the  Lord  has  come 
to  our  help  ?  " 

What  would  the  most  fervent  missionary  have  thought 
and  felt  ? 

The  Khoi'-Khoi'  raise  neither  temples  nor  shrines, 
either  for  Tsui-goa  or  others  of  their  divinities.  They 
simply  have  some  sacred  places,  which  they  never  pass 
without  depositing  some  little  offering  and  accompanying 
it  with  invocations.  I  shall  return  later  to  this  subject. 
But  they  have  great  religious  festivals,  accompanied  by 
dances  and  chants,  connected  almost  always  with  some 
celestial  phenomenon.  The  first  annual  rising  of  the 
Pleiades,  among  others,  is  sacredly  celebrated.  As  soon 
as  the  constellation,  impatiently  looked  for,  appears,  all 
the  mothers  ascend  an  elevated  place,  carrying  their 
babies  in  their  arms,  and  teach  them  to  extend  their  little 
arms  towards  the  friendly  stars.  The  population  then 
gathers  for  the  dance,  singing  a  hymn  in  honour  of  Tsui- 
goa.171 

Mr.  Hahn  here  reproduces  the  narratives  of  George 
Schmidt,  who,  sent  out  by  the  Moravians  in  1736,  first 
attempted  to  introduce  Christianity  among  the  Hotten- 
tots.117 The  invocation  which  the  old  missionary  heard, 


RELIGION  OP  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  209 

but  of  which  he  gives  only  a  brief  resume,  was  really  then 
a  product  of  the  native  inspiration,  with  no  possible  ad- 
mixture of  ideas  borrowed  elsewhere.  But  we  know  it  to- 
day. Hahn  has  been  present  at  the  sacred  dance  (gei) 
which  celebrates  the  return  of  the  Pleiades.  He  has  re- 
covered the  chant  which  accompanies  it ;  he  has  found 
that  it  is  everywhere  the  same  among  the  different  tribes 
scattered  over  the  various  points  of  the  area  still  occupied 
by  the  Khoii-Khoi.  He  has  given  the  text  and  translation  : 

Tsui-goatse ! 

Thou,  0  Tsui-goa! 

Abo  itse  ! 

Thou  father  of  the  fathers  ! 

Sida  itse ! 

1'hou,  our  father  ! 

Nanuba  avire ! 

Let  stream  the  thunder-cloud  ! 

En  xun&  uire ! 

Let  please  live  (our)  flocks  ! 

Eda  sida  uire ! 

Let  us  (also)  live,  please  ! 

Kabuta  gum  goroo  ! 

/  am  so  weak  indeed  ! 

Gas  xao ! 

From  thirst ! 

As  xao ! 

From  hunger  ! 

Ta  xurina  amre  ! 

That  I  may  eat  field  fruits  ! 

Stats  gum  x»ve  sida  itsao? 

Art  thou,  then,  not  our  father  ? 

Abo  itsao  ! 

The  father  of  the  fathers  ! 

Tsui-goatse  ! 

Thou,  Tsui-goa! 

Eda  sida  gangantsire ! 

That  we  may  praise  thee  ! 

Eda  sida  khava  khaitsire  ! 

That  we  may  give  thee  in  return  ! 


210  THE   PYGMIES. 

Abo  itse ! 

Thou,  father  of  fathers  ! 

Sida  Khutse ! 

Thou,  our  Lord  ! 

Tsui-goatse ! 

Thou,  0  Tsui-goa  ! 

The  Hottentots  do  not  confine  themselves  to  the  great 
public  festivals.  They  have  their  domestic,  or  rather  in- 
dividual, worship.  In  the  morning,  at  the  first  streaks  of 
dawn,  they  leave  their  huts  and  go  to  kneel  down  behind 
some  bush.  There,  with  face  towards  the  east,  they 
address  their  prayer  to  Tsui-goa,  the  father  of  the 
fathers. 

It  is  needless  to  emphasise  the  character  of  these  prac- 
tices and  songs  or  the  nature  of  the  sentiments  which 
they  attest.  Whoever  will  consider  these  data  will  quite 
understand  the  calm  confidence  of  the  guide  of  Mr.  Hahn. 
One  can  see  also  the  source  of  the  peculiar  difficulties 
which  Protestant  missionaries,  the  only  ones  who  have 
laboured  in  this  part  of  the  pagan  world,  meet  with  in 
the  work  of  converting  the  Hottentots.  The  missionary 
finds  here  no  material  symbol ;  he  cannot  overturn  tem- 
ples or  idols  to  demonstrate  thus  the  helplessness  of  gods 
of  stone  or  wood  ;  he  has  to  contend  against  ideas.  But 
missionary  and  subject  have  the  same  fundamental  notion, 
in  common — that  of  a  supreme  being,  creator,  and  kind 
father  of  his  creatures,  whom  one  should  honour  and  to 
whom  one  should  pray.  The  Hottentot  can  then  reply  to 
the  missionary  that  he  brings  nothing  new,  and  one  can- 
not be  surprised  that  Tsui-goa  has  had  his  martyrs.  Hahn 
cites  one  example.  A  celebrated  chief  in  the  colony, 
Nanib,  surrounded  by  enemies  and  ordered  to  embrace 
Christianity  if  he  would  save  his  life,  replied  :  "  Never ! 
My  Tsui-goa  is  as  good  as  your  Christ."  He  at  once  re- 
ceived the  mortal  blow. 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  211 

We  shall  see  later  that  Mr.  Hahn  identifies  Tsui-goa 
with  some  other  divinities.  It  is  the  consequence  of  criti- 
cism based  upon  a  theory  which  I  must  make  known. 
The  Khoi'-Khoi'  do  not  appear  themselves  to  have  thought 
of  such  a  fusion,  judging  by  what  our  author  himself  says. 
Their  supreme  god  seems  to  have  his  own  independent 
existence.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  our  author  is  not 
more  explicit  in  this  respect,  and  says  nothing  of  the 
ideas  which  these  people  hold  as  to  the  nature  of  the 
father  of  fathers.  The  anthropolatry  of  which  one  finds 
traces  in  the  legend  cited  above,  and  in  some  others,  at- 
tains at  times  to  conceptions  remarkably  spiritual.  In 
Polynesia,  Taaroa,  the  Indonesian  chief  who  discovered 
the  Tonga  Islands,  was  regarded  at  first  as  a  secondary 
deity  ;*  then  as  a  god  of  the  first  class ;  f  then,  finally,  was 
declared  tolvi,  having  neither  father,  mother,  nor  descend- 
ants, but  having  created  all  that  exists.  J 

Has  something  similar  taken  place  in  the  Cape  dis- 
trict ?  Perhaps  Mr.  Hahn  could  have  told  us.  But  he 
always  attributes  to  Tsui-goa  neither  father,  mother,  wife 
nor  son,  and  he  never  relates  any  story  with  reference  to 
him  such  as  he  tells  abundantly  in  the  history  of  the  other 
gods.  Tsui-goa  seems,  then,  to  inhabit  his  red  heaven 
alone,  far  beyond  the  moon,  according  to  Kolbe 80 ;  beyond 
the  blue  sky,  as  told  by  Hahn  in  another  account.  His 
worshippers  believe  no  less  that  he  hears  their  prayers  and 
watches  over  them.  They  have,  then,  singularly  purified 
their  conception,  in  so  far  as  our  first  cited  legend  has 

*  At  Tonga,  which  he  fished  up  out  of  the  sea,  they  showed  Mari- 
ner the  rock  upon  which  the  fish-hook  of  Taaroa  caught.  The  fish- 
hook itself  was  long  preserved  in  the  family  of  the  Tui-Tonga,  re- 
garded as  lineal  descendants  of  the  god.108 

f  At  New  Zealand  Taaroa  is  one  of  the  six  first  gods,  son  of 
Rangi  and  of  Papa — Heaven  and  Earth  (Grey).68 

\  It  is  at  Tahiti  that  Taaroa  becomes  the  supreme  god.188> M 


212  THE  PYGMIES. 

beeii  the  point  of  departure  for  the  beliefs  found  among 
these  tribes  by  Kolbe  and  Halm. 

Heitsi-eibib. — The  Hottentots  recognise  another  good 
god,  concerning  whom  the  earlier  travellers  gathered  some 
incomplete  information,  but  whom  Halm  makes  much 
better  known.  All  the  great  Namaqua  tribes  call  him 
Heitsi-eibib;  the  Koras  give  him  the  name  of  Garubeb. 

All  the  Namaqua  questioned  by  our  author  gave  him 
identical  information.  Heitsi-eibib  is  their  great-grand- 
father. He  was  a  very  powerful  and  rich  chief,  who  pos- 
sessed cows  and  sheep  in  abundance.  He  conquered  and 
exterminated  all  enemies  who  attacked  his  people.  He 
was  very  prudent  aiid  wise.  He  dwelt  in  a  land  to  the 
east.  Behold  why  the  door  of  the  hut  of  these  people 
faces  east,  why  the  pole  of  the  waggon  at  rest  is  pointed 
east,  why  the  tombs  open  in  that  direction  and  the  faces 
of  the  buried  dead  are  turned  thither. 

Until  this  point  the  story  confines  itself  within  the 
limits  of  reason ;  but  it  soon  goes  beyond  them.  Heitsi- 
eibib  foresaw  the  future ;  he  could  assume  all  forms.  Like 
Tsui-goa — in  fact,  more  frequently  than  he — he  has  died 
and  come  to  life  again.  At  the  end  of  each  of  these  lives, 
he  has  been  buried,  and  his  tombs  are  scattered  over  all  the 
lands  formerly  inhabited  by  the  Hottentots.  These  are 
heaps  of  stones,  a  kind  of  cairns,  of  no  great  size.  That 
described  by  Lichtenstein  was  only  from  twenty  to  thirty 
metres  in  circumference.  They  are  usually  situated  in 
narrow  defiles  hemmed  in  by  two  mountains.  Every  Hot- 
tentot who  passes  near  these  tombs  deposits  there,  as  an 
offering,  a  piece  of  his  garment,  flowers,  a  branch  of  a  tree 
or  bush,  a  stone  which  increases  by  so  much  the  size  of 
the  monument,  or  even  a  zebra  dropping.  Sometimes 
also  honey  or  mead  is  brought  thither.  The  Namaqua 
say  that  Heitsi-eibib  walks  at  night  .in  desert  places, 
and  that  he  is  only  satisfied  when,  upon  his  return,  he 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  213 

finds  that  some  one  has  shown  him  homage.  He  protects 
those  who  honour  him,  procures  for  them  good  journeys, 
preserves  them  from  all  danger,  gives  them  good  advice, 
teaches  them  how  to  kill  lynxes  and  other  wild  animals. 
When  they  are  hunting,  the  Namaqua  habitually  repeat 
the  following  prayer  under  their  breath  : 

0  Heitsi-eibib ! 

Thou,  our  grandfather, 

Grant  me  happiness ! 

Give  me  game, 

Make  me  find  honey  and  roots, 

That  I  may  bless  thee  again  ! 

Art  thou  not  our  grandfather, 

O  fleit.si-eibib? 

Heitsi-eibib  seems  to  have  been  reborn — several  times, 
perhaps.  A  virgin  who  sucked  the  sweet  juice  from  a 
grass  stalk  (Iwbeya)  bore  a  son,  who  rapidly  grew  to  ro- 
bust manhood.  It  was  the  grandfather,  who  returned 
among  his  children.  Another  tradition  is  more  singular. 
A  cow  which  was  cropping  a  certain  sort  of  grass  gave 
birth  to  a  calf,  which  quickly  grew  to  be  a  great  bull. 
The  men  of  the  tribe  pursued  it  to  kill  it,  but  all  of  a 
sudden  it  disappeared,  and  in  its  place  they  saw  a  man 
busy  making  a  tub.  It  was  the  god  who  had  taken  on 
the  human  form. 

Legends  abound  in  the  history  of  Heitsi-eibib.  I  shall 
cite  but  a  few,  and  these  in  abridged  form. 

The  god  lived  on  friendly  terms  with  the  lion,  who  at 
that  time  had  wings  and  dwelt  in  the  trees.  But  the  ani- 
mal having  profited  by  its  advantage  to  surprise  and  de- 
vour the  cattle  of  the  tribe  of  Heitsi-eibib,  this  one  lay 
in  ambush  for  him  and  cut  off  his  wings.  From  that  time 
dates  the  unceasing  enmity  between  the  descendants  of 
the  two  old-time  friends. 

Heitsi-eibib  is  also  seen  in  combats  with  beings  whose 


214:  THE  PYGMIES. 

nature  is  not  defined  and  who  contend  by  magical  means. 
Here  is  an  example :  Gama-gorib,  the  lion,  and  he,  lived  in 
the  same  country.  One  day  Heitsi-eibib,  separated  from 
his  companions,  sent  after  them ;  but  he  waited  in  vain, 
and  a  roaring  informed  him  that  they  could  not  come  at 
his  call.  He  then  set  himself  to  find  them  ;  and  without 
making  himself  known,  as  was  his  custom  among  the 
Khoi-Kho'i,  he  traversed  the  kraal  of  Gama-gorib.  This 
one  sent  him  an  invitation  by  the  hare  to  come  and  see 
him  and  to  have  a  trial  of  strength  with  him.*  But  he 
had  a  deep  cavern,  into  which  he  hurled  everyone  who 
came  near  his  dwelling,  and  left  them  to  die.  Heitsi- 
eibib  could  not  escape  the  common  lot.  He  was  defeated, 
and  hurled  into  the  abyss.  But  he  spoke  to  it,  saying, 
"  Cavern  of  my  ancestors,  raise  your  floor  and  lift  me  up  so 
that  I  can  leap  out."  The  cavern  obeyed,  and  the  battle 
began  again.  Heitsi-eibib  was  again  thrown  to  the  earth 
and  then  hurled  into  the  cavern,  whence  he  escaped  a 
second  time  in  the  same  way.  For  the  third  time  he  came 
to  blows  with  Garna-gorib.  This  one  was  at  the  end  of  his 
powers,  and  his  adversary  killed  him  with  a  blow  dealt  be- 
hind the  ear.  Then  Heitsi-eibib,  addressing  the  cavern 
anew,  said,  "  Cavern  of  my  ancestors,  raise  your  floor  a 
little  that  my  children  can  come  out."  And  the  cavern 
raised  its  floor,  and  all  the  children  of  Heitsi-eibib  came 
forth.  Then  the  god  cursed  the  hare :  "  From  this  day  I 
curse  thee !  Thou  shalt  carry  no  more  messages ;  thou 
shalt  eat  no  more  by  day ;  thou  shalt  eat  at  night  only ; 

*  The  duel  proper  exists  among  the  Hottentots.  He  who  be- 
lieves himself  insulted  challenges  his  adversary  by  offering  him  a 
handful  of  earth.  If  the  challenge  is  accepted  the  offender  seizes 
the  hand  and  the  dust  falls  to  the  ground.  If  it  is  not  accepted, 
the  challenger  throws  the  dust  in  his  enemy's  face.  The  duel 
may  take  place  by  kicking,  with  clubs,  or  with  the  spear  and 
shield. 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  215 

and  only  then  shall  one  hear  thy  voice."  The  rabbit,  thus 
cursed,  fled,  and  still  runs. 

