Kadroma is the name of a Thibetian Jewish divin- ity. Strangely enough, the Darwinian theory seems to have been entertained at a date considerably anterior to our century, for this goddess the Thibetians claim to have belonged to the ape race, and, after marriage to an ape, to have become the mother of tlie entire popidation of Thibet. See "\'ollmer, Wortei-b. d. Mythol. p. 990.
Kaffres (from the Arabic Kafir, infidel, i. e. non-Mo- hammedan), a people in south-eastern Africa, who re- ceived tliis name from the Moorish navigators of the In- dian Ocean. AV'hen the Dutch colonists came in contact with the most southern tribe of the Kaffres, the Koosas, or Amalvosa, the Moorish name was given to them exclu-
sively, and in this restricted sense it is commonly used by the Dutch and English colonists. It is, however, well ascertained that not onlj' the tribes now commonly called Kaffres, but the Tambookies, Mam bookies, Zulus, Damaras, the inhabitants of Delagoa Bay, Mozambique, and the numerous Bechuana tribes who occupy the inte- rior of the continent to an extent as yet unexplored, are but subdivisions of one great family, allied in language, customs, and mode of life. The Kaffre languages (in the wider sense of the word) are divided (bj' Pr. Mtiller) into an Eastern, Middle, and Western group. The for- mer comprises, 1. the Kaft're languages (in the narrower sense of the word), embracing, besides the Kaffre proper, also the Zulu dialect; 2. the Zambesi languages, em- bracing the languages of the Barotse, Bayeye, and Ma- shona; 3. the languages of Zanzibar, embracing the lan- guages of the Kisuahih, Kinika, Kikamba, and the Ki- hian. The Middle group contains, 1. the Sechuana languages (Sesuto, Serolong, and Shlapi); 2. the Te- keza languages, embracing the languages of the Manco- losi, Matonga, and JIaloenga. The AVestern group con- tains, 1. the Bunda, Ilerero, and Londa languages; 2. the languages of Congo, Mpongwe, Dikele, Isuba, and Pernando Po. The Kaffre languages are sonorous, flexi- ble, and definite. The southern tribes have adopted the peculiar smacking sounds of the Hottentots, which fre- quently change the meaning of words. The govern- ment of the Kaffre tribes is feudal — an aristocracy of chiefs, acknowledging the supremacy of the sovereign, but, except on extraordinary occasions, acting inde- pendently of him. The general chief is the sovereign of the nation, and in a council of chiefs is very power- fid, and is looked upon by all the nobles and people with luibounded respect. The kraals (hamlets) gener- ally consist of a dozen low, conical huts, the diameter of which is no more than about ten feet, into which one has to creep through a low opening, closed during the night by trees. In the middle of the hut is a room for the cattle. Wars generallj^ arise out of the stealing of cattle. In personal appearance the Kaffres are a re- markably fine race of men. They are of dark brown color, have a beautiful and vigorous constitution, dark woolly hair, a lofty front, and bent nose like the Eu- ropeans, projecting cheek-bones like the Hottentots, thick lips like the negroes. Their beard is thin. The women are handsome and modest ; their clothing con- sists of cloaks of skin, while the men are almost naked. They have no national religion; tliere are some traces of a belief in a supreme being and in subordinate spir- its, but no kind of religious worship and no priests. They are very superstitious, and pay a high tribute to sorcerers. " They have no idea," says I'hilip {South Africa, i, 118), "of any man's dying except from hun- ger, violence, or witclicraft." Like many other savage tribes, they practice the worship of their ancestry, " They sacrifice and pray to their deceased relatives, although it woivld be asserting too much to say abso- lutely that they believe in the existence and the im- mortality of the soul. In fact, their belief seems to go no further than this, that the ghosts of the dead haunt for a certain time their previous dwelling-places, and either assist or ])lague the living. No special powers are attributed to them, and it Avould be a misnomer to call them deities" (comp. Lubbock, Primilice Condition of Man, N. Y. 1871, 8vo, ch. iv sq.). They practice cir- cumcision, but only as a custon), not as a religious rite. Polygamy is allowed, and as the heavy work is chiefly performed by the women, it has proved a great obstacle to the introduction of Christianity.
The various tribes of the Kaffre family are estimated by Rev. J. J. Preeman, secretary of the London Mis- sionary Society, at 2,000,000, spread from the eastern frontier of Cajie Colony beyond Delagoa Bay, and then across the whole continent, without break, to the Atlan- tic in latitude 20^. A part of the territory of the Kaf- fres, from which, ia particidar, constant raids were made into English territorv, was annexed to the British do-
KAGBOSSUM
KALDEROX
minions under the name of Queen Adelaide province. It was subsequently restored to the chiefs of the Kaffres; in 1847 it again became an Enfflish province, under the name of British Kaffraria, and King William's Town, on the Buffalo River, was made the capital and the mili- tary head-quarters. The capital has a popidation of 2760, the sea-port, East London, of 2510. The population of the towns consists chiefly of English and German S3t- tlers, while the country people are Kaffres. In 1857 the province numbered 3942 kraals, and had a population of 101,721, but a terrible famine, which was caused by a false prophet of the name of Umhlakasa, reduced it in 1858 to 1291 kraals, and a population of 5-^,186. In 1871 the province embraced about 3900 sq. miles, and a popula- tion of about 90,000. The British influence more and more extends over Kaffraria jiroper, which is situated between British Kaffraria and Natal, and embraces about 14,457 sq. miles and 100,000 inhabitants. North of Na- tal and the Transvaal republic extends the land of oth- er Kaffre tribes, the territory of which is estimated at 62,930 square miles, with a population of about 440,000. Cape Colony, according to the census of 1865, had a Kaf- fre population of 100,536.