The Dobe Ju/’Hoansi

This classic, bestselling study of the !Kung San, foragers of the Dobe area of the Kalahari Desert describes a people's reactions to the forces of modernization, detailing relatively recent changes to !Kung rituals, beliefs, social structure, marriage and kinship system. It documents their determination to take hold of their own destiny-despite exploitation of their habitat and relentless development-to assert their political rights and revitalize their communities. Use of the name Ju/'hoansi (meaning "real people") acknowledges their new sense of empowerment.

Foreword

iii

Preface to the Third Edition

vii

Preface to the Second Edition

viii

Preface to the First Edition

xi

A Note on the Ju Language

xii

Acknowledgments

xv

The Ju/'hoansi

1

(8)

Introduction: A Voyage of Discovery

1

(2)

A Waterhole Called Dobe

3

(6)

The People of the Dobe Area

9

(14)

Who Are the San?

11

(1)

Studies of the Sun

11

(3)

The Dobe Area

14

(1)

Exploring the Dobe Area

14

(4)

A History of Contract

18

(5)

Environment and Settlement

23

(14)

The Dune and Molapo System

24

(2)

Water Sources

26

(1)

Fauna

26

(2)

Climate

28

(4)

The Seasonal Round

29

(3)

Settlement Patterns

32

(4)

Village Types

32

(1)

The Layout of the Camp

33

(2)

Hut and Shelter Construction

35

(1)

Ethnoarcheology

36

(1)

Subsistence: Foraging for a Living

37

(22)

Gathering and Carrying

40

(8)

Carrying Devices

40

(3)

Major and Minor Foods

43

(3)

Food Classes and Subsistence Strategy

46

(2)

Hunting

48

(3)

Tools and Techniques

48

(1)

The Joys of Tracking

49

(2)

Insulting the Meat

51

(2)

Work Effort and Caloric Returns

53

(5)

The Quality and Quantity of the Diet

56

(2)

Ju/hoansi Subsistence: Affluence or Anxiety?

58

(1)

Kinship and Social Organization

59

(18)

Ju/hoansi Giving Groups

60

(4)

The Kinship System

64

(10)

Kinship I

64

(5)

Kinship II: Names and the Name Relationship

69

(3)

Kinship III: The Principle of Wi

72

(2)

/Tontah Meets /Tontah

74

(3)

Marriage and Sexuality

77

(14)

The Arrangement of Marriages

77

(3)

The Marriage-by-Capture Ceremony

80

(2)

Plural Marriage and Remarriage

82

(3)

Intergroup Alliance and Conflict

85

(1)

The ``Marriage'' of /Tontah

86

(1)

Sexuality

87

(2)

Male and Female Among the Ju/'hoansi

89

(2)

Complaint Discourse: Aging and Caregiving among the Ju/'hoansi

91

(18)

Introduction

91

(3)

Aging and Social Change in Ju/'hoan Society

94

(2)

Field Research on Aging: The 1986-1987 Project

96

(2)

Complaint Discourse

98

(1)

Narratives of Neglect and Abandonment

99

(4)

Chu!Ko's Story

99

(2)

Kasupe's Story

101

(2)

Entitlement

103

(1)

The Social Organization of Care

104

(3)

Conclusion: The Paradox of Sharing and Complaining

107

(1)

Future Prospects: How will ``Development'' affect Caregiving?

107

(2)

Conflict, Politics, and Exchange

109

(16)

Ownership and Leadership

109

(2)

The Problem of the Headman

109

(2)

A Fight about Adultery

111

(1)

Laughter and Danger

112

(3)

Deadly Combat: Ju/'hoan Style

115

(3)

The End of the Fighting

118

(1)

Hxaro Exchange

118

(7)

Coping with Life: Religion, World View, and Healing

125

(16)

The World of the //gangwasi

126

(4)

High God-Low God

128

(1)

How Ancestors Become Enemies

129

(1)

N/um and the Giraffe Dance

130

(5)

Becoming a Healer

133

(2)

The Women's Drum Dance

135

(2)

Three Medicines: One Blood

137

(4)

The Ju/'hoansi and Their Neighbors

141

(10)

Introducing the Herero and the Tswnna

141

(2)

Ecological Change

143

(2)

Work Relations

145

(2)

Intermarriage

147

(1)

Swara and the Sarwa

148

(3)

Perceptions and Directions of Social Change

151

(16)

Perceptions of the White Man

153

(4)

Transition to Farming and Herding

157

(2)

The Case of Debe and Bo

159

(1)

Wage Work and Migrant Labor

159

(3)

The First School

162

(1)

Government and the Future

162

(5)

The Ju/'hoansi Today

167

(26)

Dobe: Three Decades of Change

168

(1)

Life in the 1990s

169

(5)

Nyae Nyae: A Struggle for Survival

174

(2)

The Plastic Stone Age

176

(1)

Independence and After

176

(1)

The Nyae Nyae Foundation and the Farmers' Co-Op

177

(1)

The Land Questions: A Victory for the Ju/'hoansi

178

(3)

Ju/'hoansi at the Millennium: Progress and Poverty

181

(8)

Small Victories

186

(3)

Regional Developments: Mandela and After

189

(1)

The Challenge of HIV/AIDS

190

(3)

Anthropological Practice and Lessons of the Ju/'hoansi

193

(8)

The Changing Image of the Ju/'hoansi

197

(4)

Postscript: The /Gwihaba Dancers

201

(6)

Appendix A: Eating Christmas in the Kalahari

207

(6)

Appendix B: The Kalahari Debate: Ju/'hoan Images of the Colonial Encounter

213

(16)

Glossary of Ju/'hoan and Other Non-English Terms

229

(2)

Films of the Ju/'hoansi: An Annotated List

231

(4)

References Cited and Recommended Readings

235

(8)

Index

243

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The Dobe Ju/’Hoansi

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials