Education: the San
They’ve lived in Southern Africa longer than any other people. Let’s learn more about the history of . . .
THE San were the earliest inhabitants of Southern Africa and some of them still live the way their ancestors did – as hunter-gatherers. This means they hunt animals and forage to survive. Their culture and knowledge of nature have been handed down for thousands of years. Let’s find out more.
WHO ARE THE SAN?
The word “San” comes from a Khoi word meaning “people who collect wild food” or “people without livestock”. Today we use the term to describe the indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who survive by hunting and gathering, or who previously did.
The Khoi or Khoi-Khoi (“people of people”) are a related group with the same genetic roots as the San, but who developed their own culture and languages. About 2 000 years ago the Khoi began farming with livestock, while the San continued their hunger-gatherer existence.
Today the San population numbers almost 100 000 in: Botswana (about 55 000), Namibia (about 27 000), South Africa (about 10 000), Angola (less than 5 000) and Zimbabwe (about 1 200).
LONG HISTORY
New archaeological discoveries in the Tsodilo hills in northwestern Botswana show evidence of San rituals dating back 70 000 years. In the Western Cape, archaeological finds such as “Eve’s footprints” (fossilised human footprints) near Langebaan and excavations in the Blombos Cave 300km east of Cape Town show that the San lived in Southern Africa as long as 117 000 years ago. Wow, can you imagine how long ago that is?
About 1 500 years ago Nguni- and Sothospeaking peoples migrated south from central Africa into Southern Africa and the San were gradually pushed out, conquered or absorbed into these tribes.
From the 17th century European settlers also began moving inland from Cape Town, killing many San people. Some survived in remote areas such as the Drakensberg, but today they mostly live in the Kalahari and other desert areas.
WAY OF LIFE
Today some of the San are still nomadic, which means they move around in small groups of on average 25 men, women and children. At certain times of the year they meet up with other groups to exchange gifts and news, to arrange marriages and for other social occasions.
They rely on ancient wisdom passed down from their ancestors and live in harmony with their environment – for example, they don’t hunt more animals or collect more edible plants than they need. They know which plants are edible and which have medicinal properties. The San groups also follow the migration of the buck they hunt for food. San men are known for their ability as trackers.
The San don’t have figures of authority or chiefs. Instead they govern themselves through a system of group consensus. This means the entire group must agree on things. They discuss issues in long meetings in which each member of the group has a chance to state their view, until an agreement is reached.
BELIEFS AND RITUALS
Traditionally the San haven’t written things down – instead they have an oral tradition in which knowledge is passed down from generation to generation through songs and stories. These include tales of the gods and serve to educate children about what the San see as good and moral behaviour.
For children to become adults they must undergo initiation ceremonies. Boys learn hunting techniques and religious secrets and girls learn to dance, prepare food and forage. After their initiation, boys and girls are seen as adults who are ready to marry.
Their belief system is polytheistic, which means they believe in many gods. The San religion involves worship of a chief god as well as lesser gods who are depicted as elements of nature such as lightning, water, fire or animals. The eland is an important animal in the San belief system. Some also worship the moon and the spirits of their ancestors.
Traditional San belief is that working the land is against the gods’ world order, which is why some have clung to their hunter-gatherer existence for so long.
On most nights San families and friends hold fireside gatherings. Community issues, singing, dancing, storytelling and the recounting of legends all happen here, just as they have for thousands of years.
FOOD
The San are excellent hunters and make their own bows and arrows. The tips of the arrows are poisoned and kept in quivers made from the bark of acacia roots. San men make the deadly poison for their arrows from beetle larvae. When they shoot an animal the arrow tip breaks off and the poison slowly kills the buck.
The bow is about a metre long and made from flexible wood, while the bowstring is made from kudu or gemsbok sinew. The San usually hunt buck, zebras, hares, lions and giraffes. They also eat tortoises, porcupines, fish, snakes, eggs and wild honey. The San don’t waste food and use every part of an animal.
Today many of the San live in deserts where water is scarce. In summer they dig up the roots of certain plants from which they squeeze liquid to drink. The San carry water in ostrich-egg shells.
While the men hunt, the women collect food such as edible mushrooms, nuts, bulbs, berries and tsammas (desert watermelons).
CLOTHING
Their traditional clothing consists of animal skins. The men wear comfortable triangular loincloths and, in cold weather, a cloak over their shoulders. The women wear aprons decorated with beads made from ostrich-egg shells, bone or seashells. Older women wear a shawl. The children are clothed in small loincloths or aprons. They sometimes also wear beads strung onto sinews as jewellery.
PROBLEMS
Some have viewed the San lifestyle as “primitive” and politicians have tried to force them to change it. Without sufficient hunting grounds the San way of life can’t survive and in modern times it’s become difficultfor them to maintain their hunter-gatherer existence.
They’ve been discriminated against and most live in poverty, which has resulted in several social problems. As recently as 2002 the government of Botswana forced the last of the San hunter-gatherers out of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve so diamonds could be mined there.
We can but hope that these people and their ancient culture won’t become lost forever.