Africa

Thus while in Europe there is a Stone age. divided into periods according

to various types of implement disposed in geological strata, and followed

in orderly succession by the ages of Bronze and Iron, in Africa can be

found no true Stone age and practically no Bronze at all. The reason is not

far to seek; Africa is a country of iron, which is found distributed widely

throughout the continent in ores so rich that the metal can be extracted

with very little trouble and by the simplest methods. Iron has been worked

from time immemorial by the Negroid peoples, and whole tribes are found

whose chief industry is the smelting and forging of the metal. Under such

conditions, questions relating to the origin and spread of the racial

stocks which form the population of Africa cannot be answered with any

certainty; at best only a certain amount of probability can be attained.

Five of these racial stocks have been mentioned: Bushman, Negro, Hamite,

Semite, Libyan, the last three probably related through some common

ancestor. Of these the honour of being considered the most truly African

belongs to the two first. It is true that people of Negroid type are found

elsewhere, principally in Melanesia, but as yet their possible connexion

with the African Negro is little more than theoretical, and for the present

purposes it need not be considered.

The origin of the Bushman is lost in obscurity, but he may be conceived

as the original inhabitant of the southern portion of the continent. The

original home of the Negro, at first an agriculturist, is most probably to

be found in the neighbourhood of the great lakes, whence he penetrated

along the fringe of the Sahara to the west and across the eastern highlands

southward. Northerly expansion was prevented by the early occupation of the

Nile valley, the only easy route to the Mediterranean, but there seems no

doubt that the population of ancient Egypt contained a distinct Negroid

element. The question as to the ethnic affinities of the pre-dynastic

Egyptians is still unsolved; but they may be regarded as, in the main,

Hamitic, though it is a question how far it is just to apply a name which

implies a definite specialization in what may be comparatively modern times

to a people of such antiquity.

The Horn of Africa appears to have been the centre from which the Hamites

spread, and the pressure they seem to have applied to the Negro tribes,

themselves also in process of expansion, sent forth larger waves of

emigrants from the latter. These emigrants, already affected by the Hamitic

pastoral culture, and with a strain of Hamitic blood in their veins, passed

rapidly down the open tract in the east, doubtless exterminating their

predecessors, except such few as took refuge in the mountains and swamps.

The advance-guard of this wave of pastoral Negroids, in fact primitive

Bantu, mingled with the Bushmen and produced the Hottentots. The

penetration of the forest area must certainly have taken longer and was

probably accomplished as much from the south-east, up the Zambezi valley,

as from any other quarter. It was a more peaceful process, since natural

obstacles are unfavourable to rapid movements of large bodies of

immigrants, though not so serious as to prevent the spread of language and

culture. A modern parallel to the spread of Bantu speech is found in the

rise of the Hausa language, which is gradually enlarging its sphere of

influence in the western and central Sudan. Thus those qualities, physical

and otherwise, in which the Bantu approach the Hamites gradually fade as we

proceed westward through the Congo basin, while in the east, among the

tribes to the west of Tanganyika and on the upper Zambezi, ``transitional''

forms of culture are found. In later times this gradual pressure from the

south-east became greater, and resulted, at a comparatively recent date, in

the irruption of the Fang into the Gabun.

The earlier stages of the southern movement must have been accompanied by

a similar movement westward between the Sahara and the forest; and,

probably, at the same time, or even earlier, the Libyans crossing the

desert had begun to press upon the primitive Negroes from the north. In

this way were produced the Fula, who mingled further with the Negro to give

birth to the Mandingo, Wolof and Tukulor. It would appear that either

Libyan (Fula) or, less probably, Hamitic, blood enters into the composition

of the Zandeh peoples on the Nile-Congo watershed. These Libyans or

Berbers, included by G. Sergi in his ``Mediterranean Race,'' were active on

the north coast of Africa in very early times, and had relations with the

Egyptians from a prehistoric period. For long these movements continued,

always in the same direction, from north to south and from east to west;

though, of course, more rapid changes took place in the open country,

especially in the great eastern highway from north to south, than in the

forest area. Large states arose in the western Sudan; Ghana flourished in

the 7th century A.D., Melle in the 11th, Songhai in the 14th, and Bornu in

the 16th.