Heitsi-eibib  is  married.  His  first  wife,  or  rather  his 
wife  of  first  rank,  is  Urisis  or  Soris,  the  sun ;  he  has  by 
her  a  son,  Urisib,  "  the  day."  But  he  had  also  a  second 
wife,*  whose  name  the  legend  does  not  give.  These  two 
wives  have  their  part  to  play  in  the  events  accompanying 
one  of  the  deaths  and  one  of  the  resurrections  of  the  god. 

I  reproduce  this  passage  from  the  book,  suppressing 
some  repetitions : 

Heitsi-eibib,  at  this  time  very  aged,  travelled  with  his 
family.  Arrived  in  a  valley  where  there  grew  a  vine  full 
of  ripe  grapes,  they  ate  of  them,  and  were  immediately  in 
great  pain.f  The  old  man  called  his  wife  Urisib  and  said 
to  her  :  "  I  feel  that  I  cannot  live  long.  When  I  am  dead 
cover  me  with  stones.  Observe  what  I  order.  Do  not 
eat  the  grapes  of  this  valley,  for  if  you  do  I  shall  give  you 
my  sickness,  and  you  shall  die  as  I  do." 

Thus  he  died,  and  was  covered  with  stones,  as  he  com- 
manded. The  wife  and  son  departed.  While  they  were 
busying  themselves  with  their  new  camp  they  heard  some 
one  who  had  eaten  grapes  singing : 

I,  father  of  Urisib, 
Father  of  that  poor  boy, 
I,  who  ate  raisins  and  died, 
I  am  a  very  lively  dead  man. 

The  young  wife  recognised  that  the  noise  came  from 
the  direction  where  Heitsi-eibib  had  been  buried,  and  said 

*  The  Khoi-Khoi  have  often  a  first  wife  (ga-iris,  "  the  older 
wife,"  "  the  great  wife ")  and  a  second  wife  (a-ri-s,  "  the  young 
wife")(Hahn). 

f  Mr.  Hahn  has  himself  experienced  the  bad  results  of  the  Cape 
grapes.     He  was  taken  with  dysentery  after  eating  some  of  them. 
He  adds  that  the  natives,  not  knowing  how  to  treat  the  attacks,  often 
die  from  them. 
16 


216  THE  PYGMIES. 

to  Urisib,  "  Go  and  look."  The  son  went  to  the  tomb, 
found  the  footprints  of  his  father  there,  and  returned. 
Then  the  young  wife  said  to  him :  "  It  is  he,  and  he  alone. 
Do  as  I  command.  Look  out  for  the  wind  ;  creep  along, 
keeping  to  leeward  of  him.  Surprise  him  on  the  path  to 
the  tomb ;  and  when  you  have  seized  him  do  not  let  him 
go."  So  it  was  done.  Heitsi-eibib,  having  seen  them : 
leaped  from  the  tree  to  the  earth  and  tried  to  escape  them, 
but  he  was  caught  near  the  tomb.  Then  he  said  to  them : 
"  Let  me  go !  I  am  a  man  who  has  been  dead,  and  I  will 
poison  you."  But  the  young  wife  cried  out,  "  Hold  the 
rogue  well !  "  So  they  led  him  home,  and  irom  that  day 
he  was  healthy  and  well. 

Many  other  legends  relate  to  Heitsi-eibib.  They 
strongly  resemble  the  preceding,  and  are  always  more  or 
less  similar  to  our  nursery  tales.  I  find  nothing  in  the 
history  of  this  god  which  recalls  the  lofty  ideas  which 
exist — at  least  in  the  germ — in  what  the  Khoi'-Khoi'  say  of 
Tsui-goa.  Such  anyway  is  the  impression  resulting  from 
the  texts.  Yet  in  one  very  short  passage,  which  I  shall 
consider  later,  Mr.  Hahn,  in  assimilating  these  two  gods 
with  one  another,  asserts  that  they  are  invoked  in  the 
same  way  and  that  one  gives  them  the  same  titles.  But 
then  why  not  have  placed  alongside  of  these  puerile  fa- 
bles, of  which  I  have  given  examples,  either  some  frag- 
ments of  a  hymn  where  Heitsi-eibib  is  called  the  father 
of  fathers,  or  some  tradition  which  represents  him  also  as 
living  beyond  the  blue  sky?  If  these  hymns  and  tradi- 
tions exist,  why  not  have  made  them  known  ?  This  is 
one  of  the  places  where  one  feels  only  too  strongly  the  lack 
of  sufficient  information,  which  I  have  already  mentioned. 

Klidm*  Kliami,  Khdb  (the  Moon). — This  defect  is 
more  noticeable,  and  even  more  regrettable,  in  regard  to 
Khdb  (the  moon).  The  name  signifies  he  who  returns, 
and  well  expresses  the  dominant  thought  which  the  ap- 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  217 

parent  transformations  of  this  luminary  have  raised 
among  the  Hottentots.  The  importance  attached  by 
them  to  its  different  phases  early  attracted  the  attention 
of  travellers,  and  led  them  to  suspect  the  existence  of  re- 
ligious ideas.  Kolbe  has  well  shown  that  it  is  the  object 
of  a  veritable  worship.  At  the  new  and  full  moon  the 
natives  sacrifice  animals  and  offer  flesh  and  milk.  These 
offerings  are  accompanied  by  dances,  prostrations,  and 
chants  in  which  they  salute  the  return  of  Khab.  They 
ask  him  for  good  weather,  pasturage  for  their  herds  and 
flocks,  and  much  milk.  Kolbe  has  informed  us,  more- 
over, that  the  moon  was  regarded  as  an  inferior  Gounia, 
representing  the  superior  god  (god  of  gods,  Gounia- 
Tiquo'id),  as  the  visible  image  of  an  invisible  deity. 
When  the  moon  disappeared  they  regarded  him  as  dead ; 
his  return  was  considered  a  resurrection.  Eclipses  inspire 
great  terror.  Hahn  has  seen  a  whole  population  at  such 
a  time  utter  groans  and  cries  of  grief. 

Unfortunately,  our  author  speaks  of  Khab  only  inci- 
dentally, so  to  say,  and  in  order  to  identify  him  with 
Tsui-goa  and  Heitsi-eibib.  It  appears  probable  that  he 
accepts  Kolbe's  views  as  true,  and  that  things  are  now  as 
in  the  days  of  the  old  traveller.  Witnesses  are  not  lack- 
ing on  this  point,  but  it  would  have  been  none  the  less 
interesting  to  have  had  Hahn's  ideas.  Above  all,  it  would 
have  been  important  to  have  known  those  religious  chants 
which  are  sung  throughout  entire  nights,  and  to  have 
judged  how  far  they  support  or  oppose  the  identifications 
proposed  by  Hahn. 

The  Namaqua,  who  have  preserved  many  traditions 
forgotten  in  the  regions  nearest  the  Europeans,  preserve 
a  curious  story  which  Hahn  quotes  from  another  traveller 
and  which  he  regards  as  authentic.  They  relate  that  the 
moon  wished  one  day  to  send  a  message  to  men.  The 
hare  offered  to  carry  it.  "  Go,  tell  men  that  they  shall 


218  THE  PYGMIES. 

rise  again,  just  as  I  die  and  rise  again,"  said  he.  But  the 
hare  attempted  to  deceive  men,  and  said  to  them,  "  You 
shall  die,  as  I  myself  die."  To  punish  him,  the  moon 
cursed  him.*  Behold  why,  among  the  Namaqua,  men 
must  abstain  from  eating  the  flesh  of  the  hare,  evidently 
regarded  an  impure  creature. f 

Nanub  (the  Storm-Cloud] ;  Gurub  (the  Thunder)', 
Nabas  (the  Lightning). — In  a  country  where  rain  is 
generally  accompanied  by  terrific  tempests  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  electrical  phenomena  have  strongly  impressed 
the  native  imagination.  The  Hottentots  have  distin. 
guished  and  personified  the  cloud  which  bears  the  bolt, 
the  thunder,  and  the  lightning.  They  make  of  them  a 
family.  The  storm-cloud  is  the  father ;  he  is  named  Na- 
nub,  Nanum,  or  Nanu — that  is  to  say,  the  pourer,  the 
filterer.  One  prays  to  him,  saying :  "  0  Nanub !  Lord, 
make  rain  now  ! " 

As  the  result  of  certain  general  ideas,  which  I  shall 
mention  later,  Hahn  identifies  the  storm-cloud  Nanub 
and  the  thunder  Gurub  (the  thatch er)  with  Tsui-goa. 
But  it  plainly  results  from  his  own  facts  that  the  Hotten- 
tots clearly  distinguish  these  three  gods  from  one  another. 
We  have  seen  above  that  they  pray  Tsui-goa  to  permit 
Nanub  to  make  the  rain  to  fall.  They  also  incontestably 
make  of  Gurub  a  distinct  person,  a  male,  of  whom  Nabas 
(the  lightning)  is  the  sister.  In  fact,  when  they  see  a 
great  storm  rising,  and  when  the  air  trembles  with  the 
roaring  thunder,  they  gather  together  for  one  of  those  sa- 
cred dances — gei — of  which  I  have  already  spoken,  and  sing 

*  Captain  James  Alexander,  who  collected  this  story,  had  the 
complete  confidence  of  the  Namaqua.  An  aged  Namaqua  said  to 
Mr.  Hahn,  "  That  man  has  the  odour  of  a  red  man,"  wishing  thereby 
to  show  how  much  this  traveller  had  known  how  to  fraternise  with 
these  natives  (Hahn). 

f  61  A  very  similar  legend  exists  in  the  Fijis. 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  219 

the  following  hymn,  given  by  Hahn.     I  retain  the  actual 
name  of  the  god  in  my  translation.     Hahu  replaces  it  by 

titles  : 

Curub  di  Geis. 

THE  HYMN  OF  THE  THUNDER. 
Nanura  oatse  ! 
Son  of  Nanum  ! 
Gari  Khoi  Gurutse  ! 
Thou  brave,  loud-speaking  Guru  ! 
Ouse  gobare  ! 
Talk  softly,  please  ! 
Havie  t'am  u-a-Tamao, 
For  I  have  no  guilt. 
t  batere  ! 

Leave  me  alone  !  (Forgive  me  f) 
Outage  xllige» 

For  I  am  become  quite  weak  (quite  stunned,  perplexed). 
Gurutse, 
Thou,  0  Guru, 
Nanum  oatsc  ! 
Son  of  Na 


Moreover,  Hahn  has  been  present  at  a  dance  and  has 
collected  a  song,  which  shows  exactly  what  the  lightning 
is  in  the  Hottentot  mythology.  A  member  of  the  tribe 
has  been  struck  by  lightning.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
kraal  blame  her  for  it  in  chorus,  and  she,  represented  by 
a  single  person,  replies  in  solo  : 

Nabas  di  Geis. 
THE  DANCE  SONG  OF  THE  LIGHTNING. 

CHORUS. 

Aibe  nnris  Nanuse  ! 

TJiou,  daughter  of  Nanub,  daughter-in-law  of  Alb  !* 
Ti  gada  go  gamse  ! 
Thou  who  hast  killed  my  brother  ! 
Gaises  gum  ab  na  goeo  ! 
Therefore  thou  liest  now  so  nicely  in  a  hole  ! 

*  The  rainbow. 


220  THE  PYGMIES. 

SOLO. 

Gaise  to  go  sa  gaba  a  gam. 

(  Yes),  indeed,  I  have  killed  thy  brother  so  well. 

CHORUS. 

Gaises  gum  ab  na  goeo ! 

[  Well]  therefore  thou  liesl  (now)  in  a  hole  ! 

Gorob  Khemi  go  usense ! 

Thou  who  hast  painted  thy  body  red  like  Goro  ! 

Som  auba  naba  tain  asse ! 

Thou  who  dost  not  drop  the  "  menses  "  / 

Eixalkhanabiseb  aose ! 

Thou  wife  of  the  copper-bodied  man  ! 

One  sees  by  this  song  that  Nabas  is  not  only  daughter 
of  the  thundering  cloud  (Nanub),  but  also  that  she  has 
a  husband.  The  imagination  of  the  natives  has  made 
of  the  lightning  a  female  deity,  and  has  given  her  as  wife 
to  the  Khoi-Khoii  Adam,  who  figures  here  as  the  son  of 
the  rainbow,  and  whose  name,  according  to  Hahn,  means 
the  man  with  a  copper  tody. 

Other  Mythological  Personages. — Another  divinity  of 
the  Kho'i-Khoi',  and  perhaps  of  the  San,  is  Toosib,  "  the 
old  man  of  the  waters."  He  is  described  as  a  great  red 
man,  with  white  hair.  Before  drinking  at  certain  rivers 
one  must  throw  in  some  little  offering,  saying :  "  0  grand- 
father, son  of  a  Bushman,  give  me  food  !  Give  me  flesh 
of  rhinoceros,  of  antelope,  of  zebra,  and  all  that  I  desire ! " 
Failure  to  perform  these  rites  is  to  expose  one's  self  to 
the  anger  of  the  god.  The  guide  of  Captain  Alexander,* 
under  the  impulse  of  ardent  thirst,  forgot  to  comply  with 
these  prescriptions.  Taken  with  an  attack  of  dysentery, 


*  Captain  Alexander  speaks  of  his  guide  as  being  a  Bushman. 
Hahn  tells  us  that  he  belonged  to  a  tribe  of  poor  Namaqua  who  are 
at  times  so  called  because  they  have  no  cattle  and  live  almost  like 
the  San. 


RELIGION  OP  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  221 

he  did  not  fail  to  regard  the  disease  as  a  punishment  in- 
flicted by  Toosib. 

Halm  has  plainly  not  sought  to  make  known  all  the 
personages  who  figure  in  the  mythology  of  the  Hotten- 
tots. There  are  some  whom  he  simply  mentions  by 
name,  such  are  Tsavirub  or  A'ib  (the  rainbow),  Amab\ 
Oas,  etc.  He  gives  a  little  more  detail  in  reference  to 
myths  connected  with  astronomy. 

