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Kafirs

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | 413 words | Copyright

Kafirs or Kaffirs [Arab.,=infidel], name applied by European settlers to the Xhosa branch of the Bantu -speaking people of S Africa. Originally used only for the inhabitants of the Transkeian Territories (then called Kaffraria), the name came to be commonly employed as a derogatory term for all black Africans. The South African government encouraged use of the term Bantu rather than Kafir or native.

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