Nations of South Africa: The San

 The SAN people are the oldest inhabitants currently still living in Africa. It appears that they have been around for more that 20000 years. These people are sometimes also known as “Bushmen”. Although in modern times this is consider derogatory.

The San are traditionally hunter-gatherers. The larger San groups are normally made up of smaller family groups, which might number anything from 5-25 people. These smaller family groups will from time to time join up for marriage or religious ceremonies.

Numerous dialects are spoken but in all these, the typical “click” sounds of primitive early language are distinctive. The San people are not related to the black tribes (bantu) of Africa, but are descendants of much earlier stone age people. The do not domesticate animals or plant crops, although this happens on small scale in modern times. Some groups of San moved from the south-western areas, southwards into Africa and later evolved into two groups know as the “Khoikhoi” or “Hottentot”.

The San are excellent trackers and sometimes they will be used by the army to follow tracks (spoor) that might be totally invisible to the eyes of others. There knowledge of the surrounding area, bush-craft and plants is vast and therefore they managed to survive in desert areas, where most other people would never have been able to.

At the same time the San occupied the south western parts of Africa (Northwest South Africa, Southern Botswana and Southern Namibia). During the 16^th century, black tribes started migrating south on the eastern side of southern Africa. These tribes and the San sometimes came into violent conflict, as the San were hunters and the black people mainly kept cattle. In some cases, like the Tswana group, some inter marriage caused the integration of some San customs and even language into the black language.

When Europeans arrived in southern Africa (1652), the San were severely under pressure from them, as well as black tribes. They were outnumbered by the blacks and outgunned by the whites. During battles, the San warriors would rather fight to the death, than be captured or put into slavery. With colonialism, the large animal herd numbers dwindled, as hunters were extremely active. The San relied on these animals for survival and this also caused their numbers to dwindle.

Decisions in the San culture are normally reached by consensus. Every mature person in the group has to right to be heard and this often leads to lengthy discussions. In certain activities, such as hunting, one person might take leadership, but no-one is ever allowed to take any position of general power in the group. This lead to much confusion, as the colonists and black tribes could never make treaties with the san as a group.

The San believe that there is a powerful and supreme god, but they also have several lesser gods. Homage is also paid to deceased ancestors. One of the important spiritual beings that the San always have to appease is the “Kaggen” or “trickster”. In many San myths, this spirit appears as being foolish or tiresome to the people.

Ritual dancing forms an integral part of San culture and the belief system. Dances are meant to heal the group as a whole, but also to bring rain and good hunting opportunities. During these dances the dancers would sometimes go into a trance-like state and it is believed that they enter the spirit realm. They could then ask for the sick to be healed by the gods or ancestral spirits.

The San are also known for producing some of the oldest rock art ever to be found on earth. Typically animals, daily life, hunting scenes and religious scenes were painted. In many cases these art sites were damaged, but in South Africa, many sites are now also protected by law.

The San people have for the most part lost all their land rights, although there are court cases ongoing with a view to rectify this. Very few of them still live the traditional life and most live at the bottom end of the social scale. Alcoholism, poverty, prostitution and despair mark the San in today’s world. Several non governmental organizations are however doing their best to help these people and even in San communities self help organizations are coming into being. It should also be noted that the San’s existence as a separate tribal group is under severe pressure due to integration with other tribes and western society.