San

Question 1

List 7 points of the life of the San.

Answer 1

1. Had no specific leader or chief
2. Group agreement, not just one person decide
3. Everyone have a change to have their say
4. Everyone seen as equal
5. Each group had the right to use the same land
6. No one own the animals - animals gift of gods
7. Lived in harmony with nature

Question 2

Describe the physical appearance of the San people.

Answer 2

Small in size
Skin colour is brown
Excellent eye sight
Language has “click” sounds

Question 3

The San people are nomadic (true or false)

Answer 3

True

Question 4

What does nomadic mean?

Answer 4

Move around a lot, don’t stay in one place

Question 5

What was the reasons for them moving often?

Answer 5

Followed how the game (wild animals) moved, plants and water needs

Question 6

Did they live in big or small groups?

Answer 6

Small, about 25 people in a group (men, women and children)

Question 7

Who were the hunters in the group?

Answer 7

Men

Question 8

What does it mean to be an expert tracker?

Answer 8

They follow the spoor or track of the animals for kilometres.

Question 9

What did they use to hunt with?

Answer 9

Bows and poisoned arrows
Snares
Clubs
Long poles with hooks for fishing

Question 10

What did the San who lived on the coast eat?

Answer 10

Crayfish, seals, mussels and perlemoen

Question 11

What did they make the hooks from?

Answer 11

Sharpened bone and wood

Question 12

What is a tidal trap?

Answer 12

Stacked stones in the water to catch fish

Question 13

Where did they use for poison on their arrows?

Answer 13

Special beetle or plants

Question 14

Once the poison arrow hit an animal, does it die quickly?

Answer 14

No, the poison took long to work and the hunter sometimes have to follow the animal for 3 days.

Question 15

What was there believe about hunting a large eland?

Answer 15

That you had to think like an eland and even imitate it.

Sometimes they disguise themselves as other animals

Question 16

How would they communicate with each other while hunting?

Answer 16

Hand signals

Question 17

Explain what gathering mean and who did this in the San groups?

Answer 17

It is collecting plant food. The women did it.

Question 18

What did plant food include?

Answer 18

Roots or bulbs, berries

Question 19

What did they use to get roots or bulbs from underground?

Answer 19

Digging stick (made of a stick with a sharp end and stone weight on it)

Question 20

Once they collected the plant food, what will they use to carry it to their camp?

Answer 20

Leather bags

Question 21

Did children hunt or gather?

Answer 21

No, but they had chores like:
fetching water,
looked for honey

Question 22

Did they own land?

Answer 22

No, they believed in the “sharing system”

Question 23

Did the San enjoy dancing?

Answer 23

Yes, it formed part of their religion and rituals. Dancing, clapping and singing

Question 24

Where did most of their gatherings take place?

Answer 24

Around the fire

Question 25

Their most important dance was called the?

Answer 25

Trance dance

Question 26

The trance dance is when the healer would dance around the fire clapping and stamping their feet until the __________ went into a trance or a state of ________?

Answer 26

Shaman | hypnosis

Question 27

Where did they get their medicine form?

Answer 27

Plants- helped with tummyaches, headaches, tooth ache and snakebites.

Question 28

Plant medicine were made in various ways, such as

Answer 28

crushed, burnt and the smoke inhaled or boiled and used like tea

Question 29

What is the plant called that reduce stress, relieves hunger, sedates and elevates moods?

Answer 29

Kanna

Question 30

What plant was used to suppress their appetitie when on long hunts?

Answer 30

Hoodia