In this unit about African foodways, we discussed the Sans “Bushman” foragers and their foods including articles and films about their culture in general. One of the main findings from these articles and films was their migration tactics. As observed in the film, ‘N!ai: The Story of a !Kung Woman,’ these people would migrate to where there was a water source nearby. The tribes that were in drier lands would have to migrate more frequently than those who had multiple sources of water near them. The people that lived in the drier areas were the Gwi and Gana San people. They are more nomadic than the other tribes studied, the Baka and !Kung, due to the fact that their sources of water would only be available for a few day after heavy rains. When there was no source of water readily available, they would have to depend on melons and certain roots to obtain enough to stay somewhat hydrated.
Antoher finding I observed was the importance of food overall. No matter where the tribe lived, (Baka in a tropical rain forest in Cameroon, !Kung in different parts of the Kalahari Desert, or the Gwi and Gana San in Botswana), they were greatly affected by the sources of food in their vicinity. The !Kung heavily relied on gathering as their main source of food. In the Kalahari Desert, this was more reliable because huntable game was scarce. Eighty percent of their food was food gathered by the !Kung women and the other 20 was game hunted by the men. Whereas, the Baka people in the tropical rain forest, they would rely more on hunting than gathering. They would use paints they gathered as ‘ethno-pharmaceuticals’ and gathered yams, honey, termites, etc for food.
In my opinion, the hunter/gatherer method is a great way for people in areas like that to sustain life and support their families and bands. Their way of life is unique in a sense that each band must find a way to survive in the conditions that are given to them. These films and articles were a great depiction of how...