The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-14 00:00:00

CREMORNE GARDENS
THE KAFIRS.
The contiouance of the war on the borders of the Cape
colony and the numerous dispatches of Sir Harry Smith
and Lord Cathcart having directed a good deal of atten-
tion in this country to tae reale enaracier of the Kafirs,
we gladly evtiled ourselves the other day, when on a
visit to Cremorne Gardens, of an opportunity of seeing
footpreeetioti htehieeg
itaxwhoi.bites‘d,ethfeoroenidn
tahlee
(rter
hp
spscereaondteeidircytoienan7
some natives belonging to three of the tribes who are at
rhooehrgi e
at et,)o andut;
twitho gac
nl az
eg
ett
nu mbasebvkieuiiringi i)noanef
IdAs
oapttreoiopc thepoals ine
the stage of a commodious theatre, with
the stage,
one of whom gives a most interesting
expla-
natory address, and the other acts as interpreter and
induces the natives to display a number of
eir native
customs, &c., &c. We give the substance of the lec-
turer's remarks, from which our readers will be able to
trhoeusKreaficres.of 'p.rehoaptlenasmesettaerpepdeaorvsetro a
form a tolerably correct estimate of the actual nature of
bg6oogelivpenarttoofa tnheemine--
terior of South Africa between Cape Colony and Mo-
zambiqae, hut divided into separate and independent
tribes. The three tribes to which the Kafirs at Cremorne
belong are the Armakosa, the Amamfenda, and the
Zoolus. There is also a little girl, the child of the
Zoolu man and the Amamfenda woman, who was bap-
appear the
t o be a m
Uses'. some months since in Worcester Cathedral, the
he
men being much
under
oefiehbeappetifsmth.e
r dioceseby s himselfcaf lelyw
o performingtfheth eliira fi
ra
remarkablyoer
ts
than
xfeet
a
unniend erra
height,cet and most of Ahem even rather
hat stature, while their bodies are
more distinguished by an unusual degree of symmetry
and grace in their formation than they are even for
fi
strength and vigour.
In fact, the body of one of the
Kafirs at Cremorne is the most perfect model of the hu-
man form that we ever saw. intellectually as well as
physically the Kafirs would appear to be superior to the
savage tribes generally, their brains being large in
volume and of active quality, while they exhibit a good
deal of intelligence in a great number and variety of
manufactures, both in skins, basket work, wood, bone,
ivory, and even metals. Socially, the Kafirs appear to
be by no means in an enviable position, as their women
have the whole of the work to do, while the men occupy
their time in hunting and fighting. The practice of poly-
gamy also prevails universally amongst them, each
male, from the chief downwards, making it an object of
pride and ambition to have as many wives as possible,
the only limit to the number being the possession of a
sufficient number of cattle to exchange for them, mar-
riage, so far as the union between the sexes deserves that
name, being merely a matter of bargain, where, from five
or six up to forty or fifty cows or oxen are given for a
wife according to her rank, beauty, and domestic accom-
plishments. The peculiar religious, or rather irreligique,
nature of this people is perhaps the most interesting fea-
ture in the Kafir character. Their very name is full
of meaning, signifying in the original Arabic, from
which it was obtained, " infidel," or " unbeliever," and
certainly the Kafirs are the most unbelieving of all un-
believers—being living contradictions to the rest of
mankind, who manifest their religious feelings in one
form or another, even though it be the Fetish worship of
the negroes of Guinealand, whilst the Kafirs have
neither temple, priest, nor idol, no ceremony, ao creed,
no sign, form, or word that can properly be called reli-
gious. Witchcraft may be called the religion of the
Kars, and they resort to the agency of witches of one
kind or another upon all occasions of interest or import-
ance to them. In fact, with the exception of the chief of
the tribe and his counsellors, none appear to possess
anything like the influence of the witch doctors, and
other
witches of different classes; and the records of
former Kafir wars, as well
he present, show that the
councils and actions even oa;h t
principal
chiefs
are
mainly influenced by the incantations and cunning of the
principal witch of the tribe.
