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·~·~·~~<:~~:·::·~·<·~· IIIjjIIIiiIIIiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiESSAYi~~:iiii

A LA H A RI:iiiiiiiiiii:i:ii

iii::::ii:::OURNEYii:i:iiii:iiiii::: iiiiiii:::::::::::::: :::::::::i::iiiiiiii

:i::Thei San people havetravelled centries in decade

i-iii:iii::iTHEiii JU/ HOANSI, ALSO KNOWN AS THE social change. In a generation they have::::~ ~ ~~~Kn San,: have come to occupy::::::::::: a::::: spec::ii::iiiiiii:iii i al been transformed from a society ofi

ii'ii:-; ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ pac in the scolrl an popula imagi nomadic'::::'i::;:i.i:;i hunters and gatherers - somellj:nation.IijI As onei of themost horouhly o whomherde and orkedfor ohers

studlli i i: - _ i ied orainsoietiesi n nhoplg o oieyo malhldrwo k u*, * ical histor and as the darings of the mass a l iiiivigbyhring fring ad catpromedia (The Gods Musi-i Be Crazy), iti s uto logwt oe utn n

i:iii~omtie forgotten that they'l··i···iii - and gathering. Toda they sit around thei:iiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiothe hu tn and:::: gathering peoples - fires and smoke their pipes as before, butiIiIi:IiIiiIiIIiIiIiiiIiIiIi:illiIii:Iiiiijhavei become: increasingly:. drawn:::::: into the they als listento transstor rados, coo:':::':':::':':-:':::world system.' Their'::::':'::: remoteness': and'::: store-bought''::':::''::'' mealie::': meal,:'': brew:'' home::''''::::'::j'·ijll:__:'::·;:jdeserti:ji location::'::':: in: the Kalahari no::::::: logrbe adwryaou h uueii:i:i:iiiiii::iprotect them.iiii:-::ii._:iiiii W heniiiiiiiii Iiiiiiiiiii first went to the area in the'''::

iiiStill fragers in1963, theyare now a 1960s an lived for more than a year in theiii F1''''''I''''''''the end' of their third decade of rapid village of /Xai/xai, the people were still··

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiBiiRICi1RD B. LEEii

living largely as they had in the past: they among the first direct contacts between other, houses face the kraal where cattle

foraged from temporary camps for game the Ju/'hoansi and the British colonial and goats are kept; the pattern of settle-

and wild vegetable foods with no domestic authorities (barring visits in the 1950s for ment thus reflects a symbolic shift from

animals except dogs (and some groups immunization against smallpox and the reliance on each other to reliance on prop-

lacked even these). About 900 of them occasional tour by a district officer) was erty in the form of herds.

lived in the Nyae Nyae area of South West the visit in March 1964 of the electoral As early as 1900 some Ju/'hoansi had

Mfrica (now Namibia), a former German commission to enumerate them for the been involved in boarding cattle in an

colony administered by South Africa election held before independence. arrangement widespread in Botswana

from 1919 to 1990. Another 500 lived in After independence in September 1966 called mafisa in which 10 to 20 head of

th ob ra fBehaaln (o hepceo hag bgntoaceeae.B ctl blningto weltyowe are

Botsana, whch as dminsteed y th th 198s mst obe u/'oani vilags lokedaftr bya por an i hi owBritish.~) In- th oeae hysae hi a oe olo ieohr nBtwn.ae.In amn hehre eci l

lag erioy ihsoe30 eeo n hebeiv hpe rssht eregnteml n ah eroeo h avsTsan asorlst dseerlthuan rpacd ysei-emaet:· mu-ald uulyafml.B 93aot 2 e

cattle hoss ilge een one iclr eto aile a oe novmn

Apprximtel thre-qartrs o th an tigt-kit.Tweny-fve eopl wh asmafia hrdes. Bt b th 198s popl

Ju'hani n heDbeara ivd n a lve i aspcewtha iaetr f 0 ha bcoe iteraou te ysem te

seinoai cap bae rmrl n mte rs o pedtesevsoti opandta hywr o en

hunin an ahrn;ters ee aieevrludemte1n.nta ad atepoie npyetfrsr

attachedii to.- blc atepssrncly o okn costecnra pc tec ie edrdadwtotteebat

14 UNIVERSITY OFTORONTO MAGAZIN

it was difficult to start their own herds. 1987 they were approaching the Dobe traditional foraging areas may be perma-

