The Sans People (A two part series)

I wanted to just take a few moments to write about some of the amazing indigenous people we met while we were traveling through Africa - and by indigenous I mean people living close to the earth, in a whole separate cultural system. I know it is a late topic for the blog, but I really wanted to share with you some things we learned and some of the experiences we had while staying with these people who are somehow barley holding on to their culture. Their way of life is very different from our own and some of their practices I disagree with slightly (for instance, the way women are treated in Maasai culture) and some qualities I admire, but largely I like that these people are still in the world and living the way they have lived for thousands of years (unlike our very new way of modern living, which it can and should be debated whether it's working or not...). I will talk about two different people in this series, the Maasai of Tanzania and the Sans People (popularly known as the Bushmen) of Namibia and Botswana. They both loosely interweave in and out of our culture, the Maasi more then the Sans. Some might see this as a spoiling of their original way of life; for instance, I have seen some Massai men talking on cell phones and it's hilarious to see them walking around herding their cattle decked out in traditional wear, weapons, beads and all, talking on a cell phone. But the world is a small place these days and perhaps it's unrealistic to think that a culture of people could live with out mingling even slightly with our "modern world".

The Sans People (Bushmen)
Lauren and I stayed with the Sans People in Namibia for a few short days, a stay I wish we could have extended because they were the happiest and friendliest, most pure-hearted people I had met in a long time. We had a translator with us because they only speak a traditional click language. I have always been fascinated by these people, who were even once thought to be extinct. Just 30 years ago they were hunted in Africa like wild animals (yeah like in the 1970's!, crazy right). In fact their population is so small, (less then 2000) that they can't even be considered a tribe. The Namibian and Botswanian governments kicked them out of the Kalahari Desert (land that they have lived on for thousands of years) because diamonds were found on the land (a typical capitalistic move). Their culture was almost totally wiped out, but thankfully they won a court case in recent years and are now able to move back into the Kalahari and are in the process of trying to repair the deep wounds that have been inflicted on their culture.

The night we arrived we sat under the stars and watched them as they danced and sang traditional songs around a fire. It was awesome. We woke up the next day at sunrise and met our translator and a group of young Bushmen (men and women). We introduced ourselves to them and then they lead us into the bush. Along the way they dug up roots or picked some leaves off of various plants and would tell us what they were used for, be it food or medicinal purposes. Everything they need they get from the land by hunting and gathering and they seem to be quite content without material things. As a community living together they all take care of each other. As we were walking, one of the younger Sans boys was digging up some roots. I asked him what he was going to use it for he told me that he was digging it for an older member of his community to help with his kidney problems.

They have a small skinny build, excellent posture and their bodies are very fit. They wear minimal buckskin clothing with a little tale on the back, mimicking the animals they hunt. On colder days they will wear a buckskin wrap-around cape. The men always carry their bow and arrow and hand drill kit and other small tools, along with an ostrich egg for holding water. When they walk through the bush they are almost silent, (hence their name) blending in with their surroundings so seamlessly that we almost lost some of them as we were walking even though they were only a few meters in front of us. When they tell stories they act them out in dramatic exciting displays that students of Juliart would drool over. We were captivated by their tales, even though we could only make out the fragments of meaning through their performances.

The aura of these people is amazing and they have a gentle kindness in there eyes, and I would be lying if I said that I didn't admire their way of life - living harmoniously and respectfully with the earth. You could tell they are content with everything they have because everything they needed the earth provided it for them. Now I'm not saying that we should all live like the Sans People and make our fires with hand drills, live in stick shelters and eat roots, but I do think that a serious connection with nature has been lost with our culture and that needs to be addressed. We can't deny that there are major problems with the way we live our lives. To the modern person these people would look like impoverished savages, and in our modern terms of thinking they are; but perhaps it is us that are poor and living unnaturally. Maybe we are the real savages? Just a thought...

My next entry will be on the Maasai people of Tanzania and Kenya. Stay tuned for pictures of the Sans People and of me dancing with the Maasai, there might even be video...

* I recently read a book by Gary Snyder, written in 1969 called Turtle Island that I think was way before it's time and I think should be read by every thinking, compassionate human being.