Engaging Difference The Khoisan Cultural Group Research Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 3393 words ( 11 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 10

Page 1 of 11

Introduction

There were many groups of people that lived around the South African shores and beyond, long before settlers set foot there. The people named the Khoisan were expert gatherers and hunters while other nomadic tribes also had made home, the coastal strip and the hinterland (Schapera, 1965). Khoisan is a name that was coined from combining the Khoikhoi and the San communities which shared their culture and language. However, it should not be construed that the two were, in any way, a homogenous group. Indeed, they lived separately from each other. They also had different means of survival on the land.

The Khoikhoi people were renowned pastoralists. They kept large cattle herds across the country that they occupied. It has been documented that the Khoikhoi migrated to South Africa from Botswana. Others are said to have moved to the Cape via the Kalahari. Another group headed towards the uplands of South Africa(McGranaghan, 2015; Russell, 2017). On their part, the San had large territories that are said to have spanned Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Lesotho, South Africa and Zimbabwe. They are hunter gatherers who are regarded as the first community to have settled in Botswana and South Africa. The San were half nomadic. They seemed to only move when they could not find water and animals (McGranaghan, 2015).

The mid 1600s saw the arrival of Europeans and with them the unwanted turn of events for the Khoisan. The settlers laid claim to the land that the Khoisan used. Some settlers even built fences around pieces of land they claimed were theirs. A lot of the settlers persecuted the people they came in contact with on these lands directly. Factors such as the constriction of grazing lands, limited resourced, imported diseases, exploitation and numerous other conflicts impacted on the Khoi and the San a great deal. The population of the local communities declined drastically. The situation was, further, aggravated by the arrival Apartheid several years later. The Khoisan subsequently became endangered in South Africa. Another factor that affected the Khoisan is the change of climate at the time (Sadr, 1997; McGranaghan, 2015). This essay seeks to examine the Khoisan culture and deduce how modern government policy in South Africa affects them, with regard to the mainstream society.

Khoisan culture

The San are also known as the Bushmen. The term Khoisan is used to refer to the two communities, i. e the Khoikhoi and the Khoisan combined as thouth they were homogenous, and shared culture. The truth is that the two groups were culturally distinct. Historical accounts state that the Khoikhoi referred to themselves as the real people( Khoi-na) for purposes of distinguishing themselves from the likes of the San. The term Bushmen was first used by the colonialists. The latter group was much smaller in size and lived off the veld. They did not keep cattle but hunted and gathered fruits, honey, roots and tubers for survival (Brand, 2000). The Khoikhoi were expert herders. They kept large cattle herds and sheep. The group lived in large subgroups organized on the basis of clan system. They practiced exogamy; which involves choosing a partner for marriage from a group that one is not a member. Consequently, marriage served widely as a uniting social activity between groups that are different.

Among the San, people were regarded as equal. On the other hand, among the Khoikhoi, there were social hierarchies. Stock owners were viewed as wealthy people; those that had no stock were largely servants. There were also those who would provide hired labour in taking care of the cattle. A lamb was a common form of payment for the service of assisting the in the job of herding cattle for the wealthy stockers. The Khoikhoi social set up was such that it was organized based patrilineal clan. A headman’s authority was recognized by every village among them. The position of headman was passed on from a father to first born son. A tribe constituted several villages. The size of the tribe could be anything from a couple of hundreds to thousands of people (Brand, 2000)

Clans could access resources within their tribal area without restriction. If another tribe wanted to access such resources as fruit, vegetable or game, they had to b granted permission by the chief of the area. Predictably, water was highly important in the lives of the Khoikhoi people. I was, therefore understood that outsiders could be granted permission to use water if they sought permission from the local leader, the chief. The Khoikhoi culture was such the chief never owned any land or property on that land because it was law among the community that land could not be owned by individual people (Brand, 2000).

Stuck Writing Your "Engaging Difference The Khoisan Cultural Group" Research Paper?

