Chap. I. THE BAKWAINS. 9 



after certain animals, which probably indicates that in former 

 times they wero addicted to animal-worship like the ancient 

 Egyptians. The term Bakatla means " they of the monkey ;" 

 Bakuena, "they of the alligator;" Batlapi, " they of the fish." 

 When you wish to ascertain what tribe they belong to, you 

 say, " What do you dance ? " from which it may be inferred 

 that dancing was also a part of their ancient rites. Each tribe 

 has a superstitious dread of the animal after which it is called, 

 and never eats its namesake. They use the term " ila," — 

 hate or dread — in reference to killing it. We find traces of 

 many extinct tribes in individual descendants — such as the 

 Batau, " they of the lion ;" the Banoga, " they of the serpent ;" (i) 

 though no such tribes now exist. The use of the personal 

 pronoun they, Ba-Ma, Wa, Va, or Ova, Am-Ki, &c, prevails 

 very extensively in the names of tribes in Africa. A single 

 individual is indicated by the terms Mo or Le. Thus Mokwain 

 is a single person of the Bakwain tribe, and Lekoa is a single 

 white man or Englishman. Makoa is the name for Englishmen. 



We did not stay long on our first visit to the Bakwains, but 

 retraced our steps to Kuruman. As the object I had in view 

 was not, however, to be attained by a temporary excursion, I 

 determined to make a fresh start into the interior as soon as 

 possible. Accordingly, after resting three months at Kuruman, 

 which is a kind of head station, I went to a spot called 

 Lepelole (now Litubariiba). Here I secluded myself from all 

 European society for about six months, in order to obtain a 

 knowledge of the native tongue, and gained by this ordeal an 

 insight into the habits, ways of thinking, laws, and language 

 of the Bakwains, which has proved of incalculable advantage 

 in my intercourse with them ever since. 



In this, my second journey to Lepelole — so called from a 

 cavern of that name — I began preparations for a settlement, 

 by making a canal to irrigate gardens, from a stream then 

 flowing copiously, but now quite dry. When the work was 

 well advanced, I went northwards to the Bakaa, Baniangwato, 

 and Makalaka tribes, living between 22° and 23° south lat. 

 The Bakaa mountains had before been visited by a trader, who, 

 with his people, all perished from fever. Most of my journey 

 beyond Shokuane was performed on foot, in consequence of 

 the draught oxen being sick. S©me of my companions, who 



