Hunting in the Bush

As detailed earlier in an earlier post, !Kung San men are the primary hunters in the bands, indeed much of proving yourself as a man comes from your ability to hunt. !Kung San boys are taught from a very early age the fundamentals of hunting and tracking and throughout their growing up, come to recognize over 50 mammal species  by sight, and know all of their tracks, mating habits, and territories in both the dry and wet seasons (Stockard, 2002, p.17). A hunter can tell simply by an animals tracks what its age, sex, condition, and direction of travel is (Stockard, 2002, p.17). !Kung San boys develop into excellent trackers, praised among many other African peoples for their abilities.

The tools used in the hunting of game are quite interesting. A hunter's primary weapon is his small bow and quiver of poisoned arrows. These arrows are quite deadly, capable of killing a large animal, such as an antelope, in a matter of hours (Stockard, 2002, p.17). Upon shooting one into an animal, the hunter begins tracking it through the bush, waiting until the poison has done its work. Hunters take great care to not accidentally poison themselves through careless handling of arrows. In order to insure greater safety, poison is applied only to the shaft of an arrow and not the head, with the shaft being wrapped in leather strips to prevent any accidental contact with the poison and to insure it does not dry out (Robertson, n.d.) . The poison used comes from the larvae of the Chrysomelid beetle, which !Kung San hunters find in cocoons in the earth. The poison is squeezed from the beetles onto the arrow shaft, sometimes requiring up to 10 larvae to cover a shaft (Robertson, n.d.).

In the case of hunting larger animals, such as a giraffe, it can take up to four or five days before the animal falls. This can make hunting a very time-consuming and tedious affair, yet many anthropologists have noted the great joy and pride !Kung San men take in being out in the bush, providing meat for their bands (Stockard, 2002, p. 17). 

This small look into !Kung San society has revealed a people group unlike any other in the world. Up until the 1990's they were one of the last remaining hunter/gatherer societies in the world and had that image exploited some by Hollywood, in the case of The Gods Must be Crazy. This blog has attempted to counter some of the images portrayed in that film, while providing the reader with an accurate overview of several elements of !Kung San society. The !Kung San and their practices are truly fascinating and further investigation into their culture is highly recommended. 







Robertson, H. (n.d.) How San hunters use beetles to poison their arrows. Retrieved from http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/beetles/chrysomelidae/alticinae/arrows.htm.

Stockard, Janice E. (2002). Marriage in Culture: Practice and Meaning across Diverse Societies. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Bushmen Affairs Pt. 2

In my last post I discussed the commonality of affairs among Bushmen and the lengths an unfaithful spouse will go to to prevent being discovered, as the Bushmen value harmony and the avoidance of violence and conflict. The key to benefiting from an affair is to, "accept that one's feelings for one's husband-"the important one"-"the one inside in the hut"-and for one's lover-"the little one"-"the one from the bush"-are necessarily different. One is rich, warm, and secure. The other is passionate and exciting, though often fleeting and undependable" (Shostak, 1983, p.267). Many !Kung San that have affairs try to walk a line between these two feelings, hoping to get the benefit of both of them. At the same time, there are also many !Kung San who do not pursue affairs, fearing the enjoyment that can come from one is not worth the consequences, such as violence, shame, and diseases (Shostak, 1983, p.268).

Due to the lack of privacy in the bush, it is not common for sex to be involved in extramarital affairs, especially because a woman could become pregnant while her husband is out hunting, thus obviously confirming the existence of an affair. It is curious that a culture that despises conflict and offending others as much as the !Kung San do, would have such an ambivalent attitude towards affairs, knowing that they result in aggression and hurt. Instead, the attitude conveyed is, "Do not get caught and it is okay." There does not appear to be an inherent morality associated with the concept. My final post, for a change of pace, will focus on one of my personal favorite aspects of bushmen practice, hunting. 



