From the stone age to modern warfare in a couple of years and the hunter-gatherer lifestyle lost.
The tale of the ancient Southern African bushmen and their hunter-gatherer lifestyle loss is a sad one.
The conflict in Angola and northern South West Africa is just one more chapter in the destruction of that ancient hunter-gatherer lifestyle.
When the Bantu speaking tribes migrated into Southern Africa from the north and the Europeans colonized the south, conflict with the indigenous hunter gather tribes ensued.
The bushmen hunter-gatherers and roving clans had no concept of property or ownership.
Livestock that wandered into their reach was hunted and utilized for food.
Bantu speaking tribes and Europeans alike treated them as vermin and bushmen were killed on site, or hunting parties were sent up to exterminate them.
A bleeding body from battle cave in the South African Drakensberg.
This drove the bushmen to the drier more inaccessible and uninhabited parts of Southern Africa.
A few clans still remain today in the southern Kalahari Desert.
Another pocket existed in Southern Angola and the Northern Kalahari.
In Southern Angola the local tribes also hunted them and in turn they hunted the local tribes with their poisoned bows and arrows.
It wasn't long before the Portuguese used them against the locals in the war of independence.
They would train them to shoot, give them ammunition and send them out into the bush to kill as many of their traditional enemies as possible.
They required no food, uniforms, boots etc. With their excellent bush skills they were able to completely subsist for months on their own.
When the Portuguese pulled out of Angola many of these joined with their northern South West African counterparts against SWAPO.
They were part of the highly successful task force Zulu in operation Savannah and were later formed into 31 and 201 battalions and used by other battalions for their unmatched skills in tracking.
This was a fun read. I went hunting with a really skilled tracker a few years ago. Although the culture may have been lost (mostly), the skills have not been lost. Interestingly, many of the ethnic San people are being recruited into game preservation, especially on hunting farms...
very much happening, I know a fellow who works for a large game farm where the San are employed together with their little groups of people/families. It is a very sad story in a hard land
A real tragedy. The bushmen certainly got a raw deal from all sides in southern Africa. Years ago I got to meet the legendary Jan Kruiper, one of the Bushmen outside of Kgalagadi National Park....what a fascinating man he was.
The bushmen ought to create their own nomadic society and cryptocurrency. Yes, it's a crazy idea, but imagine what they could do.
They could be a roaming clan of assassins or traders - maybe similar to gypsies and have their own international currency trade going on.
Someone just needs to teach them to use computers.
That's a deeply cyberpunk notion you just put out there; very appealing fictional vision!
Heh. While funny, that's not insurmountable. A specialized glyphic/pictorial touchscreen interface with a ruggedized body could be made to work with this setup.
Hmm.
Did you ever see this? Sugata Mitra's "Hole in the Wall" experiment proved just how quickly non-literate individuals (albeit children) can teach themselves to use the actual internet given access. With an interface designed specifically to be ultra-simplified and maximally self-teachable, who knows?
I might write a short story on this. You've convinced me of my idea being interesting enough to warrant one :).
I'd never seen that article. That is such an awesome thing to do for people. I'd love to set something like that up in poor areas here in CR. Amazing times we live in.
Hey, that's my line! :D
I might not write fiction about it but I'll definitely write something. Thanks for the inspiration 👍
Haha, awesome! It's a worthy idea. :) We could do a collab story one scene at a time maybe.
Um, I got, uh, crazy obsessive about the concept amd wrote about 3000 words of speculative non-fiction - about 1500 of which I am about to post ...
EDIT: ... and now I have
Oh dear 🙈
Oh man, that was awesome.
Excellent stuff :)
Interesting and sad. Do you know if anyone or any organization is working to preserve these stories? Also, where and how can I find more information on this. You have stoked my interest.
There are some online... most in out of print books
Jared Diamond wrote two books with similar stories, Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. I would highly recommend both books. It's fascinating to see how some societies collapse or are mowed over by more advanced cultures, while others succeed and adapt.
Heritage of the world being lost to modernization..... such a sad story.
Yeah you're right. History and ancient culture is such an art and treasure we must keep for the next generation. I hope there's still a place for those things in the coming years..
amigo #resteemia at your service
'A bleeding body from battle cave in the South African Drakensberg.' that drawing reveal what actually happened to bush men. impressive work @gavvet
ReSteemia
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I always visit your blog because you inspires me. Do what you do. Thank you very much for sharing inspiring content.
wow
Hey thanks for the information, what culture time do you want to bring this contribution to the community in general. Hugs
deep
very interesting story !