CHAP. VI.] DAMARA LANGUAGE. 193 



which they so plentifully besmear themselves. In dry 

 weather the Damara comes out rudely and glossy, 

 like an old well-polished mahogany table ; he is then 

 reeking with oil, his featiu'es are plump and smooth, 

 his appearance genial and warm, but a few hours' 

 steady deluge quite alters the man. His skin becomes 

 dead-looking and devoid of all lustre — there is not a 

 tinge of ruddiness in it ; it is not even black, but of a 

 pale slate colour, or like old u'on railings that want 

 fresh painting, and the Damara, when cleaned, becomes 

 a most seedy-looking object. 



Concerning their language I shall say little, as it can 

 only interest philologists, and for their benefit a most 

 copious manuscript gi^ammar and dictionary has already 

 been sent by the Eev. Messrs. Halm and Rath, to 

 Bonn. Its grammar is much the same as that of the 

 Sichuana and Caifre languages ; which are said to be 

 kindred to that of neaiiy everj^ known negro language 

 in Africa. It is higlily flexible, so that when a new 

 word is once obtained they can express immediately 

 and intelligibly every derivative from it. Thus if they 

 learnt the word " bread " they would have no difficulty 

 in forming the word a " baker." The great clumsiness 

 of the language is its want of comparatives and of 

 adjectives. It has one great but not pecuhar beauty 

 in the prefix which every substantive possesses. These 

 prefixes have all a special power which it is not easj^ 

 to define, but which is soon caught mp by the learner. 

 To take a simple instance, Omu is the prefix that 

 signifies manhood ; Otji, a thing. Now Omundu is 

 simply a man ; but by saying Otjimundu, the idea of 