Shostak, M. (1983). Nisa: The Life and Words of a ǃKung Woman. New York: Vintage Books. Retrieved  from: http://books.google.com/books?id=IQ5NWIQpXNkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ViewAPI#v=onepage&q&f=false

Bushmen Affairs

The !Kung San hold sex in very high regard, believing it is as important as food to a person; it is said that just as people cannot live without eating, so too can a person die from sexual hunger (Shostak, 1983, p.265). Sex is talked about in !Kung San culture extensively, often being discussed in great detail and for humorous purposes. It is common for !Kung San band members to discuss and joke to great length about each others body parts and sexual practices (Shostak, 1983, p.265). The !Kung San also understand that sex has the ability to ignite and release incredibly powerful feelings and emotions inside a person, sometimes leading to dangerous and deadly confrontations in the case of an affair occurring and being discovered.

Affairs among young, married women are fairly common. As most affairs, once discovered, tend to end in violence, so great care and caution is taken on the couple's part to not arouse any suspicion. Meetings and gift exchanges are held a great distance away from the camp. In addition, the unfaithful spouse recognizes that one's spouse must always come first, regardless of how passionate the affair must be (Shostak, 1983, p.276). No indicators must be given that could suggest that an affair is occurring. Spending too much time away from camp, responding angrily or sullenly to a spouses comments, or rejecting spousal attempts at bonding can all be signs that a spouse is being unfaithful.

I will further discuss this topic in my next post.




  

Shostak, M. (1983). Nisa: The Life and Words of a ǃKung Woman. New York: Vintage Books. Retrieved  from: http://books.google.com/books?id=IQ5NWIQpXNkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ViewAPI#v=onepage&q&f=false

Roles of the Bush

As discussed in my previous post, !Kung San society is surprisingly egalitarian, placing an equal value on both men and women due to their respective contributions to the community. Men and women have clearly defined roles and each are seen as equally important and valued. Men are the hunters for the group (Stockard, 2002, pp.17). Much of a man's social worth is determined by his ability and skill in hunting. !Kung San hunters use a small handmade bow and poison arrows to bring down the various species of small game that inhabit the Kalahari (Stockard, 2002, pp.17). The poison is especially potent and is not applied to the arrowhead but rather the shaft, in order to prevent accidental poisoning. From the time they are young boys, Bushmen males grow up hunting small birds, mammals, and large insects, learning to identify the hundreds of plant and animal species found in the Kalahari, and developing the amazing tracking abilities the !Kung San are famous for (Stockard, 2002, pp.17).

!Kung San women and girls are the primary gatherers, going out and foraging all manner of insects, roots, fruits, nuts, tubers(Stockard, 2002, pp.17) . This food accounts for roughly 70% of the family's calorie intake (Stockard, 2002, pp.18). Women are also the ones that gather fuel for the fire and keep their eye out for signs of game when they are gathering, to report to the men (Stockard, 2002, pp.17). This valuable service to family and community is acknowledged by the !Kung San as a people and establishes women as essential and respected to the group, giving them a much greater voice and position than that normally afforded to women in most cultures (Stockard, 2002, pp.27). 

Stockard, Janice E. (2002). Marriage in Culture: Practice and Meaning across Diverse Societies. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Community in the Bush

The community structure of the Bushmen band portrayed in The Gods Must be Crazy gave the appearance of there being one big extended family living around one hut. As discussed in my earlier post, a typical !Kung San band consists of several families each with their own hut. The !Kung San family structure is not discussed to any length in the film but is fascinating and worth examining. The !Kung San are a uxorilocal  society by and large, meaning upon marriage, the husband goes to live with his wife's family (Stockard, 2002, pp.34). This is because he must pay a brideservice for her hand by hunting for her parents. Bands therefore are constructed not of men originally belonging to them, but of men that marry in (Stockard, 2002, pp.28). Upon 10 years of brideservice or the birth of three children, a man may return to his original band with his new family or choose a completely new one (Stockard, 2002, pp.34).

