Judge Not

By Charles Armstrong

Judge Not is based in history, but it is so compellingly told that readers will quickly feel they are one of its characters. It is the complete event packed story of Southern Africa and all its peoples from then to now. Engrossingly told in adventure-filled stages, the reader is effortlessly transported from the first footprints of the San tribesmen out of Ethiopia. Then the original BaNtu peoples in a millennial long migration out of Guinea down the face of Africa.Their evolution is told in fascinating adventure filled stages, including the ancient civilization of Great Zimbabwe. In several engrossing chapters the story of European colonization is recounted, including its effects then and the ultimate far reaching consequences. The riviting and poignant pioneering journey of the Dutch Colonists in their Great Trek away from the Cape, is a virtual a history in itself. In subsequent eventful chapters, told in vivid detail, all the enthralling history of the Southern African people unfolds. All their journeys, beliefs, passions, lives, wars, and politics over these momentous last three centuries. These gripping historical events are related here in the drama which has brought them into the twenty-first century. The reader is effortlessly carried through each enthralling step in that journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charles Armstrong
• Release date: Apr 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224739189

Book preview

Prologue

To tell the story of the evolvement of the peoples of Southern Africa and their history in its fullest sense would fill many hundreds of volumes. It is not the intention of this author to attempt such. Nonetheless, this prologue is included for the reader to have a better understanding of the real meaning of the peoples, their societies and their evolvement in this book; especially those readers foreign to this land, and/or those, who together with the former, have over time been fed a patina of half-truths and some downright lies; by various politicians, political regimes and of course, the popular media. Based on actual history, the reader will be entertained, in a novel story style, to the lives, lifestyles, struggles, journeys, beliefs, fears and mannerisms of the everyday characters in this verbal tapestry. Quite apart from the fascinating historical journey, it is also both helpful and necessary to give an account of the origins of some of the many diverse peoples who now populate the independent sovereign states of Southern Africa. This background is also necessary to reveal the human soul of the vast Region as it has individually and collectively evolved from the dawn of its history till the present day.

——-oOo——-

Societies

The Ancient Migrations

Homo Sapiens

Our specie (Homo sapiens) is said to have evolved some 300,000 years ago from North East Africa in the Ethiopian region. Relatively speaking, shortly after that time, early mankind began migrating across the face of the Globe in all directions. Conceptually, the entire migration may be seen as the flow of lava from a volcano flowing across the face of the Globe. Visualise it as a slow, inexorable, continuous, undulating movement, of these many different peoples. Our story is initially concerned with the African migrations.

San

In terms of the Southern African migrations, the earliest to our knowledge was that of the San who refer to themselves as iKung. ‘San’ is the derogatory name which the much later Khoikhoi cattle herder people gave those ancient hunter gatherers when they first encountered them about 2,000 years ago. It means; ‘people who are too poor to own cattle, insofar as the ‘San’ people were hunter gatherers and not herders. It is known that these hunter gatherers ‘San’ / iKung people have populated various parts of the South West African Region, particularly the Kalahari, for some 22,000 years.

San Languages:

Glui Dialect – Gllana Languages;

Newer Migrations

BaNtu

Historians have it that somewhere between the years 200AD and 500AD a major migration took place from Gabon and Cameroon in Equatorial North West Africa to the regions of what are now the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), Angola, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania and the RSA (Republic of South Africa.) These people proceeded in a general southerly direction. Whether these migrations were from climate change, over-population or simply just wanderlust is for speculation. Circa 800 BC, these peoples had populated virtually the entire length and breadth of Equatorial Africa. Circa 1700 AD they had populated the entire Sub Equatorial Africa, length and breadth. Along the way however, through subjugation, alliance, integration or even necessity, some cultural ways became integrated and today commonalities can be found in tribes who live geographically far apart.

BaNtu languages

There are roughly seventy different languages spoken by African people of BaNtu origin. Additionally there are a number of dialects.

The Middle Age Societies

The BaNtu - Nguni speaking tribes

As far back as 10 centuries, the Arabians and Persians had been trading and slaving in Sub Saharan Africa along the Eastern seaboard and into the interior as far as present day Zimbabwe. These Sub Saharan Africans became culturally, socially and industrially sophisticated for their time through their recorded interaction with sophisticated Northern African tribes of Arabic origin.

European interest

In 1488 on a trip of discovery, Portuguese seafarer Bartholomeu Diaz discovered the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa). Then later in 1531 the Portuguese started exploring in Moçambique on the East Coast where they expended much energy and resources in their unsuccessful search for gold from the elusive ruler Munhumutapa. Later still, in 1652, the Portuguese had attempted colonization of Guinea and Angola on the West Coast, which incidentally, also greatly supported their trade in African slaves. They were not alone in this despicable practice; it was accepted around the world at that time. In that same year the Dutch began colonization of the Cape of Good Hope. By and large though, Southern Africa was ignored by Europeans until the early 16th Century. Even then, it was only a place for re-supplying their trade ships en route to and from the markets of the East.

