HISTORY

HUNTER-GATHERERS AND HERDERS IN SOUTH AFRICA

The way people lived together a long time ago was very different to how we live today

The first people to live in South Africa were known as the SAN.

The San were hunter-gathers.

The San men hunted wild animals for meat.

The San women gathered plants for food.

HOW DO WE FIND OUT ABOUT HUNTER-GATHERERS AND

HERDERS

Important Definitions

Observation – to watch or study someone or something.

Ethnography – learning and understanding how people lived a long time ago through
observing people who live in the same way today.

The hunter gathers were the San.

The herders were the Khoikhoi.

The San and the Khoikhoi did not write. This is why historians were unable to learn
more about these groups – the historians were unable to read anything that these
groups wrote because nothing was written down.

Historians had to learn about the way that these groups lived by:

 Finding out about the stories they told

 Studying the objects they made

 Studying the rock art they painted

 Reading books that have been written about them in modern times

 By observing the lives of people who lives in a similar way.

STORIES

A story about a woman collecting food:

We gather in groups. We use digging sticks, which the men make for us. One root can
take about twenty minutes to dig up. We also take containers with us to carry the
food we have gathered. But the main weight we have to carry is the weight of our
children. Our children are fed on breastmilk until they are four and we take them
wherever we go.
The San men hunted wild animals for meat.

The song that the San sang after they had eaten the meat.

We are happy now.

Our hearts are shining.

We have eaten.

When we do not have meat

My heart is sad from hunger,

Like an old man, sick and slow.

When we have meat, my heart is lively.

OBSERVING

There are still San people who are alive and still live in South Africa.

The San and Khoikhoi of today, do not live like they used to in the olden days. They
have lost their land. They have been forced to change their way of life.

Today, some San live in the deserts of South Africa. It is through these people that
we are able to find out information about how the San people, before them, had lived.
This can be done by talking to the San people of today and by observing those that
live in a similar way. When we observe people who live in a similar way to the people
who lived long ago, we call this ethnography.
Cameras were not invented when the first people lived in South Africa, so it is
important to remember that photos of the San are recent.

The San Hunter-Gatherer Society in the Later Stone Age

Important Definitions

Stone Age – thousands of years ago when people made tools out of stone.

Environment – the natural world of land, water, air and plants.

Hunter-gathers – people who hunt wild animals and who collect or gather wild plants
to eat.

Nomadic – people who have no fixed home and constantly move from place to place to
search for food and water.

THE SAN LIVED OFF THE ENVIRONMENT

The San:

 were the first people to live in South Africa

 made tools out of stone

The time in history when people made tools out of stone is called the STONE AGE

The San of the Stone Age lived off the environment. This is why they were called
hunter-gatherers. They lived off of what the land gave them. The men hunted wild
animals for meat. The women gathered wild honey and plant food from nuts, roots and
fruits.
In the dry seasons, water was very hard to find. The women had to dig holes in the
sand to find water. The women also scraped and squeezed roots for the moisture in
them. The women then stored the water in ostrich eggshells. They closed the hole in
the ostrich egg with a grass or clay plug.

In the dry seasons, the San could drink from the ostrich shell. They could also bury
the ostrich shells underground because the ostrich shell is very hard.

All San hunter-gatherers did these things:

 they got their food and water from the environment

 they did not grow crops or keep animals
 they did not damage the environment too much
 they made tools from stone and bone

THE SAN LIVED IN SMALL GROUPS

The San were nomadic which means that they did not have a fixed home and because
of this they moved from place to place for food and water. The key point here is that
they did not settle in one place. They lived in small groups or families, and they had
very few belongings.
Hunter-gatherers shared what they had. By sharing everything, they avoided jealousy
and it made everyone equal.

Medicine from Plants

Plants have been used for medicine throughout history.

The San had a very good knowledge of all the plants in their environment. They used
the different plants to treat wounds and to heal many illnesses.

The San women went out in groups to go and collect plants for food. They also
collected plants for medicine.

