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0:00 good morning I welcome you to this tutorial section on Southern Africa in the 19th century in this section we'll be considering the history of the San people of southern Africa popularly known as the Bushmen as we have considered in our class so the S people known as Bushmen are basically haunters and gatherers who were the original inhabitant of present day bwana Namibia and Northwest South Africa so they they are the indigenous or autous or Aboriginal people of these areas the S people as you have noted in our class belong to the linguistic group
0:46 speaking kisan language unlike the other T groups the B two which we would examine also so they speak languages which include ko ko know the the qu and other speakers they also belong to other speakers of the click languages so despite the some similarities in languages and appearance we've noted that the Son and the kooi represent two distinguished distinct ethnic groups who had various instances or periods of history coexisted in the same region these people the S and the KO koi belong to the Stone Age settlers in
1:32 southern Africa so we've also noted the atmology of the word s which is been report reportedly to have emanated from their word s sa a which means gaat of fruit or harvest or harvest so we've noted also that there are uh ways of life no actually also was what made the Europeans to describe them as Bush a term of course a term which is considered very very denigrating and derogatory all right and unusable in no contemporary historical discourse the S people were quite improvident as we have noted they are known as Bushmen not
2:19 mainly because of their haunting activities so that is that their economic and social activities revolves around noat grazin which they did for so long around the Kalahari Desert which was perhaps their ancestral locations they are generally of small stature light skinned and with wrinkles visible on their bodies no at their early stage right of formation we've noted that they actually occupy several places no spread all over some areas in southern Africa countries like Zimbabwe Zambia Namibia and also some areas even outside South Africa
3:04 Tanzania know Angola and of course in South Africa they are quite more visible the S long longevity in southern Africa as we have discussed range between 2,000 to 30,000 years ago no which shows that there are perhaps one of the longest know people to have stayed in people to have stayed know in southern Africa for a long time although the sun actually their their history also is shed in obscurity it may date back to even much earlier period as this noly Stone a the complex nature of their society has been noly studied and offers critical insight into the late Stone Age know period which I've mentioned for instance it was
3:52 noted that they recovered collection of tools associated with the sand no has been dated through radiocarbon dating and no scientific uh instrument to around 15,000 years ago and also of course these are been tested which demonstrate that the S people belong to the Stone Age period now this Stone uh tools were named for the know they were names no for various areas in stn Africa such as the know in Cape province in South Africa where they were first discovered so some of the the tools recovered by archaeologist the kit for instance demonstrate also know an advanced level of tool making ability
4:39 including scrapers borers and microlit which are long blig like uh blades know like pieces of stones it shows that the the early Stone Age sand people produce know they are profound users and makers of iron and iron stone tools all right know these are some of the no Technologies available to the no sun people during the Stone Age period fundamentally the sun were nomadic hunters and gatherers of food and their social organization was quite no adaptable to that form of life okay they had no real Clans no like the other groups which we have examined which will examine the KO koi and the bantos and
5:25 all the others so only hunting parties which probably not never exceeded a 100 people no both men and women and children constitute a society know or a a social formation in the clan uh uh dominated area also only rudiment of tribal organizations and chany uh existed among the Sun so that means they didn't have strong or viable or elabor political structures they were known as Bushmen men of the Bush or the Bushmen by the Dutch when the new Europeans came in the 15th and 16th
6:11 century also I've noted that the sun were in Providence that means they made no provision for the future they were toughly no built no with an average height of about 5 ft and yellow brown in complexion of course they were quite popular for the ability to make rock Engravings and painting know drawn from their animal Al and all of that the sun particularly was said to be normal from Stone Age which have mentioned that has been their no major occupation NORAD moving from place to the other no pling fruits and vegetables and Gathering stuff they never planted no uh uh crop
6:57 or engage in any cattle grazing like the KO koi or other groups so of course temporary living in caves and under rocks was one of the major features of the San people about the ancestor nothing no not much is known fundamentally of course unlike most other African groups they s left no couples of oral Traditions that means the like many African countries no they didn't they were preliterate societies all right they had no foral means of documenting their history that is no no couples of or Traditions from which their history can be reconstructed however those of them who who were who occupy the Western desert
7:44 region around the kalari no in the face of outside pressure did retain some aspect of their primodial way of life no through drawing and rock Engravings and all the stuff so whatever pieces of information that we do have and for whatever no they may be what it is believed that the son was still living like the Stone Age hunters and gatherers when the Europeans no encountered them in the 15th and 16th century of course it is it is uncertain no however no why they were some argu that the sun when the Europeans met them were still living like the Stone Age period no of course they were still no probably naked and
8:29 know un kept so in the beginning they were scattered all over most of southern Africa long before the Christian area I've mentioned that and they belong no to a homogeneous group all right so they quite related they all the sun belong to the same stock you know associated with the same ancestor all right okay it is also very very important to know that no there was quite a number of no reasons why the Europeans no Christin Dean all right no Richard Eli for instance no noted that the Europeans refer to call them no Bushmen because of the no improvident life they practice H hunting and Gathering which is a purely economic
