It is now a well established fact, that all the inhabitants
of Africa, south of the Mountains of the Moon, with the exception of a few Arabs along the Eastern shores, and the Hotentots, Namakwas, and a lew other small tribes near the Cape of
Good Hope, belong to one great family or branch of the negro
race, and all speak dialects of the same language. To this
great family belong the Corisco, Mpongwe, Loango, Kongo,
and Dongo tribes of 'Western Africa ; the Kafirs, the Bechnans, and the Zulus of the Cape of Good Hope ; the Mozambique, Swahere, and other tribes on the Eastern Coast, and
others as far interior as the country has been explored.
This great family of languages is variously denominated the
Kafir, the Nilotic, and the Ethiopie language. It is essentially
and radically different from all the dialects spoken in Northern
Guinea, and in Central Northern Africa.
The Bakële is a dialect of this great family of languages.
The people by whom it is spoken are known as the Akëli people. They are to be found in Western Africa, near the head
waters of the Gaboon, but extending several ...