The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1898-12-15
SOUTH AFRICAN RACES
The widely Different ChaPaeteristies
- the Gariepines aaa
the Bantas.

Speeding Of South African native
races. and guided by comparative
philology. We find that there are only
two distinct families Of people in the
whole country. There are very many
subdivisions or clans. but only two dis
tinct races. These have been named
by comparative Philologists the
Gariepine family and the Bantu fam
lily. The Gariepine are yellow, light
complexioned people. with oblique
eyes. strongly resembling Chinese or
Mongolians in all matters Of personal
appearance except the hair, which
merely dots the head like bushes in Il
barren country. and is curly. The old
tribe names are well-nigh disused now
in public returns in the colony.
On the mothers side these colored
people are chiefly Gariepine; but they
probably know no language now ex-
cept Dutch and English. This is GER
tainly true of the young people. Found
by the first Europeans in possession of
the southwest portion Of the con-
tinent, they were pastoral people, and
loved the banks or rivers for their
focks and herds. Like some Of the
tribes of North Asia (whom they
otherwise resemble physically. these
yellow South Africans made their huts
with mats which they spread over
slender bent poles. When as graziers
they wished to move their herds. the y
folded up their mats, collected and tied
up the slender poles of their huts. Sc.
cured all on the backs of pack oxen
and proceeded to their next grazing.
grounds, much in the same way as
Tartars and Mongolians are doing to-
day.
Beyond the woolly hair which these
two families Of Africans have in com
mon, they are in all other respects
widely different from one another. Ir
common with Europeans, the yellow
people speak varieties OF "suf1ix'
language; while in common with the
islanders OF the South seas. the Bantr
or dark people speak dialects Of q
prefix" language. The yellow people
are akin to North Asia and to Europe
not only as speaking suffix languages
but also in some of their ancient Gus
toms. There Is, for instance, the in
teresting fact that among AHatics a.
we'll as Europeans, and from the earli
est times. the daughter" has been tn,
"milkmaid" Of the family. as indeed
the derivation Of our word daughter
itself conveys to US.
The ancient custom is the same
among the Gariepine people in South
Africa. I have seen the girls OF thos,
yellow people go forward OF an even
ing to meet the homecoming COWS
and. deftly throwing a rein or core
over their horns, lead them quietl,
TO the neighboring tree or pole. an,
proceed to milk them. Now in tn,
same neighborhood. in a village OF tn
Bantu people, 10 woman might ente,
the kraal or cattlepen. or mingl'
with the cattle: It was forbidden" &C
oordlng to their old customs; in short
II was "uncanny."
Again, il Is well known to Chimes.
| scholars that there are stones" II
Chinese; that is. that the height o
lowness OF the tone in which a word i
uttered will decide what is the mean
| Ing Of the word. For instance, an
Informed that In Chinese a certain
word. In the first tone. means to fly
In the second tone, TO subsist: in tn
third tone, to swim; and in the fourt
tone, to issue. How necessary to pi itcl
one's words Alright In China! But
strunge to say. il Is equally necessar
In South Africa. II one is speaking tn
old Hottentot or Koranns Language
Thus, in the latter language. DR.. Blee
tells us that certain word, il pro
nounced in loud key. means hand
| kerchiet; the same word. three note
lower. means the spot, and four note
lower still, il stands for the ad jectiy
dark. Beyond the lozeng--sha ped eye
OF the yellow people, their milkmaids
their sufliS languages. IT would seer
that the tones" Of their old languag
complete the proof of their forme
connection with North Asia. - Rev
John Mackenzie. in Good Words.