European Colonization

Eventually, perhaps the greatest migratory shakeup, certainly as it applies to South Africa, began in the middle 17th Century. The Dutch had decided that the Cape of Good Hope (modern day Cape Town) would be a splendid halfway re-supply location for their ships bound for the East and again upon their return homeward. The European colonisation of the greatest portion of Southern Africa land had very modest beginnings indeed. It can be said to have truly started in 1652 when the Dutch East India Company (VOC) sailed into Table Bay (Present day - Cape Town Harbour). This however soon escalated into a colony and was later the cause of many conflicts between the Dutch, the local Indigene and still later, Great Britain.  Ultimately over time, across sub Equatorial Africa, the Europeans would include several other Imperial nations such as; Great Britain, France, Belgium, Germany and Portugal, who overwhelmed the indigenous peoples. Not in number, but certainly in technology, wealth, arms and therefore, power

War between Europeans

During these several past centuries, there was also conflict and war between European races for control of the land, such as the British against the Dutch for control of the Cape, and Natal, then later, the British against the Cape Dutch migrant trekkers again, resulting in two tragically bloody and costly Anglo-Boer wars of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Dutch Trekkers migration

Of all the events in Southern Africa over the past two centuries, this migration had the greatest impact on all the people of the Region. In the early Nineteenth Century, Burghers (Dutch VOC Settlers), establishers of the original Cape Colony, were ultimately dispossessed in war at the hands of the British. Their colony was taken from them by an accident of the Napoleonic wars and some of their civil rights at the Cape were revoked. Many of these Dutch settlers expressed huge dissatisfaction over their disenfranchisement and the new,nepotistic ruling British Colonial powers. This discontent finally resulted in yet another significant migration and this time, of the Cape Dutch European people as Voortrekkers (Pioneers). As a result of these migrations in the late Nineteenth Century, there came the formation of their own independent Republics within South Africa. From this start by the Voortrekkers, a new nation was born in Africa.

20th Century Colonialism

A period of conflict with several African tribes and their nemesis the stalking British followed. Eventually, after the protracted and devastating second Anglo-Boer war (Second War of Independence), South Africa became a Union in 1910, under British suzerainty. Other regions came under similar British rule, such as Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia), Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) Swaziland, Lesotho and Bechuanaland (now Botswana). These last became British protectorates under colonial British rule. At this time, British Empirical possessions on the globe were coloured bright pink. The World Atlas was virtually awash in pink, so great were her colonial possessions. Notably at this time; South West Africa (now Namibia) Tanganyika (now mainland Tanzania then still excluding Zanzibar) and Moçambique (then Portuguese East Africa) were still under colonial rule by Germany and Portugal respectively. South West Africa (later Namibia) and Tanganyika were to change into British hands after the first defeat of Germany in WWI.

European Republics

The Union of South Africa came to an end after a referendum on 5th October 1960, in which a small majority of white South Africans (mostly Afrikaans-speaking citizens) voted in favour of unilateral withdrawal from the British Commonwealth and the establishment of the Republic of South Africa. This included the custodianship of South West Africa (Namibia) inherited after WWI. Similarly, two other Nations just to the north, were also still ruled by a white minority, The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. That is, the latter-day Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Malawi. In 1963 The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was dissolved. In 1964 Northern Rhodesia became Zambia and Southern Rhodesia became known as Rhodesia. In 1965 Rhodesia applied for self-rule but this was rejected because Africans had no vote. It then declared a state of Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), seeking time to plan and execute a peaceful road to transition. International sanctions followed almost immediately, led by the USA and spurred on by the sanctimonious UN. From here on the winds of change in Southern Africa would truly begin to blow.

These winds blew mostly from a newly cleansed, morally superior, squeaky clean building on the Thames River in London. Thereafter, like late party hangers-on, the European Colonial Powers were eventually persuaded to leave Southern Africa, by one means and another.

Post Colonial Freedom Struggle

Across sub Equatorial Africa, the middle to latter twentieth century saw the beginnings of a varied but somehow almost unified struggle of the indigenous Nguni and BaNtu speaking peoples as well as Indians, Malaysians and other people of mixed race. Often in their bid to obtain a political franchise they would attempt to register legitimate political parties of their own. All these attempts, even during British suzerainty, were vaguely tolerated and treated as one would a wilful child in a toy store. Had they been given the vote, sheer weight of numbers alone would have carried them to political dominance overnight. However, outside of direct armed aggression, they could not establish democratic franchise. So they took the only path available and it was a narrow, thorny path, but they were determined.

Independent Rule

The African Nations achieved this mostly through massive civil disobedience and bloody conflict. Nevertheless, they achieved Independence – along with all its weighty responsibilities. Transition to self-rule over the following few years resulted in social and political hangovers for most of these newly independent countries. Myriad new laws, constitutional and administrative, were hammered out and rushed through, often having to be revisited and revamped for gross inaccuracies or oversight. Like a dam which had burst its retaining wall, the change came pouring out much too fast to be managed comprehensively.

Post Independence

Now there is no going back; they must cross the burning bridge and wholeheartedly embrace life in the 21st Century or be left behind by the world. This will take courage, dedication and fortitude. However, these qualities they have shown they possess in abundance, may they endeavour and prosper. So into the future, we ask, Whatever lies ahead for the people of ‘the Land’ in their journey? Is it simply a continuum of their thousands of years of migration? Or, will they change the face of Africa completely and become the new promised land? Only they can say.

But for now, let us go back in time and immerse ourselves in this intriguing tale.

——-oOo——-

Chapter 1—The Dawn

From the beginning, mankind has always felt the urge to dominate his surroundings and improve his lot on this Earth. In terms of early mankind, the very earliest to walk about upright on two legs went walkabout from his home in North East Africa roughly 300,000 years ago. It is impossible to even rationalise that amount of time, but it is almost certain that once he could walk, he could throw a stone, wield a club or a sharp stick and so dominate his world and in the process feed and cloth himself. Among these earliest of mankind arose a species which we now call the San peoples.More Correctly iKung peoples. These San/iKung people are believed to be the first to leave their footprints on the soil of sub Saharan Africa.

