Namibia Holiday & Travel - People of Namibia - The San
The earliest known inhabitants of Namibia are the San (Bushmen), who belong to the Khoesan peoples. Generally short in stature, they have light yellowish-brown skins, while their language, which differs among the different groups, is characterised by numerous clicking sounds.
These hunter-gatherers – including the Ju/Hoansi, Kxoe and !Kung – roamed the vast plains of Southern Africa for thousands of years before migrants armed with weapons and searching for new land on which to graze their animals and plant their grain, drove them further and further east into the Kalahari Desert. Most San people now live or work on farms in eastern Namibia or live in remote communal areas in Otjozondjupa and Omusati. There are approximately 35 000 San people in Namibia.
The wealth of rock paintings and engravings found in mountains and hills throughout Namibia bear witness to the Bushmen’s former habitation in many parts of the country. The oldest rock art dates back some 28 000 years. Examples are the famous White Lady painting of the Brandberg and the rock engravings at Twyfelfontein, one of the richest collections in Africa.
Renowned as great storytellers, the San express themselves eloquently in prose, music, mimicry and dance. Their simplest instrument is the hunter’s bow, strung with animal hair and equipped with a hollowed-out melon or an empty tin can as a sound box. Moth cocoons filled with stones or seeds are attached around their ankles to provide rhythm while they dance.
The San are divided into three groups: the Hai||om (who traditionally inhabited Etosha) in the northern districts of Otavi, Tsumeb and Grootfontein, the Qgu (!Kung) and Ju//Huansi in Bushmanland and the Gobabis district and the Khoé or Mbarakwengo in West Caprivi. While a small number of these legendary people still practise their traditional, nomadic lifestyle, the majority lead a settled existence in villages, having been strongly influenced in their way of life by Western culture, economies and lifestyles.
