ASTKONOMY MAREIAGE. 321 



On the death of a, person, some of his cattle (the richer 

 the deceased, the more numerous the animals) are killed, and 

 a banquet is given to his relations and friends. On these oc- 

 casions the poor beasts are suffocated. Ordinarily, and when 

 intended for food alone, animals are dispatched by some sharp- 

 cutting instrument. The flesh, never eaten raw, and not oft- 

 en when roasted, is usually served up when boiled. 



The ideas of a Namaqua as to the formation and rotary 

 motion of the heavenly bodies, if not veiy profound, are un- 

 questionably very original. " The sun, by some of the peo- 

 ple of this benighted land," says an enterprising traveler, " is 

 considered to be a mass of fat, which descends nightly to the 

 sea, where it is laid hold of by the chief of a white man's 

 ship, who cuts away a portion of tallow, and, giving the rest 

 a kick, it bounds away, sinks under the wave, goes round 

 below, and then comes up again in the east." 



When a man feels a desire to enter the matrimonial state, 

 he goes to the father of the woman on whom he has settled 

 his affection, and demands her in marriage. If the parent be 

 favorable to the match, the affair may be considered as set- 

 tled. An ox or a cow is then killed outside the door of the 

 bride's home, and the ceremony is over. 



Polygamy is. practiced without limitation. If a man be- 

 come tired of his wife, he unceremoniously returns her to 

 the parental roof, and however much she (or the parents) 

 may object to so summary a proceeding, there is no remedy. 



Widows are left to shift for themselves. 



They neither cradle nor circumcise their children, which 

 they are said to name in the following singular manner. No 

 man nor woman has more than one name, which is retained 

 even after marriage. If a daughter be born, she assumes the 

 name of her father, while a boy would be called after his 

 mother, with very little alteration. I never could under- 

 stand the reason of this. 



Within the memory of the present generation, a barbarous 



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