For Westerners, especially Americans, comprehending and appreciating a culture almost completely opposite their own is a large challenge. Majorie Shostak wanted to paint a portrait of the !Kung Bushman of Africa so that her readers could gain the same understanding of their people as she had by living with them. As an artist would, she went to see and experience the !Kung lifestyle in person. You can't paint a true representation of a landscape from a picture or description of it, you have to be there and absorb it first hand. One of the more difficult aspects of African tribal culture to understand is often the role of women. Gender roles in family life, marriage, and daily responsibilities sharply contrast those we are used to. However, through her interviews and day-to-day interaction Shostak paints us a picture that is so vivid and true, it is impossible to put her book down and still hold on to the same prejudices and geocentric attitudes we often carry with us.
             The most important responsibilities of a !Kung woman are caring for the children and providing food for the family. In an average day women will gather between fifteen and thirty pounds of vegetables. They carry the food and their children with them as they work. Like many tribes men hunt and women gather. However, Nisa also tells us women set traps for small animals as well, "I'd put the bulb in and leave it for the birds. I'd check the traps later in the day. If the bird was caught, I'd bring it home and my older brother would take the feathers off" (91). Between the trapping gathering women contribute 60-80 percent of the food consumed (12). However, this does not lessen the importance of the men's job of hunting. Hunting skills are developed early on as a child, sometimes as early as toddler age. When they reach adolescence they begin to accompany the men on hunts, but are kept out of unnecessary danger. One th...