THE KAFFIRS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 6048, 5 November 1906, Page 2

THE KAFFIRS

THEIR LIFE AND MANNERS. SOME SOUTH AFRICAN OBSERVATIONS. (By Peter Gale.) “He who'feels contempt for any living tiling, hath faculties which he has never used/’ Without going so far as Wordsworth I can appreciate the sentiment that gave rise to these lines. In judging individual human beings one is Inclined to base his opinion on first impressions, and I feel certain that such prove to be incorrect in as many cases as correct, even though the “impressed” has cultivated the faculty of character-reading. It is somewhat easier to characterise a family; and easier yet, a race of people; but in no case should tlie first impression bo considered unalterable. When I first went to South Africa, I was filled with unbounded contempt for the Kaffir. I saw him merely as a higher sx> coles of ape, completely lacking human dignity. I think even now that this view can be pardoned to a new comer. At first sight the Kaffir is wholly unprepossessing. He is small as a rule, of a very coarse look, and he arrays himself in rags that would disgrace a scare-crow. One cannot imagine that a human being in such a low stage of civilisation can have a code of honour and morals: it is impossible to think of him as striving after an ideal such as fighting against temptation or as loving, like us. But on closer acquaintance we find him possessed of attributes that would shine in the most cultivated society in the world.

I do not pretend to be in a position to write authoritatively of the Kaffir —meaning by that word the collective I races of coloured people of South I Africa, but I have studied more or less ' closely a few families and individuals, both Basuto and Zulus who worked on the farm for me. (To avoid confusion of terms, it is well to mention at once,riiat the inhabitants of Basutoland are the Basuto: one is called a Masuto, and the language Sesuto). Almost all of them were “blanket-Kaffirs”—that is Kaffirs as yet free from the trammels of civilised dress. As the name signifies, a blanket, usually 'of a gaudy colour, forms the principle article of aprvarel. It goes without saying that tms type is infinitely more useful, more reliable than his “superior” brother in a stick-up collar and • straw-hat.

In dealing with Kaffirs two points of primary importance must be remembered. The first, the Kaffir is a child, j No matter whether he be a whitc-wool-i ed rheumaticky grandfather, a youth of muscle, or a maid of six summers, he or slio is a child. All, the child’s of disposition is his. He is cheery and good-humoured, or sulky; lazy or wildly energetic; quiet and deep or noisy and shallow; dissipated or stmaous according to his lights; cowardly or courageous; honourable or dishonourable; precocious or intensely stumd but in all in a child’s degree, borne remain, say, twelve years old all rneir lives; others grow up to perhaps eighteen, but none exceed that. The second point 'is this: He is not a slave, but he is not the white man’s equal. It is owing to , ? < ?, t appreciating this that such fallacious ideas of the Kaffir’s incapability are so commonly held. The Boer treats him as a slave; be gives him hardly enough to keep body and soul together, he rules him by fear, and so is badly served. The missionary treats him as an equal (the Protestant missionary, I should say, the French Catholics seem to know him better). Tho Kaffir then becomes “cheeky” and lazy, and gives himself airs; he apes all the white man’s vices as well as his clothes and religion. In fact, the missionary spoils him, and so is badly served. Punish the Kaffir when h© is “naughty,” applaud him when h© is “good” treat him firmly, show Him the right way to do his work, and see that he dees it that way, but don’t kick him because he doesn’t know how; give him some pleasure in life. Then he will serve as well as his limited capabilities permit. There is nothing that doesn’t require thought that you cannot’teach a Kaffir; but you cannot hurry him, and you cannot get him to us© his discretion. He will work always -as a machine works. Nevertheless, leave the work to him; he will do it in his own time; but if he thinks that you will do it yourself, ho will sit down and wait for yon. In our bachelor establishment X was appointed mess-president (a polite name for housekeeper). My staff was one “boy”—a male Kaffir of any age is always called a boy—Kivite, by name, the first Kaffir with whom I had to deal. I started with the entirely erroneous impression that he was an inept fool. He was “raw,” and ho could not do the work because he did not know how, and instead of explaining it, and then leaving it to him altogether, X did it myself, with the inevitable result that ho would not move until I had impressed on him the advisability of . so-doing. It was not until it was too late that my eyes were opened to his possibilities, and by that time he was spoilt. It was a man’s work to supervise him alone. (Again in parentheses—it is surprising how quickly a white man adapts himself to a South African farm. He has to ho ready at a moment’s notice to show a “boy” how to cook a dinner or build a house. His nrestige is in grievous danger if he fails to come up to tho mark).

