Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/565

 APPENDIX U. 401 of the Oip^b simply as "class prefixes" analogous to those of the Bantu system. They certainly seem to indioate, besides sex, the qualities of strength, rigour, courage (masculine), or else anything soft, effeminate, weak or delicate (feminine). Thus the Masai call themselves t7 Oigoh = " the men," uuing the masculine {Mirticle, whereas their Wa-Kwafi neighbours ore stigmatined with the feminine particle, as im- Barawuio, plural em-Jiarawui, implying weakness or effeminacy. It is also noteworthy that, as with the Bantu prefixes, the masculine and feminine articles are repeated in a more or less modified form, both before the noun and its adjective. Thus : ol'doeno oibor = the-mouutaiu the-whito (masculine) ; enanga na-ibor = the-dress the-white (feminine). These forms are most instructive as probably supplying the crude begin- ning of the highly develoi>ed alliterative Bantu system on the one hand, and on the other those of true grammatical gender as fully elaborated in the higher orders of inflecting si)eech. Compare, for instance, with the foregoing examples, the Zulu-Kafir : in- Ami en-Knlu = the-cliief the-great ; and the Latin : domin-a me-a = lady-the my-the, where the parallelism between the respective initial and final " euphonic concords " is obvious. Here also we see how the different morphological orders of si)eech merge imperceptibly one in the other, and how groundless is the new philological dfxtrine that these several orders are definitely fixed, and, like Cuvier's animal and vegetable species, incapable of further transformation. Although Isltim has made considerable progress, especially amongst the Funj of Senaar, the Sliilluks, Dinkas, and other Nilotic Negro tribes, the bulk of the people are still practically nature-worshippers. Witchcraft continues to flourish amongst the Equatorial tribes, and important events are almost everywhere attended by sanguinary rites. When preparing for battle, the " medicine-man " flays an infant and places the bleeding victim on the war-path to be trampled by the warriors marching to victor)'. Cannibalism also, in some of its most repulsive forms, prevails amongst the Nyam-Nyam, who barter in human fat as a universal staple of trade ; and amongst the Monbuttu, who cure for future use the bodies of the slain in battle, and "drive their prisoners before them, as butchers drive sheep to the shambles, and these are only reserved to fall victims on a later day to their horrible and sickly greediness." * Yet many of these peoples are skilled agriculturists, and cultivate some of the useful industries, such as iron smelting and casting, weaving and pottery, with great success. The form and ornamental designs of their utensils display real artistic taste, while the temper of their iron-implements is often superior to that of the imported Euroi>oan hanlwaro. Here again the observation has been made, that the tribes most addicted to cannibalism also excel in mental qualities and physical energy. Nor are they strangers to the finer feelings of human nature, and above all the surrounding peoples the Zandeh anthro- pophagists are distinguished by their regard and devotion for the weaker sex. -East side Victoria Nyan». dominant from the Wa-8og« territory to the Kercw« J' Island, south-east corner of the lake. iSjioech appears to bo Negro and akin to Shilluk. " The Wa-Kavirondo are by no means attractive in their appear- ance, and contrast unfavourably with the ^lasai. Their heads am of a dis- tinctly lower type, eyes dull and muddy, jawa somewhat prognathous, mouth unpleasantly hirgc, and lii>« thick, pnyeciing and erortod ; they are, in l«ct, true Negroes." — Jo(»eph Thom»on, " Through Maaai Land." p. 474. X»nda . . Xanda uplands, north of Kavirondo. fierce wild tribea of uncertain affinities. Skefalu . . North U-Nyoro, akin to the Shilluks. g^J^ •) Between the Lower Somerset Nile and the Madi Mountains, and limited westwards £g^^ * I by the Bahr-el-Jebel. Onmhil. . . Kirim. • I Middle and Upper Sobat ba«n. Kara Mala Ithing
 * Schweinforth, op. cit., it p. 9S.