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P G Bowen http://www.hctheosophist.com/archives/pdf/hc199203.pdf |
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info. about Africa: Haggard, Sir H(enry) Rider,(1856-1925), English novelist, born in Norfolk. The influence of his experiences as a colonial administrator in South Africa. English civil servant, agricultural expert and writer is most famous for his fourth book, "KING SOLOMON'S MINES" (1885). "SHE" (1887) His interest in Spiritualism places him in the close family of Conan Doyle, Bulwer Lytton and Maria Correlli. Allan Quatermain was Haggard's principle hero and appeared in a number of linked books. These include, amongst others: "SHE AND ALLAN" (1921), "THE ANCIENT ALLAN" (1920) & "ALLAN AND THE ICE GODS" (1927). (Rudyard Kipling helped with the plotting of this particular story, having previously assisted Haggard with the story "WHEN THE WORLD SHOOK", a tail of Atlantis). The non-series tales, concerning the discovery of lost races include: "PEOPLE OF THE MIST" (1894), "THE YELLOW GOD" (1908) and "QUEEN SHEBA'S RING" (1910). Limpopa-river: Lim•po•po(lim•pO'pO), —n. Pronunciation: [limpO´pO] A river in S Africa, flowing from the N Republic of South Africa, through S Mozambique into the Indian Ocean. 1000 mi. (1600 km) long. Also called Crocodile River. River, c.1,100 mi (1,770 km) long, rising in Transvaal prov., Republic of South Africa. It flows in a great arc, first north (forming part of the South Africa–Botswana border), then east (forming the South Africa–Zimbabwe border), and finally southeast through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The upper Limpopo is also known as the Krokodil, or Crocodile. The river's main tributary, the Olifants, enters the Limpopo c.130 mi (210 km) from its mouth; below this point the Limpopo is permanently navigable. The lower Limpopo waters a fertile and heavily populated region. (InfoPlease& Encyclopedia) Berber: Ber•ber (bûr'bur), —n. 1. a member of a group of North African tribes living in Barbary and the Sahara. 2. a subfamily of Afro-Asiatic, consisting of the languages of the Berbers, including Tuareg and Kabyle. —adj. 1. of or pertaining to the Berbers or their language. (InfoPlease Dictionary) Berber, Group of languages, from Morocco to Egypt. Differences between the languages can be considerable, due to geographical distances. There are about 300 local dialects. The largest of the Berber languages is found in Kabylia in Algeria. Berber languages is a branch of the Afro-Asiatic linguistic family. Most Berbers have no writing language, and the efforts that have been seen in Algeria, have been little implemented. In Morocco there are three main dialects. Riffan is spoken in the Rifs, but this dialect continues down along the Algerian border in eastern Morocco, all the way to Figuig. The dialect of the High Atlas and Middle Atlas, has many names, like Berber, Amazigh, Zaian or Tamazight. The dialect used in the Anti Atlas and south western oases, is called Chelha or Tashelhait, Soussi or Chleuh. In Algeria there is one main Berber dialect, that is called Amazigh. Out in the Sahara a Berber language called Zénète is used. Berber language in Tunisia, called Chelha, is dying out in our times, form the remaining few small towns in the southern part of the country. Parents, and then especially women (who never leave their village for work), speak, or at least understand Chelha, while kids are only learning Arabic. In Libya, Berbers of Jabal Nafusa, inland from Tripoli, speak their own language, called Mazir. Here the language is still strong and vibrant. In Egypt, Berber language is spoken along the coastal zone west of Alexandria, and in the oasis of Siwa. Berber identity these days is linked to the language,- many of the North Africans calling themselves Arabs have more of Berber origin than Arab. In many areas, Berber identity is considered negatively, principally because many Berber societies are less developed than what is seen in the cities, where almost all inhabitants see themselves as Arabs. The "Berber" script has a very interesting story behind it. Ancient Berber is thought to have sprung off the Punic script roughly around the 6th century BC. It was used throughout North Africa until the 3rd century AD. Strangely though, the inscriptions remain unread, as linguists cannot link the written language to any of the dozen modern Berber languages spoken in North Africa. However, it is widely accepted by scholars that it was a Berber language given the continuity of the population. History suggests that the Berbers occupied Morocco before 1600 BC as when carvings were found to indicate their presence. The Berbers have lived in Morocco for at least 4000 years but their history is not accurately recorded. In the Deep South and in the upper villages of the High Atlas and the Anti-Atlas, Berber Sahara The Sahara covers about nine million square kilometers of Northern Africa -- an area almost as big as the United States. But as recently as ten thousand years ago, most of the Sahara was a rich grassland -- a hunting ground for prehistoric people. Fossils, lake deposits and human artifacts from the past twenty thousand years show that the Sahara has had both wet and dry eras. A dominant control over Earth's climate may be what are called the Milankovitch cycles -- lasting on the order of twenty and forty thousand years. These cycles are the result of periodic, predictable variations in Earth's orbit. The variations affect the amount of radiation we receive from the sun. During the warmer parts of the cycle, Earth's climate is wetter -- and the Sahara greens. During cold, dry periods, the desert's borders expand. Human activities also come into play here. In recent years, the Sahara's southern boundary has advanced about a thousand kilometers -- 600 miles -- due to the overgrazing of livestock. Right now, the Milankovitch model predicts that we may be going into a cold period -- if so, it would further expand the Sahara's boundaries. But there are other things to consider. For example, will greenhouse gases warm the atmosphere -- and will that shrink or expand the Sahara? |