Human migration has a very long history. One school of thought among those who have studied such things, in the ‘multiregional – single origin’ model (there are several models), have written; that our species, Homo sapiens sapiens, HSS (Latin: wise man) evolved in North East Africa between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago. Another more recent discovery of human remains in Morocco now puts HSS at 400,000 years old. Educated thought, based upon archaeological discoveries and genetic research has it that a race of people known as the ‘San’(iKung) are among the original human (Latin: homo – man) peoples to populate the planet earth. This description is really an over simplification of what is a very complex subject.  In any event, anyone who claims they can clearly conceptualise 200,000 years has got to be psychic. So to all practical intent and purpose, let us simply agree that the advent of the San (iKung) people on Earth was once upon a time, a very long time ago. Over the next hundred thousand years they migrated down Sub Saharan Africa from the Ethiopian Region. During those many thousands of years two distinct groups of aboriginal humans migrated from the Ethiopian region down the face of Africa. In order of migration these were; firstly the San, then very much later, the Khoikhoi. It is currently common cause that the San have one of the oldest cultures on our planet. Their culture is most certainly more than 100,000 years old. Sadly less than 100,000 of their decedents are still living today.

Of these ancient people, only about 3,000 still live in their traditional lifestyle as hunters and gatherers. By comparison, the Khoikhoi, while still reasonably populous, are nowhere near their original numbers of even two hundred years ago. There is a common misconception that non-agricultural societies wander aimlessly, or opportunistically, over the land. In fact, hunter-gatherers and even animal herders usually have well-defined yearly rounds, accessing a series of resources that become available in different ecological zones at different seasonal times. This, in a very small way could begin an explanation to their migration, although, surely, it really only scratches the surface. These San aborigines were hunter gatherer tribes who had been living directly off the land for several hundred thousand years. The Khoikhoi arrived in sub Equatorial Africa, only some 2,000 years ago and being cattle herders but also hunters, over-utilised the land, causing considerable friction between the two groups.

At a time, long before names were given, their dwelling places were known to them only by geophysical landmarks. Back at the dawn of civilisation in Africa, tribes of San had migrated southward and were living a hardy but wonderfully free life as nomads. Since the very dawn of mankind they had been roaming across the African soil, migrating ever south westward from their ancient beginnings in North East Africa. Mostly they moved just to find better or more sustainable living conditions. Nevertheless, they were ever on the move. The San people, through patience and fortitude these many thousands of years, had long since learned to survive off the land by observing the animals and so learning what was edible and most nutritious in the vastness of the unforgiving wilderness they roamed. Leaves, roots, shrubs, tubers, berries and small nuts all became nutrition or medicine. Developing hunting and survival skills as they went, they never stopped to mine, plant crops, or build permanent shelters and villages. What they did do was to leave a rich trail of their passage in the rock and cave paintings which they have declared to antiquity as a reminder of their lives in passing.

These early people never did develop the Chieftain or Royalty culture as many other tribes around the globe subsequently did. They lived in simple harmony with nature and their own people, where respect was earned and sharing was a way of life. So they adapted and survived and the survival was harsh. Depending on the natural lay of the land, they would either dwell in caves or build rudimentary shelters. At each new settlement, carefully chosen for its ability to sustain their simple needs, they would either dwell in natural caves or erect a rudimentary type of Beehive hut.

These huts were crafted from grass and thorny brush and shrub branches, which by day would provide shade from the harsh sun and by night some shelter from the contrasting frosty cold. Their shelters were easily constructed and being bio degradable, could simply be abandoned when the tribe moved on yet again. Like all aboriginal people, practicality was the order of each and every day in which they lived and through their ingenuity they managed to overcome nature to survive. Survival for them extended quite a lot further than simply ensuring a full belly each day. Family groups were kept small, seldom more than three children per couple and in this way they could all eat. A woman would only be allowed to bear a second and third child once the first or second was old enough to walk and essentially fend for itself in basic ways. She simply could not physically carry several children about, in addition to performing her share of the daily gathering and cooking chores. Additionally, she could not care for very small children and still carry their few basic possessions while on their frequent and fairly long migrations. To this unforgiving but practical end, any pregnancy which occurred during such interim waiting periods would be summarily terminated by the tribal midwife. Tribal survival was at the apex of their culture. Traditionally the San lived in groups of up to 20 adult people and their children. Groups included various family members and there was no chief or overall leader. Decisions were made by consensus among the group members. Certain specific skills and knowledge, such as those of the arrow makers, herb medicines, and shamans, were highly respected by all the tribe but were not elevated to any particular ranking. Any large scale disagreements within the tribe were handled peaceably and without physical conflict. If they were unable to agree the group simply split up and opposing partisans peacefully went their own separate ways. Unlike most other cultures the world over, there was no in-fighting and no battles were fought over disagreements, no power struggles for supremacy. A few times each year different groups would meet to exchange news, knowledge, discoveries and gifts. At these gatherings inter-group marriage arrangements were also sometimes made. They believed death to signify taboo to the place where that death had occurred. So if someone in a group died, the group would leave and never make a camp on that ground again. Likewise, they would try to avoid places where someone had been buried. Should they perchance arrive at such a place, they would throw a few pebbles on the grave and quietly say a few words to the spirits to ensure good luck. They never stepped on the grave as they believed that spirits were still active in the area above the grave.

There seems to be consensus that the Khoikhoi are derived from the San. Certainly the language similarity is one firm indicator. Little evidence exists on the exact path taken by the Khoikhoi after they left their supposed origins in North East Africa. Some say they originated in North East Africa and migrated down the East African great lakes to South Africa. Archaeological study picks up their trail about 2,000 years ago, by which time at least some of them were already cattle herders. This bears witness to their possible origins in East Africa Ethiopia where the culture of cattle herding had long since been practised. Their stature is somewhat larger and taller than the diminutive 1.5m San. This difference in stature which some authorities explain was arrived at by their constantly available high protein diet from their herds. Evidence indicates that the Khoikhoi arrived in South Africa about that time, by two different routes. This would indicate that their own migration, like those of the Bantu, was undertaken by various groups of migrants and at a relatively similar period in time. One group entered from Botswana in the north-west, travelling firstly west via the Kalahari and then southward down to the Cape peninsula.

