"Child of the Hills" as a clan-name. I had taken it for a personal name, and been somewhat surprised at its frequency. Mr. Rattray says (p. 175) that Achewa tradition asserts the whole tribe to have borne this clan-name of Piri ("Hill")— and attributes the origin of that name (and probably the others, but the passage is not quite clear) to the chieftainess Nyangu, whose line seems still to have been represented in the country in Livingstone's time. But Mr. Rattray speaks as if descent in the female line were exceptional, whereas it is common to the Achewa and the Yaos and many other Bantu tribes In a previous passage he says that the clan-name descends from the father, and in some cases from the mother. He does not make clear whether the clans in which the former is the case are those mentioned as of Zulu origin. (The Anyanja of the Lake speak of the system of paternal kinship as brought in by the Zulus.) Another explanation-which only careful and longcontinued inquiry on the spot can establish-might be that there is a double system of descent, akin to the Herero otuzo and omaanda, and the "companies" and clans of the Gold Coast. (Concerning these, see a paper by Mr. Arthur ffoulkes in the African Society's Journal for April.) Some of the clannames (p. 176) are words now obsolete. "By inquiring what animal is tabooed by the person who bears such an obsolete name, the modern equivalent can generally be obtained. A thorough examination into the etymology of some of these clannames might throw some light on the past history of many of the races of Central Africa." In some cases, at least, we have not far to seek, as three out of the five "archaic" words given by Mr. Rattray are simply Zulu. Duwe (for mbidzi) is idube, "zebra"; pofu = impofu, "eland" and nyati=inyati, pofu=impofu, "buffalo." Nyuchi for the Nyanja njuchi, "bee," is evidently a compromise, the Zulu form being inyosi. Soko, however, for "baboon," must have a different origin. Livingstone mentions that the chimpanzee was called soko by the people of Manyema; and in the Ila (or Mashukulumbwe) language, an ape is sokwe. Probably this clan comes from the west. There is a clan Moyo ("life, heart") which has for its taboo the heart of a goat problem in a nutshell. An interesting chapter is appended on what might be called Kafir eugenics, and it may at all events be said that Mr. Kidd's findings are in accordance with the latest teaching of science on the highly obscure subject of heredity. R. R. MARETT. SOME FOLK-LORE STORIES AND SONGS IN CHINYANJA. With English Translation and Notes. By R. SUTHERLAND THE existence of totemism among the Anyanja has long been known; but there was in some quarters an impression that the institutions connected with it had so far become obsolete as to be capable of throwing very little light on the subject. This may to a certain extent be the case with the Anyanja of the Shire Highlands and the river valley-though less from contact with Europeans than because the tribes have been displaced and broken up by the irruption of the Yaos and the domination of the Makololo. Even here, however, careful observers found hints of a matriarchal clan system and of totem names. Mr. Rattray has carried the matter somewhat further. He has lived for some years among the Achewa or Achipeta of Central Angoniland. These people belong to the race which for convenience' sake we call Anyanja, and speak virtually the same language as those at Kotakota, Likoma and Blantyre. Some words which are not in Dr. Scott's dictionary I recognise as used at Ntumbi, some days' journey further south-where, in fact, the language was very much the same as that in Mr. Rattray's book, though the people spoke of the "Chipetas' as different from themselves. In fact, Mr. Rattray throws light " "Child of the Hills" as a clan-name. I had taken it for a personal name, and been somewhat surprised at its frequency. Mr. Rattray says (p. 175) that Achewa tradition asserts the whole tribe to have borne this clan-name of Piri (“Hill")— and attributes the origin of that name (and probably the others, but the passage is not quite clear) to the chieftainess Nyangu, whose line seems still to have been represented in the country in Livingstone's time. But Mr. Rattray speaks as if descent in the female line were exceptional, whereas it is common to the Achewa and the Yaos and many other Bantu tribes In a previous passage he says that the clan-name descends from the father, and in some cases from the mother. He does not make clear whether the clans in which the former is the case are those mentioned as of Zulu origin. (The Anyanja of the Lake speak of the system of paternal kinship as brought in by the Zulus.) Another explanation—which only careful and longcontinued inquiry on the spot can establish-might be that there is a double system of descent, akin to the Herero otuzo and omaanda, and the "companies" and clans of the Gold Coast. (Concerning these, see a paper by Mr. Arthur ffoulkes in the African Society's Journal for April.) Some of the clannames (p. 176) are words now obsolete. "By inquiring what animal is tabooed by the person who bears such an obsolete name, the modern equivalent can generally be obtained. A thorough examination into the etymology of some of these clannames might throw some light on the past history of many of the races of Central Africa." In some cases, at least, we have not far to seek, as three out of the five "archaic" words given by Mr. Rattray are simply Zulu. Duwe (for mbidzi) is idube, "zebra"; pofu= impofu, "eland" and nyati=inyati, "buffalo." Nyuchi for the Nyanja njuchi, "bee," is evidently a compromise, the Zulu form being inyosi. Soko, however, for "baboon," must have a different origin. Livingstone mentions that the chimpanzee was called soko by the people of Manyema; and in the Ila (or Mashukulumbwe) language, an ape is sokwe. Probably this clan comes from the west. There is a clan Moyo ("life, heart") which has for its taboo the heart of a goat It might have seemed more natural to begin this notice with a discussion of the folk-tales in this book, but they are important enough to require a much fuller analysis than can be given here. 'Kachirambe" is the same as the Yao " Kalikalanje" (see Macdonald, Africana, II., 336) and the Ronga "Moutipi" given by M. Junod. "The Rabbit and the Elephant" is a variant of the tale concerning all the animals and the pool of water, and "The Tortoise and the Antelope" is equally familiar. Of two other stories "The Cock and the Swallow," and "The Tortoise and the Baboon," I have MS. variants. The riddles and proverbs, and the descriptions of dances with their characteristic songs, are all highly interesting. A. WERNER. Books for Review should be addressed to c/o DAVID NUTT, 57-59 LONG ACRE, LONDON, W.C. Folk-Lore. TRANSACTIONS OF THE FOLK-LORE SOCIETY. VOL. XIX.] SEPTEMBER, 1908. [No. 3. WEDNESDAY, MAY 20th, 1908. THE PRESIDENT, DR. GASTER, IN THE CHAIR. THE Minutes of the last Meeting were read and confirmed. The enrolment of the Royal Dublin Society as a subscriber to the Society was announced. The Chairman announced that Miss D. Bleek and Miss H. Tongue were exhibiting their Bushman pictures in the Library of the Royal Anthropological Institute for a fortnight commencing on Monday the 25th May, and would be glad to explain them to any Members of the Society who might care to inspect them. Mr. G. L. Gomme read a paper entitled "The Telling of the Bees," and in the discussion which followed Mr. Calderon, Mr. Major, Mr. Wright, Mr. Johnston, Mrs. Dunnill, Mr. Tabor and the Chairman took part. The meeting terminated with a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Gomme for his paper. |