( 107 ) 



CHAPTEE XII. 



The ! K^vk, or Perforated Stone. 



Better known probably than any other stone implement is the 

 perforated stone, either quite globular or partly so, flat or sub- 

 quadrate, but with the angles always rounded, which is designated 

 here : Bushman-Stone. 



This implement, according to Stow," was termed 'T'koe, or Tikoe, 

 and was used to give %veight and impetus to the " Kibi " or digging- 

 stick ; it was also occasionally used as an offensive weapon or club. 



Miss Dora Bleek informs me, however, that the word is " ! Kwe," 

 and that it is not used by itself, but in connection with the digging- 

 stick, thus : ! Kwe Ka ! ! Kha ! ! Ka = the stick with the digging 

 stone ; the signs ! and ! ! representing each a special click peculiar 

 to the language of the " Sans." Dr. D. R. Kannemeyer corroborates 

 this appellation, which he obtained from an old Bushman long ago, 

 only there seems to be a transposition. Phonetically spelled it reads 

 Ka Ka Kowe. i 



The chai'acteristic of these stone implements is the manner in 

 which the median hole is bored. The process of perforation is 

 invariably begun on each side, or pole, the holes thus resulting being 

 conical ; they meet in the centre, and the bore is on that account 

 never quite straight. The unfinished specimens (No. 1, of Fig. 161, 

 PI. XXL), shows very clearly the process. But by making the 

 initial perforations too large in proportion to the size of the already 

 naturally rounded stone, it often broke in two before completion. This 

 is a kind of fracture which is especially noticeable, and of common 

 occurrence with the unfinished implement. A glance at Pis. XX. 

 and XXI. and the adjoined measurements of the pieces will give a 

 good idea of these implements and their relative size. But unlike 



* The Native Races of South Africa. 



t The e is long and at the same time very open, hence my use of the (jruve, 

 instead of the acute accent, as prescribed by the Eoyal Geographical Society. 