The  Kho'i-Khoi  appear  to  have  distinguished  a  great 
number  of  constellations  and  to  have  given  names  to  sev- 
eral stars.  Naturally  fable  have  drawn  upon  this  field  so 
well  adapted  to  stimulate  the  imagination.  The  stars  are 
for  them  the  eyes  or  spirits  of  the  dead.  From  this  be 
lief  they  have  constructed  a  characteristic  curse  :  "  Thou 
who  art  happy,  may  misfortune  fall  upon  thee  from  the 
star  of  my  grandfather ! " 

The  Pleiades  (Klianuseti)  are  the  stars  of  rain ;  their 
return  announces  the  opening  of  the  rainy  season,  which 
plays  so  important  a  part  in  the  life  of  these  pastoral  peo- 
ple. Thus  are  explained  the  festivals  which  greet  their 
appearance.  In  some  myths  they  are  represented  as  chil- 
dren of  Tsui-goa.  They  have  for  their  husband  Aldebaran 
(Aob),  or  rather  the  constellation  of  which  that  star  is 
the  most  noticeable,  and  which  includes  a  part  of  our 
Hyades  and  of  Orion.  Unfortunately,  misunderstanding 
has  crept  into  this  household.  The  Pleiades  one  day  said 
to  their  husband  :  "  Go,  kill  us  those  three  zebras ;  but  if 
you  fail  of  them,  do  not  dare  to  return  to  the  house." 
Aob  took  his  bow  and  arrow ;  he  shot,  and  missed  his  aim. 
As  the  lion  was  watching  and  guarding  the  zebras  on  the 
other  side,  he  could  not  regain  his  arrow.  Fearing  the 
wrath  of  his  wives,  he  seated  himself,  where  he  still  re- 
mains, suffering  from  hunger  and  thirst.  It  is  almost 
unnecessary  to  remark  that  the  arrow,  the  zebras,  and  the 
lion  are  so  manv  other  stars  or  constellations. 


222  .  THE  PYGMIES. 

Gaunab  or  Gauna. — The  divinities  of  whom  I  have 
so  far  spoken  are  all  beneficent.  It  is  otherwise  with 
Gaunab,  Gaunam,  or  Gauna.  He  is  the  supreme  bad  being, 
as  Tsui-goa  is  the  supreme  good  being.  It  is  he  who 
causes  all  ills ;  it  is  he  who  makes  beasts  perish,  who  gives 
men  up  to  fierce  beasts,  who  makes  their  best-laid  plans 
go  awry,  and  sends  them  all  sorts  of  diseases ;  his  name 
signifies  the  destroyer,  he  who  exterminates.  One  saw 
above  how  he  fought  with  Tsui-goa  and  was  beaten.  A 
missionary  has  collected  another  version  of  this  legend  of 
the  strife  between  the  powers  of  good  and  evil ;  but  it  is 
needless  to  reproduce  it  here.  It  presents  the  same  anthro- 
pomorphic character,  and  ends  also  with  the  defeat  of 
Gaunab. 

In  these  different  combats  Gaunab  is  reported  as  killed 
by  his  adversary,  but  evidently  one  admits  that  he  re- 
turns to  life,  since  he  inhabits  a  black  heaven,  as  we  have 
seen.  Moreover,  the  worship  which  the  Khoi-Kho'i  ren- 
dered him  at  the  time  of  Kolbe,  and  which  still  exists, 
leaves  no  doubt  in  the  matter.  Halm  has  been  able  to 
satisfy  himself  of  the  fact.  One  prays  to  him  and  offers 
him  sacrifice  to  avert  harm.  It  is  a  pity  that  the  author 
has  not  here  gone  into  some  details,  and  has  not  made 
known  the  terms  of  the  invocations  made  to  the  spirit  of 
evil.  It  would  be  of  interest  to  compare  them  with  the 
hymns  chanted  in  honour  of  Tsui-goa. 

It  is  probably  with  this  worship  of  Gaunab  that  one 
must  connect  the  homage  accorded  by  the  Hottentots  to  a 
species  of  mantis.*  Kolbe  gave  most  exact  details  upon 
this  point.  He  saw  the  natives  show  a  profound  respect 

*  This  species  has  not  yet  received  a  scientific  name,  so  an  emi- 
nent entomologist  tells  me :  it  is  rare  at  the  Cape,  but  common  in 
the  Isles  of  France  and  Bourbon.  It  is  well  known  that  among 
ourselves,  in  the  South,  the  "praying  mantis"  (Mantis  religiosa)  is 
also  the  object  of  various  popular  superstitions. 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  223 

for  this  orthopterous  insect  whenever  they  came  upon  one ; 
he  saw  sacrifices  made  in  its  honour  when  it  appeared  in- 
side a  kraal,  and  he  concluded  that  the  Hottentots  con- 
sidered it  a  beneficent  divinity.*  On  the  other  hand,  the 
astronomer  La  Caille  believed  that  it  was,  in  their  eyes,  a 
creature  of  ill  omen.  But  Hahn  has  several  times  been 
able  to  show  that  all  the  details  given  by  Kolbe  are  yet, 
to-day,  perfectly  accurate.  At  the  same  time  he  has 
learned  with  surprise  that  this  insect,  greeted  with  such 
joyous  demonstrations,  and  which  it  is  absolutely  prohib- 
ited to  kill,  bears  among  the  Khoi-Khoi  the  name  of  the 
bad  principle,  Gaunab.  These  apparent  contradictions 
are  easily  explained,  if  we  admit  that  the  mantis  is  to  the 
minds  of  this  people  a  sort  of  incarnation  of  God.  Fear 
only  will  account  for  the  manifestations  which  greet  its 
coming ;  but  perhaps  they  also  imagine  that  its  presence 
is  proof  of  the  momentary  appeasing  of  the  spirit  of  evil.f 

However  that  may  be,  the  Khoi-Khoi  believe  that 
Gaunab  shows  himself  at  times — now  under  the  form  of  a 
little  humpbacked  man,  now  under  that  of  a  deformed 
monster  covered  with  hair  and  clad  in  white. 

One  has  seen  that  the  rainbow  (Tsavirub  or  A'iV)  is 
the  father-in-law  of  the  lightning.  An  aged  Namaqua 
gave  Halm  another  version  relative  to  this  phenomenon. 
According  to  him,  the  rainbow  is  a  fire  kindled  by  Gaunab, 
into  which  the  god  precipitates  and  causes  to  perish  those 
who  have  allowed  themselves  to  be  deceived  by  him.  The 
individuals  who  are  supposed  to  have  died  in  this  way  are 

*  La  Vaillant  has  denied  the  accuracy  of  the  facts  reported  by 
Kolbe ;  but  this  traveller,  who  has  known  how  to  see  many  things 
well,  was  little  suited  to  the  study  of  the  religions  of  savage  peoples, 
and  has  absolutely  not  understood  that  of  the  Hottentots. 

fThe  details  given  by  Kolbe80 upon  the  veritable  despair  which 
seized  some  Hottentots  on  seeing  a  little  child  about  to  kill  one  of 
these  sacred  insects  appears  to  me  to  justify  this  interpretation. 


224  THE  PYGMIES. 

called  Gauna-6-Khoin  (the  dead  people  of  Gaunab),  Sau- 
bo  Kho'in  (the  people  of  the  shadow),  etc.  The  old  men, 
who  were  formerly  allowed  to  die  of  hunger  in  a  closed 
hut,  either  because  they  could  no  longer  take  care  of 
themselves  or  because  they  were  suspected  of  witchcraft, 
took  their  place  among  these  subjects  of  Gaunab. 

If  one  will  recall  what  I  said  above  about  the  Bush- 
men, he  will  see  that  we  find  again  Among  the"Khoii-Khoi, 
Tmttenrames  identical,  or  nearly  so,  the  two  divinities  of 
good  and  evil  recognised  by  the  San.  This  is  one  more 
evidence  of  the  very  close  relationship  of  the  two  peoples. 
Hahn,  speaking  here  only  of  Gaunab,  sees  in  that  fact  a 
proof  that  the  worship  of  the  bad  god  is  older  than  the 
division  of  the  race.  He  goes  yet  further,  and  believes 
that  Gaunab  alone  was  worshipped  in  those  remote  times, 
and  that  the  existence  of  Tsui-goa  was  admitted  later. 
Then  he  extends  this  idea  into  a  generalisation.  Accord- 
ing to  him,  man  saw  at  first  in  Nature  only  infernal  powers 
The  notion  of  a  beneficent  being  would  be  the  product  of 
a  more  advanced  intellectual  culture. 

I  cannot  accept  this  theory ;  it  is  too  much  in  con- 
tradiction with  facts  established  among  a  crowd  of  savage 
peoples.  Even  among  the  lowest  Australians  one  has 
found  the  dualistic  belief  which  is  concealed  within  all 
religions.  Schweinfurth  is,  I  think,  the  only  traveller 
who,  after  serious  investigation,  admits  the  existence  of 
one  people  who  know  only  bad  spirits.*  But,  admitting 
that  this  single  exception  really  exists,  it  would  be  far 
from  favouring  the  ideas  of  Hahn.  In  fact,  the  Bongos 
of  whom  Schweinfurth  speaks  are  by  no  means  at  the 
bottom  of  the  scale  of  civilisation ;  they  are  much  above 

*  m  Burchell  had  said  something  analogous  of  the  Bachapins,  a 
fragment  of  the  Bechuanas.  Bat  Livingstone  and  Gazalis  have 
shown  that  he  was  led  into  error  and  knew  only  a  part  of  the  re- 
ligious beliefs  of  these  Kaffir  tribes. 


RELIGION  OP  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  225 

not  only  the  Bushmen  but  also  the  Hottentots.  It  is  not 
a  people  beginning,  but,  on  the  contrary,  a  people  who  are 
advancing.  They  have  passed  the  two  lower  stages  of  cul- 
ture. They  are  essentially  agriculturists.  When  they  clear 
a  piece  of  woodland  for  agricultural  purposes  they  careful- 
ly leave  tke Jruit  trees.  They  plant  in  furrows,  and  they 
reset  the  young  plants.  They  are  skilful  metallurgists, 
and  their  high  smelting  furnace  is  at^nce  very  ingenious 
and  very  sensible.  Their  outfit  is  truly  very  rudimentary, 
but  they  use  it  so  well  that  several  of  their  products  would 
bear  comparison  with  those  of  English  workmen.  They 
work  wood  as  well  as  iron,  construct  huts  well  supported 
by  tree  trunks,  and  they  adorn  tombs  with  carved  figures 
representing  the  dead.  They  are  indeed,  then,  far  from 
that  state  of  intellectual  infancy  during  which,  according 
to  Hahn,  man  already  adored  a  devil,  but  had  not  arrived  at 
the  notion  of  a  god.  If  it  is  true  that  they  do  not  now 
know  a  god,  it  is  probably  because,  affected  by  an  idea 
found  among  several  African  tribes,  they  have  at  last  for- 
gotten him.* 

Gama-gorib. — Gama-gorib,  Hahn  says,  is  almost  the 
same  as  Gaunab.  But,  to  judge  from  the  legends,  he  is 
very  distinct,  and  seems  to  occupy  the  second  place  in  the 
army  of  evil.  He  is  the  adversary  of  Heitsi-eibib,  as  Gau- 
nab is  of  Tsui-goa.  I  have  given  the  story  of  one  of  the 
conflicts,  and  it  is  needless  to  enter  into  further  details, 
which,  moreover,  would  teach  us  nothing  new. 

To  these  upper  demons  are  attached  a  crowd  of  spec- 
tres and  bad  spirits  greatly  feared  by  the  Hottentots. 

The  First  Man. — I  have  already  said  that  Hahn  gave 

*  Some  Negro  populations  of  West  Africa,  although  admitting 
the  existence  of  a  good  god,  say  it  is  useless  to  offer  sacrifices  to  him, 
since  he  always  does  good,  and  keep  homage  for  the  bad  gods  whom 
they  have  to  swerve  from  their  bad  intentions.  The  long  holding 
.of  such  a  notion  might  lead  to  the  loss  of  the  idea  of  a  good  god. 


226  THE  PYGMIES. 

to  the  being  whom  he  calls  the  Khoi-Kho'i  Adam  the 
name  of  Eixalkhauabiseb,  which  means  the  man  luhose 
body  has  the  lustre  of  copper.  The  same  person  is  also 
called  GuriJcholsib,  "  the  primitive  man."  The  legend  is 
inconsistent,  for  this  first  man  has  a  mother,  whose  name 
the  author  does  not  give,  and  lives  in  a  kraal  where  there 
are  maidens. 

However  that  may  be,  one  very  detailed  legend  shows 
us  Gurikhoi'sib  living  in  the  midst  of  the  animals.  One 
day  he  took  a  notion  to  play.  The  leopard,  ape,  hyena, 
serpents,  etc.,  were  present  at  the  party.  The  man  lost 
all  his  copper  bracelets.  Then  he  began  to  quarrel 
with  the  lion,  and  they  defied  one  another.  Gurikhoi'sib 
went  home,  poisoned  his  arrows,  sharpened  his  spears ; 
his  mother  anointed  him  with  melted  butter  mixed  with 
a  sweet  buchu,*  and  encouraged  him  by  improvising  a 
song  in  his  honour  (gare).  The  fight  took  place  near  a 
pond  where  our  author  had  been  taken  by  his  guide.f 
The  lion,  attacked  by  the  dogs  and  hindered  by  arrows 
and  darts,  fled,  and  was  discovered  by  his  mother,  who 
heard  his  last  sigh  and  buried  him,  while  Gurikhoi'sib 
was  received  with  a  song  of  triumph.  From  that  time  the 
descendants  of  the  lion  have  tried  to  avenge  their  ances- 
tors, and  the  Khoi'-Kho'i  wage  merciless  war  against  them. 

It  is,  moreover,  easy  to  understand  that  Gurikhoi'sib 
has  taken  a  place  in  the  native  mythology ;  he  is  regarded 
as  a  sort  of  demigod,  who  protects  the  people  against 
harmful  beings,  and,  above  all,  against  the  lions. 

