Iranian stock of the Aryan family, a civilised and warlike nation,
who taught their sons “to ride, to shoot with the bow, and to speak
the truth.” They reared a great empire under Cyrus (B.C.
537) and his successors, which was destroyed by Alexander the Great
and divided in 324 B.C. The modern Persians, known as
Tajiks, and as Tats on the west of the Caspian, are the descendants
of the ancient Persians with a considerable admixture of alien
blood, due to a long period of Arab and Turkish domination.
They present a fine Aryan type, however, and are cultivated and
commercial, though not warlike.
=Peruvian Indians.= See INCAS.
=Peruvians.= White natives of Peru, partly of pure Spanish
descent, partly crossed with Indian blood.
=Philippine Islanders.= The natives of the Philippines belong
to three distinct races--Negritoes, Indonesians and Malays.
The Negritoes are known as Aetas (_q.v._). The Indonesians are
confined to the island of Mindanao; they are light-skinned, tall
and well-developed physically. Their chief tribe is that of the
Igorrotes. The Malays are brown-skinned, with black hair and flat
noses, being crossed with Negrito blood. Their chief tribes are the
Visayans, Tagalogs, Bicols, Ilocanos, Cayagans, Pangasinans and
Pampangas. These are all Christianised and fairly civilised. The
interior is occupied by wild and savage tribes of similar race,
and by the dwarfish and nomadic Negritoes. Many of these tribes
practise head-hunting, cannibalism, and human sacrifices. The more
civilised tribes, with the Spanish-Indian half-breeds, known as
Filipinos, are turbulent and lawless, the source of much trouble to
the new American as to the old Spanish rulers.
=Philistines.= An ancient race inhabiting the Mediterranean
seaboard to the south-west of Judæa, who warred much with the
Israelites, and were finally subdued by them. They were probably
a Canaanitish people, belonging to the Semitic family; but some
regard them as an immigrant Hamitic race, perhaps related to the
Cretans or Pelasgians. The assumed inferiority of their culture
to that of the Israelites has given rise to the modern use of
“Philistine” as a term of reproach.
=Phœnicians.= The greatest seafaring and trading nation of
ancient times, and the earliest of Mediterranean sea-powers.
A branch of the Canaanite stock of the Semitic family, they
inhabited the Mediterranean coast between Latakia and Acre, their
chief cities being Tyre and Sidon. They possessed a remarkable
polytheistic religion, disfigured by human sacrifices. They were
an inventive race, to whom we owe glass and Tyrian purple. They
seem to have entered Phœnicia from the direction of the Red Sea
in prehistoric times, and were at first subject to Egypt, but
about 1300 B.C. reared a great maritime empire, which
endured for nearly a thousand years and was destroyed by Alexander
the Great. They were the great traders of the ancient world, and
carried on a commerce which ranged from Cornwall to Ceylon and
Senegal. The Carthaginians (_q.v._) were a colony of Phœnicians.
=Phrygians.= An ancient pastoral people of Asia Minor, closely
related to the Armenians (_q.v._), who were absorbed by the
Persians in the sixth century B.C.
=Picts.= The aborigines of ancient Scotland, a short,
round-headed, dark race, probably a branch of the Iberian stock of
the Western Hamitic family, and thus closely related to the Basques
(_q.v._). The Picts were a wild and warlike race, who harassed the
Roman province of Britain, and were exterminated by the invading
Scots from Ireland in the early part of the Christian era. The
whole Pictish problem is still unsolved by ethnologists, some of
whom hold that the Picts were a Celtic race, allied to the modern
Welsh or to the Scottish Highlanders of to-day.
=Picuris.= See PUEBLO INDIANS.
=Pipils.= See NAHUANS.
=Pitcairn Islanders.= Half-breed descendants of Englishmen
(the mutineers of the “Bounty”) and Tahitian women. A peaceful and
idyllic race.
=Pocomans, Poconches.= See MAYA-QUICHÉ.
