The New Student's Reference Work/Kafirs

Kaf'irs, tribes inhabiting the southern portion of the African continent, particularly the coast of southeastern Africa. Their color is not so dark as that of the negroes, though their hair is woolly and they have broad noses and thick lips. Northward they become darker, until at last they blend with the negroes, and their distinctive racial features are lost. They are brave and, for the most part, kind and affectionate to their families. Polygamy is almost universal, wives being purchased with cattle. Their idea of the Supreme Being is very indefinite, but, although deficient in religious sentiment, they are superstitious, and belief in witchcraft is very general. There are some signs of a belief in a future state, the most marked being the worship of their ancestors. Their number is estimated at 2,400,000, chiefly in Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal and British Bechuanaland.