Bushmen are a primitive hunter-gatherer people living in southern Africa. Before the western colonialists arrived in southern Africa, there were at least 2, Bushmen, and now there are only 55, people left. Now, more than half of them live in Botswana, and the rest live in South Africa, Namibia and Angola.
until more than 2 years ago, Bushmen were still in prehistoric times, and almost no one knew about them. They live in the most barren and barren desert areas, and make a living by hunting and collecting roots, stems and wild fruits of plants, as in the Paleolithic period. In order to get the water and food needed for survival, Bushmen often live in groups in summer, but in winter, when water and food can't meet their needs, they begin to move in different directions as a family unit, looking for food and water everywhere. But some Bushmen are forced to concentrate around the only water source in the driest season of winter.
In the Bushmen tribe, men are responsible for hunting. They often go out in groups of two or three times a week, and the captured animals are shared among relatives and friends. Women are responsible for collecting. They usually go out in groups of four or five to collect the roots, stems and fruits of all edible plants. Bushmen women have a certain position in the collective and family, are valued, and also have the right to decide. This may be because their collections often provide 6%-8% of the Bushmen's annual food, while men can only provide 2%-4% of the annual food during the hunting season.
since 197s, the wind of civilization has blown into the Bushmen tribe, and thousands of years of traditions have been quickly destroyed. Today, most of the Bushmen's traditions belong to the memories of the past, and may still exist in some small tribes that have long been forgotten and are in the center of the desert, but how long can they persist?
However, it is puzzling that from the anthropological point of view, what kind of Bushmen belong to is still an unsolved mystery until today. Bushmen are short, the tallest woman is only about 1.38 meters, while the tallest man is no more than 1.6 meters. Bushmen have yellow skin, Mongolian eyes, high cheekbones and thick, curly and granular hair. The name "Bushmen" actually originated from the Dutch colonists of that year, meaning people in the bushes. As for their ancestors, no one knows.
In recent years, according to archaeological findings, some ethnologists believe that the primitive man who made stone tools in South Africa in the middle and late Paleolithic period may be the ancestors of Bushmen. They went on to infer that the ancestors of Bushmen once occupied most of Kalahari, and later they were driven to barren and barren desert areas because of the invasion of Bantu ancestors who had developed culture and used iron tools. Of course, this is only a hypothesis at present, which needs to be further confirmed by various studies. Modern science shows that Bushmen have the earliest genetic map of human beings and are one of the early ancestors of human beings. They have their own language, but no writing. Its language is very unique, and many pronunciations are made by rubbing the tip of the tongue with oral lips and teeth. This method of vocalization came into being when the vocal organs of human beings were not fully formed. Therefore, it can be said that the Bushman language is one of the earliest languages in the world.
Bushmen's rock paintings are very famous and occupy an important position in the history of African art. The contents of his rock paintings are mostly scenes of fighting, hunting and life. The rock paintings they painted with lime, oil fume, water and animal oil are not only exquisite, but also do not fade after thousands of years. The population of Bushmen is only less than 9 thousand. In addition to Namibia, they are also scattered in neighboring South Africa and Botswana. In the long century, Bushmen lived in southern Africa, almost naked, with 2-6 people in each community. In the early morning or dusk, men go out to hunt antelopes and small prey with poisonous arrows.
Women dig edible plant roots, collect wild watermelons rich in water, build houses with branches and make necklaces with ostrich eggshells.
At present, there are only 6, Bushmen, who live between Botswana and Namibia. Many people gave up their primitive way of life and became farm workers.
Bushmen's culture is disappearing, especially the language they express with the crackling sound of their tongues.
They can live in the desert only by hunting and gathering. Bushmen's territory is a grassland with more than 8 thousand square kilometers and sparse grassland forest, surrounded by desert. Apart from planting a small amount of crops, they mainly collect fruits and hunt for a living. Because many wild animals are protected, the animals they can hunt are mostly rabbits, antelopes, bison and so on. Sometimes, they also raise antelope and bison that fall into traps.
Bushmen are short, some women are only about 1.38 meters, while men are no more than 1.6 meters. But Bushmen are famous for being good at tracking their prey. Once they find animal tracks, they will keep on tracking them, no matter how complicated the terrain is or how harsh the environment is. In the long-term hunting practice, they have developed a pair of critical eyes, and can even distinguish the footprints of injured animals from those of healthy animals. When hunting, two to six people form a hunting group, and often leave the camp for two or three days when tracking prey.
