New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-08-28
THE TWO SOUTH AFRICAN RACES.
WIDELY DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS VI
THE GARIEPINEs AND BANTUs.

The Rev John Mackenzie, in Good Words.
Speaking Of South African native races ana
guided by comparative phllOlogy, We hn9 'hss
there are only two distinct famllles OF peopIe ~
the whole country. There are yer! many suo
divisions or clans. but only t"o dlstnO' ia',N
These have been named by comparative phioio'
gis,s the Gariepine family and the bahtu fanny:
The Gariepine are yellow, llSh'-'ohp'eA,'o'nneu
people with 0blique eyes. strongly resemoihs
Chinese or Mongolians in all matters Of personal
annearauce except the hair which merely doo
the head like bushes in barren country ana u
curly The old tribe names are ~e.hlgh dis'
used now in public returns in IN" colony
ON the mothers side these coIored people arc
chiefly Gariepine: but they probably know no
language now except Dutch and English, lhis
Is certainly true Of the young le"ple' ro.us
by the first Europeans in possession OF VIC
southwest portion Of the continent. the! Nele
pastoral people. and loved the banks OF I'VE ,ss
for their hocks and herds. Like some OF .a'
tribes Of North Asia twhom thy "ther"ise iw
semble physically. these yelo" S"uth 1,ii's sS
made their huts with mats "hl'h 'hes sph
over slender bent poles When as Stdzieis uv,
wished 10 move their herds. they folded UP te.
mats. collected and tied up the slender poes o "
their nuts. secured all on the ha'hs .. i PC.
oxen and proceeded to their next s'a@"e,
grounds. much in the same way ~ la' 'a'' 90"
MOngOlians are doing to-day ,r
Beyond the woody hair which these TWO Ia'
lilies OF Africans have IN common me! az an
all other respects widely different from w w,ow
People speak varieties OF "suiiN ldhs u,,h
while in common with the islanders "i t's ,a,s
Seas. the Bantu or Dark People SPEAK ia an are
Of prefix language. The l"H"" fI. "a
akin To North Asia and 10 Europe h"' o.I' .,
speaking suiliX languages. hut also !" So
their ancient customs. There H. tor hsl'n. sn
the interesting fact that among ASia''.s as ,he
as Europeans and from the earliest tiineS, 80
daughter has been the "milkinaid OF .n 'sh
lily as indeed the derivation OF our worn '"'e
ter itself conveys to US the
The ancient custom is the same ahlone ar
Gariepine people in South Africa. nav ~
the girls OF those Yellow People go iorN" md
an evening to meet the Homecoming ~ ~, rms
deftly throwing rein or cord over w TOO ar
lead them quietly TO the neiGhpoI,i'e IN the
pole and proceed to milk them ~ Rantu
same neighborhood in a village oi III, =. ost.
people no woman might enter the kraai VI .Sor
tie pen. minge with the cattle II w." short
hidden" according TO their old CUSTOMS "
il was "uncanny. ,. scbolars
Again. it is well known To 'hihese 10 that
Mat there are tones In Chinese '"a' hicb a
the height or lowness Of the zone -, -, meaning
word is uttered will decide what Is xr,sd that
Of the word For instance am lhlo. ~, tone
in Chinese a certain word, III NV s,hsist. in
means To fly; in the second tone; ~ nth tone,
the third tone 10 swim. and III nv o,s.s words
to issue How necessary 70 pic" s.y n Is
Alright in China, But. stranse ~ - one Is
equally necessary in South Air,va' lam
speaking the old HottentOt OF NJ nv Rleek
guage Thus in the latter la'su' t',rced in
tells us that q certain word IL p,ame word,
loud key means handkerchief. the sam" I'D four
three notes lower. means the spot any
notes lower still. IL stands i"r wy ,as of the
dark Beyond the loZenge- shapeu .'snfix Ian.
Yellow People their milkmaids' thel' ~ theis
guages. it would seem that the t." ,hsi, formss
old language complete the prooi VI
connection with North Asia