5 Important Facts about the San People (Bushmen) (2024)

The San are the people of southern Africa who traditionally have lived as hunter-gatherer, grouped into small bands of 30 to 100. They have also been called as Bushmen but this designation is now considered pejorative.

Today, the only surviving hunter-gatherer (San) is found in Botswana, Namibia and Angola. The San population is estimated at about 50,000 (in 2001). They camp only a few weeks at one place and do hunting and gathering over an area of up to 600 sq. kms around the camp.

The term ‘Bushmen’ (Boschimanner) was given in the 17th century by the Dutch settlers to the diminutive hunting peoples of South Africa.

5 Important Facts about the San People (Bushmen) (1)

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Today, the Bushmen are mainly confined in the barren inhospitable environment of the desert of Kalahari (Namibia, Botswana, and Angola) and adjacent sub-tropical grasslands of South-West Africa. The Namibia desert has virtually no rainfall.

The desert of Kalahari has 102-254 mm (4-10 inches) of rainfall in a year. Moving towards north (towards the equator) the region becomes more wet which contains one of Africa’s most varied wildlife reserves. The famous Etosha National Park is also situated in this region.

The archaeological and historical evidences show that the Bushmen groups have extended formerly far north and eastwards into Basutoland, Natal and Zimbabwe (southern Rhodesia).

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In appearance, the Bushmen show many points of resemblance to the Negritoes. They are short statured (5 feet 4 inches), but they do not have the projecting mouth, thick averted lips, and wide open eyes, characteristics of both Negroes and Negritoes.

1. Territory:

The territory in which the Bushmen live is a great plateau, about 2,000 metres above the sea level, with massive ranges in the east. Its climate is sub-tropical, and except in the extreme south-west it is a land of summer rains. The rainfall is abundant in the eastern half of the great plateau.

The abundance of rainfall has resulted into dense forests on the eastern moun­tains and coastlands, fading westward into expanses of tall grass, thorny scrub and ultimately bare sandy and stony deserts. Beyond the forests, rainfall is everywhere uncertain, and this uncertainty reaches the maxi­mum in the Kalahari and Namibia desert coast. The desert of Kalahari is characterized with ephemeral streams. The average annual rainfall of 50 cms in the north and about 15 cms in the south does not reveal the real variability of rainfall.

Permanent water is found only in depressions of the stream-beds and on low mud-flats or pans cutting the water table. In the areas of more rainfall and in the better years, there is a cover of tall grass broken by thorny and stunted trees, but elsewhere there are only patches of short ‘Bushmen grass’ with groves of acacia. But even in the driest parts of the desert a few leguminous plants flourish, especially the famous ‘Bushmen melons’, namely, tsama and naras.

2. Habitat:

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The habitat of Bushmen, containing forests, grasslands and thorny bushes, is unique and renowned for their wealth of large game. There are numerous herbivores and carnivores developed and spread over wide areas. Many species of antelope, both large like the great kudu, and small like the duiken and steenbok, are found in great number

Other herbi­vores are giraffe, ostrich, zebra, elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus and quake, upon which prey a large number of carnivores like lion, leopard, wildcat, lynx, hyena and jackal. The Bushmen also eat small animals like ants, lizards, frogs, bees and locusts. The edible fruits are less abundant, but the animal food supply is far richer.

3. Hunting:

The Bushmen are basically hunters. Hunting plays a greater part than the gathering of plants, but it involves close conformity to this seasonal alter­nation of widespread abundance, followed by migration of game to a few favoured spots. Thus, the territory of Bushmen must contain permanent water sources on which both beast and man depend.

Trespass across tribal frontiers is dangerous unless previous relations are friendly. A hunter may follow wounded animals into neighboring territory, but he must visit the band and share his game, if caught, he will be attacked. But these movements are irregular and individual.

No permanent alliances are formed, and continued trespass or killing from whatever cause will lead to a feud involving whole bands which may be perpetuated by sporadic encounters over several generations.

The Bushmen band and its territory is a miniature realm; it consists of a number of families, each with its own huts, and only at the dry season are these families likely to be united in the vicinity of a water-hole.

In the remaining season, they scatter over the territory which they hold in common and hand on to their descendants. Their encampments are selected by the senior male, who lights a fire before the women begin to build the shelters.

