Meeting the San

Bonjour,

Before we left Namibia and made the long journey back to Morocco, we arranged a visit to a traditional San ("bushmen") village, where the villagers themselves lead visitors through their community and the nearby bush. (Note: while some indigenous people do not like the use of the name "bushmen", which can have pejorative connotations, the San village we visited itself uses this name and did not seem to find it offensive).

Few of the San still live in villages like the one we visited. Only about 55,000 San still survive at all, and most live in Botswana and Namibia. Some apparently live in terrible conditions, although this did not seem to be true of the people we visited, perhaps because of the money they earn through visits like ours. The relationship between the San and the governments of Botswana (and likely Namibia) seems to be complex and uneasy, particularly given the tensions between the San's traditional ways and governmental efforts to "modernize" them.

During our visit, one of the younger women, who seemed to be a young leader in the village, translated the click-filled language, as others led us into the bush.

There they showed us the holes in trees that fill with rainwater. San hunters keep a long, hollow stick in their quivers and when on long hunts, will drink the water from the trees.

They also showed us the various plants they use for medicines, including one that had roots that smelled just like Ben Gay and is mixed with animal fat to make a paste for joint aches.

Back in the village, they taught us how to build a fire using a bit of sand, a stick, a grooved piece of wood and some grass. (As Anna and Tommy discovered, it is much harder than it looks).

They then helped Anna and Tommy to make a working bow, using a fresh stick we found on our walk and twine made by twisting plant fibers...

Of course, then we needed lessons in how to use the bow and the metal-tipped and poison-dipped arrows, having already been shown how to rig a snare. (Naturally, we brought back to Morocco two of the bows and lots of sharp, metal-tipped arrows -- hopefully, as promised, with the poison removed from the arrow tips -- where Anna and Tommy continue to have "target practice".)

For some inexplicable reason, the Namibian government no longer allows the San to hunt on their lands (which are technically owned by the government). They are not even allowed to snare birds as the government apparently prefers that they raise cattle. (They must not get much meat, however: When we gave them some leftover kudu steak we brought, they quickly divided it up and gobbled it down).

While there, we also saw the women groom each other and making ostrich egg shell jewelery. At first, it seemed that the women were picking out lice or other bugs. They weren't. The women were plucking out every gray hair they could find, which means that older women have lots of bald spots on their heads but no gray hair. (Fortunately for some people, i.e., Bob, the men seem less concerned with gray, and they didn't start in on him.)

Before leaving, we watched them sing a traditional song and received a blessing by one of the medicine men to expel any evil spirits.

Although many of these San now send their children to the local school (the money we paid for our visit goes toward school fees and books, helping older villagers and a shared car for the village), and some young adults leave to go work on big ranches, others still live as their ancestors did and in the clothes you see here (despite frequent visits from white foreigners and other Namibians).

We learned about traditional marriage customs (all marriages are arranged by parents), this village's relative escape (so far) from the AIDS epidemic (although it is a growing problem as more young people leave to work on big ranches), and the remarkable good health (and longevity) of the people despite the lack of Western-style medical care, at least in this village.

Our visit felt sort of magical, not touristy or gimmicky, and Anna and Tommy loved it. If left to their own devices, Anna and Tommy would have gone back and spent a week or two just living with the San.

A bientot,

Kim