Nez Percés. A tribe of North American Indians, in British Columbia and Idaho, part of whom are well advanced in civilisation.
Niam-Niam. See [AZANDEH].
Nicaraguans. White natives of Nicaragua, in Central America, of Spanish descent, with Indian and negro elements.
Nicobarese. Natives of the Nicobar Islands, of Malay blood mixed with that of the Mongolic aborigines. Formerly given to piracy.
Nigerian Group. A group of Sudanese Negro tribes, all of allied stocks, inhabiting the Niger Delta, the Oil River, Lower Benue, and Niger region, including the Niger Bend. Amongst them are the people of Benin—noted for their vast human sacrifices—the Abo, Nempé, Nupé, Akasa, Qua, Efik, Okrika, Akpa, Mossi, Sienereh, and many other tribes.
Nilitic Group. Another group of Sudanese Negro tribes, inhabiting the districts of the White Nile, Sobat, and the northern slopes of the Nile-Congo divide. They include the Abaka, Abukaya, Bongo, Shuli, Falanj, Madi, Bari, Nuer, Shilluk, Dinka, Mundu, Rol, Mittu, Krej, and Fertit tribes. They are mainly hard-working agriculturists, from whom the British draw material for excellent soldiery.
Niquirans. See [NAHUANS].
Nogais. A race of Caucasian [Tartars] (q.v.) inhabiting the steppes of the Kuma River; nomadic cattle-breeders.
Normans. Natives of Normandy, descended from the [Norsemen] (q.v.) who settled on the French coast under Rolf the Ganger in the beginning of the tenth century. The history of the Normans, who conquered England and Sicily, is well known. The modern Normans still preserve many signs of their Scandinavian ancestry, which distinguish them from their French or Breton neighbours.
Norsemen or Northmen. A name given in the Middle Ages to the piratical emigrants from Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway, who descended on the coasts of England, France, Germany, and Southern Europe. They called themselves Vikings. These sea-rovers came, in the first instance, for portable plunder, but in many cases they were tempted by the look of the more fertile lands of the south to make settlements, among which those of the Danes in England and Ireland and of the Norwegians in Normandy, England, and Sicily were the most lasting and important.