Khoisan people

“ Chō-sen is represented as a human being, of whom the king is the head, the nobles the body, and the people the legs and feet. The breast and belly are full, while both head and lower limbs are gaunt and shrunken. The nobles not only drain the life-blood of the people by their rapacity, but they curtail the royal prerogative. The nation is suffering from a congestion, verging upon a dropsical condition of over-officialism. ”

“ These people, over whom the Sheik seemed to possess great control and authority, are quite pastoral in their pursuits, and own such enormous flocks and herds as would astonish any ordinary mortal. These are every night driven in from grazing to a large zareeba on the river-bed. I was irresistibly reminded here of the patriarchs of old. Here was this Sheikh with four wives and I don’t know how many children, the leader or petty sovereign of a large and powerful tribe, over whom he possessed absolute power, and, as I said before, owning these flocks and herds. ”

“ I have often referred to the Khonds in the hills of Orissa, who, till the horrid practice was stopped by British interference, enticed children from the plains, fed them well, treated them kindly, and then on a fixed day murdered them, tore limb from limb, and scattered the bleeding fragments over the fields as an offering to the Land Goddess to secure an abundant harvest. I have asked, "Ought these people to walk in the ways of their fathers?" ”

“ 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;" ”

“ Arabi answered that the army was there to secure the liberties of the Egyptian people. Cookson replied that the Khedive and Europe could not recognize a mere military revolt as the expression of the will of the people, and added that even now, if the troops were withdrawn, any representations presented in the proper manner would be attended to, and he would guarantee Arabi's personal safety and that of his associates. ”

“ The Chinese endeavoured to conciliate, and to [Pg 168] make the necessity for their presence felt by the people; the Athalik Ghazi was supremely indifferent to the prosperity of his subjects, so long as they were willing to pay him the tribute money, and to serve in his army. An exactly opposite result might have been expected, for there was far more kinship between the Khokandian adventurer and the Kashgari, than there was between the Khitay and the Andijani. ”

“ There is also a story, seemingly legend, and yet historical, of a people called the Khozars, whose king, Bulan, became a convert to Judaism, and who founded a Jewish dynasty and ruled long and happily by the shores of the Caspian Sea. But however much or however little of truth there may be in these traditions which treat of kings and dynasties, certain it is that, divided by the desert from the pursuit of persecutors all round, Arabian Jews did live, century after century, in their fertile valleys, secure in the possession of perfect freedom of faith. ”

“ The Shoans are certainly not a virtuous people, according to our ideas, and if we are to judge them by the standard of our moral code; but I positively deny that they are an immodest people, except among those where the dehumanizing influence of Mahomedanism, by degrading woman to the condition of a slave, has engendered the disgusting sensuality which characterizes the professors of that religion, and even these in Abyssinia are as superior as possible in this respect to the Mahomedans of Arabia and Persia. ”

“ But there is a taper at your right side. Pray bring it and let us light it." Quoth the Khoja, "You must surely be a fool to think that I should know my right hand in the dark." And this: A thief having stolen a piece of salted cheese from the Khoja, he ran immediately and seated himself on the border of a fountain. Said the people to him, "O Khoja, what have you come here to look for in such a hurry?" The Khoja replied, "The thief will certainly come here to drink as soon as he has eaten my salted cheese; I always do so myself." ”

“ Whence it would appear that the people of Cho-sen carry their hospitality to an extreme degree, and in fact it is so even with foreigners, for when visiting the houses of the poorest people I have always been offered food or drink, which you are invariably asked to share with them.
But let us return to the Corean family. The mother, practically from the beginning, is a nobody in the household, and is looked upon as a piece of furniture or a beast of burden by the husband, according to his grade, and as an ornament to the household, but nothing more by her own sons. ”

“ The armed men broke into the prison, and liberated all the prisoners. Among these were Khan Cochût and the slave Bikoo, who did their utmost to increase the tumult. The khan declared that the old rajah had made him his successor; and he began to address the people, promising them freedom from all taxes, and universal liberty. A considerable number sided with him, and he was marching in triumph to take possession of the palace, when a strong party of chiefs and others who knew he spoke falsely attacked him, whereupon his followers were put to flight, and he himself cut to pieces. ”

“ Khozar belonged to the Turcomans, a heathen people; and it is reported that, somewhere about the middle of the eighth century, Bular, its king, a pious and thoughtful prince, received a revelation through a dream,—or, according to another version, through the instruction of an angel,—which showed the hollowness of the religion he professed. Thereupon he began to make inquiry after a purer faith: and having conversed with learned men professing Christianity, Islamism, and Judaism, he made his election in favour of the last-named creed. ”

“ From this very mixed material a people has sprung whose ancestors were the children of races widely different in sentiment and nature, mixtures of Aryan, Semitic, and Turkish stock, that possesses almost every one of the unpleasant qualities of each race, and a very lively fanaticism that has—under the inflammatory action of the shaikhs—never weakened, gaining for Sulaimania a name for the ignorant and savage isolation that has now brought about its own ruin. ”

“ It seems that even in those remote days the Chinese had no luck in the land of Cho-sen, and though army after army, and hundreds of thousands of men were sent against them, the brave Korai people held their own, and far from being defeated and conquered, actually drove the enemy out of the country, killing thousands mercilessly in their retreat, and becoming masters of the Corean Peninsula as far south as the River Han. ”

