!Kung San culture

Environment:

 The !Kung San people live in the areas of Botswana, Angola, and Namibia in Africa. These areas have some trees but are mostly composed of grass covered hills and flat spaces. The Kung define 4 regions that they live in: 1) Dunes- fixed by Mongongo tree vegetation. 2) Flats- plains between dunes and malapo. 3) Melapo- dry river beds, smaller, acacia trees. 4) Hardpan- bare rock/sand, baobab tree. They also recognize 5 seasons:  !Huma (spring rains) October-November, Bara (Summer Rains) December-March, Tobe (Autumn) April-May, !Gum (Winter) May-August, and !Gaa (Spring Dry) August- October 1st. The hottest time of year being October- February with temperatures of 86-104 degrees F and the coolest times of year being June-July with temperatures 75-80 degrees F. The Kung people live in a rural setting mostly in the desert, away from other groups of people. They are hunters and gatherers and have a wide variety of flora and fauna to choose from. There are 50 mammal species such as kudu, wildebeest, roan antelope, and giraffe along with 90 bird species such as ostrich (eggs), guinea fowl, quail, and ducks. There are also various reptiles/ amphibians and insects. Some of the available flora includes: Mongogo (nuts), Baobab, Marula, edible gum (sap), roots and bulbs, and melons. The most important environmental stress that affects the Kung people is the availability of water. Since it is hot, their living areas are only semi-permanent and they move in order to stay near a water source. This is a cultural adaptation that they developed in order to survive. They have also adapted their eating and hunting habits in order to include what is in their surroundings in order to survive. Due to the availability of resources such as water and food, they have developed housing depending on how long they intend to stay in an area. One physical adaptation that they have developed is a dark skin color as a response to the heat and sun exposure.

Subsistence:

Since the !Kung are hunter gatherers, they adapt to their environment by gathering roots, berries, fruits, and nuts and eating meat that is hunted. Meat is sometimes sparse and sometimes great distances have to be traveled in order to find game to hunt. When the game is killed every part of the animal is used, including hide for blankets, bones for marrow, etc. In general, it is the men that go out and hunt and it is the women that go out and forage and gather. However, they are not opposed to the roles reversing and a woman hunting or a man gathering. Once an animal is killed there are rules that govern the distribution of the meat to everybody in the group, so the kill is not owned by the hunter. Also, since they are not able to preserve the meat, they will spread the word to nearby villages if the kill is too large to carry or there is a surplus of meat so that they can collect some for themselves.

Economic systems:
If there is a surplus of food items, like previously mentioned, they give it away to others because they believe in the betterment of other tribes. They operated on a gift economy, based on giving each other gifts on a regular basis rather than trading or purchasing goods and services.

Language:
The !Kung language is also known as !Xun or Ju. Together with the Hoan language, it forms the Kx'a language family. It is also a dialect continuum which means that the language varies slightly depending on the physical area that the people reside in.What makes their language distinct is the clicking aspect of the language. Of all of the languages in the world, !Kung has the largest number of different kinds of sounds.  Some of the sounds used in the language are:

n  / = dental click (as in “tsk, tsk”)

n  ≠ = alveolar click (tongue on sides of teeth)

n  ! = alveopalatal click (tongue on roof of mouth)

n  // = lateral click (as in urging on a horse)

From what I could find, there is not a written version of this language amongst the Kung. They use the method of verbal communication and storytelling much more often than written recording of language and history.

Marriage:

Marriage was generally between a man in his twenties and a girl in her teens, and the first marriage was arranged by the parents. Newlyweds lived in the same village as the wife's family so that she had family support. The wife might even reside with her parent's until she was comfortable with her husband, during which time he would hunt for the bridewealth. If the couple did not become comfortable with each other, divorce was acceptable and could be initiated by either the husband or wife. If they became comfortable and wanted to stay married, they could reside with either family. Though extramarital sex was not condoned, it was somewhat acceptable for either spouse. They also observed the incest taboo so the wife was not allowed to marry any of her immediate family and she may not marry a first or second cousin, or a boy with her father's or brother's names.

Kinship:

The !Kung kinship pattern is comparable to the eskimo kinship system, with some variations in the naming rules. They classify everyone who bears the same name as close kinsmen as if they were relatives. They believe that all names are descended from the same namesake ancestor, and they treat the status of namesake as a genealogical position like mother, father, brother, sister. For example, if a man's sister is Kxaru, then all women named Kxaru are his "sisters". The man may not marry his sisters or tell sexual jokes in their presence.

Social/Political Organization:

Though they are not without leadership, they are not dependent on that position. Within small groups it is possible to have a chieftain or headman in a position of power over other members, however most of the time it is not necessarily a position that gives them more power over others, it just gives them the same social status as those members of "aged years". It is more of a name and responsibility that somebody gives to themself. It could involve responsibilities such as diving up the meat from a hunt, but it does not mean that they are entitled to any more meat than any other member in the village. Though there are some struggles within the villages, they are a generally very peaceful people.

Religion:

The majority of !Kung are traditional tribal religionists. They believe in celestial bodies like the sun, moon, morning star as  symbols of divinity. They believe that the praying mantis is a divine messenger and when one is seen, they try to determine the current message. Legends play an important role in their lives. They are each stories that explain the person's interpretation and perception of the divine. There is no one story of creation or origin. Some stories tell of one god and some with two or more gods. These beliefs are so entwined in their everyday life that there is no structured religion that they practice, it is more of a constant connection. One aspect that is affected by this is their healing process. Since they believe that all things in life are interconnected, they have rituals and dance that help them reach out to the spirits in order to ask for help during times of bad health.

Art:

Though they do have cave paintings in which they portrayed pictures from everyday life, such as hunting, the main form of art would be storytelling. This allows them to pass on their history and entertain. They also sing and dance for entertainment along with their spiritual connections.

A changing world:

Since they have been exposed to other cultures, some changes have been made. Though a large part of the culture is their tribal spirituality, approximately 10% of the !Kung people nowadays have embraced Christianity. They have also been exposed to ways of life that are more controlled, which has moved some people to permanent residences and farming. Cows have affected them in a negative way, contaminating water sources that they might have drank from and gotten sick, and eating vegetation that they might have collected for themselves previously. In general, since the culture is very independent, I think that the world has had more influence on changing their habits then they have at affecting change on others.

Sources:

employees.oneonta.edu/.../Introducing%20the%20!Kung%20San.ppt

   http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/~epsadm03/kung.html

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/!Kung_language

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/!Kung_people}

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushmen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C7%83Kung_people#Gender_Roles_and_Regulations

.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/!Kung_people

. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushmen

http://orvillejenkins.com/profiles/kung.html

http://www.webnb.btinternet.co.uk/newpage25.htm

http://korea.gnu.org/people/chsong/cb/homesteading/kung_healing.html