Damara people

“ It was here, at last, that we arrived at some Damara villages, on the fifth day after leaving Otjironjuba. At first the natives tried to run away; but we captured a few women, which soon induced the men to return. These people had never before seen a white man; and our sudden appearance, therefore, created no small astonishment, not to say consternation. But of all our property, nothing amused them more than the sight of a looking-glass. ”

“ I found but few Damara slaves among the Red Nation, which at first struck me as singular, for their outrage on the Damaras was, at least, of equal extent to that perpetrated by the rest of the northern Namaquas. I could only explain this by supposing that they killed their prisoners. I afterward learned that my conjecture was correct, and that, having surrounded a werft, they coolly shot down every soul, women and children not excepted. However, having lately discovered that the Damaras make useful drudges, they have, from interested motives, become less bloody-minded. ”

“ According to the custom of the Damara tribe, they carried all their wealth on their persons, in the shape of beads, ear-rings, and especially the large and heavy metal rings with which their ankles and wrists were adorned. Whenever the Hottentot soldiers came upon a Damara woman, they always robbed her of every ornament, tearing off all her clothing to search for them, and, as the metal rings could not be unclenched without some trouble, they deliberately cut off the hands and feet of the wretched woman, tore off the rings, and left her to live or die as might happen. ”

“ Game was abundant in the neighborhood of Kahichenè's kraal, and Hans made several successful shots. Very little, however, of what was killed reached us, for the portion not immediately appropriated by the Damaras ultimately found its way to them through the medium of our native servants. In Damara-land the carcasses of all animals, whether wild or domesticated, are considered public property; therefore, unless the natives should share their allowances with every stranger that might choose to intrude himself into their company, a withering "curse" was supposed to befall them. ”

“ Even the missionaries who had resided several years on the frontiers were ignorant of the country beyond a very few miles of their own stations. The Damaras themselves entertained the most extravagant notions of its extent, population, and fertility. The people, however, were known to be inhospitable, treacherous, suspicious, and inimical to strangers. ”

“ The Damaras are divided into two large tribes, the Ovaherero and the Ovapantiereu, of which the former lives nearest to the sea; still, with the exception of a slight difference in the language, they appear to be one and the same people. They may again be divided into rich and poor Damaras, [6] or those who subsist on the produce of their herds, and those who have no cattle, or at least very few, and who live chiefly by the chase, and what wild fruit and roots they can pick up abroad. ”

“ Others would approach with their faces to the glass as close as they could, then suddenly turn it round, fully expecting somebody at its back. It is a great pity that the Damaras are such unmitigated scoundrels, for they are full of fun and merriment. Give them a “yard of meat” and a bucket of water, and they are the happiest creatures on the face of the earth.
After some parleying, a man agreed to guide us to the lake. An afternoon’s farther traveling brought us to a second werft, the captain of which was the jolliest and the most amusing Damara that we ever saw before or since. ”

“ That the Damaras have not resided for any length of time in the country which they now occupy is quite certain, though whence they came is doubtful. Some of these people point to the north as their original home ”

“ This Daura is a country consisting of about a thousand towns and villages; four hundred belonging to the Fullans, and six hundred to the Sheikh of Bornou. The Fullanee Sultan is called Mohammed Bello, and he of the Sheikh, Sofo Lukudi. The nearest place in Daura is not more than one day S.W. of Zinder. The people of the country are remarkably expert in the use of the bow and arrow; and their arrows are very strong, piercing through, as the people say, three boxes, and afterwards killing a man. ”

“ The Damaras were once, undoubtedly, a great nation; but, unlike others which gradually become powerful by the union of a number of smaller tribes under the head of a single chief or king, they have dwindled into an endless number of petty tribes, ruled by as many chiefs. ”

“ However, they had only two alternatives—either to risk being plundered by these unscrupulous people, or to perish, with their cattle, from hunger and thirst. The first of these was thought the least of the two, and they were, therefore, gradually approaching the dangerous district. Indeed, several kraals had already been established at Richterfeldt.
Being entirely a pastoral people, the Damaras have no notions of permanent habitations. The whole country is considered public property. As soon as the grass is eaten off or the water exhausted in one place, they move away to another. ”

“ With at least one of the Papuan races in New Guinea, people when old and useless are put up a tree, around which the tribe sing “The fruit is ripe” and then shake the branches until the victim falls, tearing him to pieces and eating him raw. Among the Damaras the sick and aged are often cruelly treated, forsaken, or burned alive. ”

“ The Herero (q.v.) are also known by the Hottentot name Damara, and by this name their country is generally called. The Bastaards, who live in Namaqualand, are a small tribe originating from a mingling of Cape Boers with Hottentots. They are Christians, and able to read and write. The other natives are spirit-worshippers, save for the comparatively few converts of the Protestant missions established in the country. Of white races represented the chief are Germans and Boers. In the S.E. Boer settlers form the bulk of the white population. ”

“ The agricultural Ovambos and the nomadic Hereros and Ovambandierus belong to the Bantu race, the Namaquas and Bushmen to the yellow Hottentot stock, while the tribe called the mountain Damaras are a black people of doubtful origin. But although these peoples differ variously in their manners and customs, yet the general circumstances of their life are such that they exhibit only a few differences in their technical accomplishments and trade usages. ”

“ Generally speaking, a chief has but nominal power over his subjects. On an attempt to punish heavy offenses, the guilty individual often coolly decamps with his cattle, and takes refuge with another tribe. In minor matters, however, from superstitious customs and old habits, the chief is more or less obeyed.
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The Damaras are idle creatures. What is not done by the women is left to the slaves, who are either descendants of impoverished members of their own tribe (is not this another approach to civilization?) ”