I replaced Kivite by two “boys,” Gentleman for the kitchen, Jim for the house, and handling them in a manner learned by experience, my housekeeping duties were reduced to a minimum. X don’t say that their work was as good as that of the best - white servants, but it was better than that of many. They would ■ not use their discretion; what they wore told to do they would do; but the smallest fortuitous check, any extraordinary occurrence, would throw their whole domestic machine out of I gear, and a “baas” became essential to restart it. Gentleman’s marked eccentricity was a love for the “fry-pan.” [ I had to specify distinctly the articles of diet that were not to be so treated, otherwise everything—lettuce, beet-root salad, even rice and tapioca—were cooked in the frying-pan. Jim exhibited to an exceptional degree all the essentially Kaffir characteristics; chief among them a profound ignorance. To every question, no matter how obviously ho was in a position to know, he would return the answer, “Ek wiert ne” —“Ha ko taebo'’—“l don’t know.,’ Hardly less irritating that Kivite’s anglicised rendering, “Dinnaw, sir.” Jim was, I thinkj the most emptyheaded creature with whom I have had dealings, but, in the same degree as an automaton, he was trustworthy. lengthy leisure was spent in the acquisition of'knowledge from a spelling-book “Step by Step,” whence he learnt a fund of useful things concerning “The Oat, and The Dog?’;