A second group came down from the north, possibly Botswana, eastward through the Highveld across the Limpopo and then migrated southward to the coast. The first of these Khoikhoi groups were responsible for displacing the San tribes westward into the Kalahari. In turn, the coastal Khoikhoi were soon displaced by the Bantu Nguni as they expanded along the eastern seaboard. Ever southward down the coastal regions they were crowded out, to eventually arrive in the Western Cape and are today primarily populace in the Namaqualand and Damaraland. When the San and Khoikhoi finally did meet one another, far down the sub-continent, the cattle herders referred to the hunters as ‘San’ in their Khoikhoi language that meant those who are too poor to own cattle and or different to us.

There is a lot of controversy over the names used to refer to the Stone Age people of southern Africa. Like other later groups, these San and Khoikhoi did not have generic names for themselves. It was the arrival of the Europeans in Africa that initiated the classification of the various indigenous peoples into generic groups. Population Geneticists today, in a ‘Cain and Abel’ type scenario, record that a people known as, the San, Basarwa or Khwe, part of the hunter gatherer ‘Khoisan’ Group, were originally related to the pastoral Khoikhoi. In this scenario, the San departed their home as hunter gatherers and the Khoikhoi remained there as pastoralists. The San have populated the Kalahari for about twenty two millennia. That’s a long, time, by anyone`s grandfather clock. Certainly the San were here very much longer than either the Khoikhoi or the Bantu. So it stands, that they were the first people to populate areas of what are now; Angola, Botswana, South Africa and Namibia. However, their numbers are dwindling as evidenced by the numbers of tribes in modern day Botswana. In Botswana today there are only three San groups but there are twelve Khoi groups. Being the first inhabitants of the land, it is fitting that my story of this land should commence with the San people and one of the places they populated tens of thousands of years ago.

Our story of these ancient people starts in one of the last places they settled so long ago. It is a fascinating piece of the Earth in so many ways, but one which would not be first choice to most other people on the Earth. Yet they have lived there contentedly for some twenty thousand years. This place is an enormously vast, geologically ancient area, so unique and huge, that it now bears its own identity: the Kalahari. This is a relatively modern name, derived from the Tswana word Kgala, meaning the great thirst, or Kgalagadi, meaning a waterless place. In surface area; the Kalahari measures many times that of such European countries as; England, Portugal or Spain. It is a semi desert of sandy, stony scrubland which covers large tracts of present day South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Angola.

The sunniest parts of the Kalahari receive some 4,000 hours of sunshine per annum, which is an average of almost 11 hours per day in a normal year. To create an impression of the weather patterns in this place, try to absorb these few facts: Daytime temperatures in parts of the Kalahari can range from -13°C to 40°C, on a winters day. The mean annual rainfall is rarely more than 100 mm, and in some years it even stays below 50 mm. Today there is virtually no permanent surface water. Nonetheless, some few parts of this enormous place do receive erratic seasonal rains of up to 250mm annually. This rainfall can sometimes occur almost all at once over a three to four day period. Drainage of this relatively sparse amount is via dry valleys and inundated pans or ‘omuramba’. However, tens of thousands of years ago it was a much less arid place. For instance, among other areas, The Makgadikgadi Lake (Now Makgadikgadi Pan) was a virtual Garden of Eden, until it dried up some 10,000 years ago. (Natural climate change in action even then) This long gone fertile region alone is estimated to have covered an area of about 275,000 square Km. However, during the rainy season, some of the original Makgadigadi is still wetland, but nowhere near what it was in its earlier glory days. Strangely (or perhaps not so strangely in this unique environment) the world`s largest, non subglacial lake, known as The Dragons Breath Cave exists.

The arrival of San in the Kalahari and their settlement there spans a history of about twenty two thousand years. It is for these migratory and survival feats alone that they are surely worthy of a special place in mankind`s history books, deserving the admiration and wonder of us all. Sadly, very little attention or recognition is given them today. Harried and bullied by other tribes over past twenty centuries, they have mostly become unsettled and culturally unstitched. Decimated, disenfranchised and cast off over the past two centuries by rulers of the present day countries, which their original homelands have now become. One may almost say they are presently on the verge of extinction. These venerable ancients are the first to be mentioned in this story for their very antiquity, as the first recorded tribes to migrate across Southern Africa. Their skilful adaptation and tenacious survival through the scarcely imaginable rigours and hardships of such a long migration make them a fitting people with whom to begin ...

It was hot, hot in the way that the Kalahari gets really oppressively hot during the summer months. Gravity seemed to weigh heavier than normal because of the massive heat. The blazing noon sun burned down over the Kalahari, a giant orb of molten white hot fire. Anyone looking directly at it, even for a few seconds, would be blinded by its intensity. Heat mirages shimmered across the bone dry landscape distorting ones vision of the semi desert terrain. Nothing was moving, not even the sparse twigs of scrubby grass which scattered the area. There was not a sound, even the air seemed to have lost its breath. Lizards, snakes, antelope, beetles and all manner of living things had taken themselves off to a place where they could best avoid the overwhelming heat. Alone in this harsh scene stood an emaciated Kalahari Acacia tree, that African survivor which was everywhere, even here in this semi desert oven. Beneath the scant shade of the Acacia, Xai the wise old Basarwa San squatted on his scrawny haunches. The two suited one another for they were both gnarled and wrinkled from the extremes their harsh climate eventually imposed on all who dwelt there. Across from the old man, also squatting on his diminutive lower limbs was a young boy. The lads face reflected his rapt attention as he absorbed and clung to every word uttered by old Xai. The lad had become the responsibility of old Xai recently when his mother and father had suddenly perished of a strange illness. A strange virus had affected the tribe and many had been ill, but those two alone had ultimately succumbed. The tribe had immediately relocated as was their custom and since he was a widower himself, Xai took on the youngster as his own. The two had been away from their small settlement since the cool grey light of dawn that day. As they had moved across the Kalahari that morning, Xai revealed secrets of all the nature in their wandering path. Trees, birds, snakes, grasses and vegetation, all came under their scrutiny and the youngster learned. It was in all these things that the San people found their wealth, their wherewithal to survival in this harsh environment and the boy had to learn them.

