...SAN CULTURE: BOND OF KINSHIP Dorothy Nash Joslin ANT 101 Introduction to Anthropology Instructor James Turner October 1, 2012 Throughout the southern land of Africa live the native Bushmen, also known as the San (some have referred to them as Khwe or as the Basarwa, as well); they are recognized as one of the oldest cultural societies that still remain active. The term “San” was historically applied to Bushmen by their ethnic relatives and historic rivals, the Khoikhoi; this term mean “outsider” in the Khoikhoi language, and was derogatory. For this reason, some of this group still prefers to be called Bushmen, even though opinions vary on whether the term “Bushmen” is appropriate because the term can also sometimes be viewed as uncomplimentary. One of the strongest qualities possessed by the San society is their strong, unified support system that they operate in order to survive on a consistent basis (Godwin, 2000). As indicated by our text, the San are a foraging culture, meaning they generate only enough food and resources to consume for a day or two; lessening the amount of surplus and need for storage (Nowak & Laird, 2010). The San believe in maintaining strong unions within their nuclear families and often joining with related nuclear families to assemble their bands (Godwin, 2000). The nuclear family is the most common type of family in foraging societies because it is adaptive to diverse situations; it is composed of a mother and father and their children...
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...indigenous peoples and their knowledge. 1. Discuss the challenges Khoe-San in southern Africa have faced in reclaiming their indigenous identities and their rights to territory and resources. Introduction This essay I will aim to highlight how the Khoisan group “continue in post-Apartheid South Africa to struggle for the protection of their key collective and human rights as distinct ethnic communities as stipulated by the standards set out by the UN about indigenous people” (Hitchcock 2002). The Khoe and San are still not officially recognized and statistics does not show their presence in South Africa. The Khoisan are made up of five main groupings, namely San, Griqua, Nama, Koranna and the Cape Khoi. However there is no precise number of Khoisan people that currently live in South Africa (Hitchcock 2002). The Khoisan are not constitutionally recognized as Indigenous communities. “The current legal institutions continue to classify them as “Coloureds” just like the apartheid regime did” (Barnard 1992). The San people also called Bushmen, or Basarwa all considered pejorative to some degree are members of various indigenous hunter-gatherer peoples of Southern Africa, whose territory spans Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa (Barnard 1992). There is a significant linguistic difference between them. The definition for indigenous people is a broad one and is defined differently according to people and organizations, but generally “indigenous people are...
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...HISTORICAL STUDIES Destruction of Cape San (Bushman) Society The hunter-gatherer communities of the Cape Colony were almost entirely destroyed as a result of pervasive settler violence under both Dutch and British colonial rule. Some scholars argue that the land dispossession, enforced labour incorporation, periodic massacre, and suppression of their culture inflicted on the San constitute genocide. While developments through the 18th century have been reasonably thoroughly documented, our knowledge of the 19th century is patchy because little research has been done on this period. RESEARCH TOPIC: MONIQUE CLASSEN CLSMON002 The ‘Christianization’ process of the London Missionary Society in 19th century South Africa: A case study of Bethelsdorp and Thornberg Contents PLAGIARISM DECLARATION 2 ABSTRACT 3 INTRODUCTION 4 THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY 7 Driving Ideologies Behind An Archetype of Civility and Modernity 9 THE ‘CHRISTIANIZATION’ STATIONS 11 The Institute of Bethelsdorp for the Khoekhoe 11 Thornberg Mission Station for the Heathen San 17 THE GROUNDWORK 21 CONCLUSION 26 BIBLIOGRAPHY 28 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Village of Bethelsdorp (from John Philip: Researchers in South Africa, London 1828) 2. Church and Mission House at Bethelsdorp (from a watercolor by John Campbell, 1819.) By courtesy of Africana Museum, Johannesburg 3. Map: Nineteenth-Century Mission Stations to Bushmen (from Tricksters and Trancers, 1999) ...
