IMAGES AND NAMES. 147 



In Soutli Africa^ it appears that some Kafir tribes drop from 

 tlieir language words resembling the names of their former 

 chiefs. Thus the Ama-Mbalu do not call the sun by its ordi- 

 nary Zulu name i-langa, but their first chiefs name having 

 been Ulangaj they use the word i-sota instead. It is also 

 among the Kafirs that the peculiar custom of uku-hlonipa is 

 found, which is remarked upon by Professor Max Miiller in his 

 second course of lectures. ^ The following account of it is 

 from another source, the Eev. J. L. Dohne, who thus speaks 

 of it under the verb Idonipa, which means to be bashful, to 

 keep at a distance through timidity, to shun approach, to avoid 

 mentioning one's name, to be respectful. " This word de- 

 scribes a custom between the nearest relations, and is exclu- 

 sively applied to the female sex, who, when married, are not 

 allowed to call the names of the relatives of their husbands 

 nor of their fathers-in-law. They must keep at a distance 

 from the latter. Hence they have the habit of inventing new 

 names for the members of the family, which is always resorted 

 to when those names happen to be either derived from, or are 

 equivalent to some other word of the common language, as, 

 for instance, if the father or brother-in-law is called Umehlo, 

 which is derived from amehlo, eyes, the isifazi [female sex] 

 will no longer use amehlo but substitute amakangelo (lock- 

 ings), etc., and hence, the izwi lezifazi, i.e. : women-word or 

 language has originated."^ 



Other instances of change of language by interdicting words 

 are to be found. The Yezidis, who worship the devil, not only 

 refuse to speak the name of Sheitan, but they have dropped 

 the word shat, "river," as too much hke it, and use the word 

 nahr instead. Nor will they utter the word keitan, " thread " 

 or "fringe," and even noMl, "horse-shoe,''' and naal-band, 

 " farrier," are forbidden words, because they approach to laan, 

 " curse," and maloun, " accursed."^ It is curious to observe 

 that a " disease of language" belonging to the same family has 

 shown itself in English-speaking countries and in modern 



' Mas Miiller, ;. c. 



^ Dohue, ' Zulu- Kafir Dictionary ;' Cape Town, 1857, s.v. hlonipa. 



^ Layard, ' NineTeh ;' London, 1819, vol. i. p. 297. 



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