CHAP. XVII CLICKS 331 



foreigner to hear them talk in their own tongue, and added that the 

 language was very simple, needing the help of signs to such an extent 

 that the people cannot understand one another in the dark. I'his 

 story is also told about the Aduyahs of Fernando Po by the late Colonel 

 Ellis. ^ Ramathan could only tell me one word of their language, 

 which was " lovoi " for water. The Masai term for this is "ngare." 

 " Lovoi " has a certain resemblance to the words for water in other 

 dwarf languages ; thus Stanley - says that the Bakwa word for this is 

 " libo " ; while Stuhlmann ^ records the term in four dwarf languages as 

 0-21, u-t(, ui, and oivn. 



I listened attentively in the hope of hearing the men use clicks like 

 the Bushmen, unpronounceable sounds that have been compared to 

 those made by coachmen to quicken the pace of their horses. The 

 Bushmen have six such clicks, which have to be represented in writing 

 by conventional signs. Thus '^I kamap" is the word for fox, ".'" indicat- 

 ing the "cerebral click"; "|" represents the "palatal click," which may 

 be imitated by pressing the tip of the tongue against the palate beside 

 the gum and then suddenly withdrawing it; "(J" is the "labial click" 

 made when a word is spoken, while the tongue is being rapidly moved 

 as in flute - playing. Clicks have been found among some of the 

 equatorial dwarfs, but in spite of the closest attention I could not 

 detect any trace of them in the speech of these " Doko." The clicks 

 have, however, probably been lost from the languages of most of the 

 equatorial dwarfs. It is a well-known law in philology that languages 

 tend to throw off sounds that are difficult of pronunciation ; thus in 

 English the p in psalm is silent ; h has become mute in French, and in 

 Italian has been lost even in the written language. 



When we reached the Kikuyu country, and the Doko guides had 

 obtained from us all the protection they needed, they suddenly dis- 

 appeared. I was disappointed to have found out so little about them. 

 But it is quite evident that they are neither Bantu-speaking Masai, 

 nor Hamitic people who have adopted a negro tongue. Though some 

 of them were clearly mongrels of a Masai or Wa-kwafi parentage, the 

 pure bred ones belonged to the dwarf Negrillo race. 



Stuhlmann, however, has recently met with some "Wanderobbo," 

 and says they belong to the Hamitic race, and in appearance are much 

 like the Masai.^ Mr. Scott Elliot also saw some men called by 

 the same name, and says they were tall and slim, and therefore 

 were probably Wa-kwafi. The name " Wanderobbo " is a Masai word 

 meaning " poor fellows," and it is very likely applied by the Masai to any 

 of the neighbouring tribes who live among the woods and have no 

 cattle. It is only a term of contempt, analogous to that of " Washenzi " 



^ A. B. Ellis, West African Islands (1885), p. 76. 

 2 H. M. Stanley, Darkest Africa, vol. ii. App. B, table facing p. 442. 

 ^ F. Stuhlmann, Mit Emin Pasha, p. 459. 

 ■* Stuhlmann, op. cit. p. 845. 