Future  Life. — From  some  details  occurring  in  what 
precedes  I  think  one  will  have  already  concluded  that 

*  Perfumed  powder  obtained  by  pulverising  a  species  of  spiraea. 

f  The  pond  of  Khubirsaos,  about  23°  29'  south  latitude  and  16° 
28'  east  longitude.  Hahn  was  much  impressed  by  the  interest  and 
exactness  with  which  his  guide  told  him  all  the  movements  and 
actions  of  the  combat. 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  £27 

the  Hottentots  believe  in  another  life.  It  is  a  fact  which 
Kolbe  had  already  placed  beyond  doubt,  although  it  has 
been  denied  by  some  of  his  predecessors  as  well  as  by 
some  of  those  who  have  come  after  him.  The  personal 
observations  of  Hahn  have  upon  this  point  fully  confirmed 
those  of  the  old  traveller.* 

I  have  mentioned  what  the  Hottentots  say  of  the  stars, 
and  one  might  conclude  from  that  that  they  place  the 
dwelling  of  those  who  are  gone  in  the  sky ;  but  I  have 
nowhere  found  an  explicit  statement  to  that  effect.  On 
the  other  hand,  many  facts  show  that  they  regard  the 
spirits  of  the  dead  as  haunting,  at  least  for  a  time,  the 
neighbourhood  of  their  tombs.  At  the  death  of  one  of 
its  members,  whatever  the  age  or  sex,  the  whole  kraal 
moves,  taking  pains  to  leave  the  hut  of  the  deceased  intact, 
together  with  all  its  contents — furniture,  arms,  and  gar- 
ments. To  carry  away  the  least  thing  would  be  to  expose 
themselves  to  be  followed  by  the  spirit  of  the  dead.80 

One  has  already  seen  that  certain  spirits  are,  so  to  say, 
vassals  of  Gaunab,  the  god  of  evil.  To  this  category  be- 
long also  spirits  of  all  individuals  who*  have  not  been 
properly  buried  and  whose  bodies  have  been  eaten  by 
hyenas  or  vultures.  As  consequence  of  this  idea,  crimi- 
nals, victims  of  vendetta,  slaves  killed  by  their  master, 
enemies  killed  in  combat,  are  given  up  to  birds  of  prey 
and  beasts,  in  order  that,  after  they  have  been  devoured, 

*  Perhaps  some  missionaries  most  deserve  reproach  for  these 
misunderstandings,  and  among  them  Moffat  m  in  particular.  It  is 
difficult  not  to  be  surprised  and  pained  in  reading  what  he  has 
written  upon  the  subject  of  the  claimed  atheism  of  the  Hottentots. 
One  would  say  that  he  was  afraid  to  find  among  these  pagans  any- 
thing that  resembled  religious  ideas.  A  faith  too  exclusive  has  evi- 
dently misled  "  the  Nestor  of  living  missionaries."  To  him  "  man  is 
without  conscience  until  the  will  of  God  has  been  declared  to  him." 
Evidently,  when  a  man  holds  such  views  he  is  poorly  prepared  to 
understand  the  questions  here  considered. 


228  THE  PYGMIES. 

they  may  become  so  many  Gauna-ora-Khdin.  Some  of 
these  spectres,  called  by  the  special  name  of  bausan, 
wander  during  the  darkest  nights,  and  even  enter  kraals, 
terrifying  the  inhabitants. 

The  spirits  just  mentioned  are  maleficent.  Those  of 
persons  who  were  always  distinguished  by  wisdom  and  by 
virtues,  and  who  have  been  regularly  buried,  are,  for  the 
Hottentots,  so  many  good  genii.  Woods,  mountains, 
prairies  rivers,  are  consecrated  to  such,  called  by  Kolbe 
heroes,  or  saints.  Every  person  passing  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  such  places  stops  to  meditate  upon  the  virtues  of 
the  dead  man  and  to  implore  his  protection.  One  believes 
in  the  power  of  their  intervention,  and  if  he  escapes  some 
great  danger  it  is  to  them  that  he  should  ascribe  the 
credit.  Kolbe  one  day  met  a  Hottentot  who  was  danc- 
ing and  singing  by  himself,  with  devoutuess,  in  a  desert 
place.  Questioned  by  the  traveller,  he  replied  that,  over- 
taken there  by  a  profound  slumber,  he  had  passed  a  re- 
freshing night  and  had  waked  up  only  twenty  feet  away 
from  a  great  lion,  who  let  him  go  unharmed.  He  said 
the  saint  of  the  valley  only  could  have  protected  him 
against  the  fierce  beast. 

In  each  family  the  ancestors  are  considered  almost  as 
household  gods.  One  makes  prayers  to  them  and  offers 
them  gifts.  But  in  order  to  be  heard  it  is  necessary  to  go 
to  perform  the  ceremonies  at  the  grave  itself.  Halm  tells 
a  characteristic  anecdote  in  this  connection.  In  one  of 
his  journeys  he  met  beyond  the  frontier  of  the  Kalihari 
Desert  a  party  of  Namaqua,  under  the  lead  of  a  great 
woman  of  the  country  (Geiksois),  whom  he  knew  because 
he  had  enjoyed  her  bountiful  hospitality.  He  asked  her 
jocosely  if  she  had  come  hunting  in  these  barren  deserts. 
"  My  friend,"  she  replied,  "  do  not  joke.  I  am  in  great 
distress.  The  drought  and  the  Bushmen  have  destroyed 
many  of  my  goats  and  cattle.  I  go  to  my  father's  grave  ; 


RELIGION  OP  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  229 

I  go  to  weep  and  to  pray  there.  He  will  hear  my  voice, 
he  will  see  my  tears,  will  give  success  to  my  husband,  who 
is  hunting  ostriches,  so  that  we  can  buy  again  some  fe- 
male goats  and  cows,  that  our  little  ones  may  live." 

"  But  your  father  is  dead,"  replied  the  traveller ;  "  how 
will  he  be  able  to  hear  you  ?  " 

"Yes,  he  is  dead,"  she  replied,  "but  he  only  sleeps. 
We  Khoi-Khoi  always,  if  we  are  in  trouble,  go  and  pray 
to  the  graves  of  our  grandparents  and  ancestors.  It  is  an 
old  custom  of  ours." 

I  call  the  reader's  whole  attention  to  this  paragraph. 
It  confirms  with  additional  details  all  that  Kolbe  had 
already  said  upon  the  belief  of  the  Hottentots  in  the  sur- 
vival of  a  something  from  man  after  the  earthly  death,  of 
the  influence  which  that  something  may  exercise  over  the 
destiny  of  the  living,  and  of  a  sort  of  worship  rendered  to 
it.  If  one  remembers  that  the  Khoi-Khoi  address  pray- 
ers not  only  to  their  recently  deceased  parents  but  even 
to  Heitsi-eibib,  the  first  ancestor  of  the  race,  it  must 
be  seen  that  they  believe  in  the  immortality  of  that 
something. 

Controlled  by  certain  conceptions  of  natures  various 
and  even  opposite,  which  I  have  often  had  to  combat,  one 
perhaps  will  claim  that  we  have  here  only  the  result  of 
contact  of  the  natives  with  Europeans.  But  it  is  impos- 
sible to  explain  matters  at  the  Cape  in  this  way.  The 
worship,  or,  if  one  prefers  it,  the  honourification,  of  saints, 
and  faith  in  the  power  of  their  mediation  is  an  essentially 
Catholic  belief,  rejected  by  all  Protestant  sects.  But  the 
Cape  and  its  dependencies  have  been  colonised  only  by 
Protestants — by  Hollanders,  French  who  fled  at  the  revo- 
cation of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  English.  This  fact  explains 
why  these  countries  have  been  evangelised  only  by  Protest- 
ants. The  first  missionary  who  attempted  the  conversion 
of  the  Hottentots  was  a  Moravian,  George  Schmidt,  who 


230  THE  PYGMIES. 

came  to  the  Cape  in  173G,*  consequently  several  years 
after  the  voyage  of  Kolbe.f  The  beliefs  here  discussed 
then  belong  properly  to  the  Khoi'-Khoi. 

The  Hottentots,  moreover,  have  no  clear  idea  either  as 
to  the  nature  of  spirits  or  of  their  mode  of  existence. 
Kolbe  discovered  nothing  among  them  which  corresponded 
to  heaven  or  hell.  He  concluded  that  they  have  no  no- 
tion of  reward  or  punishment  connected  with  good  or  bad 
actions.  Hahn  is  silent  in  this  matter.  Perhaps  this  is 
one  of  the  points  upon  which  he  has  not  cared  to  tell  all 
he  knows.  A  people  who  consider  the  stars  as  the  eyes  of 
some  dead  persons,  but  at  the  same  time  make  of  others 
the  people  of  Gaunab,  have  certainly  at  least  a  somewhat 
confused  idea  of  the  rewards  which  await  the  good  and 
the  bad. 

Worship,  Priests,  Sorcerers. — I  have  already  said  that 
the  Khoi'-Khoi'  have  no  sort  of  figures  intended  to  repre- 
sent their  deities,  and  that  they  construct  no  building 
consecrated  to  worship.  One  cannot  give  that  name 
either  to  the  cairns  regarded  as  tombs  of  Heitsi-eibib,  or 
to  those  which  cover  the  bodies  of  some  saints,  and  which 
grow  slowly  in  consequence  of  the  accumulation  of  stones 
or  branches  of  trees  which  are  deposited  there  as  offer- 
ings. One  cannot  even  regard  as  chapels  those  temporary 
booths  of  green  boughs  and  flowers  under  which  men 
alone  eat  flesh  of  cattle  offered  in  sacrifice.  Yet  they 
have  sacred  places  which  they  never  pass  without  praying. 
These  are,  as  I  have  stated,  certain  rocks,  hills,  rivers,  etc. 
The  homage,  moreover,  is  not  addressed  to  the  material 

*  Some  Danish  missionaries  sent  to  the  Indies  by  the  King  of 
Denmark,  Frederick  IV — Plutschau,  Zeegenbal,  Boving — were  at 
the  Cape  at  the  same  time  as  Kolbe ;  but  they  only  touched  there. 
Hahn  and  Moffat  agree  in  giving  to  George  Schmidt  the  title  of 
first  missionary  to  the  Hottentots. 67>  m 

f  1705  to  1713. 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  231 

object,  whatever  it  may  be,  but  to  the  god  or  spirit  be- 
lieved to  reside  therein.  I  do  not  anywhere  find  that 
these  places  are  the  object  of  pilgrimage,  or  that  numbers 
of  people  betake  themselves  there  to  hold  religious  cere- 
monies in  common.  These,  rather,  take  place  within  the 
kraal.  It  is  there,  in  the  round  public  place  enclosed  by 
the  huts,  that  one  celebrates  the  return  of  the  Pleiades 
and  of  the  new  moon,  or  that,  with  eyes  fixed  upon  the 
Pleiades,  they  invoke  Tsui-goa. 

Among  the  Hottentots  there  exists  nothing  resembling 
a  sacerdotal  caste.  Each  kraal  has  its  priest  (surri),  whose 
position  is  sufficiently  modest.  To  begin  with,  he  is  elect- 
ed, which  seems  to  exclude  all  idea  of  a  special  character 
resulting  from  his  relations  to  the  divinity.  In  the  next 
place,  in  the  local  hierarchy  he  holds  only  a  fourth  rank, 
after  the  civil  chief,  the  military  chief,  and  the  doctor. 
He  plays  an  important  part  in  the  ceremonies  which  ac- 
company marriage  and  the  passage  of  boys  into  manhood, 
perhaps  also  in  funerary  rites.  But  he  is  not  even  men- 
tioned in  connection  with  the  great  religious  ceremonies 
addressed  either  to  the  good  or  the  bad  principle.  He 
makes  no  public  prayer ;  he  gives  no  instruction  to  the 
people  in  religious  matters.  He  is,  then,  as  Kolbe  says, 
a  master  of  ceremonies  rather  than  a  priest,  in  the  accept- 
ance we  give  that  word. 

By  the  side  of  the  surri,  whose  functions  connect  him 
more  or  less  with  the  worship  of  the  good  gods,  are  found 
sorcerers,  among  whom  Hahn  places  the  makers  of  rain. 
These  receive  their  power  from  Gaunab,  who  teaches  to 
whom  he  pleases  the  diabolical  art  of  enchantment  and 
bewitchment.  We  have  no  information  upon  the  nature 
of  the  relations  which  can  be  established  between  the  evil 
genius  and  men.  There  is  no  mention  either  of  compact 
or  of  oath,  yet  the  sorcerers  are,  in  a  sense,  ministers  of 
Gaunab.  The  Hottentots  extremely  fear  their  incanta- 
17 


232  THE  PYGMIES. 

tions,  and  attribute  to  them  almost  all  the  misfortunes 
which  strike  their  persons  or  their  cattle ;  they  have  re- 
course to  a  vast  number  of  amulets  and  practices  to  pro- 
tect themselves  against  them. 

Various  Superstitions. — One  may  consider  the  ideas 
so  far  discussed  as  really  belonging  to  the  religion  proper 
of  the  Hottentots.  There  are  others  which  are  veritable 
superstitions.*  There  are  a  number  of  ideas  without  ap- 
parent relation  to  the  mythology  of  these  people,  but 
which  are  none  the  less  accepted  as  articles  of  faith,  and 
give  rise  to  special  practices  which  one  cannot  neglect 
without  danger.  Hahn  devotes  a  long  chapter  to  these  ; 
I  will  limit  myself  to  quoting  a  few  of  them. 

Fire  appears  to  play  an  important  role  from  this  point 
of  view.  At  the  birth  of  a  child  one  must  fire  a  little 
faggot  without  employing  either  stove  or  metal,  but  by  the 
friction  of  two  pieces  of  wood ;  this  must  be  kept  burning 
until  the  umbilical  cord  drops,  and  must  not  be  used 
for  any  domestic  purpose.  If  these  prescriptions  are  not 
rigidly  observed  the  child  will  die.  When  a  Hottentot 
goes  forth  to  the  hunt  his  wife  lights  a  special  fire,  and 
should  do  naught  but  attend  to  it  until  he  returns.  Should 
it  go  out,  the  husband  will  bring  back  no  game.  At  cer- 
tain epochs  one  makes  sheep  pass  through  a  fire  fed  with 
green  wood  and  giving  much  smoke.  I  have  nowhere 
seen  a  statement  that  the  Hottentots  submit  themselves 
to  this  ceremony,  of  which  traces  are  found  even  in 
France,  especially  in  Brittany.158 

Certain  animals,  particularly  elephants  and  serpents, 
can  recognise  guilty  persons,  and  go  into  the  midst  of  a 

*  I  have  long  insisted,  both  in  ray  courses  and  in  my  books, 
upon  the  distinction  that  should  be  made  between  religion  and  su- 
perstitions. I  consider  it  as  important  to  make  this  clearly  in  the 
case  of  the  lowest  savages  as  in  the  case  of  the  most  civilised  peo- 
ples ;  but  this  is  too  often  forgotten.143-  156 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  233 

crowd  to  kill  them  without  attacking  any  of  their  com- 
panions. The  tribe  of  the  Amaqua  one  day  surprised 
the  Damara,  and  made  a  great  carnage  and  carried  away 
much  booty.  One  of  the  aggressors  made  himself  con- 
spicuous by  his  extreme  cruelty,  on  returning  home  he 
was  attacked  in  his  hut  by  a  black  lion,  who  tore  him  to 
pieces.  The  Amaqua  are  still  convinced  that  this  lion 
was  really  a  Damara,  who  had  taken  this  form  to  avenge 
his  tribe. 

