The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-06-12
The Subtle Hottentot
 and His Language

Washington, D. C., June 11.-(special.)-- Pity the poor Hottentot!
 He has been misused as a metaphor for iras- cibility, which he scarcely deserves
 His name represents a Dutch effort to imi- tate his speech, which cannot be spelled in Dutch, English or any other language.
 And, after all, his quaint clicking and cluck- ing is not so different from the method by which farmer summons his chickens, huck- ster signals his horse to move along, or the plain ,'tut, tut" of anyone who is annoyed
 These facts are set forth in bulletin from the National Geographical socetys Washing ton D. G. headquarters concerning the recent outbreak among Hottentots in the Southwest Africa, which was formerly German, but now is a British mandate.
 "The phioIogists have done better by Hot tentotese than they have by your own language" says the bulletin, "for they have devised sym bols for tongue tricks that resemble the crack ing of whip and pulling cork from an empty bottle, whereas these and other symbols of our own everyday use only be described, not written.
 "If you will pronounce the three syllables of 'Hottentot with snap and vgor you will gain an idea of the onomatopoetic quality of the Dutch appellation for the Khoi-Khoin, or men of men,, as they prefer to call themselves.
 'Formerly the Hottentots ranged through most of southern Africa. Today they are to be found mostly in the Cape Colony and in South west Africa. Few pure Hottentots remain even in those places. Their origin long formed fas- cinating problem for students of human races. Some though they were an offshooot of the fod in nrohi &oNfr times Others believed them to be the missing Hamites At present they are generally clas- sifed as blending of many centuries ago be- tween the Bantu natives and the Bushmen.
 "There are some surprising parallels between the customs of this primitive people and those of our own civilization. They are good con- servationists. They camp in places where pas ture lands are rich, but move before the grass has been depleted. Their exercises upon set ting in new krall resemble rural American house warming ceremonies. Women bring flowers, herbs and foliage to arbor which forms the center of the homestead. Murder is punished severely, but if the miscreant es- capes and is not caught within year he is im- mune, legal practice suggestive of our time limit upon debt collection. Their chiefs levy tax upon hunters consisting of certain quarters of the animals killed, and distribute this meat to the poor. But this communal care does not extend to the aged or to children who are de- formed or crippled. Frequently both are killed.
 "When the young Hottentot's fancy turns to love he informs his parents, they choose wife by arrangement with the father of likely maid, and then the prospective bridegroom and all his relatives drive several fat oxen to the home of his lady love. The oxen are slain for the wedding breakfast, which is all-day feast, and tribal patriarch sprinkles the couple in manner suggestive of Christian baptism. Then the young man goes off to his hunting and his bride does all the other work. Her son will be known by her family name, and daughter by the family name of the father. As mother she will command high respect and in her name her husband and sons will take any especially oath.
 Despite the ferocious connotation of his name the primitive Hottentot seldom engaged in war He was accounted gentle and trac- table. His most explosive quality was his lan- guage, now rapidly disappearing, which was easy enough so far as the noises that sounded like fuse had just burned out, and also in re- spect to it's vowelzed syllables, but the rapid combination of the two few white men could initiate. There was little reason for the Hot tentot to fight, since all he required for his simple communal life was a patch of grass. In the evening he danced and sang and smoked His musical instruments were few. The char acteristic orchestral piece the gorah, crude sort of mouth organ made of hollow stick and the entrails of sheep. A drum and a reed which had the quality of flute com +bo Iir+v