=Poles.= A stock of the Western Slavonic family, originally
dwelling between the Vistula and the Oder. In the tenth century
Poland became an independent European Power, and remained an
elective kingdom down to its partition in the eighteenth century
between Russia, Austria and Prussia. The Polish peasantry have
always been industrious and successful agriculturists, whilst the
nobility were turbulent and warlike. The Poles who live under
Austrian and German rule are fairly contented, but those of
Russian Poland have carried on a long and often bloody series of
struggles for liberty. Of late years, Russian Poland has become a
manufacturing country, under German influence. The Poles have a
considerable literature, and are eminently musical.
=Polynesians.= The chief stock of the Indonesian (_q.v._)
family, the tall, brown-skinned race of Caucasic type who inhabit
the chief islands of the Eastern Pacific, and are generally
known as South Sea Islanders. Their chief races are the Maoris
(_q.v._) of New Zealand, the Marquesans, Tahitians, Tongans and
Samoans, besides the natives of Easter, Gambier, Hervey, and other
smaller islands. They are of tall stature--only surpassed by the
Patagonians--muscular frame, regular and often handsome features,
with brown skins, square jaws, and broad skulls. They probably
originated in Malaysia, where they are still represented by the
Battaks of North Sumatra, some Dyak races, and certain tribes
of the Philippines and Gilolo. They are a gay, pleasure-loving
people, formerly addicted to cannibalism, but otherwise of pleasing
manners, and are now rapidly acquiring civilisation, though their
numbers are everywhere decreasing under the influence of European
manners and diseases.
=Poncas.= See SIOUAN.
=Portuguese.= Natives of Portugal, a mixed race, probably
of Iberian or Basque origin, with later Celtic elements. After
falling successively under Roman, Visigothic, and Saracen dominion,
they formed an independent kingdom in the twelfth century. The
early Portuguese were enterprising seamen, who contributed largely
to the exploration of the world, and founded many colonies in
Africa, which they still possess. Brazil is their chief American
settlement, now independent.
=Provençals.= Natives of Provence, in the South of France.
Their primitive Ligurian (_q.v._) stock was modified by many
successive influences, such as the Greek colonists, who founded
Marseilles, the Roman settlers in the Provincia (Provence), and,
later, Gothic and Saracen invaders. The Provençals are a gay,
impulsive and pleasure-loving people, markedly distinct from the
more staid and industrious inhabitants of Northern France.
=Pruczi=, or =Old Prussians=. See LETTIC.
=Prussians.= The earliest inhabitants of Prussia were Slavonic
tribes [see LETTIC]. The modern Prussians, the dominant
race of the German Empire, belong to the High German branch of the
Teutonic stock.
[Illustration: WOMEN OF THE NUPÉ TRIBE IN NIGERIA
The Nupé tribe is a family belonging to the Nigerian group of
Sudanese Negroes. They inhabit chiefly the town of Lokoja, in West
Africa. [See under Nigerian group].
]
[Illustration: THE AINUS, PROBABLY THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF JAPAN
The Ainus are a declining race, now confined to a small area in the
Far East. They have, as is seen in this picture, handsome features
and an abundance of hair. [See page 312].
]
=Pueblo Indians.= A semi-civilised race of North American
Indians, dwelling in New Mexico and Arizona. They inhabit
“pueblos,” or huge houses, often large enough to contain a whole
tribe under one roof. They possess interesting religious and
social customs, much studied by anthropologists. Their chief tribes
are the Zunis, Teguas, Taos, Picuris, and Tusayas. The Moquis of
Arizona are closely related to them.
=Puelches=, or =Pampas Indians=. A strongly-built,
dark-skinned race of South American Indians, who inhabit the great
plains or pampas from the Saladillo to the Rio Negro in Argentina.
They are expert horsemen, from whom the Gauchos (_q.v._) are
derived.