This practice of joining the wife's band provides a certain power to a !Kung San woman. She maintains the influence she has with her family, allowing her an extra measure of power in her relationship with her husband, as he is providing brideservice to her father (Stockard, 2002, pp.33). She can even request and persuade her parents to find a new husband for her if she feels the two of them are incompatible. The tradition of paying a brideservice also causes the !Kung San to value daughters in addition to sons as it means the potential for a son-in-law that provides meat. This tradition has aided in the !Kung San remaining a largely egalitarian society, where both men and women hold equal voice in the family and community decision making (Stockard, 2002, pp.27). My next post will examine the gender roles and expectations held by the !Kung San.

Stockard, Janice E. (2002). Marriage in Culture: Practice and Meaning across Diverse Societies. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Uys, Jamie (Producer), & Uys, Jamie (Director). (1980) The Gods Must Be Crazy [Motion picture]. South Africa: Ster Kinekor

Hearth and Home

The movie portrays Xi's (the main character of the film) village as one hut around which his entire extended family gathers. They apparently all live in it as well. The hut is quite accurate in its design and form, down to the cooking fire out front of it that is an essential feature of all bushmen huts. This fire is always maintained and kept going by the wife of the couple living in the hut. An important difference between the movie and reality is that, in the film, there is only one hut that apparently all 20 bushmen live in.

In actuality, a !Kung San band consists of several families, totaling between 10 and 30 people, with each family having its own hut (Stockard, 2002, pp.18-19). The huts provide shelter during infrequent rain storms and storage space for food and weapons but are generally not large enough to sleep an entire family, so a family will sleep outside under a commonl blanket (Stockard, 2002, pp.19). The huts are constructed around a central open location, the common social area for the band(Stockard, 2002, pp.19) . They are constructed of cut and bent saplings over which layers of grass are laid and being of such a simple design, require only several hours to complete (Stockard, 2002, pp.19). Each hut is built so that its entrance faces the common area and it is in this central space that most of the community interactions and exchanges occur (Stockard, 2002, pp.19).

The Gods Must be Crazy accurately portrays the living quarters found in !Kung San society, it just does not include enough to do justice to the population of the band. The inclusion of several more, grouped around a communal location, would more accurately represent an actual Bushmen band. In addition, it both correctly and incorrectly portrays the population of a Bushmen band. My next post shall focus on the film's portrayal of Ki's community in contrast to the structure of an actual !Kung San one. Until the 'morrow!

Stockard, Janice E. (2002). Marriage in Culture: Practice and Meaning across Diverse Societies. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 
  Uys, Jamie (Producer), & Uys, Jamie (Director). (1980) The Gods Must Be Crazy [Motion picture]. South Africa: Ster Kinekor

Setting the (Bushman) Stage

The Gods Must be Crazy is considered by this humble author to be one of the greatest comedies to come out of the past century. I literally rolled on the floor and had my sides hurt I laughed so much upon my first viewing of it. The humor is simple, quick paced, and physical and the actors pull of their respective, ridiculous roles with a genuine charm and sincerity. I highly recommend watching it.

In addition to keeping me highly entertained, this film introduced me to a culture I was previously unaware of; the !Kung San, or Bushmen, of the Kalahari. The entire film revolves around a Bushmen man and his quest to rid his village of an "evil thing" by taking it to the end of the world and throwing it off. The movie goes into much detail about the Bushmen, portraying them in a very positive light and emphasizing the uniqueness of their culture. Having done further research on the Bushmen, I can attest to the points made by the movie. However, it is movie, produced by Hollywood, and certain liberties were taken and facts misconstrued. The purpose of this blog therefore is to take the images portrayed in The Gods Must be Crazy and explain them more fully, at times correcting them. It will be a fun, informative journey into the culture of a fascinating people.








 Uys, Jamie (Producer), & Uys, Jamie (Director). (1980) The Gods Must Be Crazy [Motion picture]. South Africa: Ster Kinekor.