KORAKUAS, a tribe of Hottentots inhabiting a district of South Africa, which M. Vaillant places on the confines of the Nimiqua country (See NIMUQUA, Suppl.). When our author visited them, the whole tribe was assembled for the election of a chief; and not agreeing among themselves, some blood had been shed, and much more would have been shed, had they not unanimously made choice of him. When he first joined them, the whole horde paid attention to nothing but their quarrel. To see their warmth, one might have supposed that their election was a matter of importance to the whole world, and that the fate of mankind was about to depend on their chief. All spoke at the same time; each endeavoured to drown his neighbour's voice by his own; their eyes sparkled with fury; and amidst this confusion, while they threatened each other in turns, the noise they made became truly dreadful.
Unarmed, and without any precaution, though surrounded by this enraged multitude, our author walked calmly along in the midst of them; and when he reached the kraal, he ordered his tent to be immediately formed, as if he had been surrounded by friends and relations. This appearance, raised suddenly, and as if by magic, before the eyes of the horde, with his fuses, hories, and tent, objects which were all new to them, filled them with admiration. Men, women, and children, motionless, and with their mouths wide open, all stood looking at them with profound silence. Anger, hatred, and every violent passion, seemed by their countenances to be extinguished, and to have given place to more tranquil emotions, to ignorant surprise, and stupid astonishment. Infancy is naturally curious; it is struck with every thing it sees; and the savage, in this respect, is only a grown-up child. As these savages seemed to wish that he would permit them to examine more closely whatever excited their admiration, he readily condescended to gratify their desire. They approached, surveyed, and handled every thing. But the
principal object of general curiosity was his person. Korakua. They seemed as if they would never be satisfied with looking at his dress. They pulled off his hat, that they might the better examine his hair and his beard, which were long. They even half unbuttoned his clothes; and surprised to see his skin white, each felt it, as if desirous to ascertain that what they saw was real.
This comedy continued till the evening; and at length, when the moment of separation arrived, M. Vaillant caused to be hinted to the whole company, that if, two hours after sun-rise next morning, they should not be agreed respecting the choice of a chief, he would immediately leave them. He added, however, that if, on the other hand, they came and presented to him a chief, elected by general consent, he would then load them all with presents, and bestow on him a distinction which would raise him above all his equals, and render the horde one of the most celebrated in the whole country. "But what was my surprise (says he) when I learned the same evening, that on my head the burden of the crown was deposited!" He acquiesced, however, assuring them, that if they would promise to be obedient, he would give them the only chief worthy of ruling them, and of making them happy.
By his interpreters he had learned, that the choice of the majority leaned towards one Haripa, a man about 40 years of age; tall, well made, exceedingly strong, and consequently formed by nature for ruling the feeble multitude. He therefore named Haripa chief; and the people appearing to approve of his choice, he commanded silence, and causing the new monarch to approach, placed on his head, with great solemnity, a Dutch grenadier cap, of which the copperplate on the front was ornamented with the arms of Holland. This symbol, viz. a lion rampant, having in one of his fore-paws seven arrows, and in the other a naked sabre, could not fail to please the savages, as it exhibited a representation of the weapons peculiar to them, and of the most formidable animal of their country. They testified their admiration in the most expressive manner; and imagined that, superior to kings, the white man during the night had by magic made this crown, merely to adorn their chief, and to afford them pleasure. Vaillant then affixed to the skin, which formed Haripa's dress, several rows of glass beads; gave him a girdle made of a string of very large ones; ornamented his arms with tin bracelets, and suspended from his neck a small padlock, shaped like a butterfly, the key of which had been lost. Such padlocks, made in the form of animals of every kind, are very common at the Cape. They come from China; and are brought to Africa by the captains of the Company's ships which trade in the Indian seas.
During the ceremony of installation, the whole horde, dumb and motionless through admiration, seemed lost in ecstasy. Haripa himself, though highly gratified, did not dare to make the least movement, and observed a gravity altogether risible. When the inauguration was finished, and he was completely dressed, our author presented him with a mirror, that he might enjoy the satisfaction of surveying his own figure. He then shewed him to the people, who expressed their joy by shouts and applause without end.
"Ye honest hearts (says M. Vaillant), who peruse this account, behold what it cost me to restore peace among
Koraquas among a whole tribe, and to prevent them from destroying each other!" From this moment concord was re-established; universal joy prevailed through the horde; and they instantly began their danceings, which continued for three days and three nights without intermission. They killed for this festival several fat sheep, and even two oxen; an extraordinary and truly astonishing magnificence among a people who, when they barter one of their daughters for a cow, think they have made an excellent bargain.
Our author, wishing to purchase some oxen for his waggons, bought them at the price of a nail the ox; and those who had the good fortune to make such an exchange were highly satisfied with their bargain. Nails and small bits of iron were indeed of real value to them, to point the arrows and assages with which they shot the antelopes that abound in their country, and constitute much of their food. Like other savages, the Koraquas were ready to pilfer, and appropriate to their own use whatever they found pleasing, or suited to their purposes. They attempted to carry away some of our author's effects, even before his face; and to prevent their rapacity, he was obliged either to watch over, or to deposit them in some place of safety.
The Koraquas are much taller than the Hottentots of the colonies, though they appeared evidently to be descended from the same race, having the same language and customs with their neighbours the NIMIQUAS (see that article), who are certainly of Hottentot extraction.
As the excessive dryness of the country renders springs very rare, the Koraquas would be unable to inhabit it, had they not found the means of remedying this scarcity of water. For this purpose they dig in the earth a kind of cisterns or rather wells, to which they descend gradually by steps; and these people are the only African nation among whom our author ever found the same mark of industry.
As their wells always contain little water, and as none is to be lost, they take care to secure it even from the birds, by closing up the mouth of the hole with stones and the branches of trees; so that, unless one knows the spot, it is impossible to find it. They go down into it every day, to fetch up as much water as may be necessary for the consumption of their people and cattle. They draw it in a kind of vessels made of hollowed wood, and pour it into the skins of buffaloes or giraffes, placed in a concave form on the ground to hold it; but they distribute it with the utmost parsimony, and never draw more than they absolutely have occasion for.
Notwithstanding this strict economy, the wells often become dry; and in that case the horde is obliged to remove to some other place. Among all the western tribes, therefore, there are none who lead so wandering a life as the Koraquas: the consequence of which is, that, as they often change their abode, and acquire new neighbours, they must, in some measure, adopt the customs of the nations near which they fix their residence. Some tribes of them grease themselves like the Hottentots; while others tattoo their face, breast, and arms, after the manner of the Caffres. It is, however, to be remarked, that the same colour is not employed by all the Koraquas; each has his own, according as caprice may direct him in his choice, and it generally varies every day; which renders, as one may say, the inhabi-