Khoi people

“ There was, I knew, no mistaking Kona's sable yet good-humoured face.
"Lo!" they cried, shouting to the group of their priestly tribe standing rigid and silent around the bejewelled Naya. "See! There are strangers present! One is a black savage like those thou hast given unto Zomara, and the other white, like the people dwelling beyond the great black water." ”

“ It is for Omar to obey. Kouaga has spoken."
"Let me briefly explain, Scarsmere," my friend interrupted. "Until the present I have been compelled to keep my identity a secret, for truth to tell, there is a plot against our dynasty, and I fear assassination."
"Your dynasty!" I cried amazed. "Are your people kings and queens?"
"They are," he answered. "I am the last descendant of the great Sanoms of Mo, the powerful rulers who for a thousand years have held our country against all its enemies, Mahommedan, Pagan or Christian. I am the Prince of Mo." ”

“ But Klaproth found it in Circassia, Whitmee amongst the Melanesian Negritos, and Haldeman amongst certain North American tribes. Professor Mahaffy notices that ‘old women among us express pity by a regular palatal click.’ On the continent of Europe it expresses a kind of ‘Don’t-you-wish-you-may-get-it?’ Dr. Hahn, who has lately published a scientific work upon the Khoi-Khoi, favourably reviewed by Professor Max Müller in the Nineteenth Century, has treated the subject exhaustively. ”

“ From that moment, though I hated Hadj Absalam and his crafty councillor Labakan, I became their leader and their prophetess. Through the regions of the Tanezrouft, the Ahaggar, and the Tidjoudjelt we rushed with fire and sword, always proving victorious. We were feared on every hand. Against the Spahis, Turcos, and Chasseurs we advanced time after time with the Drum of Nâr—which had been captured from my tribe—spreading terror, panic, and death, until the people, with one accord, acknowledged that I was possessed of power supernatural. ”

“ I observed. "If we are now discovered we shall either be held as slaves, or treated without mercy—offered as sacrifices to the Crocodile-god, perhaps."
"Not while the people are in our favour," he said. "Once their adherence to my cause has been tested then we have nought further to fear, for the opinion of the populace will be found even of greater power than the military, and in the end it must prevail."
"In the fight that must ensue thou wilt find thy [193] servant Kona at thy side," the head-man said. ”

“ Puffing thoughtfully at the cigarette between her dainty lips, she replied, “Already have I explained that I am returning to my people. The route we are traversing is known only to the trusty slave who guideth us and to mine own people, for there are no wells, and no adventurous traveller hath ever dared to penetrate into this deserted, silent land of the Samun.”
“Is it not known to thine enemies, the Kel-Fadê?” I asked, recollecting with bitterness that to the marauders of the tribe that had held her in bondage I also owed my captivity in the Court of the Eunuchs. ”

“ The tradition among the Koyis is that, when the Pāndava brothers were in exile, Bhīma, whom they call Bhīmador, went hunting in the jungle, and met a wild woman of the woods, whom he fell in love with and married. The fruit of this union was the Koyi people. The tradition further states that this wild woman was not a human being.24 “A Koi,” the Rev. J. Cain continues, “whom Mr. Alexander met in a [57] village about two miles from Dummagudem, caused him to infer that the Kois think heaven to be a great fort, and in it plenty of rice to eat for those who enter it ”

“ During our march that day, Kona, the headman of the Dagombas, on account of three men behind me having fallen in the fight, occupied a place immediately at my rear, and thus I was enabled to hold conversation with him.
"It was a near thing, that fight last night," he exclaimed in the language that Omar had taught me. "But our arrows wrought surer execution than the Arab bullets. The desert-dwellers are no match for the forest-people."
"No," I answered. "Your men are indeed brave fellows, and are entitled to substantial reward."
"I have no fear of that," he said. "The great Naya is always just. ”

“ I had spoken of the woman Petre as being an accomplice of the man who was a fugitive, whereupon Frémy asked:
"Do you suppose that the woman is with him?"
"She has, I believe, left England, and, therefore, in all probability, is with him."
"Are there any others of the gang—for there is, of course, a gang? Such people never act singly."
"Two other men, as far as I know. One, a young man, who acts as servant, and the other, a tall, copper-faced man with sleek black hair—probably a Peruvian native. They call him Ali, and he pretends he is a Hindu."
"A Hindu!" gasped the detective. ”