9:17 description of people who are quite very primitive with with no settled life and no social and economic organization okay so of course they were also know as the entos know by both their neighbors and the Europeans so the sand inhabited the Plains and the edge of the Kalahari no many of them were Mountain dwellers who lived along the river valleys also and some know live around the coastal period you understand so for instance around the cap table Bay and Mel Bay when the Portuguese first came perhaps the son were the first group in southern Africa who no had contact with these Europeans the
10:03 environment in which they found themselves determined their hunting activities as I've mentioned know the nature of the environment actually necessitated know the need for them to engage in hunting and Gathering of course it was due to their poor level of adaptation to the environment no the B two came later much later and they made sense know their livelihoods they adapted know into the environment and they could know produce all kinds of crops as will be see later see generally the sandw of small stature as we have noted they were about 5 ft tall but tough no physically physically
10:48 no built and they had also remarkable powers of endurance were strong no their complexion was also no shallow they were light skinned no their air no was that of that of no of the white Europeans and their air loes and their faces was almost triangular and beardless they had no deep seat twinkling eyes set between uh their forehead with broad noses projecting Jaws slender Limbs tining and bugging stomach and we've noted that their women no were described as having pendulous breast and fat bog these are some of the major features physical features of the S people what about the
11:34 social institution or culture social culture of the son we've noted that the institution of marriage among the son was very feeble in this case family connection no where connections were no uh very weak that is marriage was polygam and young men sometimes F to win their Brides among the s people so it was not just a system where no people it was not an egalitarian society as thought all right people have to struggle young men will have to struggle know to fight and win know their bride as soon as children uh were old enough to F for themselves among the son parental
12:21 Authority came to an end more or less and the old and infirm who could no longer keep Pace with the group were usually behind to look after themselves so not so much is not about their religious practices know like the bant two but the the son people know were afraid to violate their Customs they had strong regard and respect for traditions they War charms as a means of protection against Witchcraft and also propitiated Spirits no they worship the ancestor no they believe also vaguely in immortality that is life after death okay and this shaped their existential reality or experiences some groups also worship the
13:08 Kagan uh no was a sky deity who was believed by the son to have created alls and whose embodiment was the Mantis and no some other son also worshiped the moon like the K know did also so they worshiped the moon and the stars of course linguistically their language had a limited vocabulary as no uh and with no plurals as you have noted in our class no they spoke in clicks which is no a speech pattern characterized by the use of implosive consonant okay no the s people didn't have much no vocabulary registers no no in you compare that with other languages
13:54 in Africa or elsewhere they were deficient in mathematics and is know uh recorded that they were incapable of counting Beyond three but this were no also uh some of their uh limitation but they also had no profound no uh profound virtues in sense that they were acclaimed storytellers in spite of all the deficiencies we have highlighted know the S people were great storytellers and no fantastic dancers and extraordinary mimics so their strength or their virtue you know uh reflected more in artistic you know uh
14:39 representations all right so they made sense of their know existence by the profound knowledge they have in storytelling no skills in storytelling and dancing and know uh okay they had a great sense of humor they painting and their Engravings as we also noted depict a wide variety of star that is they had great power of imagination a lively sense of humor and all know in their heart the the the record of painting and Engravings which they practice until the 19th century are still very much visible in many parts of in southern Africa today some of their no uh drawings
15:25 around in caves and rock Engraving and all of that including the caves and rock shelters they constructed were are still very much know know visible their clothing was made of animal skin like the KO koii people of course we've noted that they know beautifying themselves ading themselves they wore necklaces made of eggshells or seashell know and among the coastal people know they were elegantly adored with all kinds of no natural and no natural object economically okay the sunand were known to be hunters and gatherers as you have noted although the S hunted in small
16:12 groups know they develop a highly and effective method for bringing down animals like Eland kudu Impala and Bush dog okay Bush BG using various staps know animal traps and Spears and arrows CED with poisonous no metals and vegetables okay so it was known among the sand that after a hunting a successful Hunting Expedition okay every part of the animal was consumed and this was why they are they were described as improvident no having no plan no for the future okay because all they made all the uh they realized from their hunting or gathering know
17:00 activities were usually consumed of course the skin the skin of those animals particularly consumed by the sand were used to produce clothing materials including bags so available uh another factors that shaped their activities was that the know the men particularly were predominantly involved in the hunting activities while they women and their children know produce some of these uh stuffs bags and all of that from the animal skins what about the food consumed by the know produced or consumed by the sand their food included basically only berries mongongo
