Nicholas Barton
Sociology 101
Professor
29 October 2010
Namibian Culture
The Namibian culture is both interesting and unique when compared to the culture of the United States. According to Paul and Martha Crouch, humans are unable to survive without culture. If a group of people can adapt to survive and thrive in the Kalahari desert, they can adapt to most anything. The culture of the Bushman was vital to their survival in the Kalahari desert. The knowledge women had when it came to growing crops and finding water was vital their survival, and this knowledge was passed down for generations within the culture. The Bushman men were skilled at hunting, determining footprints and killing their prey, therefore providing meat for their families. Although they didn’t have many family members because they had to travel light due to their nomadic tendencies and their adaption to the hot weather in the deserts. Because of that, the women would only bear one child, and thought that nursing worked as birth control. This was also to regulate population control among the Bushman. The Bushman also had a lot of time for leisure, participating in sacred dances, telling stories and playing games. But their culture is slowly dying, modernization and globalization cause many Bushman to be landless. The Bushman lands are being taken from them by the government and are becoming a part of the non-nomadic community. The Bushman are forced to live in settlements segregated by race. Therefore, the Bushman have no alternative but to give up their nomadic culture. (Paul Crouch)
The culture of the Bushman is different from my culture in many different ways. First of all, in the Bushman culture everything they own was achieved through hard work where as in our culture we just have to go to the store. There are other differences such as the women only being able to have one child, their entertainment is limited, and they have to move constantly. Our culture is dependent on...