San Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert

The San Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert A well-known foraging community in the southwest region of Africa is the San Bushmen. These track down and gathering bands have lived in the Kalahari Desert region for thousands of years. The men of these communities atomic number 18 the primary hunters, who provide most 20 percent of the viands from the animals they kill. The women furl a various nuts, tubers, melons, and berries that provide the other 80 percent of the San diet (Nowak & Laird, 2010).The San live in one of the most marginal environments in the creative activity and generally move around in bands when hunting or sequence moving around to find weewee or food about two to three dates a week. Women can collect generous food in one day to feed their families for a abundant week, while men hunt two or three days a week. Ve keep upation is found in the same place either year, whereas animals be less reliably found in a special(prenominal) location. Thus, womens knowledg e about reliable locations to find food is respected and ill considered.The rest of the time is spent in leisurely pursuits visiting, playing, sleeping, and just enjoying all(prenominal) others company (Lee, 1979). Like other foragers, have many hours of free time for leisure activities, including socializing with their kin and friends. San men vary widely in their skill at hunting, but different levels of success do not lead to differences in status. Self-deprecation and understatement are rigorously required of the hunter after a palmy hunt. This modesty is evident from the moment he enters the settlement to relay his news.Although an energetic man might be a successful hunter, he is the owner of the meat only if the spear or arrow use to kill the animal was his. A man who does not transcend at hunting can therefore be successful by giving an arrow he made to another hunter. If his arrow was used in the kill, he is considered the owner of the meat (Shostak, 1981). When looki ng generalized reciprocity from the outside, one would think a hunter, who chooses to share his kill among others is being really generous. However, the real reason behind this is that it enhances their survival. Without collectively sharing, the San life would be ofttimes harder.This way of life helps relieve tensions and strengthens their bonds of kinship. Reciprocity helps foragers in the way of a safety net. If a community loses a food or water source, they can ask another community to share theirs. As outlying(prenominal) as ownership is c at oncerned, the San, have rights to waterholes, and if others want to use the waterhole, they must get permission. By sharing the use of the waterhole, the community receiving the water will settle with in the future with other goods or services. Other forms of ownership acknowledge tools, such as blowpipes, darts, digging sticks, and animals.Today, the San are having trouble maintaining their identity, their traditions and their cultu res. The land that was once free to them is being inviten away and used for game reserves and other purposes. Forcing them to move from their lands disrupts and weakens their kinship. Kinship in todays companionship can go either way. It can be cohesive or disconnected due to the nature or patterns of how the relationship was built. If a kidskin for instance had a great relationship with his/her family while growing up, they are more likely to have a great relationship passim their lives and continue respecting their family and others.If the opposite applies, as it unfortunately happens in todays world, they grow up to believe that they are an island and if they do not take care of themselves, no one else will. References Nowak, B. , & Laird, P. (2010). Cultural anthropology. San Diego, Bridgepoint Education, Inc. https//content. ashford. edu. Lee, R. (1979). The Kung San Men, women and work in a foraging society. Melbourne, Australia Cambridge University Press. Shostak, M. (19 81). Nisa The life and words of a Kung woman. New York Vintage.