Hahn  has  gone  to  much  trouble  to  find  among  the 
Namaqua  some  trace  of  serpent  worship,  but  with  no 
success.  This  creature  figures  largely,  however,  in  the 
superstitions  of  the  Cape,  as  everywhere  else  in  the  world. 
Here,  as  elsewhere,  there  exist  charmers  who  fearlessly 
handle  the  most  dangerous  species  ;  one  of  them  procured 
for  our  author  all  that  he  wished  of  them.  The  sorcerers, 
of  course,  enjoy  this  privilege  in  the  greatest  degree.  The 
Hottentots  say  they  only  need  to  hiss  to  make  all  the  ser- 
pents of  the  neighbourhood  run  to  them.  Near  every 
spring  there  dwells  a  serpent ;  if  he  departs  or  is  killed 
the  fountain  dries  up.  Serpents  are  very  fond  of  milk  ; 
they  suck  cows,  and  even  women.  Analogous  superstitions 
exist  among  ourselves.  A  particular  species  (huitsibis) 
lives  between  the  horns  of  the  cana.*  Finally,  the  na- 
tives believe  in  the  existence  of  serpents  with  human 
virile  organs,  who  seek  women  during  their  slumber 
(ganin-guV).  Hahn  passed  the  night  in  a  kraal  where 
the  whole  population  were  under  arms  and  greatly  excited 
because  a  young  girl  believed  she  had  seen  one  of  these 
strange  incubi. 

Mythological  Theory  of  Hahn. — Hah'n  is  not  content 
only  to  make  known  the  religious  beliefs  of  the  Hot- 
tentots ;  he  has  desired  to  explain  them,  and  has  thus 

*  Antilope  oreas,  Pallas ;  Oreas  canna,  Gray. 


234  THE  PYGMIES. 

been  led  to  a  theory  which  rests  mainly  upon  linguistic 
considerations.  He  seeks  in  etymology  a  rational  inter- 
pretation of  the  names  of  the  divinities  of  whom  he  has 
spoken,  and  believes  he  can  thus  follow  back  mythologi- 
cal conceptions  to  their  origin. 

Our  author,  naturally,  first  occupies  himself  with  Tsui- 
goa.  He  recalls  the  fact,  according  to  the  legend,  that  the 
two  words  mean  the  sick  or  wounded  knee.  But  he  thinks 
it  strange  that  the  infinite  being  should  be  called  by  a 
name  which  makes  him  only  a  simple  person  playing  a 
part  in  a  common  tale,  and  he  proposes  a  very  different 
explanation.  The  root  tsu,  says  he,  signifies  literally  sick, 
wounded  j  but  a  recent  wound  is  the  colour  of  blood — it 
is  red.  Tsu,  by  extension,  then,  has  the  same  meaning. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  verb  goa  means  "  to  walk,  to  ap- 
proach." Goab,  goam,  is  "he  who  walks,  he  who  ap- 
proaches." The  first  meaning  can  be  very  well  applied 
to  the  knee ;  the  second  can  be  used  in  speaking  of  the 
day,  which  is  on  the  point  of  appearing.  The  words  Tsui- 
goab,  Tsui-goam,  ought,  then,  to  be  translated  by  "  he  who 
comes  red."  He  is,  says  Hahn,  the  red  morning,  the  rosy 
dawn,  the  aurora. 

The  same  line  of  thought  conducts  our  author  to  iden- 
tify with  the  night  the  god  whom  we  have  seen  to  be  the 
foe  of  Tsui-goa.  From  the  root  o,  "  to  die"  come  the 
words  for  "  to  sleep,  death,  slumber,"  etc.  The  night 
kills,  so  to  say,  all  the  men  whom  it  puts  to  slumber. 
The  male  being  who  personifies  it  well  merits,  then,  the 
name  of  Gaunam — that  is,  "  the  destroyer." 

Hahn  considers  it  as  demonstrated  that,  in  their  origin, 
the  words  Tsui-goa  and  Gauna  have  been  employed  only 
to  express  the  succession  of  day  and  night.  But  the 
primitive  meaning  is  lost ;  the  religious  sentiment  and 
mythology  apply  themselves  to  the  task,  and  the  legend 
is  born.  Every  evening  man  dies  and  the  night  envelops 


RELIGION  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  235 

him  ;  he  relives  at  the  break  of  day ;  he  turns  his  eyes 
towards  the  east,  and  sees  the  sky  tinted  with  red ;  he 
concludes  from  that  that  a  battle  has  taken  place  and 
that  blood  has  flowed.  Thus  has  arisen  the  history  of 
the  struggle  between  Gaunab,  the  inhabitant  of  the  dark 
sky,  and  Tsui-goa,  who  gains  his  victory  at  the  price  of  a 
wounded  knee. 

After  having  shown  Tsui-goa  to  be  only  the  personifi- 
cation of  the  dawn,  Hahn,  by  the  employment  of  the  same 
method,  and  thanks  to  comparisons  which  seem  to  me  at 
times  to  be  very  forced,  identifies  with  him  the  greater 
part  of  the  divinities  of  whom  I  have  spoken.  According 
to  him,  Khab,  Heitsi-eibib,  Gurub,  Nanub,  etc.,  are  all 
the  Infinite  One,  the  lord  of  life  and  light.  He  hardly 
makes  one  exception  upon  the  subject  of  Gurikhoi'sib,  the 
first  man.  He  seems  to  regard  him  as  a  distinct  person- 
age, admitting  that  here  the  worship  of  ancestors  has 
been  fused  with  that  of  the  supreme  being.  It  is  to  be 
observed  that  in  this  astronomical  myth,  as  Hahn  un- 
derstands it,  the  sun  Urisis  plays  only  a  subordinate  role, 
becoming  the  wife  of  the  moon,  Khdb,  assimilated  to 
Heitsi-eibib. 

In  fact,  one  sees  that  Mr.  Hahn  belongs  to  that  school 
of  mythologists  which  counts  so  many  eminent  adepts  in 
Europe,  and  in  France  itself.  As  Max  Miiller,128  as  Alfred 
Maury, m  he  seeks  in  the  literal  meaning  of  the  names  of 
divinities  the  interpretation  of  the  myths;  he  traces  back 
all  the  personages  of  the  Hottentot  pantheon  to  a  small 
number  of  personified  natural  phenomena.  According  to 
him,  the  Khoi'-Khoi,  in  their  religious  development  have 
followed  the  same  road  as  the  Aryan  peoples,  and  he 
thinks  that  if  they  had  not  been  stopped  by  the  imper- 
fection of  their  language  they  would  have  invented  as 
beautiful  a  mythology  as  that  of  the  Iranians  or  the  Greeks. 
Such  as  it  is,  he  says,  this  mythology  has  had  for  point 


236  THE  PYGMIES. 

of  departure  the  belief  in  a  supreme  being  whom  all  the 
Khoi-Khoi',  long  before  their  separation  invoked  under 
the  name  of  Tsui-goab,  and  who  has  played  among  them 
exactly  the  same  role  as  Dyaus  among  the  ancestors  of  our 
own  race. 

Thus  Halm  applies  Hindoo  theories  to  the  mythology 
of  the  Khoi-Khoi'.  I  am  not  competent  to  follow  him  in 
this  field ;  but  the  masters  in  linguistics  whom  I  have 
consulted  have  unanimously  replied  that  the  Hottentot 
languages  are  not  sufficiently  known  in  their  history  and 
their  development  for  it  to  be  possible  as  yet  to  pursue 
such  a  method.  I  can  only  endorse  this  judgment. 

Hahn  summarises  in  the  following  terms  the  general 
impression  which  his  long  studies  upon  the  beliefs  of  the 
Hottentots  have  given  him :  "  If  the  word  religion  cor- 
responds to  a  faith  in  a  heavenly  father,  who  is  near  his 
children  in  their  sufferings ;  if  it  expresses  a  belief  in  an 
all-powerful  master,  who  sends  the  rains  and  good  weath- 
er; if  it  includes  the  idea  of  a  father  of  lights,  from 
whom  cometh  every  good  thing ;  if  this  father  is  at  the 
same  time  a  rewarder,  who  sees  all  things  and  who  pun- 
ishes the  wrong  and  rewards  the  right ;  if  religion  trans- 
lates the  longings  of  the  heart  after  the  invisible,  with  the 
hope  of  seeing  it  face  to  face  in  a  better  world ;  if  it  im- 
plies at  once  the  feeling  of  human  feebleness  and  the  ac- 
ceptance of  a  divine  government,  we  ought  not  to  hesitate 
about  placing  the  Khoi-Khoi  on  our  own  level." 

I  cannot  here  consider  the  many  questions  which  these 
conclusions  raise,  and  confine  myself  to  making  a  single 
remark.  Either  our  author  exaggerates  the  loftiness  of 
the  religious  beliefs  of  the  Koi-Koi,  or  he  has  not  given 
us  all  the  data  necessary  for  appreciating  them.  Without 
doubt  many  of  the  facts — the  so  clear  declaration  of  Arisi- 
mab,  the  hymn  to  Tsui-goa,  the  conduct  of  the  Haboba 
guide,  etc. — plainly  show  the  belief  of  the  Hottentots  in  a 


RELIGION  OP  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND  BUSHMEN.  237 

god,  creator  and  all-powerful,  who  watches  over  men  as 
over  his  children;  and  the  brave  Nanib,  in  preferring 
death  to  apostasy,  has  shown  that  they  can  die  for  him  if 
need  be.  Without  doubt,  also,  the  worship  of  ancestors, 
dating  back  to  Heitsi-eibib,  shows  a  belief  in  a  future  life 
which  almost,  if  not  quite,  reaches  immortality.  But  in 
the  facts  given  by  Hahn  I  see  nothing  that  warrants  at- 
tributing to  the  Khoii-Khoi  that  high  longing  towards  an 
intimate  communion  with  the  supreme  God,  nothing  that 
suggests  even  a  little  definitely  a  reward  kept  for  the 
good,  a  punishment  awaiting  the  wicked.  In  this  regard, 
far  from  being  equal  to  the  Aryans,  they  are  below  many 
peoples  who  have  remained  at  a  much  lower  social  stage 
than  they  have  attained.  In  particular,  the  Mincopies 
have  made  for  their  supreme  god  a  far  more  spiritual 
conception,  and  have  arrived  at  far  more  definite  and  just 
conceptions  regarding  the  future  destiny  of  man  than  the 
Hottentots.  But  perhaps  Hahn  has  written  his  opinions 
after  taking  into  consideration  that  material  which  he  has 
judged  best  not  to  give  us. 

In  spite  of  these  gaps  Halm's  book  possesses  the 
greatest  interest.  He  makes  us  acquainted  with  a  whole 
new,  rudimentary  mythology,  which  brings  together,  as 
those  of  so  many  other  savage  peoples  do,  very  elevated 
ideas  and  the  most  childish  fables.  Moreover,  this  my- 
thology belongs  to  one  of  the  oldest,  perhaps  the  oldest,  of 
African  races.  For  this  reason  it  has  a  double  interest. 
The  author  has  added  an  important  chapter  to  the  his- 
tory of  those  little  religions,  too  often  neglected,  and  a 
knowledge  of  which  throws  so  sure  a  light  upon  some  of 
the  problems  which  the  study  of  their  great  sisters  pro- 
pounds to  the  mythologists.* 

*  Emile  Burnouf  recognises  as  great  religions  only  Christianity, 
Judaism,  Mohammedanism,  Brahmanism,  Buddhism.83    They  are 


238  THE  PYGMIES. 

the  most  important  in  the  numbers  of  their  adherents.  Out  of 
1,392,500,000  souls  in  the  population  of  the  globe,  these  five  religious, 
according  to  Hubner,  include  1,136,500,000.  But  the  same  author 
estimates  that  the  number  of  different  religions  in  the  world  is 
nearly  1,000.  The  little  religions  are  certainly  in  the  majority.  To 
neglect  them  in  the  study  of  comparative  mythology  would  be  like 
a  naturalist  who,  to  gain  an  idea  of  the  organisation  of  animals, 
studied  only  the  vertebrates. 


APPENDIX   A. 

LIST  OF  BOOKS,  ARTICLES  AND  AUTHORS  REFERRED   TO 
IN  THE  TEXT. 

(The  small  numbers  in  the  text  correspond  to  the  numbers  in  this  list.) 

1.  d'Abbadie.    Bui.  Societe  de  Geographic,  third  series,  vol.  ii. 

2.  d'Albertis.    New  Guinea :  What  I  did  and  what  I  saw. 

3.  Allen,  F.  A.    The  Original  Range  of  the  Papuan  and  Negrito 

Races,  Jour.  Anth.  Inst.,  vol.  viii. 

4.  Anderson.    The  Semang  and  Sakai  Tribes  of  the  Malay  Penin- 

sula, Jour.  Indian  Archipelago,  vol.  iv. 

5.  Anthropological  Society  of  Paris.    Bulletin,  third  series,  vol.  iii. 

6.  Arbousset  et  Daumas.    Voyage  d'exploration  au  Nord-est  de  la 

colonie  du  Cap  de  Bonne-Esperance,  entrepris  en  1836. 

7.  Aristotle.    History  of  Animals. 

8.  Avanchers,  Leon  des.    Lettre  a  M.  d'Abbadie,  Bui.  de  la  Soc.  de 

Geograph.,  fifth  series,  vol.  xii. 

9.  Avanchers,  Leon  des.    Esquisses  geographiques  des  pays  Oromo 

ou  Galla,  dits  pays  Somali,  et  de  la  cote  orientale  d'Afrique, 
Bui.  de  la  Soc.  de  Geograph.,  fourth  series,  t.  xvii. 

10.  Avezac.    Notice  sur  les  pays  et  le  peuple  des  Yebous  en  Afrique, 

Mems.  de  la  Soc.  d'Ethnol.,  vol.  ii. 

11.  Baker,  Samuel  W.    Discovery  of  the  Albert  Nyanza,  New  Ex- 

plorations of  the  Sources  of  the  Nile. 

12.  Banier.    Memoires  de   1'Academie  des  inscriptions  et  belles- 

lettres,  1729,  vol.  v. 

13.  Barrow.    Vol.  xvii  of  Walckenaer. 

14.  Beccari.    Appunti  etnografici  sui  Papua,  Cosmos,  1877. 

15.  Blair.    Selection  of  Records  of  Government  of  India,  No.  xxv, 

The  Andaman  Islands,  Appendix  ii. 

16.  Bourgeois.    Congres  international  d'anthrop.  et  d'archeologie 

prehist.,  1868. 

17.  Brander.    Proc.  Roy.  Soc.  of  Edinburgh,  1878-'79. 

239 


240  THE  PYGMIES. 

18.  Broca.    Rapport  sur  les  caracteres  physiques  des  Mincopies, 

Bui.  de  la  Soc.  d'Anthrop.,  1861. 

