Bushmen
Southern African indigenes
Bushmen is the traditional English term for the San peoples, indigenous hunter-gatherers of southern Africa.
The word derives from Dutch *bossiesman* (man of the bush).
While historically common and still used in some contexts, the term is now often considered dated or offensive.
San or specific group names like !Kung are generally preferred in contemporary usage.
Subsistence through wild resources
- foragersThose seeking wild food
- rock artImages on natural stone
- trance danceRhythmic ritual inducing dissociation
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
oral tradition · shamanism · ancestral lands · cultural heritage · kinship · ethnography · anthropology · ethnobotany
To leave behind completely
- BotswanaSouthern African landlocked nation
- NamibiaSouthwestern African coastal country
- trackingMonitoring location over time
- foragingSeeking wild food sources
survival · waterhole · dunes · arid · sand · gemsbok · meerkat · acacia
Pre-farming subsistence lifestyle
- nomadicWithout fixed residence
- bow and arrowRanged weapon using tension
- poison arrowsToxin-coated projectiles for hunting
- trackingMonitoring location over time
snares · fire-making · rituals · elders · eland · coming-of-age · sharing · egalitarian
hunter-gatherers
Subsistence through wild resources
- foragersThose seeking wild food
- rock artImages on natural stone
- trance danceRhythmic ritual inducing dissociation
storytelling · oral tradition · shamanism · ancestral lands · cultural heritage · kinship · ethnography · anthropology · ethnobotany · indigenous knowledge
desert
To leave behind completely
- BotswanaSouthern African landlocked nation
- NamibiaSouthwestern African coastal country
- trackingMonitoring location over time
foraging · survival · waterhole · dunes · arid · sand · gemsbok · meerkat · acacia · flora
hunter-gatherer
Pre-farming subsistence lifestyle
- nomadicWithout fixed residence
- bow and arrowRanged weapon using tension
- poison arrowsToxin-coated projectiles for hunting
tracking · snares · fire-making · rituals · elders · eland · coming-of-age · sharing · egalitarian · camps
Bantu
African language family
- Khoisan Peoples
- Indigenous PeoplesAboriginal, First Nations, Aboriginals, Native Americans, Inuit
- KalahariKalahari Desert, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, gemsbok
- Nomadic PeoplesMongols, Scythians, Huns, Tatars, Bedouins
- Southern African PeoplesZulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Shona, Bantu
- BotswanaKalahari Desert, diamonds, diamond mining, Kanye, tribal territories
Bushmenagriculturalists
Cultivation practitioners
farmers · pastoralists · herders · cultivators · peasants
Bushmencity dwellers
People living in metropolises
urbanites · villagers · townspeople · homesteaders · permanent residents