xix NEGRILLOS OF EQUATORIAL AFRICA 307 



of the Cape Colony, as far north as the shores of Lake Ngami. 

 Farther to the north the great equatorial region of Africa is 

 occupied by various Negro tribes, using the term in its broadest 

 sense, but belonging to the divisions which, on account of 

 peculiarities of language, have been grouped together as 

 Bantu. They all present the common physical characteristics 

 typical of the Negro race, only two of which need be specially 

 mentioned here medium or large stature, and dolichocephalic 

 skull (average cranial index about "7 3 '5). 



It is at various scattered places in the midst of these that 

 the only other small people of which I shall have to speak, 

 the veritable pygmies of Homer, Herodotus, and Aristotle, 

 according to Quatrefages, are still to be met with. 1 



The first notice of the occurrence of these in modern times 

 is contained in " The strange adventures of Andrew Battell of 

 Leigh in Essex, sent by the Portugals prisoner to Angola, who 

 lived there and in the adjoining regions near eighteen years " 

 (1589 to 160*7), published in Purchas his Pilgrimes (1625), 

 lib. vii. chap. iii. p. 983 : 



"To the north-east of Mani-Kesock are a kind of little 

 people, called Matimbas ; which are no bigger than Boyes of 

 twelve yeares old, but very thicke, and live only upon flesh, 

 which they kill in the woods with their bows and darts. 

 They pay tribute to Mani - Kesock, and bring all their 

 Elephants' teeth and tayles to him. They will not enter 

 into any of the JMbrambas houses, nor will suffer any to 

 come where they dwell. And if by chance any Maramba 

 or people of Longo pass where they dwell, they will forsake 

 that place and go to another. The women carry Bows and 

 Arrows as well as the men. And one of these will walk in 

 the woods alone and kill the Pongos with their poysoned 

 Arrows." 



Battell's narrative, it should be said, is generally admitted 

 to have an air of veracity about it not always conspicuous 

 in the stories of travellers of his time. In addition to the 



1 The scattered information upon this subject was first collected together by 

 Hamy in his " Essai de co-ordination des Materiaux recemment recueillis sur 

 1'ethnologie des Negrilles ou Pygmees de 1'Afrique equatoriale," Bull. Soc. 

 d? Anthropologie de Paris, tome ii. (ser. iii.), 1879, p. 79. 



