298 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



Photo by Wm. Rau] 



[Philadelphia. 



A CONVENTION OF CONGOESE CHIEFS. 



weak and disunited, and were powerless to resist the southward encroachment of the Hereros. 

 They now linger only in a few mountain retreats. The disappearance of the Hill Damara has 

 left the Namaqua and the Hereros fase to face, and during the present century the native 

 history of the region which is now known as German South-west Africa has been the story of 

 the fight for mastery between these tribes. 



The Hereros are clearly a Bantu race of northern origin; they invaded German South-west 

 Africa about a century ago, and now occupy the whole country from Ovampoland to Walfish 

 Bay, with the exception of the mountain recesses occupied by the Hill Damara. Their numbers 

 are estimated at about 70,000. Their southward progress was stopped by the Namaqua, with 

 whom the Hereros have waged a long series of wars, with varying fortunes. In the middle of 

 the century the Hereros were defeated and one tribe annihilated; but after 1860, by the 

 aid of some English elephant-hunters and the advice of some German missionaries, the tide 

 of war turned in their favour. 



The Hereros are a well-built race, and have been described as showing Caucasian features. The 

 skull is of moderate length; the hair, though woolly, is rather long; the nose is comparatively 

 narrow, the cheek-bones are not prominent, and the lips comparatively thin. The characters 

 of the head therefore show some foreign influence. The original mental peculiarities of the 

 people are masked by the result of a century of desperate war. They are said to be sullen, 

 cowardly, and suspicious, but to be less changeable and emotional than the Hottentots. 



The clothing of the tribe is of leather, nudity being regarded with extreme aversion. The 

 clothes of the women are a leather petticoat and a small mantle thrown over the shoulders: 

 both garments are decorated by bead, shell, and wire ornaments. The waist is encircled by a 

 girdle of leather strips; on the legs and arms are rings of beads and wire; while the head is 

 covered with a circular cap, with a series of wing-like ornaments like those on a berserker's 

 helmet. The weapons of the tribe are assegais, bow and arrows, and the knobkerry. The huts 

 are of the beehive-shaped type, and are covered with skins. They are light and portable, for 

 they are moved frequently. The main industry is cattle- raising, but goats also are kept; white 





