Khomani San
(koh-mah-nee sahn)
Kalahari Desert, southern Africa
Proven Enduring
“Our story is a long one that started many thousands of years ago when our ancestors still moved freely across southern Africa, following the rains, the plants and the animals that brought us life.
Things today are different and the vast open spaces that we once inhabited have become much smaller, intersected by state boundaries, private property and modern man’s infrastructure, such as roads.
The San form part of our ancestry, as well as being the first people of southern Africa. The ‡Khomani San (koh-mah-nee sahn) are descended from several original San groups.”
*Taken directly from the Khomani San website
What are the beliefs and practices of my people regarding how a human being is meant to exist in relationship with a living earth?
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Proven Resilient
“European explorers and settlers (arrived) in the 16th and 17th centuries, after which land was gradually carved up into freehold farms, displacing the indigenous people onto smaller tracts of communal land, particularly in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The expansion of European colonisation caused great strain on land resources; San hunter-gatherers were victimised by the European Settlers as were Khoe and Bantu-language groups, all competing for resources in the face of European territorial expansion.
Over this period, disease and other genocidal activities decimated most San clans in South Africa and Namibia, with the last permit to hunt a Bushman being issued by the pre-apartheid state in 1927.”
*Taken directly from the Khomani San website
What are the beliefs and practices required to survive and thrive in the contemporary world?
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Additional Resources
Powerpoint
Download the entire Khomani San slide deck for educational purposes