Anders Sparrman
Travels in the
A Voyage to the
Volumes I and II
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With introduction and
editing by Prof. Vernon S. Forbes Translated from the
Swedish by J. and Anders Sparrman . |
Vol 1
The
young Swede, Anders Sparrman (1748 - 1820), was the
first traveller to give an extended and readable
account of travels into the interior of the
Vol 2
In
the second volume of Sparrman’s travels, Sparrman completed his journey through the eastern parts of
the Cape, eventually reaching the
At night we came to
the upper part of t/Kurenoi,
or Little Sundays-river. We fixed our resting-place at the distance of a
few gun-shots from a clan of bastards, or
Hottentot-Caffres, who are the offspring of the mixture
of both these nations. They chiefly spoke the Caffre
language, but had neither the large lips, robust, and easy
form, nor the black complexion of the Caffres. They
appeared to me not so swarthy as my own Hottentots, and I suppose, that they
originate only from a set of people, who having acquired some cattle by
servitude among the Caffres, had formed themselves
into this society. The iris of their eyes was of a very dark brown hue, and
almost, if not quite as dark as the pupil. They had a great quantity of cattle,
and seemed to live very happily in their way. As soon as ever they had taken their
cattle up from pasture they milked them; an occupation they intermixed with
singing and dancing.
We seldom see such
happiness and contentment as seems to be indicated by this festive custom, in a
handful of people totally uncultivated, and subsisting in their original savage
state, in the midst of a perfect desert. Mr. Immelman
accompanied me, in order to behold with his own eyes the real archetype of that
state of pastoral felicity, which the poets are continually occupied in
painting and describing. We announced ourselves here likewise as being the
children of the Company, and were received by them with a friendly
simplicity and homely freedom, which, however, by no means lessened them in our
thoughts as men. They presented us with milk, and danced at our request; at the
same time giving us to understand, that our fame, as being a singular people
with plaited hair, as well as flower-collectors and viper-catchers, had reached
them long before our arrival.
We were spectators
of their country dances, in which there was very little either of
agility or art. While their feet were employed in a kind of stamping and
moderately slow movement, every one of them between whiles made several small
gentle motions with a little stick, which they held in their hands. The
simplicity which prevailed in their dances was equally conspicuous in their
singing, the following being all the words used to the tune of one of their
country dances which I took down in writing at the time, Maijema, Maijema, huh,
huh, huh. The former part of this was chaunted
repeatedly piano by an elderly
matron, who was answered by the young men and maids in the latter words, sung staccato by way of chorus. It must be
confessed, that this concert was not well adapted to satisfy a nice ear; but however,
it inspired a certain degree of joy and chearfulness,
and was by no means disagreeable.
They had
another kind of dance, which consisted in taking each other by the hand, and
dancing gently in a circle round about one or more persons, who were placed in
the middle of the ring, and whose movements were brisker and quicker; yet we
could not help laughing, though at the same time we were not a little hurt, to
see the poor infants pop their heads alternately in and out of the bags hanging
at the backs of their mothers, who were likewise dancing; so that we had great
reason to fear that they would break their necks. But what was still more
ridiculous was, that these little Hottentots were far from shewing
any dislike to this treatment; but, on the contrary, were so well pleased with
it, that they sufficiently shewed their displeasure
by crying, when their mothers, who were soon tired with carrying them on their
backs, wanted to set them down, or go out of the dance.
Besides the
pleasures which these daily dances may be supposed to afford them, they have at
their greater festivals the more delightful enjoyment of voluptuous love,
which, at those times, the youth of both sexes, by their laws, have full
opportunity given them to pursue. For it is said, that the unmarried part of
the company, in the very middle of the dance, withdraw to a private place in
couples successively and at different intervals, without giving the least
subject of offence and scandal, and without having any occasion to blush when
they return again to the company. I have purposely said only, that opportunity is given them for this
purpose; as I could not learn, whether their laws, together with the
opportunity, allowed the action itself, which, as I have mentioned above, the Caffres permit themselves to transact in the presence of
the whole company that is dancing.
This
remissness of their laws, however, in allowing them opportunities of this kind,
seems to be in direct opposition to the rigorous strictness of