Bushman Walk

One of the other activities we have done whilst on the project was the Bushman Walk, where 2 of the local workers, Felix and Peter, took us on a walk though the bush and taught us about the lives of the tribal hunters who have lived on the land for thousands of years.

Back before white men invaded Africa, there were 2 main modes of living for the tribes- above the equator the Bantu people farmed livestock and grew crops, and below the equator lived the San or Bushmen who were hunter-gatherers. The people lived peacefully together, trading animal skins for metals and other crops, however the San started to hunt the livestock of the Bantu people, creating conflict between the 2 peoples. Simultaneously, European invaders in the south were extending their rein over the country and forcing the San out of their natural hunting grounds. Now the San people are confined to a much smaller area, mainly in southwest Africa, but they are recognised for their cultural and historical value by the government and so are given a protected status. Modern San tribes are no longer nomadic, and have set up villages and adopted a more modern style of living.

 

Felix and Peter preparing a bird trap



In preparation for long hunting trips, the San people would locate ostrich eggs from the nest and make a hole in the top of the egg, cook the egg and eat the yolk. Then they would then coat the inside of the shell with honey and leave it for the ants to eat the leftover egg. They would locate honey by attaching a thread to a bee and finding where the thread is left thus finding the bee hive. The empty shell would then be filled with water, sealed with beeswax and buried in areas where they would be hunting. Any broken shells would be used for making jewellery.

A large part of the tribal culture was making jewellery and instruments out of seeds, empty cocoons and fruit skins. The San people would also make a very strong rope made from a plant known as Oryx Horn, and they would waterproof the rope using beeswax. I tried feebly to make a version of this rope but was laughed at by Peter!



Peter demonstrating a porcupine trap



The San people will only kill what they need- they have strong beliefs that the spirits of dead animals will return as people and vice versa. They would lay traps for smaller animals such as porcupines and birds whilst hunting larger animals- if they do not catch anything then they will take whatever is caught in the traps, however if they do make a larger catch they will release whatever is caught.

To decide the direction that the San will hunt in, they send a runner (a young boy) to retrieve a praying mantis, and each of the hunters will in turn put the insect on their bow and whoever’s bow the praying mantis gets furthest on before falling off gets to decide the direction that they hunt in. They decide the direction by shooting up a very small arrow into the air from a love bow, and whichever direction the arrow lands in is the direction they will hunt in.

The San people hunt with poisoned arrows, and the strength of poison used depends on the size of the animal being hunted. The strength of the poison is determined by making a cut on one of their limbs, letting the blood run and placing a small amount of poison below the running blood. The faster the blood congeals upon contact with the poison, the more potent the poison.

When a big kill is made, tribes from all around will be invited for a big celebration feast. There is music and dancing and plenty of food. This is also a way for men to meet women- if a man likes a woman he will shoot an arrow from his love bow at her butt and if she likes him, she will hold the arrow to her heart (if not she will break the arrow in half!).