Meanwhile in the east began the southerly movement of the Bechuana, which

was probably,spread over a considerable period. Later than they, hut

proceeding faster, came the Zulu-Xosa (``Kaffir'') peoples, who followed a

line nearer the coast and outflanked them, surrounding them on the south.

Then followed a time of great ethnical confusion in South Africa, during

which tribes flourished, split up and disappeared; but ere this the culture

represented by the ruins in Rhodesia had waxed and waned. It is uncertain

who were the builders of the forts and ``cities,'' but it is not improbable

that they may be found to have been early Bechuana. The Zulu-Xosa, Bechuana

and Herero together form a group which may conveniently be termed

``Southern Bantu.',

Finally began a movement hitherto unparalleled in the history of African

migration; certain peoples of Zulu blood began to press north, spreading

destruction in their wake. Of these the principal were the Matabele and

Angoni. The movement continued as far as the Victoria Nyanza. Here, on the

border-line of Negro, Bantu and Hamite, important changes had taken place.

Certain of the Negro tribes had retired to the swamps of the Nile, and had

become somewhat specialized, both physically and culturally (Shilluk,

Dinka, Alur, Acholi, &c.). These had blended with the Hamites to produce

such races as the Masai and kindred tribes. The old Kitwara empire, which

comprised the plateau land between the Ruwenzori range and Kavirondo, had

broken up into small states, usually governed by a Hamitic (Ba-Hima)

aristocracy. The more extensive Zang (Zenj) empire, of which. the name

Zanzibar (Zanguebar) is a lasting memorial, extending along the sea-board

from Somaliland to the Zambezi, was also extinct. The Arabs had established

themselves firmly on the coast, and thence made continual slave-raids into

the interior, penetrating later to the Congo. The Swahili, inhabiting the

coast-line from the equator to about 16 deg. S., are a somewhat

heterogeneous mixture of Bantu with a tinge of Arab blood.

In the neighbourhood of Victoria Nyanza, where Hamite, Bantu, Nilotic

Negro and Pygmy are found in close contact, the ethnic relations of tribes

are often puzzling, but the Bantu not under a Hamitic domination have been

divided by F. Stuhlmann into the Older Bantu (Wanyamwezi, Wasukuma,

Wasambara, Waseguha, Wasagara, Wasaramo, &c.) and the Bantu of Later

Immigration (Wakikuyu, Wakamba, Wapokomo, Wataita, Wachaga, &c.), who are

more strongly Hamitized and in many cases have adopted Masai customs. These

peoples, from the Victoria Nyanza to the Zambezi, may conveniently be

termed the ``Eastern Bantu.''

Turning to the Congo basin in the south, the great Luba and Lunda peoples

are found stretching nearly across the continent, the latter, from at any

rate the end of the 16th century until the close of the 19th century, more

or less united under a single ruler, styled Muata Yanvo. These seem to have

been the most recent immigrants from the south-east, and to exhibit certain

affinities with the Barotse on the upper Zambezi. Among the western Baluba,

or Bashilange, a remarkable politico-religious revolution took place at a

comparatively recent date, initiated by a secret society termed Bena Riamba

or ``Sons of Hemp,'' and resulted in the subordination of the old fetishism

to a cult of hemp, in accordance with which all hemp-smokers consider

themselves brothers, and the duty of mutual hospitality, &c., is

acknowledged. North of these, in the great bend of the Congo, are the

Balolo, &c., the Balolo a nation of iron-workers; and westward, on the

Kasai, the Bakuba, and a large number of tribes as yet imperfectly known.

Farther west are the tribes of Angola, many of whom were included within

the old ``Congo empire,'' of which the kingdom of Loango was an offshoot.

North of the latter lies the Gabun, with a large number of small tribes

dominated by the Fang who are recent arrivals from the Congo. Farther to

the north are the Bali and other tribes of the Cameroon, among whom many

primitive Negroid elements begin to appear. Eastward are the Zandeh peoples

of the Welle district (primitive Negroids with a Hamitic or, more probably,

Libyan strain), with whom the Dor trine of Nilotes on their eastern border

show certain affinities; while to the west along the coast are the Guinea

Negroes of primitive type. Here, amidst great linguistic confusion, may be

distinguished the tribes of Yoruba speech in the Niger delta and the east

portion of the Slave Coast; those of Ewe speech, in the western portion of

the latter; and those of Ga and Tshi speech, on the Gold Coast. Among the

last two groups respectively may be mentioned the Dahomi and Ashanti.

