Damaraland

“ Had there been a federation, there would have been no German acquisition of Damaraland, nor would we have found imperial authorities refusing the offer of [Pg 367] Lourenço Marques for a trifling sum. No colonist can ever quite forgive those memorable blunders, which prevented British South Africa from having that geographical unity from the Zambesi to the Cape which its interests demand. ”

“ North of Great Namaqualand is Damaraland, whence too have come tokens of copper and whisperings of gold. Even to these hard hot unfertile sandy regions Dutch farmers have trekked in order that they might live solitary, unseen, and independent. We need not, however, follow them at present to a country which is almost rainless and almost uninhabited, and for which we are not as yet responsible. Little Namaqualand, south of{321} the Orange River, is one of the electoral divisions of the Cape Colony, and to that I will confine the few remarks which I will make as to this uncomfortable district. ”

“ The golden oriole, which is the type of the Passerine family Oriolidae, is a far from uncommon spring-visitor to the British Islands, but has very rarely bred there. On the continent of Europe it is a well-known if not an abundant bird, and its range in summer extends so far to the east as Irkutsk, while in winter it is found in Natal and Damaraland. ”

“ Great Namaqualand terminates about this point, and Damaraland begins.
From the sea-coast for many miles inland the country is barren and poor; as the highlands are reached vegetation improves. The Desert of Tans extends a long distance inland, nearly to Mitchell’s Mount, which is a lofty hill of 6000 feet, commanding most extensive views in every direction. On the tributaries of the Great Fish river, and the river itself, most of the natives live in small wherfs, at the mission stations belonging to the Rhenish Mission Society, Bethany, Bethesda, Reheboth, and others. ”

“ Huge valleys or gorges are a characteristic of this part of Damaraland. The mountain plateaux are widely extended. In the region of Windhoek several rivers have their rise. Further south the ridge falls again to a level of about 3,000 feet, and in many places is broken into by isolated ranges of manifold forms, while the lower levels are studded with stony kopjes.
The country along the eastern border consists of undulating plains and large [Pg 21] areas of sandy land which closely resemble the Kalahari.
In all these uplands the prevailing formations are granite, or mica schist. ”

“ The Hereros will even resist, in every way, any one conceding, by sale, a particular right to any person to hold any piece of land. The Roman Catholic missionaries, who recently sought to gain a footing in Damaraland, made themselves suspected more than in any other way by representing to the people that they would do better by them than the Protestant missionaries had done, for they would buy land for their churches, schools, and dwellings, while the Protestant missionaries were occupying land for those purposes free. ”

“ Philip, the Rhenish Mission commenced work among the Hottentots of Cape Colony, but its operations extended, and now embrace Little and Great Namaqualand, south and north of the Orange River, and, away beyond, the territory known as Damaraland. Their stations are in a flourishing condition, and some 15,000 converts bear evidence to the success of their efforts. This Society also looks after the preparation of native teachers, &c., and has an excellent institution for that purpose at Worcester, near Cape Town, its principal station. ”

“ The Black and White Nosops join in the desert, forty miles to the east of Rhinoster vlei. They both rise on the eastern boundary of Damaraland, having many feeders from the mountain range 8000 feet above sea-level, flowing south and east to Narukus, where the Elephant river joins it, receiving its waters from the Limestone Peak, 4444 feet in altitude. Twenty miles below Narukus the river is called the Oup, which meanders in a south-east and south direction, and falls into the Molapo, twenty-four miles below the junction of that river and the Nosop. ”

“ In November 1905 von Lindequist arrived at Windhoek. The new governor issued a general amnesty to the Herero, and set aside two large reserves for those who surrendered. His conciliatory policy was in the end successful, and the Ovampo, who threatened to give trouble, were kept in hand. The task of pacifying Damaraland was continued throughout 1906, and by the close of that year about 16,000 Herero had been established in the reserves. Some 3000 had sought refuge in British territory, while the number who had perished may be estimated at between 20,000 and 30,000. ”

“ At present a considerable trade is carried on with the natives, and is on the increase. On the north of this bay the river Swakop enters the Atlantic, which is the main and principal stream that drains the eastern division of Damaraland, upon which are situated many natives’ wherfs. Some of the principal are Oekiep, thirty-six miles up the river, then Tineos, Oijimbinque, Otjimonjebba, Okandu, Little Barmen, Great Barmen, Otjithebba, Gous, Eikham Hot Springs, and Thames Mission Station. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ They may again be divided into rich and poor Damaras, [1] 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. These are called Ovatjimba, and are looked upon with the utmost contempt by the prosperous classes, who reduce them to a state of slavery, and do not even scruple to take their lives.
But, as the Damaras are little known to Europeans, much is to be said of them, and they will require a chapter to themselves. ”

“ 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. It had always been considered insecure to travel among them, but more particularly so at this time, since their southern neighbors, the Namaquas, attracted by their vast herds, had lately made several extensive raids upon them, killing the people, and carrying off large numbers of cattle, sheep, &c. ”

“ 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?” ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The Damaras are the most voracious and improvident creatures in the world. When they have flesh they gorge upon it night and day, and in the most disgusting manner, until not a particle is left; and, as a consequence, they not unfrequently starve for several days together; but they are so accustomed to this mode of living that it has no injurious effect on them.
In this hot climate, unless preventives of some kind were adopted, flesh would, of course, soon become tainted; and as salt, from the difficulty of conveyance, is exceedingly scarce in Damara-land, the following expedient is adopted. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The people are not disposed to grudge a stranger the particular spot of land he occupies, but they wish to drive foreigners out of the country altogether. An incident from Damara history will help to illustrate the extent to which this sense of communism goes. When the Hereros had succeeded, after nine years of warfare, in shaking off the domination of the Namaquas, to whom they had previously been subjected, the Namaqua chief, Jan Afrikaner, asked the missionaries to help him make a peace with them. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 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. ”