“ Some very singular superstitions about meat exist among the Damaras. Thus a man will perhaps not eat the flesh of an ox which may happen to be marked with black, white, or red spots. Others refuse to partake of a sheep should it have no horns; while some would not touch the meat of draft-oxen, according to the rule of the “canda” to which [220] he belongs. If meat is offered a Damara, he will accept it; but, before he ventures to eat it, he carefully inquires about the color of the animal, whether it had horns, &c. ”

“ A Tasmanian woman often had piled on all the other burdens she carried when tramping, "sundry spears and waddies not required for present service;" and the like happens with races considerably higher, both semi-agricultural and pastoral. A Damara's wife "carries his things when he moves from place to place." When the Tupis migrate, all the household stock is taken to the new abode by the females: "The husband only took his weapons, and the wife," says Maregraff, "is loaded like a mule." ”

“ The Damaras, speaking generally, are an exceedingly fine race of men. Indeed, it is by no means unusual to meet with individuals six feet and some inches in height, and symmetrically proportioned withal. Their features are, besides, good and regular; and many might serve as perfect models of the human figure. Their air and carriage, moreover, is very graceful and expressive. But, though their outward appearance denotes great strength, they can by no means compare, in this respect, with even moderately strong Europeans. ”

“ Meanwhile, I ascertained that Madibbo had returned to Deain, rebuilt his village, and concluded an offensive and defensive alliance with Sheikh Abu Salama. On the day I arrived in Dara I sent back the faithful and brave Afifi to Kalaka. He was very anxious not to go; but I told him that should his tribe revolt, he had permission to bring his wife and children to Dara; in the meantime he had better be with his people. ”

“ While sauntering about the place we stumbled upon several deserted Damara villages, and our native servants now told us that, after the late attack on Schmelen's Hope by Jonker, Kahichenè and his tribe had fled with the remainder of their cattle to this secluded spot; and yet, a short time previously, they had positively asserted that the country was impassable for man and beast! ”

“ Not many days previous to our arrival eight Damara women had been surprised by the Bushmen and unmercifully put to death. This, however, was not to be wondered at, for the Damaras themselves are always waging an exterminating war on the Bushmen. Indeed, they hunt them down, wherever met with, like wild beasts.
Hans had succeeded in repairing the wagon most satisfactorily; and the oxen, though rather lean, were in tolerably good working order. We now determined to turn our faces homeward without a moment's delay. ”

“ From Jerim it is a day’s journey to Damar, the capital of a province. The city, which is seated in the midst of a fertile plain, and is without walls, contains five thousand well-built houses. It has a famous university, which is usually attended by five hundred students. The travellers were here very much annoyed by the curiosity of the people, who threw stones at their windows in order to force them p. 24to show themselves. There is a mine of native sulphur near the place, and a mountain where cornelians are found, which are highly esteemed throughout the East. ”

“ Though the Damaras do not profess absolutely to believe in a life hereafter, they have a confused notion of a future state. Thus they not unfrequently bring provisions to the grave of a deceased friend or relation, requesting him to eat and make merry. In return, they invoke his blessing, and pray for success against their enemies, an abundance of cattle, numerous wives, and prosperity in their undertakings.
The spirits of deceased persons are believed to appear after death, but are then seldom seen in their natural form. ”

“ The people are very poor, and go almost naked, except a cloth round their middles reaching to their knees. The 20th, Damare, or Dhamar, a town built of stone and lime, but in five separate parts, like so many distinct villages. It stands in a spacious plain or valley, abounding in water, and producing plenty of grain and other provisions. This town is twenty miles from Surage, and we remained here two days by order of Abdallah Chelabi, the Kiabys, who was governor of this province. The 22d we came to Ermin, a small village, about fifteen miles. ”

“ On the first appearance of the missionaries in Damara-land, the natives were very reserved, and retired with their cattle into the interior. Being wholly dependent on them for supplies of live-stock, the settlers suffered great hardships and privations. Indeed, on more than one occasion starvation stared them in the face, and they lived for a long time in a precarious way on such wild animals as their Hottentot servants managed to kill. ”

“ They are a stout and powerful people, very dirty in their habits, and seldom remain long in one locality, being pastoral, cultivating no corn, and always at war with the Berg Damaras, being of a different tribe, using the Hottentot language. ”

“ Crippled and aged people, moreover, seemed to be carefully tended and nursed. What a contrast to their neighbors, the Damaras, who, when a man becomes old, and no longer able to shift for himself, carry him into the desert or the forest, where he soon falls a prey to wild beasts, or is left to perish on his own hearth! Nay, he is often knocked on the head, or otherwise put to death.
The Ovambo are very national, and exceedingly proud of their native soil. They are offended when questioned as to the number of chiefs by whom they are ruled. "We acknowledge only one king. ”

“ Of the Koranna Hottentots we read that, "when ancient usages are not in the way, every man seems to act as is right in his own eyes," Though the Damara chiefs "have the power of governing arbitrarily, yet they venerate the traditions and customs of their ancestors." Smith says, "Laws the Araucanians can scarcely be said to have, though there are many ancient usages which they hold sacred and strictly observe." According to Brooke, among the Dyaks custom simply seems to have become the law, and breaking of the custom leads to a fine. ”

“ Many years before, when my friends, the Damaras, extended their migration to the neighborhood of the lake in question, the Bechuanas were in the habit of robbing them of their cattle. "How does it happen," said Lecholètébè to Timbo, "that the Damaras are your servants? They are a mighty nation, rich in cattle, which I know well, because my father fought many a bloody battle with them. We invariably came off victorious, though often at the cost of numbers of our warriors, who were slain by the broad assegai of the Damaras. All is not right! Is your master richer than they?" ”