Nisa: the Life and Words of a !Kung Women
Introduction
Foraging for wild plants and hunting wild animals is the most ancient of human subsistence patterns. Prior to 10,000 years ago, all people lived in this way. Hunting and gathering continues to be the subsistence pattern of some societies around the world including the !Kung. The !Kung population is located in the Kalahari Desert, in isolated parts of Botswana, Angola, and Namibia. The !Kung live in a harsh environment with temperatures during the winter frequently below freezing, but during the summer well above 100F. The !Kung, like most hunter-gatherer societies, have a division of labor based mainly on gender and age.
(Body) Gender in the Division of Labor For the most part in the !Kung society the men do the hunting and the women do the foraging. The women gather roots, berries, fruits, and nuts. Typical foods they might return with are mongongo nuts, baobab fruits, water roots, bitter melon, or !Gwa berries. A women will walk between two and twelve miles two or three times a week to go gathering. Food brought back by women makes up over two-thirds of the nourishment in a !Kung village. Typical game sought in the hunt includes wildebeest, gemsbok, and giraffe; they also kill various reptiles and birds, and collect honey when it is available. A man will walk between 1200 and 2100 miles a year in the pursuit of the fifty-five species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects considered edible. However if a hunt is unsuccessful, he may collect some vegetable foods on his way home so as not to come back to the village empty handed. It was once believed that hunting was the main source of livelihood among hunter-gatherer people, and that it was the single most important activity. "Research on nutrition has revealed that the most important source of nutrition are tubers, insects, edible plants, and small creatures gathered by the women, while the men's hunting activities are irregular, uncertain and form no reliable basis for
Foraging for wild plants and hunting wild animals is the most ancient of human subsistence patterns. Prior to 10,000 years ago, all people lived in this way. Hunting and gathering continues to be the subsistence pattern of some societies around the world including the !Kung. The !Kung population is located in the Kalahari Desert, in isolated parts of Botswana, Angola, and Namibia. The !Kung live in a harsh environment with temperatures during the winter frequently below freezing, but during the summer well above 100F. The !Kung, like most hunter-gatherer societies, have a division of labor based mainly on gender and age.
(Body) Gender in the Division of Labor For the most part in the !Kung society the men do the hunting and the women do the foraging. The women gather roots, berries, fruits, and nuts. Typical foods they might return with are mongongo nuts, baobab fruits, water roots, bitter melon, or !Gwa berries. A women will walk between two and twelve miles two or three times a week to go gathering. Food brought back by women makes up over two-thirds of the nourishment in a !Kung village. Typical game sought in the hunt includes wildebeest, gemsbok, and giraffe; they also kill various reptiles and birds, and collect honey when it is available. A man will walk between 1200 and 2100 miles a year in the pursuit of the fifty-five species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects considered edible. However if a hunt is unsuccessful, he may collect some vegetable foods on his way home so as not to come back to the village empty handed. It was once believed that hunting was the main source of livelihood among hunter-gatherer people, and that it was the single most important activity. "Research on nutrition has revealed that the most important source of nutrition are tubers, insects, edible plants, and small creatures gathered by the women, while the men's hunting activities are irregular, uncertain and form no reliable basis for
Cited: Shostak, Marjorie. Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Women. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1981 Eriksen, Thomas Hylland. Small Places, Large Issues. Pluto Press. Sterling, VA. 1995