San Bushmen

Unfortunately, the San have often been regarded as second-class citizens in Namibia as well as neighbouring Botswana and during the course of history, Bantu-speaking people from north-east Africa and Europeans forced the San into the Kalahari, where most of them still live nowadays.

The 45.000 San, one of the most intriguing people in this world, are the region's earliest inhabitants (it is estimated that they have been living here for the last 30,000 years)and are still settled in many parts of southern Africa where game and veld food used to be plentiful more than three centuries ago.
The San live in isolated groups in the widespread semi-desert regions of the Kalahari and traditionally used to be hunters and gatherers who migrated in small family bands. The San groups can be divided into six sub-groups being the !Xu, the Naró, the Kxow or Mbarakwengo, the Hei-||om the |Auni and |Nû||en. In the past these groups had little to no contact with one another, this is changing though as San interests are being promoted across the boarders in Botswana and Namibia and slowly resulting in some kind of group solidarity.

Recently a delegation of Namibia's Hei||om petitioned to the Ministry of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation claiming their ancestral lands back. Without this land they argue, they would soon loose their cultural identity, being scattered all over Namibia and forced to look for jobs.

The San population have a relative lack of a leadership institution, they therefore have no chiefs or system of leadership and individual decision making is part of their culture. As a completely mobile society, the San followed the water , game and food and had no animals, crops or possessions. Traditionally women tend to look after the children as well as collecting edible plants whereas the men arer involved in hunting.

Lodges and Camps in Namibia: Beach Lodge - Casa Piccolo - Mahangu Safari Lodge - Mazambala - Oase Guest House - Phantom Farmhouse - The Desert Homestead

Botswana Destinations: Chobe National Park

Zimbabwe Destinations: Victoria Falls

Tribes of Namibia: Herero - Himba - Kavango - Ovambo - San - Topnaars