The Hoodia plant:

 has a bitter taste

 stops hunger and thirst (when eaten)
 the San hunters chewed on this when they went hunting
The Buchu plant:

 cures stomach aches

Bushman’s Poison:

 contains a milky juice

 the juice was used to put poison on the tips of their hunting arrows

The Sickle bush:

 the roots were chewed and smeared it onto a snake bite wound
 the bark was used for headaches and toothaches
 The Hunt and The Bow and Arrow

Important Definitions

Game – wild animals, birds or fish that is hunted for food.

Poison – a substance that can harm or kill you if it is in your body.

Stamina – energy or strength that lasts for longer periods of time.

Tracking – to follow the trail of an animal.

Prey – an animal that is hunted or caught for food.

Wild animal – an animal that lives in the wild. It is not tame.

San men used bow and arrows to hunt game (wild animals hunted for food).

The San traditionally used bows and arrows to hunt.

How the San made their bows and arrows:

 The bow was made from a straight, tough, elastic branch.

 The bow string was made from rolled strips from the back muscles of a
gemsbok.
 The arrow was made from stone or bone.
The San carefully put the poison behind the point of the arrow.
The San took care that they had no cuts on their fingers when they worked
with the poison.
  The deadliest of poisons that the San used had come from a small beetle. The
poison was put behind the point of the arrow. They did this to be safe in case
the hunter got scratched and accidentally touched the point of the arrow.

THE HUNT

The San men were very good at tracking and hunting. The San hunters were very fit
and had a lot of stamina to hunt large animals. They had a brilliant sense of direction
and an understanding of the environment. Sometimes, they had to follow a herd for
many days before they could get close enough to shoot one of the animals. When an
animal was shot with the poisoned arrow, the poison entered the bloodstream od the
animal and it slowly paralysed the animal. The bigger the animal, the longer it took to
collapse.

The hunters had to follow the animal they had shot until it fell to the ground. The
place where the arrow was, was cut out and thrown away, but the San ate the rest of
the animal.

The San used long sharpened spears to kill the wild animal. The men then used sharp
stone tools so that they could skin the animal and then cut up the meat. After the
animal was killed, all the San people would feast on the animal and then they would
dance around the fire.
 What did the San Believe?

Important Definitions

Eland – a large antelope.

Trance – being aware of the spirit world through being in a special state.

Shaman – a person who is able to enter the invisible spirit world to ask for help.

The San had religious belief to help them with their everyday lives. Religion is the
belief in a god, a group of gods or the belief in the spirit world. People practise their
beliefs by following a system of beliefs, ceremonies and rules.

The San called their god /Kaggen. /Kaggen was the creator of all things. They
believed that /Kaggen could turn into an eland (a large type of antelope). To be able
to meet with /Kaggen in the form of an eland, the San had to perform a trance dance
at night when they were around a fire.

A San shaman could be a man or a woman who had entered a trance state. The trance
dance helped the shaman to enter the spirit world. Through the trance dance, the
San shaman could make contact with /Kaggen in the form of an eland. While in the
trance state, the shame was given the power of /Kaggen to protect and heal
everyone.

Sometimes, what the shaman had experienced in the spirit world, was painted onto
rocks. This is known as San rock art.
 San Rock Art

Important Definitions

Archaeologist – a person who studies the left behind objects of people who lived a
long time ago.

Identity – specific characteristics of a person or a group of people.

Symbol – a sign that stands for something else. It is a picture that means a specific
thing.

Motto – a short saying with a special meaning.

Coat of Arms – pictures that have a special meaning and appear on a shield.

History is written by using different kinds of information.

We get information from:

 People’s writings
 Stories
 Pictures
 Objects

Social scientists who study objects to find out how people lived are known as
archaeologists.

Archaeologists investigate the places where people lived and they looked for objects
that people had left behind. The things that people made, collected, kept and threw
away tell us a lot about how they lived.
 HOW AN ARCHAEOLOGIST EXPLAINS SAN ROCK ART

Archaeologists made a special study of the rock are that was made by the San.

Many of the people who created the San rock art had died a long time before
archaeologists had tried to find out why certain pictures were painted. This is why it
is very difficult to work out the meaning of San rock paintings.