The biggest threat to Ju'/hoansi survival area. In Namibia a non-profit develop- nently cut off from them by commercial

comes from Botswana's booming cattle ment agency had helped Ju/'hoansi to ranching.

industry. Since 1975 when wealthy obtain cattle and drill boreholes for them- Hunting and gathering, which provided

Tswana have wanted to expand cattle selves but in Botswana an internationally them with 85 per cent of their food as

production they have formed syndicates sponsored proposal for five to eight bore- recently as 1964, now supply perhaps 30

to drill boreholes for water in remote holes in the Dobe area was blocked by the per cent. The rest is made up of milk and

areas and staked out ranches with 99-year government, indicating that its once meat from domestic stock, store-bought

leases that can be bought and sold. By liberal policies toward the San people mealie meal and vast quantities of heavily

i~l~ ~ ~ ~ (sugared tea whitened with powdered milkc.

Foraged foods and occasional produce from

gardens augment the vegetable diet. For

li~i. ~~~i~sevceral years government and foreign~i·'·iiiii:''-~~~. · ~ drought relief programs provided most of

th` e food (beans from Canada were aprtic-

-~;_~i~ular favourite).

i:%~crWhen the government cut off general

food distribution in 1987 the Dobe people,

.~iii who had become dependent on the weekly~ handouts, at first were shocked andangry;,

they didn't know where to turn. It was an

open question how they would respond,

but they did bounce back and in unex-

pected ways. By the middle of the year

there was a revival of hunting encouraged

by the government. After years of strict

enforcement of game laws, the powerful

Wildlife Department decided that the

Dobe area had recovered sufficiently and

the department issued liberal licences to all

Ju/'hoansi who wanted them. Both women

:r and men were issued hicences so men were

able to hunt their wives' qjuotas as well as

their own. Men who hadn't hunted for

years took it up again and younger men

~· who had never become skilled with bow

and arrow hunted from horseback with

spears. Since the return of serious drought

conditions to Botswana, food distribution

~i-1 has been resumed.

~i~:~i~:~i~~i: ~ :.·.~:~~ IIN THE LONGER TERM THE JU/>HOANSI

iiiiiface economic uncertainty. For the large

majority with little or no schooling, the

job prospects are poor and a life of odd

jobs combined with heavy drinking not

~-i-uncommon. However some compensat-

.- :-:I ing developments have brightened this

nicture. From 1986 on a small business

project, the !Kung San Works, and succes-

sor organizations have purchased increas- c;

ing volumes of Dobe area crafts, primarily X

(called Remote Area Dwellers) were from Ju/'hoansi but also from Herero.

CHANGES IN assuming an increasingly regressive char- T his has had the effect of pumping con-

THE PATTERN OF acter - an attitude reflected in other areas siderable cash (up to $5,000 Canadian per o

SETTLEM~ENT as well. In 1990-91 three ranches in the month) into the economy.Unotntl fe 8otnte xs

REFLECTA Ghanzi district that had been earmarked Unotnelfwopruiisext

SYMBOLIC SHIFT by the government for San settlements for investment of the proceeds in basic /

A WAY FROMI´ were turned over to private interests and in items such as ploughs, bicycles, cattle or O

RELANCE ON spite of many protests, local and interna- horses. Stores are distant and transporta-

EACH OTHER tional, the status of these ranches remains tion costs prohibitive. While some live-

TO RELANCE in doubt. Thus if the Dobe Ju/'hoansi do stock is purchased, a distressing amount of m

ON PROPERTY not form borehole syndicates soon, their cash is spent on beer, brandy, home-brew R

WINT`ER 1992 15

m... materials, bags of candies and the ubiqui- number of senior secondary schools, is

" ~tous sugar, tea and Nespray;- commerciail enrolled in a Botswana teachers college.

;i-r powdered milk. The second and smaller of the two

When the first school opened at s chools in the area, opened at /Xai/xai in

-4 !Kangwa in 1973 some Ju/'hoansi parents 1976, has been far more successful. A pro-

ii ~responded quickly, registering their chil- gressive TSwana headmaster wisely incor-

dren and scraping together the money for porated many elements of Ju/'hoansi

fees and the obligatory school uniforms. culture into the curriculum and has been

~,:h~~4l~('D'~~-: IRMost ignored the school or withdrew their rewarded with strong parental and com-

i~:·children when the latter objected to being munity support for the school and a low

iii forbidden to speak their own language absentee rate.