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...travelling around the world from Yugoslavia to the Middle East, trying to get involved in conflicts, and think of ways to handle and resolve conflict in a positive and helpful way. What he learned about them is when there was a conflict between groups of San Bushmen, someone has to hide the poison arrows out in the bush. Then, everyone has to sit around in a circle, and kept talking about conflicts in many days. They will not stop until they can find a better solution. They can even send someone off to go somewhere if the tempers are still too high, 2. There is always a third side of the conflict between two parties. The third siders not only involve both of the parties themselves, but also the insiders, such as friends, family… We can use the third-side story of Abraham to deal with conflicts in out life. The best way in which the third side can help is to remind the parties what is really at risk such as for the benefit of the kids, the family, the community or the future. We should stop fighting for a moment and start talking. What Abraham was standing for was the “interconnectedness, or the unity of it all”. His basic value is respect, kindness, and hospitality in order to create an understanding, love and respect between people. It takes lots of courage for the others to be open, and honest with us because there are many personalities and cultures combining, making it hard to please everyone. So, we have to be patient as much as we can, try to treat them with kind and respect...
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...THE KINSHIP SYSTEM 1 The Kinship System of the San Vannell Berrien ANT 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Dr. Ilda Jiménez y West January 28, 2013 THE KINSHIP SYSTEM The Kinship System of the San The San of the Kalahari, also known as Bushmen, is the oldest culture in the world dating back over a hundred thousand years ago. The Kalahari Desert, reaching across South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, is home to some of the most inhospitable lands in the world. The San have a unique language, which incorporates a distinct “click” sound when they are talking. The San have no leader, constantly move around to find new sources of food, and are autonomous when making decisions to stay with a community or move elsewhere. In fact, they are so peaceful that “conflict or disruptive behavior is rare. These communities have no rulers, no written laws, no formal rule enforcers, and no formal mechanisms for controlling, capturing, or punishing rule breakers” (Nowak & Laird, 2010, sec. 3.6). This is due to the small size of their band, their claim to little or no private property, and the fact that food is shared with everyone in the community. Furthermore, San societies are relatively smaller than most societies due to their constant moving to find new areas to forage. Moreover, the San, known for their skills as hunters and gatherers comprise most of their diet from big game, roots and tubers. In the same way, the men of the San culture hunt big game while the women gather or forage...
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...San, also referred to as Bushmen, are part of the foraging community that resides in Southwest Africa. The San culture is a foraging society and base their kinship from the work that each person contributes. Foraging is the act of looking and searching for food or supplies necessary to survive. Groups of San are usually small in numbers and members relocate frequently to collect food, follow animal migration patterns, and replenish water resources. Since foragers have to move multiple times a year they have a significant lack of material goods, thereby helping promote a non-materialistic culture, fostering a level of contentment with what they have. The women cherish their kinship by sharing time collecting and gathering food for themselves and most importantly their family. The women have a great bond together because they spend so much time together daily. The time that they spend together also makes the long search for food and supplies seem to be a little easier and less miserable on them. They seem happy to be doing what they do and enjoy providing for their families. The men in this culture spend two to three days away hunting. They hunt to provide food for their family. They hunt for enough food to last awhile. This hunting time provides the younger adults with a special kinship with their fathers and/or elders that they will never forget. The San people do not desire a lot of material items. They are happy and content having great supplies of food and...
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...son was to get one third of the camels and the last the third son was to get one ninth of the camels. Since the seventeen camels could not be split evenly, the three sons went to ask an elderly lady for advice, but she was unable to help them. The elderly lady decided to give them one of her camels, now the three sons had eighteen camels. They split the camels accordingly the first son got nine camels, the second son got six and the youngest got two camels. They then had one camel leaf-over they decided to give it back to the old lady. If the brothers from the beginning had solve that problem they wouldn’t had needed to go to the lady and lake her camel. The second story was about how the South Africa tribe of the San Bushmen resolve their problems. The San Bushmen are known for their hunting and own arrows with poison tips. When an argument arises someone goes around and collects all the arrows in the tribe...
