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27 Johan Christian Hoffmann
(See also item 34.) His ‘Oost-Indianische Voyage’ was first published at Cassel in 1683, and reprinted at The Hague in 1931, with some notes by Naber. Practically all that he has on the Hottentots is stolen from Schouten.
At the age of 21 he went from his studies at Hanau to Amsterdam, and was taken on as an unordained Pastor by the Dutch East-India Company, sailing in Waepen van der Gouw from Texel on September 9, 1671 (as in Hague codex 4389, folio 63). The details of the organisation on board are valuable: a quite exceptional feature of this outward iourney is that they touched at Cowes because the crew was so worn out by storms, landing for water, firewood and recreation - he makes special mention of the bumboats bringing out fresh bread ‘so hot that the butter melted in it’. His ship was also visited by local ‘English Grandees and their Madames’, to whom a collation was served. Another landing was made at São Tiago in the Cape Verde Islands, for cattle and fruit and to refresh the many sick. The Equator, as usual in such voyages, brought more sick and many deaths: near it they overtook Amersfoort which had left Holland a month before them and had already had some 64 deaths and 100 sick, none being really fit [DR 12/1].
Meanwhile the wind increased more and more, and not only made the miles short, but also awakened in us great hopes of soon seeing the long-desired Cape; and not in vain, since before long we saw, about 10 to 12 miles ahead of us, the heaven-high tops of the African promontory, and among them the famous hill, called from its misty height and flat top the Table Mountain. So we sailed at a brave pace towards the land, meanwhile seeing among the sea-creatures a considerable number of the whales called ‘Nortkapers’, which played merrily around our ship and blew the water through their air-holes like high towers into the air, so that it was a joy to see. Not until the following day, February 11th 1672 [dr as ‘yacht* Gouda’] in the evening, did we arrive, safely and happily according to our desires, into the Table Bay in front of the Dutch Castle of Good Hope (commonly called the Cabo de bon Esperance, and so christened by the Portuguese), thanking the Lord for His Fatherly help so mercifully shown us in the whole journey thus far. At this time we found no ships here, but were the first to arrive, although soon after us many others came to touch here to refresh themselves, some from Holland which were to go on to the Indies, some from the Indies bound for Holland.
Here we were replenished with everything needful. After the death a few days previously of Commandeur Hackij [Hackius] the Hon. Conrad von Breytenbach, a German nobleman and like myself from the Pfaltz, was in command here for His Screne Highness the Prince of Orange, in the name of the States General and by the orders of the Lords Proprietors. He now richly provided us with everything, oxen, African sheep (which have no wool but hair, and carry such fat tails that one often weighs more than 15
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pounds), also with cabbages, turnips, lettuce, rosemary, parsley and such garden-fruits.
I made my way ashore, somewhat to stretch my legs which I had not been able to do for a considerable time, as also to regard the nature of the country and its beauties. Nothing was so insignificant, no plant so small, that it was not worthy of my special attention: indeed everything seemed a marvel to my eyes, since even the smallest things were unknown to me. In a word, I found myself in a new world; and at the same time enjoyed unusual favours from the [acting] Governor, since he not only regarded me as a fellow-countryman but also brought me ashore from the ship for my greater advancement. There I remained for some time, but the ship went on with others after lying there for 3 full weeks, bound for Ceylon [dr 24/2].
The Cape, more exactly Caput or Promontory bonae spei (so called by the first discoverer, who now hoped to complete fortunately his thus-far dangerous voyage) is the outermost part of Africa [sic], and lies at 34 degrees and 21 minutes of south latitude. It has many mountains, of which the Table, Lion, and Tiger Mountains (thus called both from their shape and because of the beasts found there) are the most famous. For the rest, it has a healthy and temperate climate, neither too hot nor too cold but between the two. Instead of Summers and Winters it has a Dry and a Wet Monsoon*, the latter beginning in the month of May and continuing until November, while the former begins in December and ends in April: thus on our arrival (namely in mid-February) we found ripe corn, cucumbers, grapes, and such delicacies, as also melons and water-lemons. (This is a fruit looking like a pumpkin and growing on similar runners. When it is ripe it is red inside, and quite crisp and full of water. It tastes very agreeably sweet, and is eaten against the thirst. It has black seeds of the same shape as pumpkin-seeds. The Dutch sow whole fields full of them, and sell them to the ships.) Because of the good qualities of this land the Dutch have taken possession of it, so that here the Dutch ships travelling to and fro can conveniently be provided with fresh victuals. For this purpose they have built there a fine Fort*, and close to it a handsome village, which is inhabited by the Dutch. The Castle is garrisoned by Dutch soldiers, and well provided with cannon against any enemy. The settlers maintain themselves by trade and agriculture.