or in playing on a musical instrument of his own making, the “setolotolo,” a sort of enlarged Jew’s harp, onestringod, the tone of which is produced by using the cavity of the mouth, as a sounding-drum, and the hardly varying notes by movements of the lips and tongue. He Had also a mouthorgan and a concertina. The former was soon broken; the latter I impounded. His other possessions included a folding looking-glass, a steel oomh, which he always carried in his hair, and a copper brooch. All Kaffirs have a marked love of finery; in Kivite it was acutely developed. On one occasion after I had paid him his monthly wage, he begged an afternoon off to go to the store. He bought another comb, two rings (copper), another lookingglass (burnished tin), a pair' of the shoddiest broodies that X have ever seen—they cost 12s 6d—a pair of villainous stockings, a packet of candles, and a pipe. He had evidently suffered in Dutch hands, as he was delighted to recount his reminiscences while “fighting” with the English—ho was “cook-boy” to a sergeant. If I spoke to him in Dutch, he would answer in Seouto, or What ho called English, “Dutch no good talk.” As 1 didn’t know Scsuto ho offered to teach me, “Eh-eh”—that unspellable sound that Basuto use for negation—"Eheh, Englis say ‘soss-pin’ (sauce pan)— Kaffir say, ‘Pitsa.’ ’’ After “yes” and “no,” the next word all Kaffirs get hold of is “Plenty” in the sense of “very.” It_ acquired strange and continual use in Kivite’a lips: “Plenty much little” meaning “very little indeed” was his chef-d’-oeuvre. Ho was scrupulously honest, and it is hardly an exaggeration to say are all Kaffirs. Wo could leave loose money about, or any small articles of jewellery, with perfect impunity, hut we had to keep whisky locked up. Again, it is hardly an exaggeration to say that all Kaffirs will drink—and steal—whisky. I this hoy’s name as an educated Kaffir gave it to mo. It is pronounced “Kiv-veet.” He had no Dunch name, hut many Sesuto nicknames, some quite unprintable, but all tending to signify “fat-man.” The leavings of our table, known generically as “Engliss skoff,” are more palatable than tile boys’ diet—mealiemcal, and he took care to see that theroj were always plenty of leavings. NICKNAMES. The mention of nicknames reminds me of another characteristic of Kaffirs. It is an absolute impossibility for them to got hold of English or Dutch names, and so they either corrupt them almost' out of recognition or else apply a qamo of their own making. As instances of the former; Two Dutch men, brothers, fanned near us. They were never known by their surname. One was -,aas Henty (Mr Hendrik), and the other Ease Sebron (Sibrandt). They gave up our names as hopeless; one was Tan di arora, the “Ken’s e-oar,” so called on .account of his mighty voice. Another was Ra Nku—literally “Father of the Nose”—they meant nothing impertinent by it; they used it to his face—a long nose was merely his distinguishing feature. Another was Kamos a—“ Father of Kindness.” The fourth “Meg”: of this wo were never able to discover the origin or meaning. It does not seem to be a general custom for Kaffirs to give nicknames to each other unless any marked eccentricity in person or habit especially calls for it —such as Ra’ Mununtsa, “Father of Thinness;” or M-pas, “Old Belly,” Ra-dibi, “Father of Evil.” All nicknames, whether of humour or opprobrium. begin with “Ra,” “Father,” or “Ma, “Mother.” There are other appellations which can hardly be called nicknames. They are rather pet names, as instance Raho’nate, “Father of Fathers,” a title of honour for an old man; and mothers like to take the name of their first-born son, Ma-Piet or Ma-Toako. A name hastily applied by a white man if it takes their fancy, sticks for ever. We had a small herd boy called Masathla. He was known to ub either as “the Picannin” or “Good-night,” this latter from his habit of saluting us at all hours of the day with the only English words ha knew, “Goot-a-night, bugh.” He is still called “Good-night.” The usual salutation to a white man —an Englishman—they are not so complimentary to Dutchmen —is “Dumela Morena” (the “e” is pronounced as “a” in “fate”), with uplifted rightarm. The answer should be “Dumela. Monna,” or “Misadi” —“Hail chief,” “Hail man,” or “woman.” Masathla could speak no language but Sesuto. He had, however, a marvellous memory for phrases in English almost meaningless to him. Once ho received a reprimand for allowing cattle to stray. I heard him in the evening recounting the episode to another boy, “Baas say. “Picannin picannin, come a little devil or I give you plenty sjambok.’ ” John, or as he signs himself, Mr John Kotse—all hoys who can write prefix “Mr” when they have occasion to sign their names—is the scholar, ho can read and write Sesuto in quite an intelligible manner. His English is very limited, but if he can drag in a few words he will. “Yes, thank you, sir, please,” is his invariable acknowledgment of a favour, and his greeting nearly always is followed by the request, “Please Pipe-o-lees, sir.” “0lee” is a corruption of “oil”—and “pipe-o-lees” are the foul dregs of a duty pipe. It is said (I have not tried it) that a drop of this filthy stuff applied at the end of a wire to a snake’s mouth will kill it almost instantly—and a snake is very difficult to kill outright. Certainly it is a very poisonous substance, yet all kaffirs esteem it a rare delicacy. If John is refused “O-lees,” he bogs for tobacco making certain that he is not mis-understood by speaking the word in as many languages as he knows—■ “Too-bacco,” “Ta-back,” “Km" (Zulu), “Ma-tshuk” (Sesuto). No Kaffir has ever lost anything by not asking for it. There was one woman who would spend a whole morning in begging. She would perhaps bring up one of her children with a “bo-kloko” (a pain), somewhere or the other. She wanted to see the doctor ■—that was I. More by a few chance diagnoses and lucky cures than knowledge, I became an established medical authority for miles around. The pain having • been treated, she would start _ begging (she was a wife of the richest boy on the farm). The child suffered from cold—would 1 give her a blanket for it? "No.” She was getting old herself; would the baas give her a print skirt? “No.” Would the baas give her a hat, then? “No.” A shilling to buy one? “No.” Ramossa would be playing with the sick picannin—he might give it some “pom-poms”—sweets. “Please; Ramossa, give me some pom-poms, too.” “No, these are only for picannins.” “Give me some meat then, Ramossa.” “No.” “0, Morena Ramossa,” reproachfully, “give me just a little bread.” “No.” She would think for some time what else to ask for. “Will the baas give me a new bucket; mine is very old?” “No.” “The water comes into my house when it rains: will the Morena Moholo (the chiefest chief) give me that piece of corrugated iron to mend the roof? (a thatched roof, by the way).” “No.” She would spend three or four hours per-

haps, in begging, and then, refused everything, go away as happy as a bird—and passing the garden, shout back and ask for some onions.