In their mode of liviz.g the Kati s appear be simple
enough, their clothing, when cad r
a, all,
formed of strips of the skins of such'anin"l 'b
s e
as mg
chiefly
the wolf,
hymns, jackal, and mountain cat, hungaaeut
various
parts aft their bodies, with the addition of tuftsvarosf
leathers, bones, rings, betide, and other ornaments that
they are fond of wearing in great profusion; most of them
add a skin cloak or karosse, worn from the shoulders,
to the feet. The dress of the female ie. formed of two cow-
skies, one wrapped tightly round the body, beneath the
armpits, the other as an external cloak, the out-:,r one
(from various additions seldom weighing less than thirty
pounds) being a kind of garment more cumbrous than
ornamental. The chief food of the Kafirs is a coarse
kind of grain, called " =lie," which is taken, in various
forms, with large quantities of thick and sour milk. They eat
also of such animals as they catch or kill by hunting, or
as are given to them by the chief for the purpose, though
they do not like to kill their own cows tor food. They
do not, however, confine themselves to the flesh and
tat, but seem to consider the inner parts,the entrails, be.,
as the principal dainties. They will not take either fish
or:pork, the latter;being by no means the only respect in
which they resemble the descendants of Abraham. Their
dwellings (when not in the bush) are formed of branches
of wood, which the women frequently have to go several
miles to cut, end then carry to the place where the hut
is to be erected. The branches are joined together at
the top, and bent towards the ground, when they are
fastened in with little wooden pegs. The hut is seldom
more than eight or nine feet high and fourteen or sixteen
across, being plastered over on the inside with a yellow-
ish clay, and thatched on the outside with a broad-
leafed grass.
The language of the Kafirs, like most of the South
African dialects, contains a good many " clicks" and
" chicks," and other guttural sounds; but the practice
of adding vowels to the end of their words, gives some
degree of euphony to their harsh intonations. It is a
somewhat curious fact, that though the Kafirs are totally
ignorant of anything like writing, the grammar of their
language, as we have it now from six or seven different
authors, shows it to be more simple, perfect and uni-
form, than almost any language of ancient or modern
times, with which linguists have become acquainted.
Of the amusements of this interesting people, it is not
necessary to say much, it being confined to rude songs
and rude dances, that appear to differ a little according
to the occasion, but to form a part of every interesting
ceremony; they are, however, wall worth hearing and
seeing, being of the most novel and characteristic kind.
We have purposely left till the last some remarks
upon the warlike and ferocious character of the Kafirs,
of whom it may be truly said at present, that " their
hand is against every other man, and every other mated
hand is against them." Bravery, accompanied by an
almost total disregard of danger and of death, seems to
characterise this people, and acme of their tribes are
able to bring from 30,000 to 40,000 warriors into the
field. Many of them, chiefly owing to the establishment
of a Kafir police at the close of the last war, the mem-
bers of which deserted to their tribes when the present
war broke out, carrying with them their arms, have
become acquainted with tee nature and use of the British
musket, but the principal weapons of the Katirs are long,
light, well-formed spears, or, as they are called, " asse-
gais," which some of them use to thrust at their
enemies, but most throw with great
and force,
seldom failing to hit a moderatelyd size mark even at the
distance of 60 yards and upwards.
The resolute and determined character of the Kafirs
may be inferred from the repeated and protracted wars
between some of their trieea and the colonists; and
though we are now engaged in the eighth lisfir war
since 1817, we are no nearer subjugating the lisfirs or
expelling them from the borders of the colony than wo
were. 40 years ago. We do not, however, purpose I
this article to enter upon the debatable ground of colonial
policy, or either to accuse our countrymen at the. Capeand
Of injustice, or our dark skinned brethren of f
thebetiome
cruelty. When the true causes of these
waurspon both
known there may be found to have been
faulty
for both par-
sides, and perhaps, after all, the best course
lrake
friends," if
ties would be to " shake hands and
bane merely sought to
such could be effected. We te- impressionse produced
convey to our readers some9efgeto Cremorne, and the
by the exhibition of nativehet n
character and conaition
instructive lecture upon
Ind strongly urge our readers
delivered by Mr. Greig
c,s: interesting strangers, whose
to pay a visit to
rLbent causing us so much cost and
countrymen are at P".Afeica.
trouble in Southern