NATIVE TRIBES OF SOUTH AFRICA.
THE native tribes in South Africa are the Hottentots, Bushmen, and the various Bantu or Kafir tribes. The word Hottentot is a foreign term, and the people to whom it is applied call themselves “Khoi Khoin,” which means “Men of Men.” They are yellowish brown in color, under medium height. They generally live in small communities in kraals, or villages, in huts of wickerwork covered with reed and grass mats. They practise polygamy, believe in ghosts and witchcraft, and have a form of ancestor worship. The Bushmen are pygmies, about four feet in height, and resemble the Hottentots in many respects. They are a race of hunters. The word “Bantu” means “people.” The Bantu vary from black to brown in color, and comprise all the Kafir and Zulu tribes of South and Central Africa. They have a belief in departed spirits and spiritual agencies, chiefly evil, whom they seek to propitiate by sacrifices. The detection of so-called witchcraft is practised by a host of witch-doctors, and is the cause of great cruelty and injustice. Those declared guilty have their property confiscated, and are put to death by torture. Wives are purchased with cattle, and vary in number according to buying power of purchaser.