SOUTHERN AFRICA. 165 
The KafFers most certainly are not the Aborigines of the 
southern angle of Africa. Surrounded on all sides by people 
that differ from them in every point, in color, » in fea- 
tures, in form, in disposition, in manners, and in language, it 
would be absurd to consider them as indigenous to the small 
spot they now possess. Were I to speculate upon their ori- 
gin, I should have little hesitation in giving it as my opinion 
that they are descended from some of the tribes of those wan- 
dering Arabs known by the name of Bediiins. These people 
are known to have penetrated into almost every part of A frica. 
Colonies of them have found their way even into the islands 
of South Africa, where more serious difficulties would occur 
than in a journey over land to the Cape of Goo^d Hope. B3' 
skirting the Red Sea, and turning to the southward along the 
sea-coast, the great desert af sand that divides Africa into two 
parts is entirely avoided,, and the passage lies over a country 
habitable as far as is known in every part. Their pastoral 
habits and manners, their kind and friendly reception of 
strangers, their tent-shaped houses, the remains of that grand 
feature of Islamism, the circumcision of male children, which 
is universally practised among all the KafFer hordes, all 
strongly denote their affinity to the Beduin tribes. Their 
countenance is also truly Arabic ; they differ only in color, 
which varies from deep bronze to jet black, but that of the 
latter is most predominant. If they had the smallest resem- 
blance to the African negroes, either in their features or con- 
formation, they might be supposed to owe their dark com- 
plexion to an intercourse in their passage through the country 
with these people, but there is not the least appearance of this 
having been the case. To the Ethiopians or Abyssinians they 