Two other boys require special notice. Mopassu, a huge clumsy creature, from his permanently smllling countenance and rotund appearance sometime© known as “The Cherub.” He also thought he could talk English; he deceived no one but himself. “What you talk?”; “What you call deese wawn ?” were the only intelligible phrases he had. The latter was in constant use. “Deese wawn,”; —“this one”—might refer to a noun singular or plural or a verb. Pointing to a sack of potatoes, a flight of birds, or imitating the act of swimming he would ask, “What you call deeoe wawn?” He was an excellent mimic. In some weird manner he oonlcl reproduce the varying airs of a thrashingmachine at work—the note of the drum whirr as it runs up and _ down the gamut; or whizzing a stick in his hand for fly-wheel he would start and drive the engine. The whistle was his forte. Tho gramophone also provided him with a wealth of ideas, despite an ineradicable conviction that a* little man was concealed somewhere in it. One of the most interesting “boys” wo had was Toako, a happy-go-lucky extremely noisy individual; ©very penny of his wages went to his family, hie mother and sisters, and he contributed to the fine of hie half-brother (a man whom I will mention later as having been fined ten cows) some goats out of his small''possessions. THE WOMEN.

Women are as a rule extremely plain, most unlovely. They age very quickly; hut some maiden© are_ very handsome. Taken as a whole their virtue is unquestionable and their modesty rigorously guarded, despite the scantiness of dress. Case© of immorality are very rare and are always punished. One has something of romance in it. A marriage had been arranged as usual by the parents of the contracting parties and the price of the girl agreed on and a portion ■ (Women are in a minority and the bridegroom or his father has to p y for her. . The usual prioe is about ten cows, or fifteen oxen, a snare and some sheep—in monetary, value say from £IOO to £120.) However, Ans girl had the audacity to love anothoi man. Her love was returned, and she resorted to extreme measures to have the projected marriage broken off. (A girl who has lost her honour is most rigorously ostracised.) But bll groom-elect refused to give hoi up. IbA ran away to Basutoland; her father pursued her and “persuaded her —he flwor© he dldn t lift a hand against hei—to fall in with his plans The lover was fined ten cows, and as ho had not a head of stock it m «aua that he and all his br^® ra Jff to work for years to come to pay off this fine, tor it will be paid. It “ distinctly a romance with a Bad ending. The eirl played for a very high stake, ai sho had. and lort. The lover has ruined his lamily, and tho has become a laughing inero was no question of unsmteblityho wad of marriageable age and his father rich. (Rich applied to a native always means nch in stock). The only other case °f immorality that came under my notice had u”|uch dooming feature. Owing towhate sh"c,Ul a legal technicality, the , man was fined only two Thc irirl was also engaged to bo marl led, hut the bridegroom threw her over, and her father had to pay back that portion of the . purchase, price, which had already been paid. It; only fair to the offending man to add that ho married the girl and paid a price fixed by compromise. , . The native self-appointed tribunal is strictly impartial and strikes an unprejudiced observer as b P m £, fal T; decision is never questioned, its dooroes are always earned out, ana to the credit of, the Kaffir let added that there is no implacable .hatred or bloodthirsty revenge. In the cases ! have instanced, the various families were soon on amicable term? again. While on the question, of disputes I will mention that 1 have been told both by Kaffirs and by white people of long residence in Basutoland that the majority of natives (in Basutoland) would prefer to be under the authority of a Resident Magistrate than that of their chiefs who have an unpleasant habit of charging several head or cattle tor judgments It will not be many years before they get their wish. There are periodical rumours, usually started towards the end of each year, of a rising of tho Basuto. Year by year the reports are more authentic —on the face of them that is. The last one gave the date and hour, midnight of New Year’s eve, and the authorities went so far as to serve out ball ammunition to the Dadybrand garrison. The only people who were not disturbed were those in farms on or near the borden who would be the firsts to be murdered in the event of a issmg (1 include myself in tins' category). \\e all knew whence and why the. reports were spread, and the proper value to attach to them. Basutoland is, I believe with reason., supposed to contain vast mineral wealth, gold and precious stones; but the paramount chief refuses to have his country prospected, and he enforees the law with the utmost rigour. It is not permitted to dig a well without supervision—all fortuitously discovered stones become his property. So that if the country could bo “opened up” there would probably be plenty of wealth for first-comers. After the explosion of the last rumours, the case was accurately summed up by an official of the Basutoland protectorate: “If you people are all murdered in your beds, you’ll only have yourselves to thank for it. I know a fair amount about tho Basuto —they are thoroughly peaceable now, but if they get to see you are afraid of an absolutely unfounded rumour even to the point of serving out ball to the troops, they’ll give you something to be frightened about in earnest.” Although, as I have said, those in a position to know the tone of the Basuto were in no way disturbed at the last rumour, the rising will come. I do not say this year or next; it may not be for five years, but it will be made to come. A few outlying farmhouses will be rushed, a few score whites murdered, a few women outraged, a few thousand “niggers” mown down—and a few more German and Shoreditch Jews become millionaires. Kaffirs have no religion. They believe in witchcraft, and are very superstitions, although one man invariably laughs at another’s amulets. Two or three little upright sticks on tho nearest kopje or oh the roof of the hut ward off hail from the crops; there is some mysterious compound which, when applied to one or two heads of Kaffircorn and mealies keeps off the frost. They have some rites also for making rain, of which I could get no satisfactory explanation. An important point, however, seems to be for all the womenfolk. wives and daughters, somewhat indecently attired, to “beat the bounds” of the farm, gesticulating wildly and shouting noisily. A betrothed woman has still one year of virgin liberty after the completion of tho bargain, but it is not neces-