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...African History and Purposes South Africa’s settlement spans over thousands of years. The first people living there were the San, who were descendants of prehistoric Africans. This group was the only inhabitants of the region for many years. Eventually others learned about the land, and about 2,000 years ago people who spoke Bantu languages arrived. Then in the 1400’s Europeans started to visit South Africa, but did not begin to settle permanently till the 1600’s. When today scientists try to uncover South Africa’s history it is tough. South Africa had no written history until the Europeans arrived in the 1600’s (Human Record), so scientists have to study the oral tradition, ancient artifacts, cultural patterns, and other languages spoken by the South African people. At first the San were the only inhabitants of the region, they moved in small groups hunting animals and gathering wild plants for food. Then in 100’s A.D. a correlated group called the Khoikhoi migrated from the north to the south eventually settling in the eastern coastal belt and the eastern Transvaal (South African History Online). The Khoikhoi settled in communities and raised sheep and cattle. There is no written history prior to the arrival of the Europeans so we have no way of knowing if there were conflicts between these two groups. When the Europeans arrived in the 1600’s, they called the San, Bushmen, and the Khoikhoi, Hottentots. In modern world Africa today, these European terms would be offensive...
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...landforms. Now to many people, this is what they would describe as geography. People have a preconceived idea that geography only consists of the landforms that surround us, but geography plays an immense role in many aspects of our life. It is not only included in the structures aspect of the earth, but also in the way we have evolved through time. Geography is responsible for some of our physical adaptations that have helped us survive in rigid conditions as well as our cultures and religions, which have guided us in our lives. We, as humans, have a need to provide for ourselves and search for the necessities we need in order to survive. We migrate to different environments in search of these things and as time passes, we evolve. Over time, our bodies have evolved in ways that seem appropriate for the environment we live in. The San Bushmen have evolved with darker skin, which protects them from the harmful rays of the sun. However, certain people living farther from the equator have lighter skin, which helps them in acquiring the right amount...
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...Different Groups within Society Experience Poverty in Different Ways Botswana is a nation that has experience high rates of economic growth since 1966 when it gained independence. It’s a middle income country with a GDP $5,360, although over 45% of people who live there are below the absolute poverty line. This particular type of poverty is seen in rural areas and female headed households where there is significant differences income. Due to this, and many other reasons there are big differences in equality throughout Botswana, giving a large Gini coefficient of 0.54. Other reasons include developing wealth in Botswana, especially through the diamond trade. The country struggles to include the poor, remote communities into the mainstream economy. One example of this is that the poorest 20% of the population get 4% of the national income, whereas the richest get 60%. Botswana has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS prevalence in the world with 350,000 people affected and 39% of 15-49 year olds infected. HIV/AIDS rates are so extremely high due to the migration to South Africa for work and internal migration between rural and urban areas. Life expectancy rates have fallen from over 60 years in 1996 to just 35 in 2007. Many people are dying young and so the size of the work force is declining. It also means the number of widows and orphans is increasing. There are 69,000 AIDS orphans in Botswana. There are many government benefits and food rations to support orphans although...
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...NAME: Angela Ferreira STUDENT NUMBER: 543939 COURSE: Archaeology ASSIGNMENT: Hunter-gatherer essay DUE DATE: 5 September TUTOR/LECTURER NAME: Geoffrey Blundell Plagiarism declaration I know that plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarism is to use another’s work and to pretend that it is one’s own. I have used the author date convention for citation and referencing. Each significant contribution to and quotation in this essay from the work or works of other people has been acknowledged through citation and reference. This essay is my own work. I have not submitted this work, or a substantial...
