The ancient manners and primitive character of the Hot tentots are acknowledged to have been greatly changed during their connection with the colonists of the Cape; and it may not, therefore, be a sufficient proof of the inac curacy of the former accounts, that they do not correspond with the observations of recent travellers. At the same time, so many of the strange and ridiculous stories, pub lished on the subject, have been discovered to have origi nated in ignorance, credulity, or deliberate fiction, that lit tle dependence can be placed upon any of the narratives which preceded the enlightened enquiries and personal ob servations of Barrow, Truter, Somerville, &c. The Hot tentots of one district differ considerably, in the present 'day, from those of another, in consequence of their living together in particular clans, and mixing with different kinds of people; but from observing their manners in those parts of the colony which have been most recently occupied, some approach may be made to a sketch of their original native character. The personal appearance of the I Iottentots, though by no means prepossessing, is not nearly so revolting as has been often represented. Their counte nance, indeed, is in general extremely ugly. Prominent cheek bones, and a narrow pointed chin, give to the face the form nearly of a triangle. The nose, in most of them, is remarkably flat, and rather broad between the eyes. The eyes are of a deep chestnut colour, long and narrow in their shape, and the eye-lids, at the extremity next the nose, instead of forming an angle, as in Europeans, are rounded into each other, exactly like those of the Chinese. Their mouth is of the ordinary size, the lips thinner than those of the Negroes and Caffres, and the teeth beautifully white. The hair of their heads is of a singular nature, growing in small tufts at certain distances from each other, and extremely hard and frizzled, resembling, when short, the bristles of a shoe-brush twisted into round lumps about the size of a large pea, and, when suffered to grow, hang ing about the neck in strong tassels like fringe. The co lour of their skin is that of a yellowish brown or faded leaf. Their figure, especially when young, is not devoid of symmetry. They are erect, clean-limbed, and well pro portioned ; their hands, feet, and all their joints, remarka bly small ; and the muscular parts of their body delicately formed, so as to indicate rather feminine inactivity, than masculine exertion. Some of the women, in their youth, and before child-bearing, are described as models of per fection in the human figure ; every joint and limb being well shaped and turned ; their breasts round, firm, and dis tant ; their hands and feet small and delicately formed ; and their gait not altogether deficient in grace. But, at an ear ly period of life, and immediately after the birth of their first child, their beauty vanishes ; their breasts begin to grow loose and flaccid, and at length become enormously distended ; their bellies protrude, and their posteriors ac quire immense masses of fat, so as to give to the spine an appearance of extraordinary curvature inwards. It is my rarely that a cripple or deformed person is seen among the Hottentots of either sex ; and they are not subject to any particular diseases. Their health is generally sound; and their life, if not cut short by accident or violence, is usually terminated by a gradual decay. But they are not so long lived as time natives of most other countries, which resem ble their own in point of temperature ; and it is a rare oc currence when any of them attains the age of sixty years.
The dress of a Hottentot is very simple; and in summer is so trifling, as not to deserve the name of covering. It consists of a belt cut from the hide of some animal, and fastened round their body. From this strap is suspended in front a kind of case or bag made of the skin of a jackal with the hair outwards ; and which is intended to receive those parts, which modesty requires to be concealed. From the back part of the girdle hangs a piece of stiff dried skin, shaped like an isosceles triangle, with the point up permost, and reaching nearly to the middle of the thigh. Sometimes two of these pieces arc used ; but these straps, especially when the wearer is walking or running, entirely fail to answer time purpose of concealment ; and arc con jectured to have been originally intended rather as a kind of artificial tail, to fan the body by its motion, and to lash away troublesome insects. In the winter months, they wear
cloaks made of skins, generally of sheep, which are worn, as the weather requires, either with the wool inwards or outwards; and which serve as blankets and bedding through the night, as well as for a garment through the day. The women suspend from their belt in front a kind of apron made of skin, but cut into threads, which hang in a bunch between the thighs, and reach about half way to the knee ; or they wear a smaller apron about seven or eight inches wide, not divided into tffieads, but ornamented with shells, metal buttons, and any of their most showy trinkets. In place of the tail worn by the men, they have a sheep's skin, which entirely covers the posterior part of the body from the waist to the calf of the leg, and makes a rattling noise as they walk. Instead of the thongs of dried skin, which formerly covered their legs from the ankle to the knee, as a protection against the bite of poisonous animals, they have substituted strings of glass beads and shells. These they wear also in great abundance around their necks and arms. Some of them have skin caps on their heads, differently shaped and adorned, according to the fancy of the wearer ; and they have sheep skin cloaks re sembling those of the men. When these cloaks are laid aside, which is commonly the case in the warmer weather, both sexes may be said to be nearly naked ; but their bo.
dies are in some measure protected from the influence of the sun or air by the unctuous matter which they rub over the whole of their persons ; and which, however filthy in itself, is a very natural and useful resource in hot climates, to prevent the skin from being parched and shrivelled by the scorching heat. It is supposed that a similar practice in parallel latitudes would prevent that disgusting and dreadful disorder, the elephantiasis, which is so common in many hot countries, but which, with most other cuta neous diseases, is wholly unknown among the Hottentots.* This greasy covering, applied from time to time, and ac cumulating perhaps for a whole year, sometimes softening in the sun, or molting before a fire, catches up the dust and dirt, and gradually covers the surface of the body with a thick black coating, which entirely conceals the natural colour of the skin. This native hue is perceivable only on the lace and hands, which arc kept rather cleaner than the other parts of the body, not by washing them in water, which would have no effect upon the grease, but by rub bing them with the dung of cattle.
The Ilottentots are often reduced, especially in their na tive state, to live upon gums, roots, and the larva of insects, and at times make a kind of bread from the pith of the palm tree ; but their universal delight is to indulge in ani mal food. They are remarkably patient of hunger, and are able to fat a very long time ; but are equally vora cious when supplied with their favourite diet, and are de scribed as the greatest gluttons on the face of the earth. Their manner of eating sufficiently indicates the voracity of their appetite. They cut a large steak from the car case upon which they feed, and, passing the knife in a spi ral manner from one edge till they reach the middle, form it into a string of flesh two or three yards in length. This they coil round and lay upon the hot ashes ; and, when the meat is just warmed through, they grasp it in both hands, and, applying one end of the string to their mouth, proceed without intermission, and with considerable expedition, to the other extremity. They do not think of cleaning the meat from the ashes of the green wood, which serve as a substitute for salt ; and they. wipe their hands, when done with eating, merely by rubbing them on different parts of their body. They are passionately fond of ardent spirits and tobacco ; and, to make as much as possible of the fla vour of the latter luxury, they purposely employ a very short pipe.