sary for the whole of the price to be paid at the time of the actual marriage; a bridegroom gets his wife on credit, as it were, but ho is bound by a stringent and never broken code of honour to pay when ho can. Missionaries endeavour to break down tins custom of wife-purchase, but Christian Kaffirs married in a church without cattle aro despised. They are polygamists. A man can have as many wives as ho can buy, and in my humble opinion an immense mistake that missionaries make is to insist on a convert giving up all but Eis first wife,. It strikes an observer as being rough on the other wives and children. With no desire to make an invidious remark. I wish missionaries could see that they have a higher duty than merely increasing their lists of names of catechumens and communicants.

If the neatness of graves ho any criterion, Kaffirs pay more' 1 respect to their dead than do many Dutchmen. Kaffir graves aro always covered by a neat symmetrical pile of stones, whereas I have seen Dutch graves on a farm hardly distinguishable from the surrounding voldt, not even fenced in, although the immediate relations of the deceased lived within a stone’s throw.

Reversing the European rule, the love of finery is not nearly so marked in women as in men. Most “boys” will spend every penny of their wages in clothes of the most tawdry and shoddy make; and in imitation jewellery, copper and brass rings, chains, and brooches, such as one finds in the cheapest of Christmas crackers, lookingglasses and combs, all manufactured solely for his use. Kivito used frequently to carry his looking-glass tied on to his belt; always his steel comb was fixed in his “wool.” Although a “boy’s” ambition is to array himself in I a complete suit of white mau’e clothes, I very rarely docs a woman discard the blanket. I am speaking of course of j country Kaffirs. In the towns it is different. Neither does a woman depart from her tribal customs so read113' 1 some few wear copper rings, but ail wear numerous bi’acolets, anklets, and necklaces of beads or woven wire. Tho. effect is very pretty, eminently suitable. But it is startlingly incongruous to seo a “boy” in flannel shirt, trousers, and boots, with a gaud3'-00l oured bead chain around his neck. Under such circumstances the decoration looks cheap and tawdry. Kaffirs of both soxes and all age* are enthusiastic dancers. Th©y make a combined dauco on every possible pretext. They perform “pas soul”. at all hours of the day from mere exuberance of spirits. There is no “giddy whirl” with a partner of opposite sox. At first glance a dance seems a confused, independent melee of brandished sticks and knobkerries, waving arms and legs, and roarisg voices; but soon one sees the harmony of it; organised sets, rythmic movements and cadence, graceful and far from unlovely. Zulu dances demand the expenditure of considerable more exertion that Basuto. The ‘‘full dress” of a Zulu girl is rather startling, a very plentiful supply of heads, and the possible minimum of blanket; tho face and uncovered portion of tho body painted with rod ochre striped longitudinally with white. It is emphatically picturesque. Eucircling the ankle is & chain of little skin drums filled with gravel, the best possible substitute for castanets. A Apart from these amiable qualities, which are common to all, some Kaffirs exhibit a considerable amount of intelligence. Mopassu, “the Cherub,” was far from inept. ■: He was the gardener, and took a great pride in the cleanliness and neatness of his ■ work. He developed a system of irrigation on his own initiative, and the good condition of the vegetables bore evidence to its successful application. However, he is an exception to the ordinary Kaffir. „ FAITH IN- MEDICINE. As a class, tho native doctors are exceptional men, but I cannot say much about them from personal experience. In my capacity as doctor, they have interfered with tdj work at times, and A have had frequently to undo their work' They: seem to rely to a very great extent on hypnotism, and on the credulity of the patient (the latter I frequents ly use myself). The implicit reliance that a Kaffir places on a doctor—a white doctor, I believe they are beginning to see through their own men- — is very gratifying, and goes a long way to aid the cure. A sick Kaffir is usually imbued .with the idea