7ti THK tTHNOLotlY OF THE IN QMS ARCHIPKLa<>0 



quite possible that a successive influx of Indonesians may have had 

 some effect in modifying the physical character of the Hova«, but 

 if there has been such an influence, it has not been confined to tho 

 Hovas, for other tribes also exhibit gradations from a negro to a 

 non-negro character. A few Asianesian words may also nave been 

 introduced in the same way, as Mr Crawford believes. But the 

 languages are undoubtedly native, and genuine members of the 

 African family, like tho tribes who speak them, and I have not, yet 

 met with any facia requiring us to recognise an Indonesian 

 influence. The hypothesis lhat a colon v from the eastward, 

 by some magical process, induced several distinct tribes of 

 natives, occupying different parte of the land, to agree to lay 

 down their own languages aud adopt a new one, and con- 

 ferred on them the miraculous power of doing so, is attended 

 with still another linguistic difficulty. If the Hovas were Java- 

 nese, as Mr Ellis and Dr Prichard believed, they would have 

 introduced a Javanese language, but we learn from Mr Crawford 

 that in 8,000 Malgasi words he could only find 15 exclusively 

 Javanese and 73 common lo Malay and Javanese. The ideologic and 



flossarial analogies however are not confined to Java and Sumatra, 

 he former are much more snong to the Formosan, Philipine and 

 Celebesian languages, and, to present all the Asianesian traits of 

 both kinds, we have to go to Polynesia- The colony therefore must 

 have traversed a large part of Amnesia to construct a language 

 for Madagascar, anil must, after all, have laid aside the great 

 mo*s of its own vocables and invented new ones. The better 

 apecimens °( & e Hovas lean much more to the finer Africo- 

 Iranian physical character of some of the African races, than to 

 the Tibeto-Anam character of the lank haired Indonesians, The 

 ortrait of aHovain Dr Prichard*a Natural History of Man, which, 

 am assured by gentlemen who have often visited Madagascar, u 

 ebaracterisiic, has very little of the Indonesian character, as Dr 

 Prkliard himself remarks. There does not indeed appear to be a ny 

 erealcr variety in features and colour amongst the inhabitants of 

 Madagascar than is observable in most regions of Africa containing 

 arveral tribes, of whom some are in low and others in t-levated districts! 

 If there be an occasional Mongol type which has led to the idea of a 

 Malayan origin, we need only recollect the Hottentots lo be 

 satisfied that the great South African family, with which tho 

 Madagascar tribes are undoubtedly allied, presents extremes both 

 on the Mongol and the Semitic and Indo-European sides, more 

 than sufficient to embrace all the varieties of the Malgasis. The 

 Hovas, Ovas or Ankovas are entirely African in their manners, 

 customs, religion, government, urts, kv., and their very name is 

 African. It is a generic word signifying people or men, a mode 

 of deaignatiiiK races found in all parte of the Oceanic region. In 8. 

 W. Africa there are Ova Tjaona, Oraherero, 0rampo, The 

 Hovas are ^distinguishable, fc the whole character of their civilisa* 