Now as they sat here in the sparse shade, Xai was revealing to the lad the tribal beliefs, customs and taboos. The youngster was approaching puberty and would soon be entering adult life when he would be expected to know all these things and more. Commencing the lesson, Xai related their core religious spiritual beliefs. In this he related that the San believed in two supreme gods who controlled everything. One lived in the East where the sun rose and one in the West where the sun went down and was then replaced by the moon in the eastern sky. At death, they as people, would transcend to be with those gods in the cosmos and from there also be able to affect certain happenings on earth. Therefore said Xai, the tribal ancestors should always be revered and respected. However, the lad was told, they also believed in lesser spirits, the most important of which was Kaggen. These tenets formed the basis of their religious law, which had come down the ages from long before living memory and should be strictly adhered to. From a time when he was really small, the boy had heard of Kaggen during the stories told around campfires at night with the tribe. Many myths surrounded Kaggen and it was told that he was a trickster spirit which could trick and deceive the unwary. Therefor said Xai, the boy should always examine his intuition so that he would not be lead astray by the trickster spirit to do silly or unwise things. Moreover, Kaggen could transport himself into any form he chose, a praying mantis, a snake, a lizard, an animal, a vulture. If he chose, he could be an antelope; often he would transport himself into the body of a man and was then indistinguishable from the tribe. In this way Kaggen was ever present in their lives in some form or another. It was therefore imperative, said Xai, for the lad to always treat his fellow tribesmen and the animal world with respect. Hau! exclaimed the boy in fascination at these new revelations, his face reflecting the awe with which this revelation had struck him.

Allowing his young pupil time to ruminate and reflect on all this, old Xai took time out to close his eyes and nap for a few minutes for they had risen early and travelled quite far this day. Upon opening them again, the old fellow rummaged in a small hide sack which he carried and from its mysterious interior produced the fire sticks. Commanding the boy to collect twigs and grass for a fire from the nearby, he continued to scratch about in the sack.  Upon his return with the wood and grass, the boy saw that Xai had already skinned and gutted a desert gopher squirrel which they had acquired in their morning’s travel. This was now neatly skewered on a freshly broken wet twig and placed next to some large stones which would be their fireplace. It`s small, still wet pelt was hanging from a branch in the tree and would come home with them to be properly cured.  Admonishing the boy to observe all that he did, Xai now placed the flat piece of his fire stick set upon the ground within the little stone fireplace, then, holding a smooth and pointed hardwood stick vertically between his rough hands, he deftly whirled to and fro upon its blackened worn surface. Soon enough smoke began to rise upon the flat piece of wood from this friction. To this smouldering point of friction the boy was instructed to place a small bit of the dry grass. Blowing steadily upon this, Xai soon had a small flame going, to which he then added small twigs. Soon enough there was a diminutive fire which grew exponentially as fuel was added.

They spoke very little as the meat cooked over the coals. Xai rested his back against the rough tree trunk and puffed on his well-worn hand crafted small wooden pipe. From the pipe emitted a strangely pungent odour and Xai seemed to relax as he puffed in and exhaled the fumes. The smell was repugnant to the boy and he moved a little away. Sometime later when the food was ready, Xai broke the hot meat into edible chunks from which they both ate. Again from the mysterious interior of his skin bag Xai produced an ostrich egg that contained tepid water from which they both drank sparingly. Like the Eland and the Kudu, they had evolved over thousands of years to survive with the barest minimum of this life-giving liquid. Allowing the small fire to burn out completely, it was covered in sand. Soon after this the lessons resumed.

For an opener to this next session Xai asked the boy if he knew of the tribe`s most revered animal. Shaking his head the lad indicated that indeed he did not. It is the Eland, replied Xai. The Eland is our most revered animal, for several reasons. However, it may interest you to know that this Eland is also the favourite animal of Kaggen.  At this juncture the lad was asked if he could think of any other reasons why the Eland was so revered by his tribe. After some reflection the boy replied, Because it is so large and majestic. Also, he added, it provided very much meat, hide and useful sinew. For his astute answer the boy received a broad, gap-toothed smile from the elder and a fond pat on the head in praise. However, Xai continued, the Eland spirit can also be a conduit to the spirit world and our ancestors when we contact them through its death by hunting. This animal also becomes a major focal point during several of our important ceremonies and dances. Have you ever seen one of these Eland dances performed? enquired Xai. Thinking a short while on the question, the youngster replied that he had, nodding his head affirmatively. Show me how the Eland moves, said Xai. Now, among their favourite things to do on this earth, the San love to dance and sing, so it took no extra encouragement for the boy to get up and perform. Suppressing his natural instinct to chuckle, Xai simply smiled broadly displaying gapped teeth and pink gums, as the boy pranced about. Two little arms extended above his head in imitation of the Eland`s enormous thick horns, back hunched, he happily pranced about the space below the tree. Clapping his hands in glee when the boy had finished prancing about, the old man continued with the lesson. There are four distinctive dances of the Eland in our culture, he told his pupil. Firstly, he said, there was the ritual Eland dance when a young man kills his first Eland and so becomes a man in the tribe. Should it not be possible to get an Eland on his first hunt, another antelope would do. However, they always performed the dance of the Eland at that very special occasion. The hunter must himself skin the antelope and then a broth is made from the collarbone and some of its fat, which the hunter must then drink. In this way he will imbibe the power and spirit of the antelope, so that his hunts would be successful in the years to come.

Had the older man but known it, his young pupil dreamed of little else than that very moment, when he would be the focal point of this dance around the tribal fire one day. The next dance, a different dance, is performed when a girl reaches that stage of her life when she physically changes into a young woman. How does that happen? the boy asked, intrigued, thinking to hear more of spirits and such.