that ; he has_ a beetle or a worm or a snake inside him that is the cause of tho illness. I had an instance myself. A woman brought her little girl for mo to cure. Tho only symptoms I could get out of her was that there was a snake inside tho child. I confess that for a few moments she put me on tho wrong scent. I am glad to say it was only for a few moments. The child was suffering from pneumonia, and. despite the fact that no snake was ever discovered, the child recovered, to Dio mother’s delighted surprise. A Kaffir doctor treats these cases differently. A man complains of a beetle in his head; the “doctor” gives him some medicine with certain instructions—such as, he must go away on to a kopje all by himself and eat it when half tho sun’s orb is below the horizon, or he muflt mix it with the blood of a butcher bird—a beetlc/catfing bird — and eat it; and then, when the patient has been sufficiently impressed and prepared, tho “doctor” performs a few antics and by - a simple conjuring feat produces the offending beetle. “Of course the patient cannot help getting well; there was a beetle in his head and now it is out.” But a story of a much more creditable nature was told me by an English doctor of extensive practice and wide knowledge who vouched for the accuracy of it. A man sustained a compound fracture of the leg and the bone gangrened. A native doctor exfried the diseased portion and substituted a piece of bone from a dog. The ends united; the “grafting” was successful; although the limb never became oo -sound ao it had been before the accident, it was quite serviceable. This was over twenty years ago. if my memory serve long before the operation was generally pr'w'cised by the highest surgical authorities. Tb" same doctor who told this also told mo that in his own experience ho had found that natives had long known the value of isolation of sick people. In my brief experience I have found the ordinary Kaffir ; patient just the same as the ordinary out-pateint. ■illere is the garrulous old woman wtb abundant detail, and lack of any- guiding symptoms; the. shy but curious chTld; the shame-faced man—the only differences being that the native almost invariably puts blind confidence in your ability 7 to affect a cure, and that he considers you are scamping your work if you do not sound him with a stethoscope. It does not matter in the least from what he is suffering; vou must listen at the seat of pain. The avidity with which he swallows medicine—even quinine, is hardly comprehensible. One meets with isolated cases of pig-headedness, but they are rare. A youth was brought to me once

in a very bad way with phthisis—a touch .of nature bringing him into close kinship with myself. I took him under my especial care, and at tho end of three months he had improved out of recognition. Then ho became homo-sick ami despite my earnest remonstrance, pined for his relatives until I had to send him home. Ho is •since dead. On another occasion I told a man whose wife had a tumour in the broqst to take her into to-.vr. and let the "big doctor” seo her. A, fortnight afterwards he came back to bog for some feathers from the wing of a, secretary-bird to make medicine for her; my’ medicine had done her no good, ho said, and it was too far for her to go into town, and besides ho would have to pay tho doctor. 1 permitted no consnoentious objection to my decrees; I issued an ultimatum, and the woman had scon tho doctor within twenty-four hours.

To sum up briefly. I must end where X began—the Kaffir is not the white man’s equal, and it will take some generations for him to rise. This present generation, taking It all round is loveable; in the next, when lie is a quarter anglicised, he will bo much less jMeasant; in the second, half anglicised, he will he an abominable nuisance; in tho third, perhaps, he will have dropped into his place. A coat, trousers, and stick-up collar, and bis name on a missionary’s list do nob make a “Eurojioan” of a man whoso grandfather was a cannibal. Finally, I repeat that I do not pretend to an n rxmrate knowledge of the Kaffir, t have been in his country, but 1 cannot speak his language: it is impos. siblo to study a race through- an interpreter. . This is just a slight ao* count of some Kaffirs and their main, ners and customs who have lived under my observation.