17:47 nuts insects such as grass offers fruit and smaller animals such as tties and mo rats okay archaeological findings suggest that their women also obtain White roots and plant from uh more than 100 types of uh crops available in the region okay in addition to that there were also all of these actually know contribute to shapen their nutritional know diet and all of that the sun who lived closest to the coast particularly were also involved in fishing activities they CAU fish no they engage in rug love seals no it is possible that also they produce salt no
18:33 and no baskets and all the stuff or Cano for instance of fishing activities there was profound Cooperative system a communal systems know of network among the S people like know unlike their neighbors this Cooperative system of hunting and Gathering allowed the son to share food resources among the members of their families or Clan or kingship so this group range as you have noted from 10 to 60 people this of course was the smallest compared to the s to the B to the KO koi and the Bantu it range from 10 to 60 people but often of course with time shifted in size as a result of poly uh polygamy and as well as resettlement
19:21 and know of course natural loss from Death Or diseases also affected the demography of the sand people the S society as we have noted no has been described as egalitarian because of their emphasis on shared work responsibility and Leadership not choosing from a group of Elders and we've noted that between 20,000 and 15,000 NOC the S culture had developed to the point of burying no the dead in accordance with specific rights all right so they had a welldeveloped system know of emment or of how to embal or preserve their dead Okay so their spiritual belief system also centered around a single all powerful God as know
20:08 uh who as well as know smaller deities who were probably the ancestors the son enjoyed comfort in life like know other groups they live in small Clan groups of between 25 to 30 people and there was no concept of private property know among the people the idea that land is a land attached or attract an economic value was know simply not possible among the S because land was freely available for anybody who needed it for one economic activities or personal activities or the other all right but their territorial habitation was well defined okay people there was limit to which where people could go to when people settle in a new
20:55 land so those land were properly partition all right you know everybody had their own area of control or jurisdiction so for emphasis occupationally they were haunters and gatherers again they haunted and gathered food beyond their territories and they were no reputedly among the best trackers and the hunters in the world no they use various traps as we've mentioned dog traps to catch large animals living in Earth themselves caves or even Rock shelters of course during the Expeditions they simply set up camps in open in the open no and in this case this enabled them to trap various animals they were also great archers and
21:41 know their weapon consisted of bows and arrow Stones Uh Wood and all the stuff as I've mentioned the women used a digging stick for digging the Earth for food also no the only domestic animals are the sand actually uh domesticated kept was the dog which helped them in hunting activities okay so the tips of their arrows were also treated with plant and snake poison which help them to not tame many animals for instance and all the food know the produce or the garant was stored no for domestic consumption basically no no this like know vegetables fish honey like berries
22:27 insect roots and and all the stuff were consumed so they were manufacturers of cooking his tens to also their women particularly this also help to shape their modes of survival basically their food was eating either raw or roasted as we've noted in the class and their drink was basically Ms me or which is a wine made from root and on they also smoke dagger which I've mentioned when we looking at can okay which is a kind of root stimulant no there was also some rudimentary trade activities among the sand people whereby product of their hunting were exchanged for port for iron for iron uh produ C
23:15 from their B two neighbors so the economy of the sand people the economic history of the sand is essentially a history of constant search for food supply which was always precarious difficult know and given they are very simple political institution they are loose social organization and precarious economic systems no it is not surprising that no they wielded under continuous pressure for uh from better organized and no better endowed groups like The KO koi and the B it was not difficult for them to be dislodged or for them to be no reduced by this no prominent or sophisticated uh groups okay so the notion of land ownership remained
24:02 questionable since the land the some people were highly IM mobile no they are largely no mobile moving from one place to the other so it is questionable whether the S really know had control over land as it's been argued by the Dutch that when the Dutch came they never met the Sun and this is a reflection of the fact that the sun people no where I mobile no they didn't probably have structure physical structures around the land they claim to own and this actually affected their history politically speaking the son developed a very simple political system as Hunters as gatherers know they
24:47 traveled about in Clans in groups of about 300 people maximum and each Clan had a war leader who may have no very little in institutionalized Authority as you have noted so this is quite different from know the Bantu particularly all right so this clan leader or War leader among the San people know only at most had ritual power know ritual Authority especially as a rain maker okay so this his political Authority was very very weak no ad Clan member took decision after Democratic discussions among themselves no among the clan as s Society so in summary we've noted that the S were know
25:33 one of the earliest people who settled in southern Africa dur since the Stone Age period but ultimately they were destroyed around in around 1652 no by the first Europeans that arrived in South Africa because they were quite inferior and unexposed and they were seen as no described to use some as white animal in the words of some of these European no Anthropologist who have written about them that explains where the derogatory tag no Bushmen came from of course because indeed know the social organization of the S people was quite very very weak all right by the time they encountered the European so the extermination of the S saw the death of
26:20 over 200,000 of the S people why some of them were sold into slavery and this affected you know their population in southern Africa I think in this section we have been able to look at the history brief history of s people in southern Africa thank you very much
