ETHNOLOGY OF THE PRESENT DAY. 243 



selves Molua (chief). A kind of pestilence, however, forced them, with 

 the exception of a portion, back to their own country. The colony remain- 

 ing behind were usually denominated not only Memha Molua, but also 

 Abunda (conquerors). This territory was afterwards re-conquered by a 

 chieftain of the dispossessed natives, called Angola, and his name was 

 finally applied to the country itself. The Bunda is the most universal 

 language of the kingdom of Angola ; it is said to be derived from Cassange, 

 is spoken also in Mattemba and Libolo, and is very near akin to the Congo 

 tongue. The latter is in use in the entire region of country extending 

 from the banks of the Lifune to Cape St. Catharine, on the border of the 

 kingdom of Loango, and is prevalent in the latter kingdom also. On the 

 southern side of the river Coanza, another, the Benguela language, is 

 spoken, containing, however, many words of the Bunda. 



The negroes dwelling in eastern Congo, and still independent of Portu- 

 gal, are very different from those under Portuguese dominion. They are 

 more active and courageous ; are expert warriors, who often quarrel with 

 neighboring nations, in order to take from the latter their women, children, 

 and cattle. The coast regions are more densely populated than the interior 

 of the country. 



The complexion is not equally black in all the Congo negroes, but the 

 skin is universally very glistening, which is the more apt to be the case 

 from the fact that they smear themselves with animal grease or palm oil. 

 The forehead is narrow, the nose thick and flat, the chin short and bent 

 backwards, the hair woolly and grey in old age ; the jaws are long, the lips 

 turned out, and the ears large. 



We here take occasion to mention also several other peculiarities that 

 have been observed in the negroes generally. Thus, for instance, the 

 brain of the negro cranium is of a brown color, and weighs from two to 

 four ounces less than that of white people. The bones of the cranium are 

 stronger with the negroes. In fevers, discharged bile is black in color, 

 thick and flaky ; among the whites, on the contrary, it is brown or grass 

 green. The blood of the negroes is dark brown, in death viscous, black, 

 and so thick that it appears to unite with the flesh into one mass. New 

 born ^children are bright copper-colored, but become darker after a fort- 

 night ; the aged are yellowish black. The blood is two degrees warmer on 

 an average than that of the whites. Negroes in Africa soon grow old, so 

 that a negro of thirty years of age is not more vigorous than a white man 

 in Europe of from fifty to sixty. Negroes numbering over forty years 

 are even rare. The perspiration of the negroes smells very offensively, 

 especially after violent exercise, dancing for instance. Females grow old 

 still sooner than the men ; as early as the twenty-first year the infirmities 

 of age begin. When at work, women have their children upon their 

 backs ; even whilst dancing they keep the latter with them, and never 

 trust their offspring to the care of strangers. In the coast districts, the 

 small-pox and gout very frequently occur ; but at a distance of not more 

 than 130 to 160 miles, these diseases are entirely unknown. The Congo 

 negroes look rude, sullen, savage, and cruel, but in spite of their serious 



415 



