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Posted on January 29, 2019
The Khoi-Khoi & San
Our world is changing drastically in many ways. With a rise in globalization, older cultures are being forgotten and left behind. This is because globalization calls for people to leave behind their old ways, and to join the bandwagon of globalization.
Which cultures are being forgotten, and lost? How can we save them?
National Geographic’s definition of globalization is simply, “the connection of different parts of the world”. So, globalization is connection. Our world is an ever-increasing place of technological advancement, where “knowledge” is at our fingertips and western entertainment and wireless cell phone signals and technology is being made available in even the most remote locations.
This does seem like a very good thing. Globalization is allowing people in remote locations to have “the chance to develop economically” which “creates the conditions in which democracy and respect for human rights may flourish” according to Mike Collins, who has 35 years of experience in manufacturing, in Forbes Magazine.
However, there are some drawbacks to the effects of globalization: cultural losses.
At the start of South African history, African migrants from the north travelled southward to populate those areas. This event, called the “Bantu Migration”, occurred around 1000 AD – 1800 AD. As time progressed, two groups evolved from this initial migration: the Khoi-Khoi, who were pastoralists, and the San, who were hunter-gatherers. (Even though the pastoral and hunter-gatherer lifestyles are very different from the ones we have today, that does not mean that these cultures were “less developed” or “primal”).
The opinion regarding the “primitiveness” of these African cultures heavily influenced European settlers desire to exploit Africa beginning in the late 17th century, and continuing with the “Scramble for Africa”, which occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In this event, European countries engaged in New Imperialism; they conquered, invaded, divided, and occupied the entire continent of Africa. This, which I consider to be a form of globalization and world-connectedness, impacted the Khoi-Khoi and San cultures in very negative ways.
According to Andrew Thompson, a writer and traveler in South Africa, “The disruption to grazing patterns, the exploitation of natural resources, the spread of imported diseases and various other conflicts had a direct impact on the population of the Khoi and the San. Over the subsequent years their populations went into a sharp decline.”
Not only was their culture threatened by population loss, but by government repression as well. South Africa’s apartheid system made laws that grossly separated people of different races:
It was from this apartheid system where the name “Khoisan” came about- even though the Khoi-Khoi and San peoples were diverse and numerous, government leaders blended their names together to “simplify” things, which was and is very offensive to them, given that their lifestyles were and are completely different.
It is through this culture-blending and western influence where we can observe that the Khoisan culture is actually dying- but what does it mean for a culture to die?
Cultural losses or cultural deaths is when a group of a certain culture either voluntarily or involuntarily assimilates to the more “dominant” culture, forgetting their unique knowledge, craftsmanship, language, and way of life.
In cultural losses and deaths, we are faced with several challenges and questions of importance and priority. Initially, the Khoisan people were said to have “remarkable skills and knowledge”, such as the ability to “tune in to their surroundings” and hunt large creatures with only the aid of a “poison-tipped arrow”. They also had an ability to extract nutrients from plants, and a rare knowledge of the medicinal value of these nutrients. In Thompson’s article, he further specifies that “Traditional music and singing are no longer as prevalent, and the art of making weapons, traditional jewelry and clothing are starting to be diluted by modern western cultures.”
The Khoisan people also use a conglomeration of the most complex languages in the world, which many people refer to as the “click languages”. This is because the people use different audible clicks with their dental and nasal areas:
The Khoisan culture has developed in a way that is not primal at all, but seems to be complex, intricate, intelligent, and filled to the brim with knowledge beyond that even Westerners can understand! Some may say that cultural loss is a good thing: Kwabena Taiwo, a UK based writer and lawyer, claims that in his article, titled “Indigenous African Languages are Dying Out and it’s a Good Thing”. His main argument centralizes around the idea that Africa’s wide variety of language-speakers has contributed to its inability to unite and to thrive in the developing world.
