The term Kaffir derives from the Arabic term “kafir,” meaning one without religion. In South Africa, it was originally used in the 16th century to describe Black non-Muslim people and later to identify Bantu-speaking people, especially in the wars of conquest of the Eastern Cape. In Afrikaans as in English, it soon became a label for Black people of African descent in general. The term gained its derogatory connotation during the apartheid era and is now understood as hate speech. The exception is a group of Sri Lankan peoples with shared ancestry from Portuguese traders (or more broadly European) and enslaved Bantu peoples who refer to themselves as Kaffir.