Deception Valley - The San Bushmen

High Tea

We enjoy some refreshing lemon-ginger iced tea along with a beef slice and orange cake before going out for the afternoon.

San Bushmen

This afternoon we are not going on a game drive, instead, we are off to meet the Indigenous hunter-gatherers who make the Kalahari their home.

The San are the oldest surviving cultures in Southern Africa, where they have lived for at least 20 000 years, with some sources stating that their imprint can be traced back 45,000 years. Currently there are approximately 5,000 members remaining in this particular area.

The term "San" means "foragers" and was traditionally used by Westerners to describe people too poor to have cattle. The San refer to themselves as their individual nations, such as those from the Naru tribe that we are visiting today.

The San were also referred to as Bushmen, but this term has since been abandoned as it is considered derogatory as it came from the Dutch term, 'bossiesman', which meant 'bandit' or 'outlaw'.

The languages the San people speak is characterised by impossible-sounding 'clicks', and I am very impressed by Moscow, who can understand what they are saying and is able to translate their explanations for us.

Moscow, our wonderful guide

The San are descendants of Early Stone Age ancestors. As hunter-gatherers, they follow seasonal game migrations making their homes in caves, under rocky overhangs, or in temporary shelters (much as the Hadzabe people, who we visited in Tanzania, do).

Foragers

The San do not domesticate animals or cultivate crops, although their knowledge of flora and fauna is vast. The San women, who are the main gatherers (while the men do most of the hunting), know which plants to collect for nutritional or medicinal value, and which to avoid for their poisonous nature. The main food items they forage are fruit, berries, mushrooms, tubers, bush onions, wild melons, and other edible plants. The San make use of over 100 edible species of plant. The vegetables harvested by the women make up about 75% of their intake.

Clothing

Traditional clothing for women when they are foraging includes a cloak called a kaross used to carry foodstuffs or firewood, a digging stick, and a smaller bag.

Water

As the San people call the hot, expansive semi-arid Kalahari Desert (more accurately described as a savanna) their home, it is only natural that water is of utmost importance. During extended periods of drought, the San create sip wells to collect water. A deep hole is produced, with a long hollow straw inserted into the hole. Water is sucked through the straw and transferred to an ostrich egg for storage.

We are also shown how they crack open a large tuber for the liquid inside, unfortunately, I didn’t catch the details surrounding it.

Hunters

We are shown how the men use the poison from small beetle larvae to dip the point of the arrow. This poison is highly toxic and is greatly feared and respected by the San themselves.

For their own safety, they reverse the point of the arrow so that the poison is safely contained within the reed collar. It is also never smeared on the point itself, but just below it - thus preventing fatal accidents.

The arrow consists of four components. The point is fitted into a 'link', which is tapered at either end and held in place by a reed collar.

The link is fitted to the shaft in such a way that, when the arrow strikes its target, the impact breaks the link free from the shaft, reducing the likelihood of the head working loose, as there is less weight hanging from it. This also means that the animal cannot easily dislodge the point by rubbing against a tree.

The poison is applied just behind the point, and the arrowhead has to stay in the animal for some time to ensure that the poison is adequately absorbed into the animal's system. The man who owns the arrow that killed the animal has the privilege of distributing the meat, according to rules of kinship, ensuring that everyone receives a portion. Sharing, and the relative equality of all group members, are important features of San societies.

San trackers will follow the 'spoor' (tracks) of an animal to find a suitable target, and their hunting skills are legendary. On discovering where a herd has gathered, they immediately check the direction of the wind by throwing a handful of dust into the air.

Normally they will try and crawl on their bellies until they are near enough to fire the poined arrow.

The effect of the poison is not instantaneous, and the hunters sometimes have to track the animal for some time before it dies and they are able to collect the meat. The timescale depends on the size of the animal, from just a few hours for a small antelope to several days for larger prey such as a giraffe or eland.

The poison does not contaminate the whole animal, meaning the hunters can cut away the spot where the arrow has struck, leaving the rest of the meat fit to eat. 

They hunt almost anything edible, such as antelopes, zebra, hares, porcupines, and mongoose, as well as larger animals including hyenas and giraffes, and even lions. While larger targets feed the whole clan, smaller animals are also hunted: snakes, tortoises, various insects, and fish. Insects make up around 10% of their diet, especially in the dry season, including grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, moths, butterflies, and termites.

The meat is boiled or roasted on a fire before the person who killed the animal distributes it to family members, the rest of the tribe, and visitors if there is enough. According to San tradition, they were welcome to share the meal and would, in the future, have to respond in the same way. However, plant foods, gathered by the womenfolk, are not shared but eaten by the woman's immediate family. Every part of the animal is used, not just the meat. The hides are tanned for blankets and the bones are cracked for the marrow.

Homes

The San women are responsible for building the dome-shaped grass huts the clans live in during the drier months (shelters such as caves are preferred during the rainy season).

Fire

The men show us how they make fire the traditional way by rubbing two sticks together.

Dance

Of prime importance in all San groups is a ritual dance that serves to heal the group. We are shown a very short version of the nightly long-lasting trance dance which is perceived as a healing ceremony where supernatural powers of the sacred eland are awakened to help cure any diseases.

Pre Dinner Drinks

Back at the lodge, we sit on the terrace looking out over the grounds, where the honeybadgers (there are five of them) are busy eating the scraps thrown out from the kitchen.

These seem to be more than just good friends

A porcupine joins in the fun.

Dinner

Starter - beef carpaccio - very nice and fresh

Fillet steak with sweet potato purée and roasted vegetables. Although well done (I prefer mine rare), it is very pleasant and quite tender

Milk pudding for dessert, a local specialty similar to a custard tart

Although not a fan of large tables for dinner, I have to confess we have a very enjoyable evening, sharing fun and laughter with Americans and Dutch travellers.

After dinner, we sit for a while admiring the awesome African night sky.

Goodnight from Central Kalahari and thank you to Undiscovered Destinations and their local teams for making this dream trip come true.