The Nyae Nyae !Kung are nomadic hunter-gatherers that live in the Kalahari Desert in northeastern Namibia. They have little contact with the outside world. Their ability to live adequately in the Kalahari is a survival strategy developed over several hundred years.
Since the amount of rain varies in the Kalahari, most of their water comes from plants and roots. Gathering those plants and roots is one of the women’s chores but it is not uncommon for men to help out. The women of the village go in large groups to gather plants and firewood whereas men hunt and check snares in small groups or by themselves. The !Kung usually eat small meals during the day and eat a large supper with the whole family in the evening.
One of the !Kung's favorite activities is to sit in the shade talking amongst themselves. They are afraid of angry words and violence so the occasional dispute is worked out before it becomes a major one. Since competition might bring dispute, they try to live as equals. Because they are nomadic, they have very few private possessions and stealing is rare. Sharing and helping others are very important to the !Kung. Gift-giving is common and gifts are always exchanged even if it is years later.
One of the !Kung’s favorite pastimes is dancing, used for luck during the hunt, curing sickness, bringing rain, and religious ceremonies. Other than ceremonial smoking, dancing is the only type of religious ceremony the !Kung have. The most important type of dance is the removing of evil spirits. They believe that only women can have evil spirits in their bodies because they are believed weaker than men. During the dance, men circle around a crouched woman touching her, and pulling the evil spirit into their bodies. Eventually, at the height of the excitement, the men collapse into a trance and if they happen to fall into the fire or otherwise hurt themselves, they don’t feel any pain. When the men awake from their trance, they scream and cry, freeing the evil spirits.
The !Kung are generally quite healthy and tend to have long life-spans. Skin diseases and lung infections are constant threats to the village. They have few medicines, and usually use ceremonial dancing to cure the aliment.
Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on the !Kunk.
Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the URL.
If you are !Kung, your feedback is much appreciated.
Written By: Christina Berberich
Resources:
"The Kung Bushman Bible" Athens. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7997/
Lee, Richard B. and DeVore, Irven. Kalahari Hunter-Gatherers. London: Harvard University Press, 1976.
Tanaka, Jiro. The San, Hunter-Gatherers of the Kalahari. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1980.