Similar tribes are found along the coast to the Bissagos Islands, though

the introduction in Sierra Leone and Liberia of settlements of repatriated

slaves from the American plantations has in those places modified the

original ethnic distribution. Leaving the forest zone and entering the more

open country there are, on the north from the Niger to the Nile, a number

of Negroids strongly tinged with Libyan blood and professing the Mahommedan

religion. Such are the Mandingo, the Songhai, the Fula, Hausa, Kanuri,

Bagirmi, Kanembu, and the peoples of Wadai and Darfur; the few aborigines

who persist, on the southern fringe of the Chad basin, are imperfectly

known.

Peculiar conditions in Madagascar.

The island of Madagascar, belonging to the African continent, still

remains for discussion. Here the ethnological conditions are people were

the Hova, a Malayo-Indonesian people who must have come from the Malay

Peninsula or the adjacent islands. The date of their immigration has been

line subject of a good deal of dispute, but it may be argued that their

arrival must have taken place in early times, since Malagasy speech, which

is the language of the island, is principally Malayo-Polynesian in origin,

and contains no traces of Sanskrit. Such traces, introduced with Hinduism,

are present in all the cultivated languages of Malaysia at the present

day.The Hova occupy the table-land of Imerina and form the first of the

three main groups into which the population of Madagascar may be divided.

They are short, of an olive-yellow complexion and have straight or faintly

wavy hair. On the east coast are the Malagasy, who in physical

characteristics stand halfway between the Hova and the Sakalava, the last

occupying the remaining portion of the island and displaying almost pure

Negroid characteristics.

Though the Hova belong to a race naturally addicted to seafaring, the

contrary is the case respecting the Negroid population, and the presence of

the latter in the island has been explained by the supposition that they

were imported by the Hova. Other authorities assign less antiquity to the

Hova immigration and believe that they found the Negroid tribes already in

occupation of the island.

As might be expected, the culture found in Madagascar contains two

elements, Negroid and Malayo-Indonesian. The first of these two shows

certain affinities with the culture characteristic of the western area of

Africa, such as rectangular huts, clothing of bark and palm-fibre,

fetishism, &c., but cattle-breeding is found as well as agriculture.

However, the Negroid tribes are more and more adopting the customs and mode

of life of the Hova, among whom are found pile-houses, the sarong, yadi or

tabu applied to food, a non-African form of bellows, &c., all

characteristic of their original home. The Hova, during the 19th century,

embraced Christianity, but retain, nevertheless, many of their old

animistic beliefs; their original social organization in three classes,

andriana or nobles, hova or freemen, and andevo or slaves, has been

modified by the French, who have abolished kingship and slavery. An Arab

infusion is also to be noticed, especially on the north-east and south-east

coasts.

It is impossible to give a complete list of the tribes inhabiting Africa,

owing to the fact that the country is not fully explored. Even where the

names of the tribes are known their ethnic relations are still a matter of

uncertainty in many localities.

The following list, therefore, must be regarded as purely tentative, and

liable to correction in the light of fuller information:-

AFRICAN TRIBAL DISTRIBUTION

LIBYANS

(North Africa, excluding Egypt)

Berbers, including – Kabyles, Mzab, Shawia, Tuareg

LIBYO-NEGROID TRANSITIONAL

Fula (West Sudan)

Tibbu (Central Sudan)

HAMITES

(East Sudan and Horn of Africa)

Beja, including – Ababda, Hadendoa, Bisharin, Beni-Amer, Hamran, Galla,

Somali, Danakil (Afar)

Ba-Hima, including — Wa-Tussi, Wa-Hha, Wa-Rundi, Wa-Ruanda

HAMITO-SEMITES

Fellahin (Egypt)

Abyssinians (with Negroid admixture)