=Punjabis.= Natives of the Punjab, in North-West India, mostly
Jats and Sikhs (_q.v._) belonging to the Hindu stock of the Aryan
family. An agricultural and warlike people.
=Puntis.= See CHINESE.
=Pygmies.= Dwarfish Negrito races of Central Africa, long
considered to be mythical, but now well known to ethnologists. They
include the Akkas and Wochuas of the Welle Basin, the Obongos of
the Gaboon, the Batwas of South Congo, etc. In very early times
they were known by repute to the Egyptians--on whose monuments they
appear in the thirty-fourth century B.C.--and the Greeks.
They live by the chase in the Central African forests, and use
poisoned arrows. Other small races, such as the Bushmen, Lapps,
Kalangs, Samangs, etc., have contributed to the fame of the Pygmies.
=Quas.= A Sudanese Negro tribe on the Ivory Coast, belonging
to the Nigerian group (_q.v._).
=Quapaws.= See SIOUAN.
=Queahs.= See LIBERIAN GROUP.
=Quichés.= A race of Central American Indians in Guatemala,
rivalling the Aztecs in the possession of an ancient civilisation
and a curious mythology. See MAYA-QUICHÉ.
=Quichuas.= See INCAS.
=Rajputs.= The predominant race of Rajputana, in Central
India, belonging to the Hindu stock of the Aryan family. They are a
proud and warlike aristocracy of soldiers and landowners, who rule
many native states, of which Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur are the
most important.
=Ramas.= See LENCAN.
=Redskins.= A term given in common parlance to North American
Indians, from their colour.
=Rejangs.= A Malayan race of Sumatra, akin to the Achinese
(_q.v._).
=Rols.= See NILITIC GROUP.
=Romans.= The most powerful and warlike, and in every sense
the greatest race of ancient Europe, who acquired the dominion of
the Western world, and laid the foundations of modern civilisation.
The city of Rome was founded by Alban shepherds, of Latin (_q.v._)
race, in the eighth century B.C. Oscan, Sabine, Samnite,
and Umbrian (_q.v._) elements were added to the original stock, and
thus the great Roman character was moulded. Rome later extended her
power over the whole of Italy, and then over the whole of the known
world.
=Romance Races.= See LATIN RACES.
=Romansch.= Natives of the Grisons in Switzerland, speaking a
Romance dialect, and probably of Italic race.
=Roumanians=, or =Vlachs=. Natives of the modern
Roumanian kingdom, the leading Balkan State, composed of the older
principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, which were long subject
to the Turks. The Vlachs (Wallachs, a name akin to our Welsh) are
probably descended from the Latin-speaking inhabitants of the
ancient Roman province of Dacia, a tribe of Thracian descent,
which was subjugated by Trajan in the second century. They have
preserved their language, but their blood has been mingled with
that of numerous conquerors--Goths, Huns, Slovenians, Albanians,
Turks, etc. The Roumanian peasantry are a hardy and thrifty race,
retaining their old warlike traditions.
=Rucuyennes.= See CARIBS.
=Russians.= The chief of the Slavonic races inhabiting
European Russia, and divided into Great, White, and Little
Russians. The physical distinction between these races is
attributed to the mixture of the primitive Russian stock
respectively with Finnish, Lithuanian, and Turkish blood. The
original Russians belonged to the Slavonic stock of the Aryan
family, and seem to have been settled in prehistoric times between
the Danube, the Elbe, and the south coast of the Baltic. Thus they
must have entered Russia from the west in the early centuries
of our era. There they conquered and drove out or assimilated
the aborigines of Northern Mongolic (Finno-Turkish) stock, and
established a number of small states, agricultural in character,
which long suffered from Tartar invasion, notably that of the
Golden Horde [see KIPCHAKS], and were gradually moulded
into a single kingdom, with Moscow for its capital. Modern Russia,
with its vast Asiatic dependencies, is one of the greatest
Empires in the world, but it is in a state of transition, and its
civilisation is consequently backward. The Russian peasants are
very patient, industrious, and thrifty. When well led, they are
admirable soldiers. Their chief occupation is agriculture.
