ABORIGINAL PLACE NAMES. 759 



VIZ., -ra, and -ka, in spite of the fact that in Godfrey's standard 

 and most accurate Dictionary -ka is not given as having the force 

 of plenty, and remembering the constant use of -ga and -gha in 

 the oldest Ciskeian names, which occur also in the Transkei, 

 where some are still spelt both ways, it seems certain that all 

 these different spellings were attempts to fix one and the same 

 sound, the sound which we designate nowadays as -ra. 



P The -Kama Group. 



Another interesting, though much smaller, group of place- 

 names is that ending with the suffix -kama. Here, as elsewhere, 

 we must be prepared for misspellings and corruptions, and even 

 the impenetrable veil. We have ventured to add two doubtful 

 names to the list of i6, and of these i6 one has the distinction 

 of being a " booby-trap," while three only are found in the 

 Transkei. The true character of our deceptive friend is at once 

 revealed when we write it kwa-Kama, that is, simply Kama with 

 the locative prefix, indicating at the place of Kama, an ancient 

 chief. 



Bikamma Noetzekamma (George) 



Coegakamma (Uitenhage) Nooitzekamma (George; 



Gattikamma Qokama (Ngqeleni) 



Gouwkama (Knysna) Sapkamma (Uitenhage) 



Kareekama (Ladismith) Sulenkama (Qumbu) 



Keiskama (Vict. East) Tsitsikama (Queenstown) 



Kraggakamma (Uitenhage) Zitzikama (George) 

 K wakama ( Kamastone ) ( Oueens-Kammanassie 



town) Kammie Vlei 

 Mqakama (St. Johns) 



Various names in this list have already engaged our attention 

 in another connection, and we need not dwell upon them further, 

 except to indicate the variant spelling of Kamma, Kama, the 

 latter of which has prevailed as the more correct form, while the 

 other is unfortunately perpetuated. Zitzikama. in George Dis- 

 trict, is repeated under the modern form of Tsitsikama. in the 

 Queenstown District. I'aterson, our ancient friend, who travelled 

 in 1777, 1778, 1779, has recorded it as Sitsicamma, and he gives 

 us Krake Kamma for Kraggakamma. Nooitzekamma, as 

 recorded in Education Department records, also i;;)pears else- 

 where as Noetzekamma, and best of all in the form of Nukskama, 

 by Paterson. 



Another river he mention__s in his map as the Becka Kam, 

 running into the Great Fish River, and in the letterpress he 

 perpetrates the inconsistency of mentioning the Becha Cum. the 

 reference in all probability being to our Milk River. 



The inclusion of the two doubtful names is due to the prob- 

 ability of the corruption of the Kama into the form^^ recorded. 

 Thus the Kammanassie of the i^resent is recorded In- Paterson 