HAMITO-NEGROID TRANSITIONAL

Masai

Wa-Kuafi

NEGROID TRIBES

West Sudan Central Sudan Eastern

Tukulor Songhai Fur Kargo

Wolof Hausa Dago Kulfan

Serer Bagirmi Kunjara Kolaji

Leybu Kanembu Tegele Tumali

Mandingo, including— Kanuri Nuba

Kassonke Tama

Yallonke Maba Zandeh Tribes

Soninke Birkit (Akin to Nilotics,

but

Bambara Massalit probably with

Fula

Vei Korunga element)

Susu Kabbaga Azandeh (Niam

Niam)

Solima &c. Makaraka

Malinke Mundu

Mangbettu

Probably also— Ababwa

Mossi Mege

Borgu Abisanga

Tombo } Mabode{ probably

Gurma } Momfu { with Pygmy

Gurunga } { element

Dagomba } Probably with Mandingan element Allied are—

Mampursi } Banziri Languassi

Gonja } Ndris Wia-Wia

&c. } Togbo Awaka

&c.

NEGROES

West African Tribes

Tribes of Tshi and Ga Tribes of Yeruba

speech, including—- speech, including—

Khabunke

Balanta Ashanti Yoruba

Bagnori Safwi Ibadan

Bagnum Denkera Ketu

Felup, including— Bekwai Egba

Ayamat Nkoranza Jebu

Jola Adansi Remo

Jigush Assin Ode

Vaca Wassaw Illorin

Joat Ahanta Ijesa

Karon Fanti Ondo

Banyum Angona Mahin

Banjar Akwapim Bini

Fulum Akim Kakanda

Bayot Akwamu Wari

&c. Kwao Ibo

Bujagos Ga Efik

Biafare Andoni

Landuman Tribes of Ewe speech, Kwa

Nalu including— Ibibio

Baga Ekoi

Sape Dahomi Inokun

Bulam Eweawo Akunakuim

Mendi Agotine Munshi

Limba Krepi Ikwe

Gallina Avenor

Timni Awuna

Pessi Agbosomi

Gola Aflao

Kondo Ataklu

Bassa Krikor

Kru Geng

Grebo Attaldoami

Awekwom Aja

Agni Ewemi

Oshiu Appa

Central Negroes Eastern Negroes

Bolo Pure Nilotics

Yako Shilluk

Tangala Nuer

Kali Dinka

Mishi Jur (Diur)

Doma Mittu

Mosgu, including— Jibbeh

Mandara Madi

Margi Lendu

Logon Alur (Lur)

Gamergu Acholi

Keribina Abaka

Kuri Golo

&c.

Nilotics with affinity

Nilotics with Affinity with Masai

with Zandeh tribes Latuka

Dor (Bongo) Bari

NEGRO-BANTU NILOTIC-BANTU

TRANSITIONAL TRANSITIONAL

Bali Ba-Kwiri Ja-Luo

Ba-Kossi Abo

Ba-Ngwa Dualla

Ba-Nyang Bassa PYGMY TRIBES

Ngolo Ba-Noko Central Arica

Ba-Fo Ba-Puko Akka

Ba-Kundu Ba-Koko Ja-Mbute

Isubu Ba-Bongo

Ashango

&c.

BANTU NEGROIDS

Western Central Eastern

Ogowe Luba-Lunda Group Lacustrians

Ashira Ba-Luba, including— Ba-Nyoro

Ishogo Ba-Songe Ba-Toro

Ashango Wa-Rua Wa-Siba

Bakalai Wa-Guha Wa-Sinja

Nkomi Katanga Wa-Kerewe

Orungu Ba-Shilange (with Wa-Shashi

Mpongwe Ba-Kete element) Wa-Rundi

Oshekiani Ba-Iro

Benga Ba-Lunda Ba-Ganda

Ininga Probably connected Ba-Soga

Galao are— Ba-Kavirondo,

Apingi Manyema including—

Okanda Ba-Kumu Awaware

Osaka Wa-Regga Awarimi

Aduma Ba-Rotse, including— Awakisii

Mbamba Ma-Mbunda &c.

Umbete Ma-Supia

Bule Ma-Shukulumbwe

Bane Ba-Tonga Bantu of Recent

Yaunde and probably Immigration

Maka Va-Lovale

Bomone Wa-Kikuyu

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