The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

THE OVA-MBOS. 67vallej- has its hamlet or, at least, a few sheplicrd3' huts. According to the roughcalculations of Palgrave and Ilahn, in the year 1877, the total poi^ulatiou was236,000, and of this number nearly 2'20,0C0 were concentrated in the section ofthe country lying to the north of "Walvisch Bay. But estimated in relation tothe superficial area of the whole region, the actual density of the population woiddappear to be rather less than one to the square mile.In respect of the origin of its inhabitants, the territory annexed by theGermans is essentially a land of transition. All the southern division, no doubt,belongs to the Khoin-Khoin, or Hottentot race ; but in the region lying north ofthe highlands pierced by the channel of the Swakop river, the dominant Bantutribes are everj'where so intermingled with these fidl-blood or half-caste Hottentots,that it becomes impossible to separate their respective domains bj- anyhard-and-fast line. Eoughly speaking, at least three-quarters of the whole landmay be assigned to the Hottentot tribes, which, nevertheless, constitute at mostone-fifth the entire population. Several groups, however, are of mixed origin,while European blood is also represented by the half-caste Bastaards, as well asby the Boers, the Portuguese Pomheiros, the English and German traders, whoregularly or occasionally visit this region.The Bantu tribes, who occupy the left bank of the Cunene above the gorgesthrough which this river escapes seawards, arc generally designated by thecoUcctiAe name of Ova-Mbo (Ovambo, Ovampo), originally applied to them bytheir south-western neighbours, the Hereros.But they do not themselves recognisethis term, nor have they any generic designation for the nation as a whole.They are ethnically related to the Chibiquas of the Chella Mountains, and to thepeoples dwelling beyond the Cunene known as Ba-Simbas (Mu-Xiiuba), that is, tosay, "Borderers," or "Riverain People," and mentioned in old documents asCimbebas. Hence the name Cimbebasia, which is still applied to the regionwatered by the Cunene and even to the whole of Damaraland.Most of these natives are tall, robust, very intelligent, and industrious. Theirlanguage differs but little from that of the Hereros, and according to Duparqueteven shows a marked affinity to that of the Ba-Fyots. Its triie ijosition in theBantu linguistic family must soon be more accurately determined by the grammaticalstudies of tlie Finnish and other missionaries settled amongst them.The Ovambo territory is shared between about a dozen tribes, who dwellchiefly along the streams branching ofi from the Cunene towards Lake Etosha,and who are all separated from each other by intervening border tracts ofuninhabited woodlands. Nearly always at war, these peoples, who within theirrespective communities recognise the rights of property, are constantly raiding onthe cattle of their neighbours. The young men, creeping by night stealthilythrough the intervening forests, tr}- to seize the enemy's herds by smq^riso. Ifseen in time they beat a hasty retreat, and a few days afterwards find themselvescalled upon to repel similar attacks. To such tactics are limited most of theintertribal conflicts ;but real wars of conquest have taken place, and the politicalequilibrium has been frequently distributed amongst the Ovambo peoples.f2