“ Times without number have I been the willing servant of thy people of Al-Islâm; nay, even to-day have I brought hither under my protection a fair woman of thy tribe, whom I assisted to escape from a harem in the land of thine enemies.”
“A woman?” he exclaimed, with an expression of surprise, and, turning to his attendants, asked, “Who is she?”
“She is named Halima, O Master,” answered Labakan. “To me hath she explained that the Infidel intended to convey her to his own land, and only by a ruse did she succeed in getting to our camp. ”

“ Lord Chyu answered and said:—"Birds of this kind are numerous in Pèkché. They can be tamed so as to be quite obedient to man. Moreover they are swift of flight and prey upon all kinds of birds. The common people in Pèkché call them Kuchi." So it was given to Lord Chyu to be fed and tamed. In no long time he succeeded in taming it. Lord Chyu accordingly fastened to its leg a soft leather strap, and attached to its tail a small bell. [59] Then, placing it on his forearm, he presented it to the Emperor. On this day he went to the moor of Mozu and hunted. ”

“ They have exhibited much bravery, and considerable military knowledge in making their strongholds on the plains instead of the hills. The fortress of Koochan is a place of great strength; it is built of mud, and the tenacious nature of the soil is favourable to that kind of fortification, which is common all over Khorasan. These Koords, though Shiahs, form secret connexions with their Toorkmun neighbours, and connive at the capture of the Persians and plunder of the provinces. Their country, although it yields a sufficiency for the consumption of the people, is poor. ”

“ Many of their villages are extensive, as Koung, which is large, scattered on a grassy plain, with a portion on the hill above. It is a very pretty spot, the greensward stretching on either side of the river’s bank, where their buffaloes and cattle graze. This tribe has the appearance of being rich; they possess abundance of cattle, pigs, fowls, rice, and vegetables, while the river affords them fish. Kiau is also an extensive village, but the houses and the people are very dirty. ”

“ In the Turkish collection of jests ascribed to Khoja Nasrú ’d-Dín Efendi26 is the following, which has been [pg 66] reproduced amongst ourselves within comparatively recent years, and credited to an Irish priest:
One day the Khoja went into the pulpit of a mosque to preach to the people. “O men!” said he, “do you know what I should say unto you?” They answered: “We know not, Efendi.” “When you do know,” said the Khoja, “I shall take the trouble of addressing you.” ”

“ The Koyis of the Godāvari district are described in the Manual as being "a simple-minded people. They look poor and untidy. The jungles in which they reside are very unhealthy, and the Kois seem almost to a man to suffer from chronic fever. They lead an unsophisticated. savage life, and have few ideas, and no knowledge beyond the daily events of their own little villages ”

“ In order to protect thy country against the white men thou [53] hast sought to make palaver with Prempeh of Ashanti, but I would remind thee that the rulers of Mo have never besought any aid of their neighbours."
"Thou speakest well, lad," he said thoughtfully. "Thine is a mighty kingdom, but by peace or war I will rule over it."
"Never, while I live," answered Omar with pride.
"But thou art the last of thy race. If thou diest—what then?"
"If I die, then every man in Mo will seek blood revenge upon thee, and Zomara will guide them into this, thy land, and arm them with spears of fire." ”

“ With the fall of each pretender, too, hopes of an improvement became fainter in the breasts of the people; and when the successors of the Khoja saint showed themselves [Pg 39] not less amenable to the errors and frailties of their predecessors than any past ruler had been, it was to some extraneous circumstance, we may feel sure, that the people looked for aid. There is an old saying in this part of the world, that when "the people's tithe of bricks is full, then comes a Moses in the land;" ”

“ A treatment of prisoners such as I have described is indeed horrible; but it is not to be regarded as an exceptional case. In Khiva, as well as in the whole of Central Asia, wanton cruelty is unknown; the whole proceeding is regarded as perfectly natural, and usage, law, and religion all accord in sanctioning it. The present Khan of Khiva wanted to signalise himself as a protector of religion, and believed he should succeed by punishing with the greatest severity all offences against it. ”

