Geographic location of the Bushmen

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The Bushmen
Geographic location of the Bushmen
The Bushmen, or the commonly known as the “san”, are the ancient occupants of South Africa. For more than 2000 years, the Bushmen have inhabited the area around the Kalahari Desert (Eliot 1). Currently, the group occupies the region around South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. The people are said to be the oldest not only in Africa but also in the world. Archaeological evidence explains that remains of rock paintings and other traces of the early culture of the Bushmen have been mainly found in South Africa (Eliot 1).
To date, a portion of the Bushmen still inhabit South Africa, with their culture being the oldest existing culture in the world. The historical culture of the Bushmen elaborate that the pastoralist group, referred to as the Khoikhoi, started moving southwards towards the cape, the modern-day Cape of Good Hope. This led to the intermarriage between the Khoikhoi and San thus a distinction of the two groups became rather difficult since then (Eliot 1).
Population of the group
The bushmen is a small group comprising of approximately 40, 000 people. It comprises of one bigger group and four smaller groups. Majority of them includes the! Kung and occupy the Kavango in northeastern and eastern Namibia, as well as in Western Botswana (San.org.za 1). The smaller group comprising of the Heikom populated the east while the Khoe, or the river Bushmen, occupied the eastern side of Kavango, Botswana, and western Caprivi (San.org.za 1). On the other side, the Naro group populate the Grootfontein region and Botswana, while the smallest group, the /AuniIt, occupies southern Nossob district (San.org.za 1).
It is believed that the Bushmen are the aboriginal descendants of all the people in the world today, including Europeans, Asians, Black Americans, Australians, among others. The original Southern Kalahari group of the Bushmen was thought to comprise of 50 adults of a common ethnic origin, the Khomani (San.org.za 1). However, over 600 people are now alleged to have been the original occupants of the land. Currently, the population of the Bushmen is believed to total up to 90, 000 people. This population is distributed as follows: Botswana- 55, 000; Namibia- 27, 000; South Africa- 10, 000; and Angola; <5, 000 (San.org.za 1).
The social structure of the Bushmen
The Bushmen have a social structure that is among the most non-tribal in the world. The group does not have a paramount lead and thus have an impartially relaxed kinship bonds. The group comprises of a loosely held kinfolk culture with critical decisions being made via social discussions and agreements and a common consensus being sought (Bushman People 1). During discussions on social matters, the opinion of a particular individual is weighted based on skill and expertise in the area of discussion. In this group, members of the same clan speak a common language while lingual disparities exist between different clans in terms ascent and different tongue (Art of Africa 1). However, all their languages are similar and thus there is a general understanding between the different clans.
The group did not have formal ceremonies or arrangements for child birth. An expectant woman would basically hide in a bush and deliver a baby with the support of a few female relatives, after which her daily routines resume (San.org.za 1). Death appeared to be a natural occurrence for the Bushmen. The family members would leave a camping site following the death of one of the members and would never visit the site again. In case they happened to pass by the grave of the departed, they would murmur some words for good luck to the departed or even throw some pebbles to the grave (San.org.za 1). The group conducted ritual dances for entertainment and healing rituals.
Based on their nomadic way of life, the Bushmen family may extend up to 25 miles apart and therefore there is a lot of intermingling between members of different clans in the society. The families extend further to long boundaries in search of greener grass for their livestock, sufficient food, and water supplies (San.org.za 1). The roles of men and women in the family were very divergent. The two genders rarely shared social roles, with the men being responsible for security for the family while the woman cooked for the family and maintained the homestead (San.org.za 1). The role of women in this group was very significant and their opinions were considered in making critical societal decisions, especially on food matters. Women were also responsible for collection of plants used as food and those that were used as medicine and could also take care of the sick in the family (San.org.za 1).
Economy of the Bushmen
Hunting and gathering was the major economic activity of the Bushmen. This activity can still be found to date. The group comprised of nomadic hunters who used bows and arrows which were treated with poison to kill the animals (Desai 1). In this role, men were the major associates. Several methods of hunting and gathering were used. The Bushmen used to dig traps and cover them with trash and grass for animals to fall inside and get trapped. In order to kill an animal, Bushmen could camouflage themselves with animal skins and walk closer to the animals until they were able to kill them. They also enclosed the hunted animals or raced the animals in the direction of the hiding men who would get hold of the animal (Desai 1).
The Bushmen also gathered wild fruits, leaves and roots. These were used as food and medicine. It was the role of the woman to gather leaves and roots believed to be of medicinal value in order to take care of the sick in the family (Eliot 1). In order to facilitate hunting, the Bushmen reared hunting dogs in their homes. However, they did not keep other domestic animals. In fact, they entirely relied on hunting and gathering and did neither agriculture nor iron casting (Eliot 1). In times of drought when drinking water was scarce, the Bushmen obtained moisture from plant sap and could use it to supplement the need for drinking water. With hunting and gathering being the main economic activity of the group, other economic activities such as rock art have also been associated with the group (San.org.za 1). The group is associated with some of the oldest rock paintings in the world
Language group of the Bushmen
The Khoi-San language is pronounced using (!) and (/) and comprises of three language groups: Ju languages, Khoe languages, and !Ui-Taa languages (San.org.za 1). Ju languages comprise of Ju/hoansi, !Xun, and !Kung, Khoe languages include: Khoekhoegowab, Khwedam, //Anikhwedam, /Gui, //Gana, Naro, among others, while the only existing Taa language is one-!Xoo (San.org.za 1). Today, there are approximately 100, 000 Bushmen sharing 35 Khoe-San languages in South Africa. This also includes the non-San Hadzabe people in Tanzania (San.org.za 1).
Religion of the Bushmen
The bushmen believed in a supernatural spiritual being referred to as the “/Kagen”, or the trickster god (Bushman People 1). The god created all that exists and appears to the living in various forms and in differing ways and situations. The word /Kaggen translated as “Mantis”...