Of this you will learn later in years, for there is still so much which you need to learn before you are a man, said Xai, neatly avoiding the awkward question. Now, at that time, the young woman is taken to a hut and enclosed there. The other women of the tribe then dance an Eland mating dance with the men in which the courtship and mating rituals of the Eland are enacted. Through this ritual dance, the spirit of the Eland and beneficence of the ancestors will bring her youthful beauty in years to come, good health, prosperity, freedom from hunger or thirst and peace in her life. Then again, the dance is performed when a man and woman are united in marriage, said Xai. The wedding dance is performed by a woman and a man, during which the man and woman imitate the mating of the Eland. Nodding slowly the lad indicated his understanding. Having lived close to nature all his young life, the boy had witnessed acts of procreation among the animals in and around the settlement, so he understood, albeit rather vaguely, what this was about. This dance is a ritual to ensure that their marriage will be strong like the Eland and fruitful when they have children together," added Xai. Then for added interest, or perhaps attempting to ward off more pointed questions on human physicality, Xai explained the highlights of the wedding ceremony. He told boy that when the young man wed, he would take the abundant fat from the Eland neck and present it to the parents of his bride as a gift in thanks for her hand in marriage and as a token of his undertaking to look after her, provide for her and treat her kindly all their lives. After this, he would take some of the Eland fat and smear it on his bride as a personal undertaking of all these promises to her personally as his bride. Perceiving the poorly disguised boredom of his young pupil in these proceedings, Xai changed the subject and asked his young protégé to identify any animal, insect or bird which he could see without leaving their spot under the small tree. Immediately the boy`s interest again piqued and he cast about looking for any sign of animated nature. Within seconds his arm shot out pointing to a small blue headed lizard sitting perfectly still in the shade of a nearby rocky crevice. Calling out its name in their tongue, he was rewarded by a pat on the head and words of praise from old Xai. The game continued as the boy identified a small bird and several insects.

Expertly drawing his pupil back to their unfinished lessons, Xai now went on to explain another of the spiritual Eland rituals which he hoped would have the effect of reviving his pupil`s interest.  Do you realise that the Shaman in our tribe can enter the spirit world Asked Xai. Now he saw he had the boy`s total attention again. In order to enter the spirit world, trancing is required. Seeing the total lack of understanding in the lads face he began an explanation of what this was. Having spent several minutes explaining the basic meaning of trancing to the boy, he continued.

In order to enter the spirit world, trancing is either performed by the Shaman or initiated in another by the Shaman. This can only be conducted by the hunting and killing of power animals, the most powerful of which is the Eland. Through this act of killing and thereby power over the animal a link opens up in the cosmos through which the trancer can enter the spirit world. Most often however, it will be the Shaman who performs this trancing, said Xai.  In this trance state, living outside his body in the spirit world, all the while dancing the Eland dance, he is able to heal and protect people from sickness.  Not only this, but he can shield them from evil spirits, control the weather to some extent, ensure good hunting and tribal prosperity.

So said Xai, you can now see how important the Eland is to your people. Nodding his understanding the boy thanked his elder for all this knowledge and promised to remember what he had learned and adhere to the ways of the tribe.  With that, the elder man arose and stated it was time to return to their village. He said they would continue his lessons again soon, for there was still much for the youngster to learn. So in this lesson today, the lad had learned much about nature as well as all the important spiritual aspects of tribal life.  As they walked, Xai had the boy repeat these lessons in his own words. Slowly but methodically the youngster related all he had been taught that day. Xai perceived that with only a few minor omissions the young fellow had indeed paid careful attention and remembered most of what had been taught him.  As they made their leisurely way back to the settlement, the boy suddenly stood dead still. Looking around at the boy, Xai followed his gaze. There in the distance, but still quite distinctly visible, stood a magnificent Eland bull. Smiling at the boy`s amazement, Xai could not help but wonder if this was really just a chance encounter.

The days passed peacefully in their little tribe and they had moved to a new location during the course of the last twelve moons. All this while old Xai continued teaching and guiding the youngster. Roughly a year later, having observed the young man`s behaviour around the settlement over these long months, Xai deemed it timeous to start teaching the lad the art of hunting.  Over the next two years it would be Xai`s mission to teach this lad everything he needed to know to survive and prosper in their harsh environment. All the various and intricate aspects of tracking and spoor identification would need to be not only learned, but mastered as well; what the animals ate, where they could be found at various parts of the day and in which season; at what time of year they dropped calves and so forth. He would have to teach the lad where to find wood to make his bow and arrows and how to craft them. Then also, where to find and how to make the lethal poison for his arrows from the crushed larvae of a specific beetle they called Ka. Among others, these larvae of the carabid beetle would parasite the chrysomelid beetle and make a powerful toxin ultimately lethal to antelope and man alike. Xai would show him where to find these and also exactly which Euphorbia plants were venomous and which snakes supplied yet other lethal poisons for their arrows. He would teach the lad how these mixtures should be concocted and applied to the arrows without harming himself. He would teach him that the poisons used did not poison the entire carcass, merely that area surrounding the wound of the arrow and that this piece should be cut away and discarded. The youngster would need to learn how to properly skin and prepare antelope and animal carcasses so as to waste nothing. Along with these, the boy would need to absorb a thorough knowledge of how to make animal traps, both large and small, and concealing and camouflaging of a snare in order to regularly capture smaller game. As a natural corollary to these, came the very necessary field crafts for surviving in the wild. Which bulbs, roots, grass seeds and leaves were edible, which were used for medicines and so forth. The boy would learn where to find water in the bone dry landscape and how to store it in an empty ostrich egg shell, and how to stay hydrated like the Eland and survive without water on just the juices and moisture from tubers and shrub leaves.

