Kung
The !Kung who are called Bushman or San live in and around the Kalahari desert. The Kalahari is one of the largest, continuous sand surfaces in the world, and unlike other deserts, the Kalahari is considered semidesert because the rainfall amounts vary from six to eighteen inches per year (Marshall, 1976, p.62). This semidesert environment shapes the lifestyle and habits of the !Kung. These people endure enormous hardship because of the bleak conditions in the desert, but the desert does provide the !Kung with sufficient food in the form of edible plants high in water content and the animals they hunt. The Kalahari desert receives most of its rain in the months of January through March while the rest of the year is virtually dry. Rain in the desert is not predictable, which means that some regions can receive enormous amounts of rain and other regions none. The !Kung depend on scattered waterholes for their water, and there are three types of waterholes: 1) permanent, 2) semi-permanent, depending on sever droughts, and 3) temporary waterholes which are filled only when it rains. The !Kung are nomadic primarily for environmental reasons, and they have incorporated beliefs pertaining to the environment into their social behavior w
Wasting food in desert conditions is not wise for the continued survival of the group. They move seasonally from waterhole to waterhole, but upon returning to a water hole they do not use the same camps because of certain taboos regarding prosperity. Not only do the !Kung produce objects from wood, but trees are the home for beetles from which the !Kung extract venom for their arrows. The !Kung also move for social reasons to visit other !Kung or to collect or leave individuals in another area. the first menstruation is believed to engage powerful spiritual forces identical to those involved in trance medicine (Sho!stak, 1981, p. " The !Kung also avoid meat that they personally distaste. London: Harvard University Press, 1976. To build new fires on old sites might nullify the fresh chance and invite misfortune (Marshall, 1976, p. believe that femaleness weakens the hunter's prowess and endangers his chance of success, and they practice certain avoidances for keeping femaleness apart from hunting (Marshall, 1976, p. Each of these territories, or n!ore, contains food and water resources necessary for basic subsistence of the band. " MarriageMarriage in the !Kung society is primarily arranged, where a parent or other close relative pledges a girl to someone while she is still young.
Common topics in this essay:
Gathering Hunting,
Shostak Nisa,
January March,
Boys Girls,
Der Post,
Nyae Kung,
Marshall Kung,
Bushman San,
Conclusion Western-style,
Testament Bushman,
marshall 1976,
der post,
van der post,
van der,
games children,
boys girls,
kalahari desert,
games children play,
shostak 1981,
children own,
band bands,
animals hunt,
kung nyae nyae,
marshall 1976 97,
considered eligible marriage,
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Acceptance Essays