“ Khazneh, with arms folded and chin upon his breast, remained in an attitude of deep meditation.
Suddenly he asked in a low, hoarse tone, first glancing round to assure himself that he was not overheard,—
“And in such case, what sayest thou should be my reward?”
“Thou wilt gain wealth and power,” the Khalifa answered. “Think, what art thou now? A mere harem slave of thy Sultan. If thou renderest me the assistance I have suggested, thou canst rise to be first in the land.” ”

“ Tell us of what tribe thou art. If thou leviest tax upon us in this thy country, our Lalla is prepared to accede to thy just demands. If a hand is raised against her, the wrath of the Kel-Fadê will assuredly fall upon thee!”
“Naught care we for the Kel-Fadê, who are accursed by Allah, for they pray not, neither go they upon pilgrimages!” the man answered, with a harsh laugh. “From the waters of the Tsâd, even unto the green slopes of the Atlas, we hold power supreme, and none dare withstand us, for we are feared alike by the Roumis of Algeria and the True Believers of the Desert.” ”

“ In Prichard I find that they were supposed by the Portuguese to have been derived from a warlike nation of the interior, called Kho, or Gueo; who are still represented as painting and tattooing their bodies.
Now these Kho, or Gueo, are probably the Ka described along with the Chong, as a separate people. If so we are enabled to dispose of three unplaced tribes; since, by Crawfurd's Ka and Chong vocabularies we can connect, perhaps identify, them with the Kambojians.
[Pg 23]
Most of the Ka, and Chong words which are not Kambojian are either Anamitic or Môn. ”

“ The odour of such a state is felt on high.*
'Heaven loves the people, and the sovereign should reverently carry out (this mind of) Heaven. Kieh, the sovereign of Hsiâ, would not follow the example of Heaven, but sent forth his poisonous injuries through the states of the kingdom:—Heaven therefore gave its aid to Thang the Successful, and charged him to make an end of the appointment of Hsiâ.* But the crimes of Shâu exceed those of Kieh. He has degraded from office the greatly good man [2] ”

“ Our Sheikh nodded, his keen eyes watching the face of the infidel. The latter’s countenance grew grave, whereat we, standing around leaning on our spears, laughed in derision.
“Thou art of the great army of the infidels,” Tamahu said. “Yet thy face palest when we speak of conflict!”
The officer started, and knit his grey brows.
“I fear not thine host of Veiled Men, fierce and relentless though ye be. True, I am a soldier, but one thing alone I dread.”
“Thou fearest to lose thy life,” observed our Sheikh, knowing that the garrison at that little desert town was but small and weak. ”

“ As to the measures to be taken effectually to coerce them, Oliver, writing twenty-two years ago, said that “strong as are the natural positions they hold among the spurs and defiles of the Safed Koh and the bare, rugged, inhospitable ranges of the Khyber; difficult of approach the passes which might have to be forced, and unanimous as the clans may be to defend them at the signal of a common danger, the people are so 265dependent on the plains, their position—secure though it may sound—is really their weakest point, and makes it easy to shut them up in their own hills. ”

“ Choo ́-too-se-ka ́ was then named To-tau-kon-nu ́-la, because he had built his o ́-chum on the summit of the great rock and taken the place of the to-tau ́-kons. He had no wife, but all the women served him in his domestic needs, as he was their great chief, and his wishes were paramount. The many valuable donations which he received from his people at the great annual festivals made him wealthy beyond all personal wants, and he gave freely to the needy. ”

“ Kona answered, his black face glistening in the ray of light shed by a single lamp lit by a slave on the opposite side of the court. "We will serve thy cause while we have breath."
A few minutes later footsteps sounded on the paving, and from the darkness of the colonnade Goliba, accompanied by six other younger men, all tall, erect and stately, emerged from the shadow and approached us. Addressing Omar, the sage said:
"All these men are known to thee, O Master. I need not repeat their names, but they have known thee since their birth, and are of a verity a power in our land. ”