EARLY GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH AFRICA AND ITS 

 BEARING ON BANTU ETHNOGRAPHY. 



By Rev. Father Norton, S.S.M. 



The early g"eography of South Africa is a very interesting 

 study, especially to the student of Bantu tribes and their origin. 

 I had a golden opportunity of studying this on one of my rare 

 holidays, when staying' at Keble with some friends who have 

 an interesting" collection of the older South African travellers. 

 I spread out these volumes in chronological order and opened 

 out the numerous maps they contained. The earlier ones gave 

 only the vaguest impressions of the country beyond the Storm- 

 berg, but I was able to make a sketch map of this part of the 

 country from latitudes 24 to 31. and from the Kalahari to the 

 East Coast, from G. Thompson's map, published in February, 

 1827, in order to illustrate his travels in 1821-4. By comparison 

 with the later map of Steedman, published in 1835, I discovered 

 the interesting fact that one could trace the advance of various 

 tribes during the few years between the two travellers. It is 

 true that some error in the observations had caused the natural 

 features, coastline, mountains, etc., to be shifted some degrees 

 from their real positions. The latitude seems to be fairly cor- 

 rect, but it will be seen on the map that the position of Kuru- 

 man and Griqua Town, both of which Thompson knew well, 

 are marked some 40 miles (two-thirds of a degree at that 

 latitude) towards the N. by E. The same is true of Koning 

 and Phokoane and of Melita to the north, but in the case of 

 Ramah and Philippolis, far to the south on the Orange River, 

 the longitude also seems incorrect, but in opposite directions 

 in the two cases. 



But this error does not nearly account for the considerable 

 displacement of tribes on the second map compared with the 

 first: e.g., the BaNgwaketse have moved one degree to the 

 south (at that latitude about 70 miles) and the BaFurutsi (who 

 revere their totem the monkey in their dances) about 80 miles 

 to the S.W. By comparison again with the modern map, it 

 will be seen that the North Bakwena and the BaNgwate and 

 BaNgwaketse have since gone N.W., the two former as far as 

 the tropics; the BaRolong west as well as south to Thaba Nchu; 

 the BaKatla (who dance to the baboon) north, and some south 

 to Basutoland — all scattered by Moselekatse and his Matabele. 



It will be noticed on Thompson's map that the country on 

 either side of the Vaal about Potchefstroom district was one 

 of the least known at his time. The mysterious but hospitable- 

 sounding Binkletee is the only entry for that part. 



Steedman notes giraffe and white rhinos, west of the Lim- 

 popo about Molepolule. They must have supplied game to the 

 marauding Matabele. He also notes elephants near Ulundi. 

 where Cetshwayo afterwards dwelt, while the banks of the 



