SOUTHERN AFRICA. 235 
Curious as this custom appeared to be, it was less a sub- 
ject of remark than an extraordinary character tliat distin- 
guished the other sex from the women of most nations. The 
well-known story of the Hottentot women possessing an un- 
usual appendage to those parts that are seldom exposed to 
view, which belonged not to the sex in general, ridiculous as 
it may appear, is perfectly true with regard to the Bosjes- 
mans. The horde we met with possessed it in every subject, 
whether young or old ; and, without the least offence to mo- 
desty, there was no difficulty in satisfying our curiosity in this 
point. It appeared on examination to be an elongation, or 
more correctly speaking a protrusion, of the nymphcK or in- 
terior labia, which were more or less extended according to 
the age or habit of the person. That there is in this race of 
human beings a predisposition to this anomalous formation 
of the parts was obvious from its evident appearance in in- 
fants, and from its length being in general proportioned to the 
age of the female. The longest that was measured somewhat 
exceeded five inches, and this was in a subject of a middle 
age. Many were said to have them much longer. These 
protruded nymphas, collapsed and pendent, leave the spec- 
tator in doubt to what sex they belong. Their color is that 
of livid blue, inclining to a reddish tint, not unlike the ex- 
crescence on the beak of a turkey, which indeed may serve 
to convey a tolerably good idea of the whole appearance both 
as to color, shape, and size. Those parts, which in European 
subjects are corrugated or plaited, lose this character when 
brought out in the Hottentot, and become nearly smooth ; 
and though in the latter state they may possess none of those 
stimulating qualities for which some anatomists have sup- 
II H 2 