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...Agriculture is one of the most, if not the most, important aspects of society. How food is received, where it comes from, and who supplies it are all concepts the book thoroughly examines. One instance in the novel of supply and demand is when Ishmael speaks of the alternate world in which people eat other humans (pg.114). In this story the concept seems insane and completely inhumane but to the people of that world this idea is all they have ever known and is a law to be followed. This idea leads back to the concept of man of this world having no laws to follow and living outside the limits of any laws. Agricultural production and supply can differentiate the stories of takers and leavers along with many different fundamental stances of...
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...The San Kinship System and Its Impact Upon San Culture Terry Barnes ANT 101 Prof. Cecil Hicks November 29, 2011 The San Kinship System and the It’s Impact upon San Culture The San Culture is interesting, and its kinship bbehaviors are varied. In this paper, I will first share information about the hunters and gathers know as the San or Bushman who live in the of the Kalahari Desert in South Africa. Second, I will Identify and describe their kinship system, briefly describe their culture, and identify three specific examples of how the San’s Kinship System impacts the way they behave, think, act, and live. Lastly, I will compare and contrast a specific San Kinship behavior to American society, and give details that describe whether or not this same behavior has an impact on my life. In Cultural Anthropology, by Nowark and Laid (2010), I learned about the unique aspects and structure of the San Kinship System. Kinship involves how people classify each other, the rules that affect people's behavior, and people's actual behavior. In the San kinship system, both family and kinship relationships are recognized and valued through the practice of marriage, sharing, and generalized reciprocity. Kinship also means time for socializing with kin and friends. Meals are prepared with the items from everyone’s hunting and gathering which allows everyone to share equally in what has been made available. Food is distributed until everyone is sufficiently supplied. Generalized...
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...Cultural Anthropology Fall, 2014 Study Guide for Midterm Exam PART I: In-Class Component (10 points each, 100 points total) Directions The instructor will put on the in-class portion of the exam a number of terms, names, and concepts drawn from the following list. The student will pick ten (10) and answer in a short I.D./short answer format. Although your answers should be concise, they should be complete enough to convince the instructor that you thoroughly understand the course material. Where applicable, use examples or illustrations. Each student is permitted to have one 8” x 5” handwritten note card during the exam. Frank Boas scientific method “Creation Science” theory hypothesis Karl Marx Charles Darwin Frederick Engels Origin of the Species Jared Diamond “social Darwinism” Margaret Mead natural selection Yehudi Cohen zoological taxonomy Anthropology vs. Sociology taxon ethnographic methodologies Paleolithic genealogical method Mesolithic interviewing techniques Neolithic key cultural consultants agricultural revolution in Neolithic longitudinal research human zoological taxonomy annual cycle what primates have in common why anthropologists should spend more than one annual cycle primates “ivory tower” approach differences between humans and other primates “advocacy” approach Homininoids Homo sapiens American Anthropological Association ...
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...South Africa - A Brief Overiew South Africa’s subtropical location, moderated by ocean on three sides of the country and the altitude of the interior plateau, makes South Africa a warm and sunny country. The country consists of nine provinces. Guateng province centred on Johnnesburg is the economic heart of South Africa and the largest inland city in the world not situated on a river. It is a multiparty democratic republic, home to 53m people (South African government 2013). Nobel prize winner Desmond Tutu called it the Rainbow Nation, because of its ethnic diversity (79.8% black, 8.9% white, 8.9% coloured, 2% Indian, 0.4% other e.g. Chinese, Malay). Diversity is a key feature of South Africa, where 11 languages are recognised as official, although English is the main language of government and business. The country was home to San bushmen, but in the 17th century Dutch and French Huguenot (Afrikaner) colonists settled in the Cape, whilst further east Zulus were migrating down from what is now Zimbabwe. British settlers started arriving in the 19th century; however the discovery of gold in the 1880s led to mass immigration. This created tensions between the Afrikaners and British culminating in the Boer war (1899-1902). Britain despite being victorious agreed to self rule in 1910, albeit only for European. Afrikaners came to monopolise government, whilst the British dominated the commercial world. Successive governments from 1948 operated an increasingly racist system (apartheid)...
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