4. Food:

Each family produces its own food. The women collect the roots, berries, grubs, insects and small game like tortoises, frogs and lizards as well as firewood and water.

The digging stick, where the ground is hard, is often tipped with horn and weighted with a bored stone. Water is collected and brought into the camp in ostrich egg-shells or dried bucks’ stomachs, for the Bushmen always camp several miles from their water-holes, especially in the dry season.

The men also go out almost daily to hunt, and unless they are following wounded game return for the main evening meal.

The hunting methods vary with the season and the prey. Usually, a man goes out alone with his son or other relative whom he is training, and a dog. He moves with bow and poisoned arrow towards a water-hole or salt lick.

The hunter creeps up to leeward and Endeavour’s to approach as closely as possible, since the range and impact of his arrows are not great.

Some of the Bushmen especially that of the Kalahari, are very skilled in the use of disguises, and imitate the cries of the young animals

Arrow poisons are variously collected from plant juices, snake sacs and the dried bodies of spiders. The hunter following the spoor of the wounded animals must reach it before the hyena or the vulture snatches his prey. Success in hunting is ensured by magical observances which vary in different parts of the country.

In the rainy season, large game can be driven into the treacherous mud-flats, where they are easily mired. During the height, they (beasts) shed their hooves; animals can be run down on foot and finally disabled with the knobbed throwing stick. Individual hunters will also construct snares and traps.

Poisoned drinking places are frequently prepared at the height of the drought in the desert areas. Occasionally when more food is required, the whole of a Bushmen group will combine in a drive which is carefully prepared forehand. The beaters move out in a wide sweep on the higher ground. Large pitfalls, sometimes four yards long and deep, floored over with a thin layer or brush, are also constructed by the group along a track down to a water-hole.

Every man hunts or gathers for his own immediate family, and he can and does establish private property not only in what is brought in, but also in resources found and left for gathering at a later date. This is usually done by sticking an arrow in the ground close to the ‘bees hive’ nest of ostrich eggs, or patch of roots which the discoverer wishes to preserve.

The arrow by its individual marking establishes the identity of the owner. When a large game is brought into the game it is in fact generally shared. The hunter keeps the valuable hide and sinew and directs the division and distribution of the meat.

The abundance of wild beasts and game in the Bushmen territory ensures a fairly abundant supply of hides, bone and sinew. Bones and sinew are of great importance, affording the bone marrow for shaft and the tough bowstring. The leg bone of an ostrich or giraffe, split, scraped and ground down to a point provides the best arrow tip. The hides, especially buckskin, are used for clothing and bags.

5. Clothing:

The clothing of a Bushmen is scanty. A man wears a triangular loin-cloth whose point is drawn backwards between the legs; a woman wears a squarish front apron hanging from a waist belt, while older women sometimes wear an apron at back as well and suspend it from the shoulder. But the most important item of a female dress is the cloak, locally known as cross.

It is both a garment and a hold all. When it is tied at the right shoulder and at the waist, the baby, the food and the firewood are all held in its folds on the daily journey back to the camp.

Men also often wear a light cloak over the right shoulder and covering the back; among some groups skin caps and tough hide sandals are worn.

The ostrich egg is used as water container. The large eggs of ostrich not only provide water containers, which are carried in netting bags, but also the material for the Bushmen beads.

The shells are broken into small chips. These chips are board, shaped to rough discs. The ostrich eggs are bartered for iron-knives, spearheads, millet and tobacco. They also exchange or barter honey, wax, feathers, ivory, skins and beads.

The Bushmen way of life is integrated with their environment. The small size of Bushmen communities enables them to continue their tradi­tional hunting and gathering without depleting the land’s resources. At least eighty types of animals are hunted in their region.

Their knowledge of the animals and plants, and their cooperation with neighboring Bushmen enable them to procure a sufficient food supply. By owning few possessions, less babies and children, and sharing their belongings they enjoy an unrestricted freedom of movement.

The effective organizational unit in traditional San society is the band, the members of which are linked by elaborate kin networks. Although polygamy is permitted, most marriages are monogamous. Religious practices are not clearly institutionalized in spite of the existence of a rich and complex mythology.

Magical and medical practices are closely integrated with dancing and trance states, constituting a system of both psychological and physical healing. The San are known for the fine paintings that they and their ancestors have executed on the walls of caves and rock-shelters.

