Abstract
The Hadzapi or Watindega of Tanganyika.—In Africa, vol. 4, pt. 3, Miss D. F. Bleek describes a tribe of hunters living in the northern part of the central province of Tanganyika, near Lake Eyazi, who speak a clicking language related to the Bushman and Hottentot tongues. In physique, colouring, and physiognomy the Hadzapi are entirely different from the Bushman, for they are tall, black, and very prognathous. They live by hunting. Arrow heads are made by the men themselves from bits of iron bartered with neighbouring Bantu tribes. Paint is not worn by the men, but many showed on their faces and bodies an elementary kind of tattooing used to cure illness. For cooking their food, which consists of roots, bulbs, and fruits collected by the women, the Hadzapi use clay pots which are bought from neighbouring tribes. The sun is their god, but he is not addressed, and is feared. He makes the people well and ill as he desires. If an invalid's relatives bother the sun with prayers, he will certainly die. Most men own two wives. Girls marry at sixteen, the men a little older. There does not appear to be any initiation ceremony for young people or any marriage ceremony. Dancing and singing is part of the daily life of the men, especially when there is plenty of meat. Their dancing and singing resemble that of the Bantu more than that of the Bushmen. The sounds of the language are less difficult than those of the Hottentot and Bushmen.
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Research Items. Nature 128, 379–381 (1931). https://doi.org/10.1038/128379a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/128379a0