“ The countries north of Hindoo Koosh, which lie in the valley of the Oxus, and its tributary rivers, from Balkh upwards, have no general designation; eastward of that city lies Koondooz, under which all the smaller provinces may be classed, since the Meer, or chief of that state, has subdued them. Further to the eastward, we have the province of Budukhshan, also a dependency of Koondooz. To the north of this territory are the hill states of Wakhan, Shughnan, Durwaz, Koolab, and Hissar; which are remarkable, as containing a race of people that claim a descent from Alexander the Great. ”

“ I cried in amazement. “Then thou art Kheira!” I added, for the extraordinary beauty of the only daughter of the Sultan of Abea was proverbial throughout the Great Desert, from Lake Tsâd, even to the Atlas.
“Yes,” she replied. “And from thy speech and dress I know thou art of the Azjar, our deadliest enemies.”
“True,” I answered. “To-morrow my tribe, to the number of ten thousand, now lying concealed in the valley called Deforou, will swarm upon thine impregnable city and—”
“Ten thousand?” she gasped, pale and agitated. “And thou wilt kill my father, and reduce our people to slavery. Ah, no!” ”

“ 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.” ”

“ It seems incredible that so many families of one race, occupying the same territory, and with practically the same habits, customs, and superstitions,—should each perpetuate for centuries its own peculiar dialect and clannish exclusiveness. The missionary or official, to do effective work among such a people, needs a small army of interpreters at his heels.
THE KACHINS
The Kachins inhabit the extreme northern part of Burma, extending as far south as the Bhamo and Namkham districts, and east into China. ”

“ Each of the clans have one great Rajah, supposed to be the main branch of the original stock, to whom, although those immediately beyond his own villages owe him no allegiance, great respect is shown by all, and acknowledgment of the superior title given, although in power and wealth he may be much poorer than others of the tribe.
“No regular courts are held among the Kookis, but complaints are always heard before the Rajah, assisted by his muntries, whenever they may be made. Heinous crimes are very infrequent among these people. ”

“ The people of Caubul have nearly all returned to the city, and are busy re-opening their houses against the winter. Many of the Kohistan chiefs, Gool Mahomed and Khoda Buksh, Ghilzyes, have also paid their respects to Shahpoor, and Ameen-oollah was expected shortly to return. Mahomed Akbar either really fears for his personal safety, now that a party with which accommodation is impossible has come into power, or he thinks it better policy to allow dissension to fructify in the capital before he makes his reappearance on the scene. ”

“ The other races are ill disposed towards them, and attribute all the vices they can think of to their doors. But these Khitay managed to efface themselves in the country, and although they formed a very important minority among the males, they never appear to have been regarded in the light of a possible danger when their brethren from China should draw near. In addition to the native Kashgari, and these two important elements just mentioned, there are numerous immigrants from the border states, particularly from Khokand, to the people of whom Yakoob Beg naturally manifested especial favour. ”

“ The white men hated us, but they could not drive us away. When there was war, we plundered you. When there was peace, some of our bad people stole; but our chiefs forbade it. Your treacherous friend, Gaika, always had peace with you, yet, when his people stole he shared in the plunder. Have your patroles ever, in time of peace, found cattle, runaway slaves, or deserters in the kraals of our chiefs? Have they ever gone into Gaika's country without finding such cattle, such slaves, such deserters in Gaika's kraals? ”

“ A. Schiefner regards as radically distinct from all others [633] , is disappearing even more rapidly than the people themselves, if it be not already quite extinct. In the eighties it was spoken only by about a dozen old persons, its place being taken almost everywhere by the Turki dialect of the Yakuts [634] .
Chukchi and Koryaks.
There appears to be a curious interchange of tribal names between the Chukchi and their Koryak neighbours, the term Koryak being the Chukchi Khorana, "Reindeer," while the Koryaks are said to call themselves Chauchau, whence some derive the word Chukchi. ”

“ Only in Brittany do the sad-hearted people think of the land of death as an island of Avalon, with the eternal sunset lingering behind the flowering apple trees, and gleaming on the fountain of forgetfulness. ”

“ with considerable suspicion of its president’s brilliant theory of vending his wares direct to the people—was perhaps the only one who had suspicions. He had once written a brilliant criticism to some inquirer, in which he had said that no enterprise of such magnitude as the Northern Pacific had ever before been entirely dependent upon one house, or rather upon one man, and that he did not like it. “I am not sure that the lands through which the road runs are so unparalleled in climate, soil, timber, minerals, etc., as Mr. Cooke and his friends would have us believe. ”

“ Yet, it is not easy to talk history with a people who confound Miriam and Mary, or politics to those whose only idea of a king is a robber on a large scale, or religion to men who measure excellence by forbidden
Diagram illustrating Somali Geography meats, or geography to those who represent the earth in this guise. ”

“ I always think they're rather charming-looking, the Burmese. They have such splendid bodies! Look at that fellow's shoulders--like a bronze statue. Just think what sights you'd see in England if people went about half naked as they do here!'
'But they have such hideous-shaped heads! ”