=Ruthenians.= A branch of the Little Russian race, who inhabit
the district of the Carpathians in Galicia and Hungary; poor, but
hardy cultivators of the soil.
=Sabæans.= See HIMYARITES.
=Sabines.= An ancient Italic race, who inhabited the district
between the Central Apennines--their ancestral home--and Rome.
The Samnites were their descendants or near kinsmen, and the
Umbrians were less closely related to them. When Rome was founded
there was a strong Sabine element in its population, as indicated
by the story of the Rape of the Sabine Women, and the statement
that several of the early kings of Rome were of Sabine blood. The
Sabines and Samnites warred against Rome for many years, but both
were ultimately subdued and incorporated in the Roman State.
=Sac Indians.= See ALGONQUIAN.
=Sakais=, or =Samangs=. An aboriginal Negrito race of
the Malay Peninsula; a wild and uncivilised people, with black
skins and woolly hair, often approaching the ape-like in physical
development and intelligence.
=Sakalavas.= One of the principal groups of the Malagasy
tribes, inhabiting the west coast of Madagascar; of mixed Malay and
negro blood, and akin to the Hovas (_q.v._).
=Salish.= See FLATHEADS.
=Samangs.= See SAKAIS.
=Sambos=, or =Zambos=. Half-breeds sprung from Negro and
Indian parents.
=Samnites.= See SABINES.
=Samoans.= A Polynesian (_q.v._) race, of fine physical
development, lazy and pleasure-loving, inhabiting the Samoan group
of islands.
=Samoyedes.= A Finno-Ugrian race, inhabiting the Obi basin in
Siberia, once widely spread over the extreme north of Europe and
Asia. They are short and dark haired, with Mongolic features, brave
and honest, live by hunting and fishing, and are still in the Stone
Age.
=Samsams.= A mixed Malayo-Siamese race, forming a large part
of the population of the Malayan States of Kedah and Ligor.
=Santals.= A negro-like aboriginal tribe of Orissa in India,
agriculturists, of the Kolarian family (_q.v._).
=Saracens.= A term applied in the Middle Ages to the Moslem
enemies of Christendom, especially to the nomadic Arabs and
Bedouins of the Syrian deserts.
=Saras.= See LAKE CHAD GROUP.
=Sarakolés.= See MANDINGAN.
=Sards=, or =Sardinians=. The aboriginal inhabitants
of Sardinia, probably of the Western Hamitic family, akin to the
Iberians or Ligurians (_q.v._). The modern Sardinians are descended
from this race, with considerable admixtures of alien blood from
the Carthaginian, Roman, Saracen, Spanish and Italian owners of the
island in successive periods.
=Sarmatians.= An ancient nomadic and warlike people, probably
akin to the Scythians (_q.v._), who roamed over the wide plains of
Eastern Europe. Fine horsemen. They were destroyed by the Goths in
the fourth century, and disappeared from history.
=Sassaks.= Natives of Lombok in the Sunda Islands, of Malayan
race.
=Savoyards.= Natives of Savoy, originally a short,
round-skulled, dark race, akin to the Auvergnats (_q.v._), now
largely mingled with Teutonic blood.
=Saxons.= (1) The Old Saxons originally inhabited the estuary
of the Elbe and the neighbouring islands. They were a warlike race,
of Low German stock, whose name is said to be derived from the
“Saxes,” or heavy knives which they used in war. They were one of
the most adventurous of Teutonic races, and made many piratical
and colonising excursions, of which the most important was their
settlement in Britain in the fifth century, where they united with
the Angles (_q.v._) to lay the foundation of the modern English
people. (2) The Saxons who remained on the Continent gradually
extended their dominion till it reached modern Saxony. Under
Charlemagne the Saxon power was subordinated to that of the Franks.
