The Bushmen [antikvár]

At the time of going to print, the traditional way of life of the few remaining Bushmen in the drylands of the Kalahari is threatened with imminent extinction - both by encroaching western civilization and the effects of continuous drought on available resources. Consequently, the following account may, in the near future, stand merely as an historical, if valuable, record of a unique people and their vanished lifestyle.Camp lifeThe Bushmen have lived in essentially the same way for many thousands of years, subsisting on a land that to others would be harsh and hostile, and surviving only because they are attuned to their environment and have adapted accordingly. They have learned to act together for the continued existence of the group, for without harmony and co-operation, the group would disintegrate. The emphasis is on communal activity. Hence men hunt in pairs or groups, and women go on food gathering expeditions in parties.But the focus of communal life is the campsite. Here, when it is too hot to go in search of food, groups will relax in their huts or under the sparse shade of a tree, the men repairing their tools or fashioning clothing from skins, the women preparing the evening meal, making beadwork or talking. Children will play or sing amongst themselves, or someone will strike up a tune on the thumb piano.At night, the band comes together around a central campfire, when men relate tales of great hunts or tell of the 'old race' when animals were still people. Often there is enthusiastic dancing, clapping and singing, which can sometimes last until dawn.