Archaeologists had many discussions and arguments about what the rock art is about.
It was once believed that San paintings were just simple, child-like drawings of
animals and humans experiencing daily life. Today, archaeologists have discovered
that these rock art paintings are filled with religious symbols and feelings.

The colours that were mainly used in rock art are:

 Red
 Yellow
 White
 Black

When the San painted, they only made use of natural materials (things from nature).

The San painters used tiny brushes that they had made from feathers or hair which
was stuck onto the ends of reeds.

Red, orange, and purple were made by heating iron that had rusted and then grinding
it into a powder.

Eland’s blood was used to hold the paint together (think of mixing water with flour or
another form of powder).

White paint was made from white clay. The white paint faded more quickly than the
other colours. White paint was also used to pain the faces. The while colour has now
disappeared as time has progressed.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN COAT OF ARMS

The South African flag, the national anthem and the coat of arms are all symbols of
our identity as South Africans.
The coat of arms is a collection of pictures on a shield. It also has its own motto. The
motto is a short sentence that tells us about the beliefs of our country. The shield is
a symbol of protection. The pictures on the shield are symbols of the things that are
special about our country. San rock art is a part of our coat of arms.

The pictures that appear on the coat of arms are:

 The rising sun

 A protea
 A knobkerrie
 A shield
 The secretary bird
 Elephant tusks
 A spear
 Two San figures
 Ears of wheat
The motto for the South African coat of arms is: !ke e:/xarra//ke. It means:
“People who are different join together.”

THE LINTON ROCK ART PANEL

The people in the centre of the coat of arms comes from a San rock art painting
called the Linton Panel. A piece of the rock art was removed from a farm called
Linton in the Eastern Cape. It was sent to the South African Museum in Cape Town
where it is not on display. The panel is kept inside in order to keep it protected from
the sun, wind and rain and from anyone who may damage it.

THE KHOIKHOI HERDER SOCIETY IN THE LATER STONE AGE

2000 years ago, the Khoikhoi arrived in the South-West of Southern Africa.

They came from further North.

The Khoikhoi had a different way of life compared to the San.

The Khoikhoi herded cattle.

The Khoikhoi kept larges groups of animals, such as sheep, goats and cattle.

Important Definitions

Herder – a person who lived by keeping livestock.

Herd – a large group of animals.

Grazing – animals that eat grass in the veld.

Livestock – animals like cattle, sheep, goats and oxen.

Pastoralist – a person who looks after livestock.

Inferior – the feeling or thought of being less important than someone else.

Competition – an attempt to do better than another person or group.

Co-operate – to work together with someone.

The Khoikhoi had a different way of life in comparison to the San.

PASTORAL WAY OF LIFE

The Khoikhoi were herders because they kept herds of animals, such as sheep, goats
and cattle. They were also nomadic. They did not have permanent homes and they
moved around. When the summer ended and winter began, the Khoikhoi looked for the
best grazing for their livestock. The Khoikhoi were pastoralists because they looked
after the livestock they had.

The Khoikhoi did not have many belongings. When they moved, they used their animals
to help them to transport what they had.

The Khoikhoi were herders but they also got their food by hunting and gathering.
Cattle were seen as special animals, and a sign of wealth. The Khoikhoi only killed
(sacrificed) cattle at:

 Religious ceremonies
 When children were born
  At a wedding
 When someone died

The Khoikhoi and the San had these things in common:

 Men hunted for meat

 Women gathered plant food
 They made tools from stone

HOW SAN AND KHOIKHOI SHARED THE SAME LANDSCAPE

The Khoikhoi thought that the San were inferior to them because the San did not
keep livestock. The relationship between the San and the Khoikhoi was not always
peaceful. There was competition between the San and the Khoikhoi for game (wild
animals hunted for food). This lead to the big herds of wild game getting smaller.
When the San could not find any wild game, they stole the Khoikhoi’s cattle in order
to get meat.

The Khoikhoi then began to organise themselves into larger groups to fight against
the cattle-raiding San.

Some San moved away into the mountains and desert areas. Others co-operated with
the Khoikhoi and those San people became the Khoikhoi’s servants. Over time, many
of the San men had married the Khoikhoi women and those men got their own
livestock. These groups then became known as the Khoisan.