Saxony later became an independent duchy, which is still one of
the chief States of the German Empire. The modern Saxons are less
adventurous than their ancestors, very industrious, and successful
in agriculture and industry, and make excellent soldiers.
=Scandinavians.= A main stock of the Aryan family, sometimes
classed as a branch of the Teutonic stock, including the
Icelanders, Norwegians, Danes and Swedes, as well as the old
Norsemen and Normans (_q.v._). Some ethnologists regard them as
the original stock of the Aryan family. They are tall, blue-eyed,
fair-haired, warlike, and good sailors and colonists.
=Scots= or =Scotch=. (1) The ancient Scots were a
Celtic race, belonging to the Goidelic or Q Celts (_q.v._),
originally settled in Ireland--the ancient Scotia--whence they
made settlements in the fifth century in modern Scotland, to which
they gave their name. They were gradually driven back into the
Highlands by Anglo-Saxon, Norman and Danish invaders, and are now
represented by the Highlanders (_q.v._) or Gaels. (2) The modern
Scots, or Lowland Scots, are mainly of Anglo-Saxon race, modified
by Norman, Danish, and Flemish elements. They are one of the
finest and most hardy and industrious races in the world, equally
successful in the arts of war and peace.
=Scythians.= An ancient nomadic and warlike race, found in the
seventh century B.C. on the vast plains of South-eastern
Europe, where they lived by cattle-breeding and raiding. They dwelt
in tent-covered waggons, fought on horseback with bows and arrows,
and made drinking-cups of their enemies’ skulls. Their origin is in
dispute. Some regard them as a Mongolic race, which was modified by
association with Aryan races, and others as an Aryan stock; their
kinsmen, the Sarmatians (_q.v._), were almost certainly Aryans.
They made several incursions into Asia, where they conquered a
large tract of Northern India and established a kingdom which
lasted till about the fourth century A.D. The Rajputs and Jats
(_q.v._) are sometimes held to be their descendants.
=Selengese.= See BURIATS.
=Seljuks.= A warlike Turkish people who were settled on
the Jaxartes in the eleventh century and afterwards founded a
considerable empire in Western Asia. See TURKS.
=Seminoles.= See MUSKHOGEAN.
=Semites.= An important family of Caucasic Man, who probably
originated in North Africa, from a similar stock to that of the
Hamites. They are characterised by fine regular features, large
aquiline noses, black eyes and hair, white skins, long skulls and
square jaws. They are very intellectual, though less practical
than the Aryan type; poets, prophets, and dreamers, rather
than men of action. They have given the world its two greatest
religions--Christianity and Islam. Their chief divisions are
Assyrians, Aramæans, Canaanites, Arabs and Himyarites (_q.v._).
In the modern world they are best known from the ubiquitous Jews
(_q.v._).
=Seneca Indians.= See IROQUOIAN.
=Serbs.= See SERVIANS.
=Serers.= Sudanese Negroes inhabiting Senegambia in the Cape
Verde district. They are the tallest of Negro races, with herculean
frames, and are akin to the Wolofs (_q.v._)
=Servians=, or =Serbs=. A race of Southern Slavonic
stock, now inhabiting Servia. They were at first identical with
the Croats (_q.v._), and seem to have originated in the Carpathian
district, whence they migrated into the Balkan peninsula in
the seventh century. The Serbs then separated from the Croats,
and in the twelfth century founded a powerful Servian kingdom,
which was conquered by the Turks in the fifteenth. The Servians
recovered their independence in 1830, under Milosh Obrenovitch. The
Servians are a well-built race, proud and martial in temperament,
quick-tempered and prone to deeds of violence, as their recent
revolution witnessed.
=Shangallas.= A mixed negroid race of the Abyssinian slopes.
Sudanese Negroes with a Hamitic infusion.