19.  Broca.    Les  Akkas,  race  pygmee  de  1'Afrique  Centrale,  Rev. 

d'Anthrop.,  1874. 

20.  Brooke,  Capel.    Voyage  en  Suede,  en  Norvege,  en  Finmark  et 

au  Cap  Nord. 

21.  Brooke,  Capel.    Trans,  of  the  Ethnological  Society,  vol.  v. 
2*3.  Buffon.    Complete  works. 

23.  Burnouf.    Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  1864. 

24.  Busk.    Description  of  Two  Andamanese  Skulls,  Trans.  Ethnol. 

Soc.,  new  series,  1866. 

25.  Campbell.    The  Ethnology  of  India,  Journal  of  the  Asiat.  Soc. 

of  Bengal,  vol.  xxv,  part  ii. 

26.  Castelnau.    Revue  de  Philologie,  1876. 

27.  Du  Chaillu.    L'Afrique  Sauvage. 

28.  Choris.    Voyage  pittoresque  autour  du  Monde,  book  vii. 

29.  Clark,  Hyde.     Notes  on  the  Languages  of  the  Andamans,  Jour. 

Anth.  Inst,  vol.  iv. 

30.  Colebrook.     On    the    Andaman    Islands,    Asiatic    Researches. 

vol.  iv. 

31.  Comrie.    Anthropological  Notes  on  New  Guinea,  Jour.  Anth. 

Inst.,  vol.  vi. 

32.  Cornalia.    Lettre  sur  ]es  Akkas  de  Miani,  Archivio  por  1'Antrop., 

etc.,  1874. 

33.  Craicfurd.    History  of  the  Indian  Archipelago. 

34.  Crawfurd.    On  the  Malayan  and  Polynesian  Languages  and 

Races,  Journal  of  the  Ethnol.  Soc.  of  London,  vol.  i,  1848. 

35.  Ctesias.     History  of  India. 

36.  Cunningham.     Cited    by    Logan,    Jour.    Indian    Archipelago, 

vol.  vii. 

37.  Cuvier.    Le  Regne  animal. 

38.  Dalion.    Descriptive  Ethnology  of  Bengal. 

39.  Dapper.    Description  de  la  basse  Ethiopie. 

40.  Day.    Observations  on  the  Andamanese,  Proc.  Asiat.  Soc.  of 

Bengal,  1870. 

41.  Distant.    Jour.  Anth.  Inst.,  vol.  viii. 

42.  Dobson.    Jour.  Anth.  Inst.,  vol.  iv. 

43.  Dubeux  and  Valmont.    La  Tartarie. 

44.  Dumeril  and  Bibron.    Histoire  naturelle  des  Reptiles,  vol.  iii. 

45.  Earl.     The  Papuans. 

46.  Bulletin  de  1'Irtstitut  tgyptien,  1873-'74. 


APPENDIX  A.  241 

47.  Ellis.     Report  of  Researches  into  the  Language  of  the  South 

Andaman  Island,  from  the  papers  of  E.  H.  Man,  appendix  to 
Man's  book. 

48.  ElpMnston.    Aboriginal  Inhabitants  of  the  Soil. 

49  Feilden.     Notes  on  Stone  Implements  from  South  Africa,  Jour. 
Anth.  Inst.,  vol.  viii. 

50.  Fichte.    On  Certain  Aborigines  of  the  Andaman  Islands,  Trans. 

Ethnol.  Soc.,  new  series,  vol.  v. 

51.  Flower.    On  the  Osteology  and  Affinities  of  the  Natives  of  the 

Andaman  Islands,  Jour.  Anth.  Inst.,  vol.  ix. 

52.  Flower.    Stature  of  the  Andamanese  (making  known  Brander's 

work),  Jour.  Anth.  Inst.,  vol.  x. 

53.  Flower.     Additional  Observations  on  the  Osteology  of  the  Na- 

tives of  the  Andaman  Islands,  Jour.  Anth.  Inst.,  vol.  xiv. 

54.  Fryer.    A  Few  Words  concerning  the  Wild  People  inhabiting 

the  Forests  of  the  Cochin  State,  Jour,  of  the  Royal  Asiat.  Soc. 
of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  second  series,  vol.  iii. 

55.  Fychte.    Trans,  of  the  Ethnological  Society,  vol.  v.     Cf .  No.  50- 

56.  Gaussin.     Traditions   religieuses    de   la   Polynesie,    Tour  du 

Monde. 

57.  Congres  international  des  Sciences  Cfeographiques,  vol  i. 

58.  La  Gazette  Geographique,  1887. 

59.  Giglioli.    Viaggio  intorno  al  globo  della  pirocorvetta  Italiana 

Magenta. 

60.  Giglioli.    Studi  sulla  razza  negrita,  Archivio  por  1'Antrop.  e  la 

Etnol.,  vol.  v. 

61.  Giglioli.    Nuove  notizie  sui  popoli  negroidi  dell'Apia  e  special- 

mente  sui  Negriti,  Archivio  por  1'Antrop.,  etc.,  vol.  ix. 

62.  Giglioli.    Gli  Akka  viventi  in  Italia,  Archivio  por  1'Antrop., 

etc.,  vol.  x. 

63.  Giglioli.    Alteriori  notizie  intorno  ai  Negriti ;  gli  Akka  viventi 

en  Italia,  Archivio  por  1'Athrop.,  etc.,  vol.  x. 

64.  la  Gironiere.    Vingt  annees  aux  Philippines,  1853. 

65.  Gooch.    The  Stone  Age  in  South   Africa,  Jour.   Anth.   Inst., 

vol.  xi. 

66.  Grey.     Polynesian  Mythology. 

67.  Hahn.    Tsui-goam,  the  Supreme  Being  of  the  Koi-Koi,  1881. 

68.  Hamy.    La  Nature,  1876,  February  12th. 

69.  Hamy.    Documents  pour  servir  a  1'anthropologie  de  1'Jle  de 

Timor,  Nouvelles  Archives  du  Mus.  d'histoire  naturelle  de 
Paris,  vol.  x. 


242  THE   PYGMIES. 

70.  Hamy,     Rapport  sur  1'anthropologie  du  Cambodge,  Bui.  de  la 

Soc.  d'Anth.  de  Paris,  vol.  vi. 

71.  Hamy.    Sur  les  races  sauvages  de  la  peniiisule  malaise  et  en  par- 

ticulier  sur  les  Jakuns,  Bui.  de  la  Soc.  d'Anth.  de  Paris,  sec- 
ond series,  vol.  ix. 

72.  Hamy.    Les  Negritos  a  Borneo,  Bui.  de  la  Soc.  d'Anth.  de  Paris, 

second  series,  vol.  xi. 

73.  Hamy.     Note  sur  1'existence  de  Negres  brachycephales  sur  la 

cote  occidentale  d'Afrique,  Bui.  de  la  Soc.  d'Anth.,  second 
series,  vol.  vii. 

74.  Hamy.    Essai  de  co-ordination  des  materiaux  recemment  re- 

cueilles  sur  1'anthropologie   des    Negrilles  ou  Pygmees  de 
1'Afrique  equatoriale,  Bui.  de  la  Soc.  d'Anth.,  1879. 

75.  Hartmann.    Die  Negritier. 

76.  Heber.    Travels  in  India,  cited  by  Pritchard. 

77.  Hodgson.    Jour.  Asiat.  Soc.  of  Bengal,  vol.  xxv. 

78.  Huxley,  T.  II.    On  Two  widely  Contrasted  Forms  of  the  Hu- 

man Cranium,  Jour,  of  Anat.  and  Physiol.,  vol.  i. 

79.  Journal  of  Anthropological  Institute,  vol.  xi. 

80.  Kolbe.    Description  du  Cap  de  Bonne  Esperance,  in  Walckenaer. 

81.  Lafonde.    Jour,  de  Tlnstitut  historique. 

82.  Laglaise.    La  Papouasie  ou  Nouvelle  Guinee  occidentale,  cited 

in  this  work  by  Meyners  d'Estrey. 

83.  Lane-Fox.    On  Mr.  Man's  Collection  of  Andamanese  and  Nico- 

barese  Objects,  Jour.  Anth.  Inst.,  vol.  vii. 

84.  de  Langle,  Fleuriot.    Croisieres  a  la  cote  d'Afrique,  1868. 

85.  Latham.     Descriptive  Ethnology,  vol.  ii. 

86.  Latham.    Elements  of  Comparative  Philology. 

87.  Latham:.    The  Native  Races  of  the  Russian  Empire. 

88.  de  Lautnre.    Bui.  de  la  Soc.  de  Geographic,  fourth  series,  vol.  xii. 

89.  de  Lauture.    Comptes  rendus  de  1'Academie  des  Sciences,  1856. 

90.  Lawes,  W.  G.    Ethnological  Notes  on  the  Motu,  Koitapu,  and 

Koiari,  tribes  of  New  Guinea,  Jour.  Anth.  Inst.,  vol.  viii. 

91.  Livingstone.    Explorations  in  South  Africa. 

92.  Logan.    The  Orang  Binua  of  Johore,  Jour,  of  the  Indian  Archi- 

pelago, vol.  i. 

93.  Logan.     The  Binua  of  Johore. 

94.  Logan.    The  Ethnology  of  the  Indian  Archipelago,  Jour,  of  the 

Indian  Archipelago,  vol.  iv. 

95.  Logan.    Ethnology  of  Eastern   Asia    and    the   Indo- Pacific 

Islands,  Jour.  Indian  Arch.,  vol.  iv. 


APPENDIX  A.  243 

90.  Logan.    Ethnology  of  the  Indo-Pacific  Islands,  Jour.  Indian 
Arch.,  vol.  vii. 

97.  Logan.    Physical  Characteristics  of  the  Mintira,  Jour.  Indian 

Arch.,  vol.  i. 

98.  Dialects  of  the  Melanesian  Tribes  of  the  Malay  Peninsula,  Jour. 

of  the  Straits  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiat.  Soc. 

99.  ChailU  Long  Bey,  Central  Africa. 

100.  ChailU  Long  Bey.    Voyage  au  Lac  Victoria  Nyanza  et  au  pays 

des  Niams-Niams,  Bui.  de  la  Soc.  de  Geog.,  sixth  series,  vol.  x. 

101.  Man.    On  the  Aboriginal  Inhabitants  of  the  Andaman  Islands, 

Jour.  Anth.  Inst,  vol.  vii,  and  in  reprinted  form. 

102.  Man.    Jour.  Anth.  Inst.,  vol.  xi. 

103.  Mantegazza.    Studi  antropologici  ed  etnografici  sulla  Nuova 

Guinea,  Archivio  por  1'Antrop.,  etc.,  vol.  vii,  1877. 

104.  Mantegazza.     Bui.  de  la  Soc.  d'Anth.  de  Paris,  third  series, 

vol.  iii,  1880. 

105.  Mantegazza.     Nuovi  studi  craniologici  sulla  Nuova  Guinea, 

Archivio  por  1'Antrop.,  etc.,  vol.  xi,  1881. 

106.  Mantegazza  and  Zannetti.    I  due  Akka  del  Miani,  Archivio 

por  1'Antrop.,  etc.,  1874. 

107.  Marche.     Trois  voyages  dans  1'Afrique  occidentale. 

108.  Mariner.    An  Account  of  the  Natives  of  Tonga  Island. 

109.  Marno.     Mittheilungen  der  Authrop.  Gesel.  in  Wien,  Bd.  v. 

110.  Masson.    Narrative  of  Various  Journeys  in  Beluchistan,  Af- 

ghanistan, and  the  Penjab,  cited  in  L'Univers. 

111.  Maury.     Histoire  de  la  religion  de  la  Grece  antique,  1859. 

112.  Maury.    La  Terre  et  1'Homme,  fifth  edition. 

113.  Meyer.    Die  Philippinen  und  ihre  Bewohner. 

114.  Meyer.     Ueber  hundert  funf  und  dreissig  Papua  SchSdel  von 

Neu  Guinea  und  der  Insel  Mysore,  Mittheil.  aus  dem  Kais. 
zool.  Mus.  zu  Dresden,  Bd.  i,  1875. 

115.  Meyer.    A nthropologische  Mittheilungen  fiber  die  Papuas  von 

Neu  Guinea,  mit  der  anth.  Gesel.  in  Wien,  Bd.  iv,  1874. 

116.  Miduko-Maday.    Ethnologische  Excursionen  in  der  Malay- 

ischen  Halbinsel,  Archivio  por  1'antropologia  e  la  etnolog., 
vol.  ix. 

117.  Moffat.    Twenty-three  Years  in  South  Africa. 

118.  de  Mofras.    Exploration  du  Territoire  de  1'Oregon,  des  Calif  or- 

nies  et  de  la  mer  Vermeille,  1844. 

119.  Mollien.    Voyage  dans  1'interieur  de  1'Afrique,  aux  sources  du 

Senegal  et  de  la  Senegambie. 


214  THE  PYGMIES. 

120.  Montana.    Revue  d'Ethnographie,  vol.  i.    (See  No.  121.) 

121.  Montana.    Quelques  jours  chez  les  indigenes  de  la  Province  de 

Malacca,  Revue  d'Ethnog.,  vol.  i. 

122.  Montana.     Voyages  aux  Philippines  et  en  Malaisie. 

123.  Morenhout.    Voyage  aux  lies  du  Grand  Ocean  (in   Tour  du 

Monde). 

124.  Mouat.     A  Narrative  of  an  Expedition  to  the  Andaman  Islands 

in  1857. 

125.  Mouat.    Adventures    and    Researches  among  the  Andaman 

Islands,  1868. 

126.  Mouat.    Selection  of  the  Records  of  the  Government  of  India, 

No.  xxv,  the  Andaman  Islands. 

127.  Mouat.    A  Few  Notes  on  Some  Skulls  of  the  Hill  Tribes  of 

India,  Trans.  Ethnol.  Soc.,  vol.  vi. 

128.  Muller,  Max.    Essays  upon  Comparative  Mythology. 

129.  Bulletin  de  la  Societe  Normande  de  Geographic,  1886. 

130.  Owen.    On  the  Osteology  and  Dentition  of  the  Aborigines  of 

the  Andaman  Islands,  Trans.  Ethnol.  Soc.,  new  series,  vol.  ii. 

131.  Owen.     On  the  Psychical  and  Physical  Characters  of  the  Min- 

copies  or  Natives  of  the  Andaman  Islands,  Brit.  Assoc.  Rept., 
1861. 

132.  Owen.    Examen  des  deux   Negres   pygmees   de  la  tribes  de 

Akkas  ramenes  par  Miani  du  fleuve  Gabon.,  Bui.  de  la  Soc. 
d'Anth.,  1874,  with  remarks  by  Broca,  Hamy,  and  De  Quatre- 
fages. 