One morning Xai took the lad aside and told him of this next phase in the youngster’s treadmill to manhood, where he would be learning of all these things. Upon hearing of his initiation into these all-absorbing skills, the lad could barely be contained and he went to sleep that night dreaming of all the wonderful manly attributes which he was about to learn. Thereafter, each day either Xai or one of the other men in the tribe would take the lad under his care and teach him one or more of the many various aspects of vital practical knowledge. He especially enjoyed his times with the old Xai though and they formed a very close bond while the boy learned the arts of survival in the Kalahari. One day, many months later, Xai announced his satisfaction that the boy had indeed learned all his crafts and skills so far, in an exemplary fashion. Much to his delight, the lad was informed that he would now be taken out with the men to experience a real live hunt. It was explained to him that through attentive observation and first-hand experience on these hunts, he would learn all that took place in this vitally important aspect of life. The diligent learning of these practical lessons would allow him to become a skilful hunter and so benefit his people as a provider.

Young Xoro - for that was the boy`s name -was virtually beside himself with anticipation. Over the following months he would assume this observation role on many a hunt. Each time he went out with the men he learned a little more and felt sure that when his time came he would fulfill his responsibility with aplomb. Inbetween his several chores, he practised hard with his bow and arrows until he could hit his straw target where he aimed every single time. Throughout his several hunting trips with the men he had to bite down on his enthusiasm and pretend patience. In reality however, it was almost impossible to keep his eagerness restrained. He so desperately wanted to be the man at the head of the line, tracking, stalking and ultimately taking his quarry with one well placed shot. This would be much easier said than done he knew. For he had also experienced several times when a hunters arrow did not penetrate a vital organ or break the spine or neck and the animal would bound away and have to be followed down. In fact, most often the initial shot did not immediately kill the antelope, especially if it was a large one such as a Sable or Eland. Having now learned how to construct them, the lad knew their bows were not extremely powerful and the arrows also were relatively light. That was why he concentrated on making sure he could place his arrow where he aimed and in this he was supremely confident. However, even if a vital organ was not pierced, the toxic poison from the arrow tip would then begin its task and all they had to do was track the nimal down to where it lay, dead or dying. Xoro had learned that the poison of the specific beetle larvae and Euphorbia juices were not toxic to the antelope by digestion. It was only toxic if it directly entered the blood stream of the animal. Because of this fact the poison had to be delivered on the point of an arrow. Furthermore, the San only used medium to light action bows and arrows because the killing of antelope was much more than just a means of attaining food. It was also a challenging means of sport where it would test their skill in accurate shooting and tracking.  Xai had told him that he had been on hunts where it took several days to track down a large animal before it eventually succumbed to the poison. It was therefore important to be able to get close and place the arrow in a lung or heart or in its spinal chord. During this time of training Xoro was also tasked with trapping and snaring smaller animals for the tribal pot, but was never allowed to hunt in the full sense. Other than at practise, his bow had never shot an arrow in earnest and this continually troubled the lad. One day......, he thought to himself during these trapping sessions, ‘One day, I will hunt and then... just watch me."

The days came and went quickly, for they were full of activity for the young Xoro. Another of his occupations during this time was particularly delicate. This involved the collection, preparation and application of poisons for their hunting arrows. Foraging about in the surrounds he would locate the various poisons required and bring them back to the lodge for processing. Of course he now knew just where to look for and find them. The patient, carefully taught lessons of old Xai had stuck and were by now almost second nature. Every few days Xoro would venture out collecting the poisonous pupae and Euphorbia roots. He also became extremely adept at catching snakes and milking them of their venom. He had by now quite a bit of experience with several of the many venomous snakes which frequented his little patch of the Kalahari. Among these, the most potent were the Puff Adder, Cape Cobra and Black Mamba. All three could deliver venom in doses which killed in minutes. He clearly remembered one day when he had almost been bitten by an aggressive black mamba. As usual on these forays he had spied a fair sized rock with a windswept opening at one side. By now he knew this type of location to be perfect habitat for a snake to shelter from the scorching heat of the day. As always, he approached the leeward side of the rock very quietly so as not to disturb the snake sheltering there. His standard modus was to tap on the rock and when the snake came out to assess this disturbance, he would swiftly and deftly grab it behind its head rendering its prime lethal defence useless. On this particular occasion however, he had misjudged the distances and the reptile swiftly turned on him, striking in an instant. Fortunately the lethal fangs struck just centimetres short of his instinctively retracted arm. Thereafter he and the reptile had quickly parted company in different directions. Nevertheless, his skin still crawled at the memory of this close encounter with sudden death. Upon his return to the lodge after these trips, he kept busy assisting the men in mixing and making the poison for their hunting arrows. The toxic juices would be very cautiously squeezed onto the point of each arrow and then dried over a fire. Poisoned arrows were then very carefully stored, up-side down in the quiver, to prevent accidental contact with their hands or fingers. Almost every day Xoro harried old Xai as to when he would finally be ready to hunt for an antelope. In answer to these impatient questions, Xai merely replied. When I say you are ready, you will be ready. With this summary dismissal Xoro had no option but to abide. However, his dreams were ever of the day he would shoot his first Eland. That day would come sooner than he imagined, for old Xai had observed the progress of his pupil closely all the while and knew he was ready to take the next vital step into manhood, on his first hunt.