The Bushmen, being attune to desert life, have a strong sense of survival. In times of drought, the women cease to conceive; when hunting they take care not to hurt females and young of the prey species; they make fires with the minimum amount of wood; they store water in ostrich shells; and they use almost every part of the animals they hunt.

Since water supply is scarce, its supply determines the animal population arid, in turn, the size of a Bushmen community. In brief, the Bushmen of Kalahari have wonderfully adjusted to their natural environment.

The mode of life and fulfillment of basic and higher needs of Bushmen Kalahari desert reveals a good example of the people with simple technology coping with a difficult environment (habitat). A Bushmen, with his small bow and arrows in hand, conceals himself by placing over his crouched body the skin of an ostrich, mounted on a frame.

Moving cautiously towards the herd, he imitates the movements of these great birds so cleverly that these do not suspect his presence until one of them under his arrow. The need of these people for water is paramount, since the Kalahari Desert they inhabit is one of the most inhospitable desert habitats in the world.

They fill ostrich-egg shells during the short season when the water-holes are not dry, or use their intimate knowledge of the country to find the roots, bulbs and melon-like fruits that contain Moisture or store up liquids.

Not even the most stagnant pool (pond) daunts them, for in such cases they place grass filters at the bottom of the Hollow reeds they use in sucking up water. The lifestyle of Bushmen is a topical example of man’s symbiotic relationship with his physical Environment.

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5 Important Facts about the San People (Bushmen) (2024)

FAQs

What is a fact about San people? ›

The San are the oldest inhabitants of Southern Africa, where they have lived for at least 20 000 years. The term San is commonly used to refer to a diverse group of hunter-gatherers living in Southern Africa who share historical and linguistic connections.

What was important to the San? ›

The clan, known collectively as the San (or “Bushmen by some) were a group that were known for their hunting, foraging/gathering and symbolic paintings on cave walls. Their mantra was to live in harmony with each other, with nature and always humbly giving thanks for anything they received.

What are Bushmen known for? ›

They are renowned, not only for their intimate knowledge of the natural world, but for their profound egalitarian society that has no hierarchical structures, no religion and no possessions. The Bushmen culture is built on sharing, but also forward planning and sustainable living.

What is the history of the Bushmen? ›

Traditionally, the Bushmen have had a hunter-gatherer culture, living in temporary wooden and rock shelters and caves of the Kalahari in southwest Africa. About half of modern Bushmen continue to live this way. Bushmen have a rich folklore, are skilled in drawing, and are famous for their beautiful cave paintings.

How long did the San people live? ›

The San people are a peaceful and friendly people who have lived in harmony with nature for at least 20 000 years.

What did the San people wear? ›

The San's clothing was very simple and made from available materials like leather from the game they caught. Children sometimes only wore beads and the men short leather pants, while women wore their karosses, or leather cloaks, made of the whole skin of an antelope.

How did the Bushmen live? ›

The survival of the Bushmen in the harsh environment of the Kalahari is evidence of the supreme adaptability of humans. It reflects their detailed knowledge of their environment, which provides them not only with food, but with materials for shelter and medicine in the form of plants.

What do Bushmen eat? ›

The so-called "veldkos" will consist of berries and bulbs, eggs collected and any small animals they come across including tortoises and spring hares dug up from their burrow with long digging sticks, insects and their juicy larvae (except for the arrow-poison grubs).

What do San people believe? ›

The religions of two San groups, the ! Kung and the |Gui, seem to be similar, in that both groups believe in two supernatural beings, one of which is the creator of the world and of living things whereas the other has lesser powers but is partly an agent of sickness and death.

Who started bushman? ›

Many people are unaware that there are, in fact, two Bushmen. When Gregory Jacobs first came up with this gig, he recruited David Johnson, a man he met at Fisherman's Wharf. As they worked together they developed a close friendship. Johnson's deep voice scares those who unknowingly pass by the man-made bush.

What language do Bushmen speak? ›

San Language. The Khoisan people speak a language which incorporates many click sounds. Broadly speaking, there are two languages identified - Hottentot (Khoikoi) and Bushman (San), with many dialects which evolved from it.