Everything here seemed strange to me, but strangest the wild nature of the natives, whom at first I took rather for huge apes than for true men; and in truth because of their beastliness there is hardly anything about them that resembles a man. They are the most miserable folk that ever I saw. Because of their incomprehensible clucking speech (more like the cry of turkeys and the snapping of one's fingers than human speech) they are called Hotten-totten by the Europeans [see Hottentots*, Name]. They are of a middling height and ugly form, in colour indeed yellowish, but by the daily smearing with grease made so repulsive, dirty and stinking, that one can hardly come near to them without horror and holding one's nose. The hair of their heads is like black sheeps-wool, curly, and moreoever inextricably matted by their horrible greasing.
For the rest, they have wide brows, black eyes, flat noses and thick lips. The women have revoltingly long breasts which hang down half an ell long like leather bags, so that
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they can easily throw them over their shoulders and thus give suck to the children they carry on their backs. They are unusually fleet of foot, so that anyone who wishes to chase them must have a good nag under him. Also they grab and steal whatever they can get, especially beads, copper, knives, rice and tobacco. They are very avid for this last, and can so draw it in that at last the smoke comes out of their mouth and nose. They bring oxen, sheep, cattle etc. from their flocks to the Castle, and barter them for wire, beads, rice, tobacco and brandy, at such a low rate that for a piece of tobacco as long as a finger one can usually have a sheep, and for a piece an ell long a good fat ox, of which the Governor thus obtains so much that all ships going to and fro can have enough meat. Their clothing is as poor as it is disgusting, since they have only a sheep's or other skin hanging around them like a cloak, which barely reaches to their calves. If such a skin is somewhat too small, they take another and sew them neatly together, by means of a sharp bone and thread which they know how to prepare from the sinews of a certain long-legged bird. This cloak, after they have first soiled it well and truly with their nasty greases, they hang around their filthy body, with the wool outside or inwards according as it is hot or cold. When they are now thus wound about with their furry ornament, they can well turn their bent-down backs to rain and wind, and so endure them. On their heads both men and women wear wide caps of untanned wild-cat skins, which at times they tie under their chins. Their privities they cover with the tail of a wild beast. Most of them wear around their necks filthy cow guts* as an ornament, just as they come from the beast, and the women especially use them as bands around their necks, arms and legs, and indeed in such numbers that they can hardly walk for them; and when they are most filthily decked in this manner, they are in their
opinion most magnificently adorned. When they go abroad, the women customarily carry one child on their backs and another in their arms, whereas the men carry in their hands one or two Asagayen or throwing-spears (which are smooth thin rods, 4 to 5 feet long, with a sharp iron in front almost like a pike, which they can throw so well that they rarely miss), and in addition a little stick about an ell long, with the tail of a wild-cat nailed to the end, which serves them as a handkerchief to wipe away the dirt from their face; and thus they go abroad.
They are not delicate as regards their food, but indeed feed very wretchedly. Their daily bread is a root*, not unlike a potato, bitter in taste, for which reason it cannot well be eaten unroasted. They kill no cattle although they have great store of them, unless one is deadly sick, or because of its age can no longer follow the herd. They are not easily disgusted, since they are well content with the stinking guts that they find on the rubbish-heaps; and when they get them they only press out with their hands the coarsest of the dung and gobble it down thus with skin and hair, unwashed and uncooked, and regard such food as a delicacy. If guts are lacking, they feed on dead and half-rotten fish which they gather on the shores, or take skins such as they find here and there and which have been long gnawed by the dogs and worms: these they hold to the fire so that they are singed a little, and make their meal thereof, and this pleases them as well as the most delicate foods. These folk know nothing of the preparing of food, nor of sowing and
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reaping. What foods they are given they eat with great appetite, and can indeed well eat for 3 or 4 men, but can also fast for several days on end.