Even though this point of view may be true, the unique language and intelligence of groups like the Khoisan offer the globalized and culturally-assimilated individuals of the world- who make up the majority- a rare look into a different way the human race has developed. Just because the Khoisan culture has not developed technologically like most of the world has, this does not mean that they are “less developed” or “primal”. It simply means that they have developed in a different way than the rest of the world, and I think that calls for some praise- to ignore the entire world and continue in one’s own culture- that is a very, very special thing.
Knowledge is important. If we lose the Khoisan culture, we will lose their knowledge, their language, and the potential to see the human race from a new lens, one that proves the complexity and intelligence and variety of human mind, one that gives us a glimpse into true diversity and true culture.
Sources:
Collins, Mike. “The Pros And Cons Of Globalization.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 6 May 2015, www.forbes.com/sites/mikecollins/2015/05/06/the-pros-and-cons-of-globalization/#19efea4ccce0.
Francesca. “Khoisan Identity.” South African History Online, 10 May 2017, www.sahistory.org.za/article/khoisan-identity.
“Indigenous African Languages Are Dying Out and It’s a Good Thing.” International Policy Digest, International Policy Digest, 14 June 2018, intpolicydigest.org/2018/06/06/indigenous-african-languages-are-dying-out-and-it-s-a-good-thing/.
Sahoboss. “A History of Apartheid in South Africa.” South African History Online, 17 Jan. 2019, sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa.
“The Long-Run Effects of the Scramble for Africa.” Seven Things I Learned about the Transition from Communism | VOX, CEPR Policy Portal, voxeu.org/article/long-run-effects-scramble-africa.
Thompson, Andrew. “What to Know About the Khoisan, South Africa’s First People.” Culture Trip, 3 Jan. 2018, theculturetrip.com/africa/south-africa/articles/what-to-know-about-the-khoisan-south-africas-first-people/.
Hey Leah,
I really liked this post. I agree with you, globalization has helped us evolve but because we are so connected it has also helped us lose our culture.
Globalization is not the only factor that is furthering cultural loss. There has been a paradigm shift in commonplaces such as having kids. European countries are facing a decline in population. In Spain, the population will decrease by 9.4 million in the next 50 years if no changes are made. Many factors contribute to the decision of women deciding to not have kids, but because of this, the country is opting to attract more immigrants. There are studies saying that if countries like Europe do not start having more kids, the predominant religion in Europe won’t be Christianity anymore but Islam instead.
I remember reading an article a few years ago saying that it was not globalization the one that was going to cause this cultural loss, but instead modernization. They pointed out how some African countries are not modernized, and this is why they haven’t lost their culture. Instead of creating new customs, clothing, and beliefs to adapt to the new world, they closed themselves. Culture has changed with time because we have been adapting ourselves to new changes.
I also read though, that the main concern is not about cultural loss but what each country is offering in this cultural global exchange. Globalization made it possible for cultural dishes and foods to spread, and for movies to include other cultures other than their own country. Mc Donald’s is everywhere, and Karate Kid is an Asian-American movie that was seen all over the world. Bigger countries have more chances of spreading their culture as other cultures get spread in their country, African tribes do not experience this because they are closed to the world.
I’ve personally seen cultural loss from Hispanic families that move to the United States. Even in South Florida, a state full of Spanish speakers there are first generation Americans with Hispanic parents that do not know Spanish.
“Muslim Population Growth in Europe.” Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project. Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, 10 Jan. 2018. Web. 01 Feb. 2019.
Hey Leah,
Globalization has always had positive and negatives outcomes. Many times people will immigrate to another country as an escape from their previous life in hopes for a better one, and sometimes just to move and experience a different life. While the positives are that people can develop economically, their country of origin and in some cases the country they are moving into may be affected.
In a specific case, Ukraine has lost millions of citizens to immigration as these citizens move out to seek “economic development.” This brings down the population of Ukraine on top of war and other related loses or deaths. With a population drop and the majority of the population consisting of lower class Ukrainians, the decision of having kids drops and reproduction drops. With this Ukraine risks losing even more of its population and its economic status only gets worse.