View All Our Example Engaging Difference The Khoisan Cultural Group Research Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

It is also important to note that the rights to use the resources on the land were only granted temporarily.

The Khoikhoi relied heavily on cattle herding for their survival and culture, in general. They had an intricate social system with stringent rules with social authority that governed the life of each member of the community; including birth, puberty and adult life. Rituals were an important part of birth, death and marriage functions. Such tenets of the existence of the Khoikhoi were commonly misunderstood, especially by the early explorers and the colonial rulers. Fot the newcomers, they construed the intricate Khoikhoi culture to be a sign of savagery, and likened it to the life of animals.

The Khoisan lived in small villages which together formed a large settlement. They lived in groups of over a hundred people. They used a round hut for their house which they called matjioeshuis. The hut was made of branches of a tree that were planted into the ground. They were tied together carefully and bent over (Schapera, 1965). The roof was reinforces with other materials to reduce infiltration of direct wind and the elements. These structures could be uprooted and relocated depending on the availability of grazing pasture. The reed mats,…

[…… parts of this paper are missing, click here to view the entire document ]

…date was several decades after the white settlers had occupied the lands that were originally owned by the Khoisan. Any Khoisans that managed to retain their land cannot maintain it. Few resources are being directed by the government to try and improve the lives of the people in the remote South African regions occupied by the Khoisan.

1. Socio-economic situation

As it were, the Khoisan are not a homogenous group. They speak different languages and carry out and different cultural practices. They also have varying levels of economic progress among them. The San and the Nama are regarded as the poorest groups among the Khoisan and South Africa. They have been branded as the rural poor by those who dominate the economy. Many Khoisans are deployed as manual labourers and herders of sheep with no tenure rights and security in their terms of work. They are poorly paid in the seasonal wage deployments. The youth, women and children are especially vulnerable and are subject to violence, discrimination, drug abuse, suicide, alcoholism and prostitution. The most worrying trend for the women of Khoisan descent is the rising level of violence against them and their children and youth using weapons (Maylam, 2017; McGranaghan, 2015).

The Khoisan are concerned further that the affirmative action in the legislation does not seem to capture the Khoisan women in matters of equity and employment. It is reasonable, therefore, that the Khoisan, are considered among the Coloured people, even though the Khoisan people do not consider themselves as such. Issues have been raised regarding the practical use of the affirmative action at the places of work (Maylam, 2017). It has been argued by some that it is only the dominant black groups and the politically right that benefit from the affirmative action in terms of employment opportunities.

1. The coat of arms reflects their existence but their language is ignored at national level

Although the new coat of arms recognizes the Khoisan, the community’s leaders claim that the government has consistently ignored them. It is rare for the political leaders to have meetings to discuss issues with eh Khoisan leaders. The Khoisan languages are not among the 11 official languages of South Africa (Adhikari, 2005). The languages spoken by the Khoisan are recognized as some of the most complex, globally. The decline of their socio-cultural strength may be signalling the death of these languages.

1. The death of a culture

The Khoian are fighting to maintain their traditional fabric. The hunter gatherer lifestyle is clearly ebbing away. Most of the Khoisan have resorted to adopting the modern lifestyle. Many have chosen to engage in agricultural activities. Their hunting and gathering skills are disappearing (Hobson, 2018). Other causes for such decline are the legislation in some of the countries where they once hunted freely. They are prevented from doing so by law. Modern western culture has diluted the industrious and creative arts of jewellery, cloth and weapon making.

1. The protest….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Engaging Difference The Khoisan Cultural Group" (2018, November 05) Retrieved June 25, 2025, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/engaging-difference-khoisan-cultural-group-2173438

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Engaging Difference The Khoisan Cultural Group" 05 November 2018. Web.25 June. 2025. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/engaging-difference-khoisan-cultural-group-2173438>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Engaging Difference The Khoisan Cultural Group", 05 November 2018, Accessed.25 June. 2025,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/engaging-difference-khoisan-cultural-group-2173438
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example