Their riches consist only of cattle and beads, which they barter from the Dutch for their beasts. They have no houses, but live in little huts which they make from bent sticks or hoops and hang with old rags, skins and reed mats, so that if needs be they can be safe from the rain under them. These huts they usually set 10 to 12 together in a circle, which they call [sic: it is Portuguese, not Hottentot] a Krale, within which their cattle stand by night, and by day roam widely around to graze. As soon as they see that their cattle have no more pasture, they take down their huts, lay the hoops on their pack-oxen trained to this, and set them up again elsewhere, wherever they find good grass.
Now indeed each such Krale has its own Authorities, so that without doubt they live according to certain laws of the Policy, yet no one, however much I enquired, has been able to detect any sign of a Religion. I noticed only, that at certain times, especially at sunrise and at the Full Moon, they came together in their horrible cloaks in front of their Krales, and the men passed the whole night doing strange and wonderful antics and laughable posturings, with leaping, hopping and dancing; but the women made a continual hand-clapping and did other such rare antics, and sang only ha, ho, ho, ho, until one almost lost hearing and sight because of the terrible noise. Whether this now is a part of their religion I do not know. Shortly before my departure I noticed that almost all the women lacked one or more joints of their little fingers; and since I would gladly know from whence this came I asked one of their Captains who could talk a little broken Dutch as to the cause. From him I received the information, that their women must bite off so many joints of their fingers as many times as they marry. Also they have this custom, that when two become engaged, the girl gives to her lover a greasy cow gut* instead of an engagement-ring, which he must wear so long around his neck until it so putrefies that pieces are falling off from it of themselves. It is said, that further inland, and especially in the region of the Kingdom of Monomotapo more civilised folk are to be found. It is to be lamented that among the human race such folks are to be found as I have described, in whom, although they are descended from our forefather Adam, nothing in the least human is to be detected, so that indeed they are more to be reckoned to the senseless beasts than among reasonable men; and since they are in this world without a knowledge of God, they are thus in a very pitiable state in this transient life. O miserable lost folk, how lamentable is thy condition! But God
be thanked, that He has called us from the abyss of such darkness to His wonderful Light; aye that He has so loved us, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that all who believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting Life [from Schouten, item 14, word for word].
Moreover this land has no lack of wild and strange beasts, but indeed has such in great abundance: Elephants, Rhenoster (in the Greek tongue Rhynoceros, a beast somewhat smaller than an elephant and carrying two horns, the longer on its nose but the shorter in the centre of its forehead. It has a pale, crumpled, thick ox-like skin which is almost unpenetrable. Many think it to be the true Unicorn, and that the horn, flesh and
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blood are excellent antidotes), Lions, Tigers, Elands, Deer, Hares and Steinbuck. Of birds one often sees Ostriches, which lay their eggs in the sand to be hatched by the sun [sic]; Flamincken (or Flamengos) of the size of geese but with longer legs, the necks and wings blood red but for the rest snow-white. Their flesh is cinnaber-red, and they are very tasty when young; also Wild Geese, Heathcocks [‘Auerhanen’], Hill-Ducks and Wild Ducks, and such like. Furthermore the soil there boasts of many excellent local herbs beneficial to health.
When now I had sufficiently contented my mind with my observations of the conditions of this place during the 3 months which I passed there, I was accepted as a Teacher by the assembled Council of the place after previous ordination, and sent with the ship De Pijl, commanded on this occasion by the newly-appointed administrator of the island of Mauritius, Herbert Hugo, to the said island to do duty there; and therefore made my way aboard:
On the 27th of May of the year 1672, and on the 30th [dr 8/5] set sail with the Lord's guidance, together with two other ships, Boge and Goutvinck or Goldfinch.... [Arrived Mauritius February 13, 1673, and there until 1675 when he went to Batavia to join the return-fleet.] |
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