Masarwan.adj.

1835 A. Smith Diary 29 Aug. (1940) II. 187 The men wore pieces of steenbok skin drawn between the legs, the women small pieces of skin in front. They were called Masaroowa.

1871 J. Mackenzie Ten Years North of Orange River viii. 128 The other subject race is that of the Bushmen, called Barwa by the Bechuanas in the south, and Masarwa by those in the north of the country.

1905 G. W. Stow Native Races S. Afr. xiv. 265 Bushman speaking peoples as the Masarwa.

1928 E. H. L. Schwarz Kalahari & its Native Races viii. 172 The term Masarwa..is used for all Bushmen in the Northern Kalahari...The word means ‘abandoned’ and was applied originally to the Bechuana by the Bantu, but as they became powerful they transferred the appellation to their slaves as a title of opprobrium.

1936 C. Birkby Thirstland Treks 315 The Bamangwato, the people whom Khama ruled so wisely, have reduced another tribe, the Masarwas, to a state of serfdom.

1971 Sunday Times (Johannesburg) 28 Mar. (Mag.) 3/3 The people of Dilepe..are not prepared to receive a Masarwa in their midst.

1981 Voice (S. Afr.) 11 Oct. 13 Margaret was teased and tormented by the Batswana children, because she was a ‘Mosarwa’. Many Batswana people despised the Bushmen.

1896 H. A. Bryden Tales S. Afr. ii. 42 You may never..see a Masarwa Bushman..who does not show marks of fireburn upon the nether limbs.

1928 E. H. L. Schwarz Kalahari & its Native Races viii. 174 There were several Masarwa women about the palace precincts.

1931 J. Mockford Khama vii. 60 The rich tribute in hides, ivory, and ostrich-feathers which the Masarwa bushmen and other vassals occupying the game-land..brought annually to Shoshong.

1982 Drum (Johannesburg) Sept. 34 Although Botswana boasts of a democracy, it still has a hangover of a caste system that discriminates against Masarwa-bushmen. In the past they were treated like India's Untouchables.