133.  Panizza.    Sur  les  Akkas,  Bui.  de  la  Soc.  d'Anth..  1874. 

134.  Pavie.    Les    heros    pieux,   les    Pandavas,   Revue    des    Deux 

Mondes,  1857. 

135.  PautMer.    La  Chine. 

136.  lePage  du  Pratz.    Histoire  de  la  Louisiane,  1758. 

137.  Pickering.    The  Races  of  Men,  edition  of  1851. 

138.  Pliny.     Histoire  naturelle. 

139.  Pritchard.     Researches  into  the  Physical  History  of  Mankind. 

140.  Pruner  Bey.    Bui.  de  la  Soc.  d'Anth.,  1866. 

141.  de  Quatrefages.    Bui.  de  la  Soc.  d'Anth.,  vol.  i,  1860. 

142.  de  Quatrefages.    Cours  d'Anthrop.  du  Museum ;  Negres  asia- 

tiques  et  melanesiens,  Gazette  medicale  de  Paris,  1862. 

143.  de  Quatrefages.    Rapports  sur  les  progres  de  1'Anthropologie, 

1867. 

144.  de  Quatrefages.    Jour,  des  Savants,  1879. 

145.  de  Quatrefages.     Bui.  de  la  Soc.  d'Anth.,  1881. 


APPENDIX  A.  245 

146.  de  Quatrefages.     Rapport  sur  le   concours  du  prix  Godard, 

Bui.  de  la  Soc.  d'Anth.,  second  series,  vol.  iv. 

147.  de  Quatrefages.    Bui.  de  la  Soc.  d'acclimatation. 

148.  de  Quatrefages.    Etudes  sur  les  Mincopies  et  sur  le  race  ne- 

grito  en  general,  Revue  d'Anthrop.,  vol.  i. 

149.  de  Quatrefages.    Note  sur  un  Negrito  de  1'Inde  centrale,  Bui.  de 

la  Soc.  d'Anth.,  second  series,  vol.  vii. 

150.  de  Quatrefages.    Nouvelles  Etudes  sur  la  distribution  geogra- 

phique  des  Negritos  et  sur  leur  identification  avec  les  Pyg- 
mees  asiatiques  de  Ctesias  et  de  Pline. 

151.  de  Quatrefages.    Thenay  et  les  lies  Andaman,  materiaux  pour 

1'hist.  nat.  et  prim,  de  1'homme,  third  series,  vol.  ii. 

152.  de  Quatrefages.    Tableau  des  races  de  1'Inde  centrale,  Revue 

d'Anthrop.,  vol.  i. 

153.  de  Quatrefages.     Observations  sur  les  races  naines  Africaines 

a  propos  des  Akkas,  Bui.  de  la  Soc.    d'Anth.,  1874;  also 
Comptes  rendus  de  1'Academie  des  sciences,  1874. 

154.  de  Quatrefages.     Les  Polynesiens  et  leurs  migrations. 

155.  de  Quatrefages.     Hommes  fossiles  et  homines  sauvages. 

156.  de  Quatrefages.     Introduction  a  1'etude  des  races  humaines, 

1887. 

157.  de  Quatrefages  and  Hamy.  Crania  ethnica.  • 

158.  Quellien.     Revue  d'Ethnographie,  vol.  iv. 

159.  Quetelet.    Anthropometrie. 

160.  Raffles  and  Crawfurd.    Description  of  Java. 

161.  Relation  des  voyages  faits  par  les  Arabes  et  les  Persans  dans 

1'Inde  et  la  Chine  dans  le  IX*  siecle  de  1'ere  chretienne,  1849. 

162.  Rienzi.    Oceanie. 

163.  Rousselet.    Essai  d'une  carte  ethnologique  de  1'Inde  centrale. 

164.  Rousselet.    Tableau  des  races  d'Inde   centrale,  Revue  d'An- 

throp., vol.  ii. 

165.  Rousselet.    Note  sur  un  116  autochtone  des  forets  de  1'Inde  cen- 

trale, Revue  d'Anth.,  vol.  i ;  also  Bui.  de  la  Soc.  d'Anth., 
second  series,  vol.  vii. 

166.  Saint-Denis.     Memoire  sur  le  pays  connu  des  anciens  Chinois 

sous  le  nom  de  Fon  Sang,  Comptes  rendus  des  seances  de 
1'Academie  des  inscriptions  et  belles-lettres,  1876. 

167.  Saint-John.     Notes  on  the  Andaman  Islands  (arranged  by  Sir 

Edw.  Belcher),  Trans,  of  the  Ethnol.  Soc.,  new  series,  vol.  v. 

168.  de  Saint-Pol  Lias.    Sur  le  riviere  Pluss,  interieur  de  le  pres- 

qu'ile  malaise,  La  Nouvelle  Revue,  1882. 


246  THE  PYGMIES. 

169.  Samudls.    Jour.  Asiat.  Soc.  of  Bengal,  vol.  vii. 

170.  Sanderson.    Notes  in  connection  with  stone  implements  from 

Natal,  Jour.  Anth.  Inst.,  vol.  viii. 

171.  Schmidt,  George.    Cited  by  Hahn. 

172.  Schweinfurth.     In  the  Heart  of  Africa. 

173.  Semper.    Die  Philippinen  und  ihi'e  Bewohner. 

174.  Smith,  Hamilton.    The  Natural  History  of  the  Human  Species. 

175.  Snelgrave.    Relation    de    quelques    parties  de  la  Guinee  in 

Walckenaer,  vol.  viii. 

176.  Speke.    Source  of  the  Nile. 

177.  Stanley.    Through  the  Dark  Continent. 

178.  Stoliczka.    Note  on  the  Kjoekkenmoeddings  of  the  Andaman 

Islands,  Proc.  Asiat.  Soc.  of  Bengal,  1870. 

179.  Symes.    Relation    de  Pambassade  anglaise  envoyee  en  1795, 

dans  la  royaume  d'Ava. 

180.  Touchard.     Notice  sur  le  Gabon,  Revue  maritime  et  coloniale, 

vol.  iii. 

181.  Lesehenault  de  la   Tour.    Relation  abregee  d'un  voyage  aux 

Indes  orientales,  Mems.  du  Mus.  d'hist.  nat.,  vol.  xi. 

182.  Traill.    Statistical  Sketch  of    Kamaon,  Asiatic   Researches, 

vol.  xvi. 

183.  Valentyn.     Cited  by  Hahn. 

184.  Bibliotheque  universelle  des  Voyages,  vol.  xxi. 

185.  Walckenaer.    Histoire  generale  des  voyages. 

186.  Wallace  (cited  by  Lane-Fox).    Jour.  Anth.  Inst.,  vol.  vii. 

187.  Zannetti.     Gli  Akka  del  Miani,  Archivio  por  1'Antrop.,  etc., 

1874. 

188.  Zeitschrift  fur  Ethnologie,  1874. 


APPENDIX  B. 

VARIOUS  articles  relative  to  the  little  races  discussed  in 
this  book  have  appeared  recently.  Eeferences  to  the  more 
important  are  given  below.  These  are  mainly  taken  from 
Prof.  Mason's  bibliographic  lists  : 

Sartels,  M.  Beit  rag  zur  Volksmedicin  der  Kaffern  und  Hottentot- 
ten,  Verhandl.  d.  Berl.  anthrop.  Gesellsch.,  Berl.,  1893,  vol.  xxv, 
133-135. 

Berlin,  (f.  The  Bushmen  and  their  Language,  Jour.  Royal  Asiat. 
Soc.,  vol.  xviii,  51-81. 

le  Clerc,  Max.  Les  pygmees  a  Madagascar,  Revue  d'ethnog.,  Paris, 
vol.  vi,  323-335. 

Deniker,  J.  Les  Hottentots  au  Jardin  d'accliraatation,  Revue  d'an- 
throp.,  Paris,  third  series,  vol.  iv,  1-27. 

F.,  J.  Chimpanzees  and  Dwarf  in  Central  Africa,  Nature,  London, 
vol.  xlii,  296. 

Flower,  W.  H.  Description  of  Two  Skeletons  of  Akkas,  a  Pygmy 
Race  from  Central  Africa,  Jour.  Anth.  Inst,  London,  vol.  xviii, 
3-19,  73-91. 

Flower,  W.  H.  The  Pygmy  Races  of  Men.,  Proc.  Royal  Inst.  Great 
Britain,  London,  vol.  xii,  266-283. 

Gillet  de  Qrandmont.  Le  steatopygie  des  Hottentots  du  Jardin 
d'acclimatation,  Revue  d'anth.,  Paris,  third  series,  vol.  iv, 
194-199. 

Haliburton,  R.  G.  The  Dwarfs  of  the  Atlas  Mountains,  London 
(David  Nutt),  41  pp..  8vo. 

Laborde,  M.  Etude  experimentale  sur  les  poisons  de  fleche  des  Ne- 
gritos (Sakayes)  de  la  presqu'ile  malaise,  Bui.  Soc.  d'anth., 
Paris,  vol.  xi,  194-196. 

Lombroso,  C.  Ueber  ein  neues  Mutterschaftsorgan  und  (iber  das 
18  247 


248  THE  PYGMIES. 

Becken  des  Hottentottenweibes,  Wien.  med.  Wochenschr.,  xliii, 

741,  786. 
Ploix,  C.     Les  Hottentots,  ou  Khoi-Khoi  et  leur  religion,  Revue 

d'anth.,  1887,  570-589  ;  1888,  270-289. 
Schils,  6".    Le  race  jaune  de  1'Afrique  Australe,  Le  Museon,  Louvain, 

vol.  vi,  224-231 ;  339-349. 
Schttchter,  Henry.    The  Pygmy  Tribes  of  Africa,  Scot.  Geog.  Mag., 

Edinburgh,  vol.  viii,  289-301. 
Sievers.     Die  ZwergvOlker  in  Afrika,  Verhandl.  der  Oberhess.,  Ge- 

sellsch.  f.  Nat.  u.  Heilk.,  Giessen,  vol.  xxviii,  114-117. 
Stanley,  Henry  M.     In  Darkest  Africa,  2  vols ;  see  indices  for  scat- 
tered references  to  pygmies. 
Stanley,  Henry  M,    Les  Pygmees  de  1'Afrique  Centrale  (extract), 

Nature,  Paris,  vol.  xviii,  part  ii,  67-69. 
Topinard,  P.      La  steatopygie  des   Hottentots  du  Jardin  d'accli- 

matation,  Revue  d'anth.,  Paris,  third  series,  vol.  iv,  194-199 ; 

249-252. 
Topinard,  P.    Presentation  de  quatre  Boshimans  vivants,  Archiv 

fur  Anth.,  Braunschweig,  vol.  xviii,  287. 
Werner,  A.    The  African  Pygmies,  Pop.  Sci.  Monthly,  New  York, 

vol.  xxxvii,  658-671. 


APPENDIX  C. 


STANLEY  has  not  contributed  so  much  to  our  real 
knowledge  of  African  pygmies  as  might  have  been  ex- 
pected. He  gives  some  measurements,  taken  upon  five 
individuals,  which  are  here  reproduced  for  comparison  : 

Measurements  taken  by  Dr.  Emin  on  Some  Akkas 
in  Stanley's  Company.* 


NAME. 

Tokbali, 
•M  years. 

Girl, 
15  years. 

Woman, 
36  years. 

Boy, 
15  years. 

Height  standing  

Im360 

1T240 

1-365 

Im280 

Height  to  shoulder  

Iro116 

Im021 

Im110 

1-090 

Height  to  navel  

0-835 

0?725 

0™785 

OT970 

Arm  length,  shoulder  to  finger 
tip  .  . 

Om707 

Om571 

Om580 

Om540 

Breadth  between  shoulders.  .  .  . 
Circumference  below  nipples  .  . 
Circumference  under  armpits  .  . 
Length  of  head  

0-320 
0-710 
0^720 
0-200 

Or304 
Om660 
0^660 
Om176 

0^295 
0-710 
0-710 
0-180 

0-260 
0-640 
Ora630 
Om175 

Breadth  of  head  

0-147 

0-150 

0^145 

Om140 

Breadth  of  nose  

Om060 

Om060  + 

0-065 

0"'005 

Circumference  of  skull  

0?530 

OT535 

OT510 

Om510 

Length  of  foot  

0?220  + 

0?190 

OT212 

OT1SO 

Bodies  covered  with  stiffish  grey,  short  hair. 

Measurement  was  also  made  upon  a  pygmy  about 
twenty-one  years  old  captured  at  Avatiko  (see  In  Darkest 
Africa,  vol.  ii,  p.  40).  The  figures  recorded  by  Mr.  Bonny 
are :  Height,  4  feet ;  head  circumference,  20£  inches ; 


*  In  Darkest  Africa,  vol.  ii,  p.  164,  note. 
249 


250  THE  PYGMIES. 

from  chin  to  top  of  head,  24£  inches ;  circumference  of 
chest,  25£  inches ;  of  abdomen,  27f  inches ;  of  hips,  22£ 
inches ;  of  wrist,  4£  inches ;  of  muscle  of  left  arm,  7£ 
inches ;  of  ankle,  7  inches ;  of  calf  of  leg,  7f  inches ; 
length  of  index  finger,  2  inches  ;  of  right  hand,  4  inches ; 
of  foot,  6£  inches  ;  of  leg,  22  inches ;  of  back,  18£  inches ; 
of  arm  to  tip  of  finger,  19f  inches. 


INDEX. 


Adoption  among  the  Mincopies,  101. 

A  ETAS,  arms,  157 ;  clothing  and  shel- 
ter, 156;  marriage,  152;  measure- 
ments, 64;  physical  characters, 
76. 

Akayaba,  custom  of  the  Mincopies, 
103. 

AKKAS,  brought  to  Europe,  175 ; 
color,  178;  discovered  by  Schwein- 
furth,  3 ;  home,  173 ;  known  to  the 
Egyptians,  16 ;  physiological  char- 
acters, 181  et  seq. ;  prominent  abdo- 
men, 179 ;  stature,  177. 

AKOAS,  165. 

D'ALBERTIS,  description  of  a  Negrito, 
29 ;  Negrito  type,  60. 

Amuck  among  the  Mincopies,  105. 

Ancestor  worship  among  the  Hot- 
tentots, 228. 

Andaman  Islands,  63, 72;  languages, 
94. 

ANDERSON,  description  of  a  Negrito, 
31. 

Animal  worship  by  Bushmen,  202; 
by  Hottentots,  222. 

Annam,  black  tribes  of,  36. 

ARISTOTLE,  on  home  of  the  pyg- 
mies, 2. 

Astronomy,  Hottentot  myths  con- 
nected with,  221. 

D'AVANCHERS,  LEON,  on  the  Negril- 
los, 171. 

