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History of Cape Town and its people: Khoi San?
By Quinton Mtyala
San & Khoi Khoi
The San had lived on the subcontinent in virtual isolation
for thousands of years until the Khoi Khoi arrived in 500
AD, from the north, in search of grazing for their cattle.
The Khoikhoi and San were the first inhabitants of the
Cape and are considered by many to be one in the same and
the word Khoisan is used generally, yet they are very different
from one another.
Distinct
The Khoikhoi referred to themselves as "the real people
of Khoi-na" to distinguish themselves from other groups
such as the San (SoaQua or SonQua), also known as Bushmen.
Khoikhoi literally means "men of men" and they
were slightly taller than the San.
Nomadic herders, the Khoi also owned livestock such as cattle
and sheep. They lived in large groups as opposed to the
San who lived in smaller groups and were mainly hunter/gatherers.
The Khoi lived within an exogamous clan system, meaning
that they could marry from outside their clan. This was
seen as way of forging alliances with other groups and also
saw to it that the group survived eventually.
Society
Khoi society was hierarchical as opposed to the San where
all members of the tribe where equal. The Khoi considered
those who owned cattle to be wealthy, there were servants
(without stock) and those who would work as herdsman. Usually
a herdsman would receive a lamb for his services.
Where did they live?
The Khoi lived in villages led by a chief, a hereditary
position, meaning that the title would pass to the oldest
son of the chief in the event of death. Several villages
would usually be united by a much larger unit called a tribe,
ranging in size from a few hundred to several thousands.
They lived along the coast and were known to be skilful
fisherman. The bones found in caves along the coast by archaeologist
bare testimony to the fact.
Freedom of Movement
Local clans could move around and use the resources, like
water, game, wild fruit, and pasture within a specified
tribal area. Unrelated clans from other tribes had to as
permission from the local chief to use the resources. The
chief owned neither land nor the resources on it as land
was not owned by an individual. This way of existence brought
the Khoi into conflict with early European settlers.
Early explorers
The early European explorers who rounded the Cape described
the people they encountered living on the coast as devoid
of all religion and were particularly fascinated by their
language which consists, almost exclusively of clicking
sounds.
The Language
The language of the Khoi-San groups influenced the Xhosa
language, in that it has a distinctive clicking sound, formed
in the palate with the tongue.
Today
Many of the Khoisan people who lived in the Cape were decimated
by diseases like small pox, brought to the country by Europeans,
for which they had little resistance. In the 1950s they
were classified as coloured by the Apartheid authorities.
Today, many coloured people in South Africa can be linked
to these two groups. Presently the San community is estimated
to be 5000 strong and the Khoi, 10 000. They're spread around
several areas in the Cape, Northern Cape, Namibia and Botswana.
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