Breathtakingly beautiful in its splendour, a sky coloured with nature`s pastel chalk of blue, orange and pink, peeped benignly above the horizon and signalled the dawn of another day in the Kalahari. Rising quickly in the East, it soon showed itself as a fiery red orb dawning over the enormous semi desert, heralding the birth of yet another dry, hot day. For an hour or more Xai and his tribe of diminutive San people had already been awake. Now at dawn, small fires had long since been made from the dead twigs of the indigenous thorny scrub of their land. Gathered on their haunches in the early morning cold, around the glowing hot coals of their small smokeless fires, they planned to meet the new day. Despite the early morning chill, they wore little clothing, as was their way. These people were practical and efficient in this, as in all other things, for the sole purpose of survival in this hardy environment. Perhaps a simple brief covering made from animal skin, possibly for modesty here and there mostly on the women, but the majority of men went naked except for a single rawhide thong around their waists upon which to hang that which was too much to carry in their ever busy, strong little hands. In just two more hours the daytime temperature would rise to nearly 30°C and then by noon to near 40° C, making heavy clothing impractical. And the San Bushman was, if anything, a very practical man. Besides, like their forefathers, they had long since become inured to such discomforts as the night cold in their long and spartan existence here.

Softly they chatted around the fires in their strangely soothing clicking tongue, rubbing their hands together now and then to seal in the warmed blood now starting to circulate in their veins. This quiet conversation was not by any means idle chatter. Very little in their existence permitted idleness or superficiality. The talk, as on all these morning gatherings, would concern matters of survival for the day in the particular place they now found themselves. Being essentially nomadic, the gathering of food, supplies and hunting possibilities would be the essence of this early morning discourse around the fire. In just another few minutes they would each be about their daily individual or group tasks, to ensure yet another day of life for the tribe in their beloved harsh Kalahari. However, for someone, this was not just another ordinary day. Today was the very day Xoro had so long dreamed and wished for. Today he would lead the hunt to his first kill and take his place of manhood in the tribe. Leaving the women and children to their task of gathering firewood, edible plants, such as berries, melon and nuts, as well as insects, or medicinal roots and bulbs, Xai and the men made ready to depart on a hunt for Xoro`s Eland. Rapidly they slung their light quivers over their upper torsos. The quivers, crafted from the skin of various small antelope, were now filled with arrow shafts skilfully honed and hardened over their brushwood fires and tipped with viciously barbed iron arrowheads. These iron tips were greatly valued by the men and were passed down from father to son. The material from which they were made had long since superseded the stone and bone barbs of their ancestors. The metal arrowheads had been procured long ago by trade in their very infrequent contact with other civilisations along their migratory way and carefully modified for their own purposes by the tribesmen. Their small, but relatively powerful hardwood bows, strung with cured antelope sinew, were slung about their necks or held in the hand.

Without the formality of spoken goodbyes to the women and children the men set off, led by Xoro and old Xai, loping away into the semi desert to hunt. They could keep up this mile-eating trot for hours and hours if necessary, to the extent that they could often outlast most of the game they hunted. Not only this, but they could pick up the spoor of virtually any animal while on the run and follow it unerringly without losing pace. Today`s hunt had a special urgency about it. This was the first hunt for Xoro and it was extremely vital that he manage to shoot an antelope, hopefully an Eland. Furthermore, the tribe had not eaten meat for some days now and although they could easily exist on the roots, tubers, shrubs, seeds and berries to be found, meat supplied an extremely valuable source of protein which gave the strength needed to sustain them in their tough lifestyle. Half the battle in a hunt was to know when and where one might encounter the game. In these skills Xoro was by now extremely adept. Nevertheless, despite this incredible collective veld lore and tracking ability, they had yet to encounter any game or tracks throughout that long hot morning.

The searing hot sun was approaching its zenith and heat mirages were shimmering over the sparse landscape, when Xai signalled his tribesmen and veered off the tracking path to approach a nearby knurled and nobbled thorn tree. After casting about only a little while here, he found the dried and deadened tuft of scrub grass he was looking for. Around this tuft he and his companions energetically began to dig in the sand.  Shortly, some feet below the surface, they found what they were after. With great care they unearthed several Ostrich eggs buried there. Carefully dusting them off, they removed the tufts of grass stuffed into the neat hole which had been skilfully hand drilled at one end. Tilting the eggs, they gratefully allowed the tepid water stored therein, to dribble down their parched throats. Due to the absolutely dry climate, water would not become infected by humidity and would stay untainted for several weeks. None drank too deeply, for in this dry and arid land, water was indeed a very precious commodity and could not be wasted. In any event, the Bushmen rarely drank large quantities of water, as they had adapted over thousands of years to get most of their water requirements from the plant roots and desert melons found on or under the semi desert floor. Having all drunk, albeit so sparingly, they again began digging nearby. In only a few minutes they had dug a depression several feet deep, in the bottom of which clear water slowly began to seep upward into the hole. Ever so carefully, so as not to collect the dust which was settled on the meniscus, they refilled their ostrich egg vessels and tightly sealed them again with dry grass stoppers. Burying these again took only a moment and the band were soon again trotting off on the hunt.

Not long after the water stop, Xoro at the head of the column slowed down and finally stopped, looking carefully at the soft sandy ground. What he saw in the sandy soil were a number of shallow depressions several feet apart. A nod and a smile from Xai in answer to his curious look confirmed his initial assumptions. Instantly recognising them for what they were, he trotted a few more steps next to this succession of scarcely definable prints and then unerringly set off along the trail at full trot closely followed by his mentor and companions. The excitement and tension was now palpable, for what he had found was the recent spoor of a most prized game, the Oryx (Gemsbok). Secretly disappointed that it was not the Eland he was hoping for, Xoro was nonetheless quite satisfied with his quarry. Thinking now of all that he knew of this majestic animal, Xoro recalled his lessons of the past two years. Apart from the mighty Eland, this antelope is the largest in Africa. A superb and majestic animal, genetically conditioned to live in this dry and arid land. Like all the antelope which live in the Kalahari, it drinks only very little and takes almost all of its small moisture requirement from the thin morning dew on the leaves of scrub thorn trees or the moisture contained in leaves of other shrub trees. It could, if necessary, last several days without so much as a lick of dew. To conserve energy the Oryx would graze at night and in the pre-dawn upon the sparse grasses and the leaves of certain scrub trees. By day an Oryx, like all the antelope and most animal life here, will