BANDRA-LOKS,  10;  ethnologic  af- 
finity, 38,  69. 


BATOUAS,  68. 

BATTEL,  ANDREW,  on  pygmies  at 
Cape  Negro,  164. 

BECCARI,  Negritos  in  New  Guinea,  28. 

BELCHER,  SIR  EDWARD,  marriage 
among  the  Mincopies,  99. 

BELUTCHIS,  a  people  of  India,  55. 

BHILS,  stature  of,  42. 

BINOUAS,  a  people  in  the  Malay  pe- 
ninsula, 136. 

BLAIR,  LIEUTENANT,  on  the  Minco- 
pies, 105. 

Boro-Boudour,  bas-relief  of,  in  Java, 
26. 

Bows  of  the  Mincopies,  111. 

BRAHOUIS,  a  people  of  India,  9 ;  de- 
scription of,  55. 

BRANDER,  measurements  of  Minco- 
pies, 65 ;  intelligence  of,  96. 

BROCA,  arm  proportions  of  Minco- 
pies, 81. 

BLTFON,  on  pygmies  of  the  an- 
cients, 6. 

BUSHMEN,  language,  196;  physical 
characters,  190 ;  stature,  67 ;  wor- 
ship of  animals,  202. 

CAMPBELL,  JUSTICE,  on  aborigines  of 
India,  36  ;  religious  beliefs  of  the 
Bushmen,  201. 

Cannibalism  among  the  Negritos, 
155. 

OlNCALLES,  12,  171. 

COORUMBAS,  a  Negrito  people  of  the 

Ganges  basin,  40. 
251 


252 


THE  PYGMIES. 


Counting  among  the  Mincopies,  95  i 
Bushmen,  196. 

CRAWFUKD,  description  of  the  "Ne- 
grito-Papuans, 60. 

Creation,  ideas  concerning,  among 
the  Hottentots,  206;  the  Minco- 
pies, 126. 

Crossings,  48  et  seq. 

CTESIAS,  on  pygmies  of  India,  9,  10. 

CUVIER,  opinion  on  the  crocodiles  of 
the  Niger  and  the  Nile,  14. 

DALTON,  stature  measurements,  70 ; 

illustrations  of  Negritos,  37. 
Diseases  among  the  Mincopies,  85. 
DOMS,  a  people  of  western  India,  41. 
DRAVIDIANS,  extension  of,  55  ;  origin, 

53,  93 ;  stature,  42. 
Dress    and    ornament    among    £he 

Mincopies,  119. 

EARL,  on  the  Negrito-Papuans,  61. 
ELPHINSTONE,  on  the  Jauts,  54. 
ETHIOPIANS,  Eastern  and   Oriental, 
mentioned  by  Herodotus,  58. 

Festivals  of  the  Hottentots,  208  et 
seq. 

Fetichism  among  the  Bushmen,  202. 

Fire  among  the  Mincopies,  108 ; 
among  the  Manthras  of  Malacca, 
155. 

FLEURIOT  DE  LANGLE,  ADMIRAL,  de- 
scription of  an  Akoa,  166. 

FLOWER,  hair  of  the  Mincopies,  77  ; 
measurements  of,  65 ;  skulls  of,  83  ; 
original  home  of  the  Negroes,  185. 

Funeral  rites  among  the  Aetas,  160 ; 
Mincopies,  106  ;  Negritos  of  Ma- 
lacca, 160. 

GALLAS,  12. 

Gama-gorib,  a  god  of  the  Hottentots, 

225. 
Gaunab,  a  god  of  the  Hottentots,  222 ; 

origin  of  the  name,  234. 
GEOFFROY    SAINT-HILAIRE,  opinion 


on  crocodiles  of  the  Niger  and  the 
Nile,  14. 

Ghosts  am6ng  Mincopies,  107, 129. 

LA  GIRONIERE,  FATHER,  funeral  rites 
among  the  Aetas,  160;  marriage, 
152 ;  religion,  158. 

Good  and  evil  recognised  by  Bush- 
men, 202 ;  by  Hottentots,  224. 

Guardian  of  youth  among  the  Min- 
copies, 99.  . 

Gurub  (the  thunder),  a  Hottentot 
god,  218. 

HAHN,  on  the  Hottentots,  194,  200 ; 
chants  of,  209,  219;  gods,  205; 
legends,  213  et  seq. ;  mythological 
theory  concerning,  233  ;  summary 
of  religious  beliefs,  236. 

HAMY,  on  the  Negrillos,  19, 167. 

Hares,  in  Hottentot  legends,  214, 217. 

Heitsi-eibib,  a  god  of  the  Hottentots, 
212. 

HERODOTUS,  on  a  small  Libyan  peo- 
ple, 12  ;  on  the  Ethiopians,  58. 

HOME,  EVERARD,  description  of  the 
Negrito-Papuans,  61. 

HOMER,  home  of  the  pygmies,  1,  2. 

Hospitality  among  the  Mincopies, 
104. 

HOTTENTOTS,  astronomical  myths, 
221;  belief  in  future  life,  226; 
beneficent  gods  of,  205,  212,  218, 
220 ;  chants,  209,  219  ;  doctors,  203 ; 
evil  gods,  222;  language,  196; 
legends,  213, 226  ;  migrations,  197 ; 
moon  worship,  217 ;  physical  and 
other  characters,  189, 194 ;  priests, 
203,  231;  religious  beliefs,  199; 
sorcerers,  231 ;  superstitions,  232. 

JAUTS,  a  people  of  India,  54. 

KARONS,   or  KARONIS,   a  people   of 

New  Guinea,  28. 
Kham,  Khab  (the  moon),  216. 
KHOI-KHOI.     See  HOTTENTOTS. 


IXDEX. 


253 


K  HO  LES,  or  COOLEES,  peoples  of  India, 
56. 

Kjoekkenmoeddings  of  the  Anda- 
man Islands,  117. 

KOLARI,  a  Negrito  people,  BO. 

KOLBE,  on  the  Hottentote,  203 ;  wor- 
ship of  evil  gods,  222. 

LAPLANDERS,  stature  of,  67. 

LATHAM,  on  crosses  of  the  Negritos 
in  India,  50. 

LIVINGSTONE,  Hottentote'  belief  in 
God,  200 ;  cattle  of  the  Hottentots, 
197. 

LOGAN,  funeral  rites  of  the  Negritos 
of  Malacca,  160 ;  on  the  Biuouas, 
136,  146 ;  original  home  of  the 
Negroes,  185  ;  Shamanism,  159. 

MAGET,  DR.,  on  Negritos  in  Japan, 
27. 

MALLAS,  or  MAZE-MALLEAS,  12, 172. 

MAN,  acquaintance  with  the  Minco- 
pies,  90;  courage  of,  123;  food, 
121;  measurements,  65;  on  prop- 
erty among,  104;  religious  ideas, 
124 ;  stone  tools,  114  et  seq. 

MANTHRAS,  a  people  of  Malacca,  146, 
151;  huts  of,  156. 

MARCHE,  measurements  of  Aetas,  64 ; 
of  the  Negritos  of  Malacca,  67  ; 
stature  of  the  Negrillos,  168. 

Marriage  among  the  Aetas,  152  ;  the 
Mincopies,  98. 

MAURY,  5. 

MEYER,  on  the  eastern  blacks,  28; 
Negritos  of  New  Guinea,  60. 

MIANI,  an  African  traveller,  175. 

MICLUKO-MACLAY,  measurements  of 
the  Negritos  of  Malacca,  67. 

MINCOPIES,  46  ;  ability  to  count,  95  ; 
belief  in  future  life,  129 ;  compared 
with  Negroes,  78 ;  with  Aetas,  79 ; 
demons,  126;  description  ot,  75; 
dress  and  ornament,  119;  food, 
121 ;  funeral  rites,  106  ;  hair,  77 ; 


hospitality,  104;  ideas  of  sin,  122; 
of  creation,  131 ;  industries,  108 ; 
language,  90;  measurements,  65; 
naming  children,  102;  physical 
similarity,  74 ;  physiological  char- 
acters, 84  et  seq. ;  property,  104 ; 
shamans,  134 ;  tribes,  97 ;  utensils, 
bearing  on  Tertiary  man,  112  et 
seq. 

Mindanao,  Negritos  of,  153. 

Modesty  among  the  Mincopies,  99, 
160. 

Mohammedanism,  advent  in  Malay- 
sia, 52. 

Mois,  Negritos  of  the  Annamitic 
peninsula,  35. 

MOLLIEN,  on  the  Negrillos,  169. 

Monogamy  among  the  Mincopies,  99. 

MONTANO,  character  of  the  Negritos, 
162 ;  funeral  rites  among  the  Man- 
thras,  160;  language  of  the  Negri- 
tos, 144  et  seq. ;  measurements  of 
the  Aetas,  64 ;  of  the  Negritos  of 
Malacca,  67 ;  social  condition  of 
the  Negritos  of  the  Philippines, 
149 ;  of  the  Negritos  of  Mindanao, 
153. 

MOUAT,  character  of  the  Mincopies, 
162;  use  of  fire,  109. 

Music  among  the  Mincopies,  109. 

Mythology  of   the  Hottentots,  205 


Nabas  (the  lightning),  a  Hottentot 
god,  218. 

Names  among  Hottentots,  195;  Min- 
copies, 102. 

Nanub  (the  storm-cloud),  a  Hotten- 
tot god,  218. 

NASAMONES,  explorations  in  Libya, 
12  et  seq. 

Necklaces  of  human  bones,  107. 

NEGRILLOS,  19;  centres  of  popula- 
tion, 169;  early  notices  of,  164  ;t 
original  extension,  184 ;  stature,  67, 
168,  171. 


254: 


THE  PYGMIES. 


NEGRITOS,  belief  in  future  life,  159 ; 
cannibalism,  155 ;  cause  of  ettace- 
inent  in  India,  53,  69 ;  continental 
group,  31 ;  crossings,  29,  33,  49,  68 ; 
descriptions,  32,  45;  extensi6n  of 
insular  group,  25 ;  general  charac- 
ter, 162;  home,  24,  59;  industries, 
155 ;  language,  144 ;  limit,  30 ; 
measurements,  64 ;  photographs, 
70 ;  physical  characters,  20 ;  pres- 
ence in  Annamitic  peninsula,  35 ; 
in  Bengal,  40 ;  in  Gangetic  penin- 
sula. 36 ;  in  Japan,  27 ;  religion,  158 ; 
skill  as  sailors,  48 ;  skull  charac- 
ters, 39  ;  social  condition,  148 ;  two 
groups,  24. 

Negrito  branch  of  eastern  blacks,  18. 

NEGRITO-PAPUANS,  centre  of  popula- 
tion in  New  Guinea,  46 ;  confused 
with  true  Papuans,  62 ;  description, 
60 ;  limited  to  pelagic  areas,  47. 

NEGROES,  centre  of  dispersion,  51. 

Niger,  discovery  and  course  of,  13 
et  seq. 

ORIENTAL  and  OCCIDENTAL  NEGRI- 
TOS, 45 ;  separation,  46. 

Original  home  of  mankind,  186. 

OWEN,  KICHARD,  on  a  submerged 
continent,  47. 

Papuan  branch  of  eastern  blacks,  18. 

PAPUANS,  characters  of,  20;  home, 
22. 

Phthisis  among  the  Mincopies,  85. 

PLINY,  on  the  home  of  the  pyg- 
mies, 4. 

Poisoned  arrows,  157. 

Polynesia,  languages  of,  94. 

POMPONIUS  MELA,  on  the  home  of 
the  pygmies,  11. 

Pottery  among  the  Mincopies,  111. 

POUGKT,  FATHER,  on  the  language  of 
the  Negritos  of  Malacca,  146. 

Priests  among  the  Hottentots,  203, 
231. 


Promiscuity  among  the  Mincopies, 

99. 
Property  among  the  Mincopies,  104 ; 

among  the  Negritos  of  Mindanao, 

153. 
PRUSIANS,  pygmies  in  the  mountains 

of  the,  8. 
Puluga,  the  god  of  the   Mincopies, 

121, 124. 
PUTTOUAS,  stature  of,  70. 

RAMA,  an  Aryan  hero,  52. 
Keligious  ideas  of  the  Bushmen  and 

Hottentots,  196;  of  the  Mincopies, 

130  et  seq. 
ROULIN,  on  the  home  of  the  pygmies, 

7,8. 
ROUSSELET,  on  the  Negritos,  69. 

SAINT-JOHN,  LIEUTENANT,  on  the  re- 
ligious ideas  of  the  Mincopies,  128. 

DE  SAINT-POL,  description  of  the 
Sakaies,  80. 

SAKAIES,  clothing,  156;  description 
of,  76 ;  photographs,  32. 

SAN.     See  Bushmen. 

SCHWEINFURTH  discovers  the  Akkas, 
3, 173 ;  on  the  shape  of  the  head 
of  the  Akkaa,  178. 

SEMANGS,  a  people  of  the  Malacca 
peninsula,  31 ;  stature,  43. 

Senses,  acuteness  of,  in  Mincopies, 
84. 

Shamans  among  Binouas,  137 ;  Min- 
copies, 134 ;  other  peoples,  140, 1 59. 

SMITH,  HAMILTON,  Negroes  in  south- 
ern Asia,  57. 

Sorcerers  among  the  Hottentots,  231. 

STOKOE,  LIEUTENANT,  worship  among 
Mincopies,  128. 

STOLICZKA,  DR.,  on  Kjoekkenmoed- 
dings  of  the  Andaman  Islands, 
117. 

Stone  tools  among  Mincopies,  113 
et  seq. 

Storks,  wars  of  pygmies  with,  2,  4. 


INDEX. 


255 


Superstitions  associated  with  reli- 
gious ideas,  142 ;  among  Hotten- 
tots, 232. 

Syphilis  among  Mincopies,  85. 

Taboo  among  Mincopies,  103, 121. 
Tattooing  among  Mincopies,  120. 
TEMPLE,  on  the  language  of  Min- 
copies, 92. 

Tertiary  man,  112, 118. 
Thenay,  118. 


TRISPITHAMES,  5. 

Tsui-goa,  a  god  of  the  Hottentots, 
205  ;  origin  of  the  name,  234. 


WA-BEBBIKIMOS,  12,  171. 
Wars  among  Mincopies,  105. 
WOLFF,  DR.,  on  the  Batouas,  171  ;  on 

stature  of  Bushmen,  67. 
Women,  influence  of,  among  the  Hot- 

tentots, 195. 


THE    END. 


'nvarana:  IHVHSTI 

tU  x3Pn!  'PH,,  'JBJ  Ja 


•ja^poj 
siq}    uiojj 
PJBD    aq} 

9AOUI9J 
JOU     OQ 


imm 
omoaoi  do  URHUIO