Civilisation: Its Cause and Cure; and Other EssaysCarpenter, Edward
Philosophy
Civilisation: Its Cause and Cure; and Other Essays
Carpenter, Edward
Civilization; Crime; Evolution; Science
"The pigmies have no settled villages, nor do they cultivate anything.
They live the life of the brute in the forests, perpetually wandering in
search of honey or in pursuit of elephant; when they succeed in killing
anything, they throw up a few grass shelters and remain there till all
the meat is either eaten or dried. They depend upon the other natives
for the necessary grain, which they either steal or barter for elephant
meat or honey. All their knives, spearheads and arrow-heads they
likewise purchase from other people, but they make their own bows and
arrows. So well are these made that they are held in great esteem by the
surrounding people." ... "An hour later I met an elderly pigmy in the
forest and managed to induce him to talk. He was a splendid little
fellow, full of self-confidence, and gave me most concise information,
stating that the white man with many belongings had passed near by two
days before, and had then gone down to the lake-shore, where he was
camped at that moment. These people must have a wonderful code of signs
and signals, as despite their isolated and nomadic existence they always
know exactly what is happening everywhere. He was a typical pigmy as
found on the volcanoes--squat, gnarled, proud, and easy of carriage. His
beard hung down over his chest, and his thighs and chest were covered
with wiry hair. He carried the usual pigmy bow made of two pieces of
cane spliced together with grass, and with a string made of a single
strand of a rush that grows in the forests. The pigmies are splendid
examples of the adaptability of Nature to her surroundings; the
combination of strength and conciseness enabling them to move with
astonishing rapidity in the pig-runs that form the only pathway through
the impenetrable growth, and to endure the fatigue of elephant-hunting."
NATIVES IN RUANDA (near Lake Kivu): _Cape to Cairo_, p. 118.
"Society in Ruanda is divided into two castes, the Watusi and the
Wahutu. The Watusi are the descendants of a great wave of Galla invasion
that reached even to Tanganyika. They still retain their pastoral
instincts, and refuse to do any other work than the tending of cattle;
and so great is their affection for their beasts, that rather than sever
company they will become slaves, and do the menial work of their beloved
cattle for the benefit of their conquerors. This is all the more
remarkable when one takes into account their inherent pride of race and
contempt for other peoples, even for the white man.... Many signs of
superior civilisation, observable in the peoples with whom the Watusi
have come into contact, are traceable to this Galla influence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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