Making Fire by Friction


Rock  Art at Twyfelfontein


San Settlement
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General information
The 45.000 San, one of the most intriguing people in this world, are the region's earliest inhabitants (it is estimated that they have been living here for the last 30,000 years)and are still settled in many parts of southern Africa where game and veld food used to be plentiful more than three centuries ago. 

The San live in isolated groups in the widespread semi-desert regions of the Kalahari and traditionally used to be hunters and gatherers who migrated in small family bands. The San groups can be divided into six sub-groups being the !Xu, the Naró, the Kxow or Mbarakwengo, the Hei-||om the |Auni and |Nû||en. In the past these groups had little to no contact with one another, this is changing though as San interests are being promoted across the boarders in Botswana and Namibia and slowly resulting in some kind of group solidarity. 

Unfortunately, the San have often been regarded as second-class citizens in Namibia as well as neighbouring Botswana and during the course of history, Bantu-speaking people from north-east Africa and Europeans forced the San into the Kalahari, where most of them still live nowadays. 

Recently a delegation of Namibia's Hei||om petitioned to the Ministry of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation claiming their ancestral lands back. Without this land they argue, they would soon loose their cultural identity, being scattered all over Namibia and forced to look for jobs. 

The San population have a relative lack of a leadership institution, they therefore have no chiefs or system of leadership and individual decision making is part of their culture. As a completely mobile society, the San followed the water , game and food and had no animals, crops or possessions. Traditionally women tend to look after the children as well as collecting edible plants whereas the men arer involved in hunting. 
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Location:  Botswana, Namibia, northern South Africa
 Population:  45.000
 Language:  Khoisan languages
 Neighboring Peoples:  Tswana, Zulu, Swazi, Ovambo and many other
 

Types of Art:
                               San rock paintings are among the oldest forms of art found on the African continent.
 

History:
                               The term San is commonly used by scholars to refer to a diverse group of foragers
                               living in southern Africa who share historical and linguistic connections. This same
                               group of people was formerly referred to as "Bushmen," but this term has since been
                               abandoned because it is considered racist and sexist. However, unless properly
                               defined, the term San may elicit the same responses. It is believed that San have lived
                               in the area of the Kalahari desert for thousands of years and may be the first humans
                               to have occupied this region. There are numerous subgroups of San who live in small
                               groups among their sedentary Bantu neighbors. They speak numerous dialects of a
                               group of languages known for the characteristic "clicks" that can be heard in their
                               pronunciation.

Economy:
                               San are generally defined as a hunter and gatherer society or as foragers. As such,
                               they live in small family groups and move about the land in search of food sources. In
                               recent years, many San have begun to settle into larger groups around water sources,
                               and many have also settled into the communities of their neighbors. In a hunting and
                               gathering society, the women are usually responsible for procuring most of the food.
                               They collect nuts and berries and dig for roots. They also capture small animals, which
                               provide most of the protein for the family. Men usually hunt in small groups, but the
                               food they provide is minimal. Surviving for thousands of years in the Kalahari, San
                               peoples have had to develop a keen awareness of their surroundings and have learned
                               to benefit from a seemingly harsh environment.

Political Systems:
                               Leadership among the San is reserved for those who have lived within that group for a
                               considerable time, who have achieved a respectable age, and who have desirable
                               personal qualities. San are largely egalitarian, sharing such things as meat and tobacco.
                               Land is usually owned by a group, and rights to land are usually inherited bilaterally.
                               Kinship bonds provide the basic framework for political models. Membership in a
                               group is determined by residency. As long as a person lives on the land of his group
                               he maintains his membership. It is possible to hunt on lands not owned by the group,
                               but permission must first be obtained by the owners.

Religion:
                               San religions generally observe the supremacy of one powerful god, while at the same
                               time recognizing the presence of lesser gods along with their wives and children.
                               Respect is also paid to the spirits of the dead. Among some San it is believed that
                               tilling the soil is contrary to the world order established by the god. Some groups also
                               reserve reverence for the moon. San peoples have extensive oral traditions, and many
                               of their tales incorporate stories about the gods that serve to educate listeners about
                               what is considered moral San behavior. Of prime importance in all San groups is a
                               ritual dance that serves to heal the community. The dance is a communal enterprise
                               that transforms spiritual power and energy into medicine for all those who dance. The
                               power is harnessed in the stomachs of both men and women, many of whom go into
                               trance. This power can be used to heal both physical and psychological illnesses.