On the basis of cultural lose, the million of Ukrainian moving to other countries after generations will no longer be considered “Ukrainian” as they lose to the issue of cultural lose due to globalization. People begin to adapt and learn the culture of the country they had moved to and begin to slowly lose their culture. Generation after generation, there is more lose from knowledge of the language to soon support for their home country. This is something I have seen with the Ukrainian culture as I myself have moved from Ukraine and see this through friends who are second of third generation. They no longer speak fluent Ukrainian as it is no longer seen important by parents. They become clueless of foods or cultural “holidays” and stop celebrating Ukrainian Christmas and celebrate only the American Christmas.
Personally, I am also starting to see cultural lose in my own family and myself. I realize I do not know or remember the many Ukrainian holidays. My brother, born here, barely speaks Ukrainian and that is a result of this cultural lose. We begin to adapt to what is the norm in the United States and do or celebrate what the majority does. Overall, this issue of cultural lose comes from the minority feeling they must assimilate themselves into the majority culture and in result creates this lose of culture.
Sources:
“Cultural Loss.” SAGE Knowledge, sk.sagepub.com/reference/dictionary-of-multicultural-psychology/n57.xml.
Peterson, Nolan. “Amid War, Ukraine’s Population Continues to Dwindle.” The Daily Signal, The Daily Signal, 22 Feb. 2017, http://www.dailysignal.com/2017/02/21/ukraines-population-continues-to-dwindle/
Hey Leah,
First of all, I would just like to say that your topic is very compelling and is something that ought to be talked about, especially because of the limited knowledge that many people have of these cultures and the potential for them to become erased before the majority of the population can find out.
Globalization is a tricky concept. It certainly has its perks, as we now have more contact and interconnectedness between countries, uniting almost all of the world. In fact, my potential career pathway pretty much relies on the concept of globalization and the ability to come into contact with varying cultures and work alongside one another in common goals to better the health of people around the world. However, the abuse of the power of globalization has certainly been a dominating factor. Personally, I had never heard of the Khoi-Khoi and San people, and this statement alone shows the necessity to maintain cultures, no matter how insignificant they may be considered compared to dominating western cultures.
I am currently taking a course called Women, Gender, and Feminisms in Africa and we have discussed the presence of countries, such as Britain, France, Belgium, Italy, etc. and their effects on African countries as they became colonized and were ultimately forced to comply with western cultural ideals and beliefs. For example, we discussed feminist scholar, Oyeronke Oyewumi’s study of Yorubaland. Yorubaland, which is now modern-day Nigeria, did not believe in the concept of gender. In fact, their social structure was not based on a patriarchal, hierarchy where men were more valued than women. While the Yoruba people recognized the anatomical differences of a man and woman, there was no further social construct of essentialist qualities for the said “man” and “woman.” Instead, they relied on seniority to determine social status and who in particular would be granted power in decision-making instances. Therefore, men and women were given the opportunity to be in power if they lived long enough. Gender was neither in their vocabulary nor present in their set of beliefs. However, after the colonization of Yorubaland, the concept of gender was forced onto the group of Africans, whose thoughts and beliefs of gender were actually very progressive, inclusive, and equitable. In this case, like many other instances in African countries, the culture of a distinct group of people, who could have enlightened oppressive and westernized, socially constructed beliefs was instead extinguished.
While globalization is a modern-day driving factor that stimulates economic growth and the spread of ideas, the cultural differences and the characteristics of our past must not be sacrificed in this process. Knowledge and alternative perspectives are too precious to be lost. It is up to nations with influential power to exercise this power responsibly and respectfully.
Sources: Oyewumi, Oyeronke.“Visualizing the Body: Western Theories and African Subjects.” African Gender Studies: A Reader. 2005.
Please get in touch. I’m intrigued by your comment. Bronwyn Paulsen. I am KhoiSan. We currently reclaiming our 1st Nation status. My email bronwyn.paulsen.bp@gmail.com