When hunting large animals, they use poisonous bows and arrows, and the arrows and shafts can be split flexibly. When the bow and arrow hits the prey, the impact force will cause the arrow shaft to fall off from the arrow, but the arrow is still firmly embedded in the animal, and the poison on the arrow will slowly penetrate into the blood of the animal. As time goes by, poison will play a role in animals. The poison smeared with arrows is made of poisonous plants, snake venom and poisonous beetles. This poisonous arrow can be used not only for hunting, but also for resisting invasion. In addition to hunting mammals, they also kill turtles and snakes, and pick up birds' eggs, termites' eggs and ants to satisfy their hunger.
Bushmen have no private property, and all the fruits of their labor belong to tribal members. After catching the prey, the men involved in hunting have the right to share the barbecue with other members of the tribe and visiting guests. When a family hits its prey, members of other families will flock to ask for a piece of the action. Bushmen are also willing to share their delicious food with others, because others will also share it with themselves after hitting their prey.
When men go out hunting, women are responsible for finding all kinds of edible foods, such as mushrooms, bulbs of plants, berries and various melons and fruits, as household food. 8% of Bushmen's food composition is plant food. Compared with meat, plant food is a more stable food source. Women who are responsible for collecting plant food have rich knowledge of plants and know what plants are edible and what plants are poisonous. Bushmen never do that kind of thing when collecting food. They often rotate their work between collection points.
Bushmen can't live without shrubs and thatch, and their dwellings are mostly thatched huts made of local materials. Up to now, Bushmen still keep the habit of drilling wood to make fire. They will put a pinch of hay into a round hole of wood blocks, and then quickly turn a thin stick inserted vertically in the round hole with their hands, and the grass will be lit in less than 5 minutes.
Bushmen's skin is not as dark as common African blacks, but yellow or yellowish brown, and their features are close to those of Asian yellow people. The tour guide said humorously that when the early Portuguese explorers first met the Bushmen, they mistakenly thought they were descendants of China. The British colonists named them bushman (Chinese transliteration: Bushman), which means people living in bushes, and described their living conditions vividly. As for the ancestors of the Bushmen, it is still unclear. When visiting local tribes, there is a kind of cake called "Vader". It's shaped like a pancake in China, but it's thicker and tougher than a pancake, and more like an Italian pizza. Vida tastes sour. When eating it, it is accompanied by meat, vegetables and a sauce called "wot", which is made of coffee powder and pepper. It is sour and spicy. It is really not used to eating it for the first time. The cakes they ate were covered with a red cloth to show their respect for the guests.
The dining table at the local people's home is also very interesting, like a big basket made of straw. When eating, put a lid on the basket and it becomes a table.
Another big hobby of Bushmen is eating beef raw. This is a local dish, mainly used for weddings, funerals or holiday banquets. When eating, the healthy and strong cattle are slaughtered and skinned on the spot, and the beef is ground into minced meat while it is still warm, mixed with seasoning and eaten with cakes. Raw beef must be absolutely fresh and hot, and once it is cooled, it cannot be eaten raw. Beef used for raw food is generally the most tender part of beef tenderloin and beef body. The meat that can be eaten raw is only one-fifth of that of a cow.
There is another horrible way to eat it. The slaughtered cows are peeled and hung there. Diners go up and choose by themselves. When they see the satisfactory parts, they cut them off with a knife, cut them into small pieces and dip them in seasoning. The bloodier the parts, the more popular they are. It is said that some local people can eat more than 3 Jin of raw beef in one meal, which is really unimaginable!
Pepper powder is a seasoning for local people to eat beef raw. In order to reduce the stimulation of blood smell, I added a lot of pepper and salt, and my tongue was numb with spicy. While winning a burst of praise from the local people, I kept drinking water. Bushman men who are good at hunting are most favored by girls. They hardly wear any clothes, and the only thing that counts as clothes is a fig leaf tied around their waist to cover their lower bodies, which can also be called trousers. Children are simply naked. Even women, the upper body is almost naked. As for wearing shoes, they think it is superfluous.
Bushmen attach great importance to the rite of passage. During the adult ceremony, men have to live alone in a bush-covered place for a month. No one provides you with food and water. If you want to live, you have to pick wild fruits or hunt to satisfy your hunger. This kind of field survival training, which is no less than the special forces, is not a big problem for the local boys who have just grown up. Because they have been hunting with their parents since childhood, they have accumulated rich field survival experience at ordinary times, and many people live happily in the wild.
The coming-of-age ceremony for Bushmen girls will be held under the auspices of tribal leaders for more than a month. In the meantime, they can't eat certain foods, and they have to learn what adult women should know and master. After the ceremony, they can think about getting married.
Bushmen women are not only small and exquisite, but also dance with beautiful waist swings. As soon as you get in touch with them, you will find that these girls are very cute.