=Shans.= Natives of the independent Shan States, lying to
the north of Siam. They are identical with the Laos, and closely
related to the Siamese (_q.v._). They belong to the Indo-Chinese
stock of the Southern Mongolic family, and are probably descended
from an aboriginal race of China, which appeared on the Upper
Irawadi about 2,000 years ago. They are a peaceful, pleasure-loving
people, mainly agricultural, but not unwarlike. They have a sallow
skin and Mongoloid features.
=Sharras=, or =Eastern Mongols=. A branch of the
Mongol stock of the Northern Mongolic family. They are a nomad,
tent-dwelling, pastoral race, who roam over the great steppes of
Central Asia. They include the Khalkas, north of the Gobi Desert,
the Tanguts of Northern Tibet, the Chakars, Barins, Durbans, Uruts,
Naimans, and Ordos south of the Gobi. They are descended from the
older Mongols (_q.v._), whom they resemble in physical type.
=Shawnees.= See ALGONQUIAN.
=Shilluks.= See NILITIC GROUP.
=Shoshonean.= A group of North American Indian tribes, all
belonging to the Shoshone or Snake family, formerly occupying
Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming, with neighbouring districts. They include
the Shoshones or Snakes, Bannocks, Comanches, Utahs, and Mokis.
With the exception of the warlike Comanches, they are a peaceful
race, who have received the white invaders with friendship.
=Shulis.= See NILITIC GROUP.
=Siamese.= Natives of Siam, belonging to the Indo-Chinese
stock of the Southern Mongolic family. They are closely related to
the Shans (_q.v._). They are of medium height, olive complexion,
with slightly flattened noses, prominent lips, and black hair. They
are a peaceful and indolent race, who have recently shown promise
of assimilating Western civilisation. Their blood is largely mixed
with Chinese and Malay. Siam is still independent, forming a buffer
state between British and French possessions.
=Siberian.= A stock of the Northern Mongolic family, including
the Chukchi, Koryak, Kamchadale, Gilyak, and Yukaghir tribes
(_q.v._).
=Sicani, Siculi.= See SICILIANS.
=Sicilians.= The primitive inhabitants of Sicily were the
Sicani, probably a Hamitic race allied to the Ligurians (_q.v._).
They were followed by the Siculi, an Aryan race of Italic stock,
who crossed from Italy about 1000 B.C. They were civilised
and modified by Phœnician, and especially Greek settlers, with
later Norman and Saracen influences. Of all these elements the
modern Sicilians are compounded. They are a handsome, industrious,
and amiable race, but turbulent, lawless, given to blood-feuds and
brigandage.
=Sienerehs.= See NIGERIAN GROUP.
=Sikhs.= A powerful and warlike race of Northern India, united
by a common religious faith, dating from the eighteenth century,
and mainly of Jat (_q.v._) descent. Under Ranjit Singh, at the
beginning of the eighteenth century, they reared a formidable
military power in the Punjab, which was conquered by the British
in 1846-1849. The Sikhs contribute many of the best and most
trustworthy troops to the Indian Army.
=Silurians.= A dark, round-skulled, short race who inhabited
South Wales and the neighbouring districts of England in Roman
times. They were probably of Iberian stock, related to the ancient
Picts and modern Basques.
=Sindis.= Natives of Sind in North-West India, of Hindu
descent.
=Singphos.= A wild, daring hill-tribe of Tibetan stock
bordering on the Assam valley, formerly given to raiding, but
now peaceful agriculturists. The Chins of the Arakan uplands are
probably an identical race; they are still predatory.
=Sinhalese.= See DRAVIDIANS.
=Siouan.= A numerous and formerly powerful group of North
American Indians, inhabiting the western prairies between the
Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains. Their chief tribe was the
Sioux or Dakotas, warriors of fine physique, courage, and military
skill, who long maintained a successful resistance against the
white settlers. Other allied tribes were the Assinaboins, Omahas,
Poncas, Kaws, Osages, Quapaws, Iowas, Otoes, Missouris, Winnebagos,
Mandans, Minnetarees, Absarakas or Crows, Tutelos, and Catawbas.