When did Bushmen start? ›

Tribes of Africa, Namibia - The Bushmen (San): The San tribe, 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 did the San Bushmen come from? ›

The hunter-gatherer San are among the oldest cultures on Earth, and are thought to be descended from the first inhabitants of what is now Botswana and South Africa. The historical presence of the San in Botswana is particularly evident in northern Botswana's Tsodilo Hills region.

What did bushman mean? ›

noun. Bush·​man. ˈbu̇sh-mən. sometimes offensive. : a member of a group of peoples of southern Africa who traditionally live by hunting and foraging.

When did the Bushmen live? ›

Some 22,000 years ago, they were the largest group of humans on earth: the Khoisan, a tribe of hunter-gatherers in southern Africa. Today, only about 100,000 Khoisan, who are also known as Bushmen, remain.

How tall is the bushman? ›

Northern and Central Bushmen, there was no significant difference in stature, both being about 1570 mm high in the males and 1490 mm in the females. about 1520 mm and the female about 1435 mm.

How did the San survived? ›

The San people survived by hunting antelope by bow and arrow and gathering food. They also moved from place to place, following a nomadic way of life. The San are peaceful people who have lived in harmony with their natural environment for thousands of years.

Do Bushmen still exist? ›

There are 100,000 Bushmen in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe. They are the indigenous people of southern Africa, and have lived there for tens of thousands of years.

What were the San known as? ›

first known inhabitants of South Africa. Together the Khoi and the San people of South Africa are often called the "Khoisan", a term that has been used to describe their broad similarity in cultural and biological origins.

How do Bushmen get water? ›

With the Bushmen residing mostly in the Kalahari desert, water is a very scarce resource. To get water, they used the bi! bulb a root that, when squeezed, provides water. In the recent past, the root has been quite scarce, pushing the Bushmen to find alternative water sources.

Where do most Bushmen live? ›

Thousands of Bushmen lived in the vast expanse of the Kalahari Desert for many millennia. But today most have been moved, many argue forcibly, to government-built resettlement camps far from the reserve. There are an estimated 100,000 Bushmen across southern Africa, mainly in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia.

What are bushman traditions? ›

The bushman are not notorious for their craft but are more known for their paintings and rock art. They do however make traditional arts and crafts today such as eggshell jewelry, bows and arrows, dancing and fire sticks and dancing skirts.

Who was the first Bushman prank? ›

It all started in 1980 with the World Famous Bushman David Johnson, who sprouted the act at Fisherman's Wharf. He took on a partner Gregory Jacobs in the early 1990s, who acted as a sort of bodyguard-slash-donation collector.

Are Bushmen human? ›

The Bushmen are one of the oldest human groups on the planet and you might expect their genes to reflect humanity's most ancestral state.

Where is the San Bushmen tribe located? ›

For 80,000 years the San people, known as the Bushmen, have thrived in the Kalahari Desert. These traditional hunter-gatherers are believed to be the original inhabitants of southern Africa, spanning across Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.

What are some facts about the San for kids? ›

The San were good hunters and trackers. They hunted wild antelopes with bows and poisoned arrows. They also threw sticks and sometimes spears. They lived in harmony with nature and roamed in family groups.

What did the San people eat? ›

What do bushmen eat? The San's diet includes meat, collected eggs, wild berries, roots, nuts and other plant materials. Among the gatherers and hunters, the roles are divided. The San women are responsible for gathering.

How did the San speak? ›

San Language. The Khoisan people speak a language which incorporates many click sounds. Broadly speaking, there are two languages identified - Hottentot (Khoikoi) and Bushman (San), with many dialects which evolved from it.

How did the San people get water? ›

The San people roamed the unforgiving Karoo plains for many generations, hunting antelope, foraging for fruits and herbs and teaching those who followed the versatility and precious methods of retrieving water from ostrich eggs.

What is the culture of the San? ›

The Culture of the San People

Children in the San culture grew up playing and copied the things their parents did. The boys would play with little bows and arrows while the girls learnt how to forage for food. The San also created rock paintings, some of the greatest archaeological wonders ever found.

What does Bushmen mean? ›

a person who lives in the bush (= a wild area of land): Naturalist Wyn Jones is an expert bushman.

Is the San tribe still alive? ›

Nearly 80,000 San are found there today, with smaller numbers in Angola, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In the 20th century, a number of San groups continued to maintain the small-scale nomadic hunting and gathering way of life recorded by anthropologists and filmmakers.

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