: on school grounds or to the mild corporal In June 1986 my wife and co-

.:· punishment that is standard practice in researcher, Harriet Rosenberg of York

the Botswana school system. Even when University, and I were on our way to

ii: their parents insisted that they stay in /Xai/xai on a research project supported

. school, the children would run away by the Social Sciences and Humanities

and walk back to their home villages. Research Council of Canada. Coming the

4·Recently attempts have been made to set other way was a truckload of school-

~j)up a hostel near the school (the school children singing enthusiastically in beauti-

itself has no residential facilities) where ful three-part harmony. They were on

Ju/'hoansi children can have a home their way to the annual competition for

.. . ~away from home. Absenteeism, however, traditional culture, wvhich brings singers,

I' remains a major problem. musicians and performers together from

In spite of the obstacles, four of the all over the district. Three days later then MODElST' !Kangwa students did go on to secondary troupe returned in triumph. They hadBAS/IS FORc) s chool in the 1980s. The road has not been won overall first prize against a field that

OP>7ITMISMt easy for them. Today two hold teaching included more than 20 performing

CONC:I'RI(TVIN jobs in Namibia while another (the only groups. The people of the village were

771E UTUREwoman), after being turned down by a ecstatic: winning was especially sweet for

Sone of the smallest and most isolated around their circle in tight formration. Onie ;intoleranice on the part of the dominiiant

v/illages in the district. of the boys carrying a wooden gun pre- Tswana constitutes one modest basis for

The next morning the villagers as- tended to stalk another boy whose move- optimism concerning the future of mar-

sembled in the schoolyard while the chil- ments and costume represented a lion. ginalized peoples within the nation-state.

dren, aged nine to 14, put on a special The lion pranced and threatened, the The Ju/'hoansi persist as a people,

performance of their winning number, the hunter bore down relentlessly. The embattled and struggling but a people

Lion Dance. As the girls and boys made wounding of the lion started a long death nonetheless with a clear sense of them-

their entrance dancing out in single file we scene as the singing rose in intensity. selves, facing the future with their roots in

were struck by the beauty of their cos- Finally the lion sank slowly to the ground the past. As they have come to political

tumes, traditional Ju/'hoansi karosses - and fell dead. The crowd burst into cheers consciousness there has been an emerging

leather garments hand-beaded and sewn and applause. In the hubbub and congrat- determination to take hold of their own

by the students' mothers from antelope ulations that followed the performance, destiny, to fight against stereotyping and

hides especially hunted by fathers and the Tswana headmaster, who had encour- discrimination, to assert their political

older brothers. But most impressive was aged the dance troupe and patiently nur- rights and to revitalize their communities,

the fact that several members of the troupe tured the spirit of tolerance that pervaded But the road to self-reliance is not easy

were girls of the wealthy Herero group it, turned and shouted to no one in partic- and there are many more battles to be won

wearing the traditional Ju/'hoansi kaross ular: "This will show the nation that the before their future is secured. m

anid singing the traditional songs alonlg Bushman is a person!"

with the other children. In the context of Later we learned that the children had Richard B. Lee is a professor in the Depart-

Kalahari ethnic relations this was a power- gone to the capital where they won the ment ofAnthropology.

ful gesture of respect to an ethnic group national dance competition. They were a - -

regarded as lower in social status. featured part of the entertainment The Kalahari Peoples Famd is a non-profit

The singing was electrifying and the program for the celebrations of the 20th foundation dedicatedto ·working with the

choreography - an amalgam of tradi- anniversary of Botswana's independence ] z/hoansi to achieve their development

tional Ju/'hoansi dance forms and ele- and for several days the Botswana media goals. Readers interested in learning more

ments introduced by the troupe's coach, were filled with stories of the champion about the KPFanditsprograms may

the school's music teacher - flawlessly dancers from the distant northwest. write to the author c/o Department of

executed. The girls sat singing and clap- This small example of cultural success Anthropology, University ofToronto,

Sping· in the centre while the boys danced for the Ju/'hoansi and the overcoming of Toronto, M5S 1A1.