The San Societies

The people that inhabit the Kalahari Desert are some very amazing people. According to Nowak and Laird (2010), "the San have been living in this region for thousands of years." They are considered to be one of the oldest cultures in the world (Lovgren, 2004). The San, also known as the Bushmen are foragers that live in a foraging community. Kinship is very important in every society. Kinship is the fundamental glue that unites a culture so they can coexist with each other in harmony. The San kinship system has deep roots. They are conventionally small, mobile bands that forage. The kinship system in the San culture affects all things.

The most commonly found kinship among the San societies are is the nuclear family and extended family (Nowak & Laird, 2010). A nuclear family consists of a father, mother, and children (Nowak & Laird, 2010). The nuclear family is very adaptive in a number of situations. This is why it is the most common type of family when it comes to foraging societies (Nowak & Laird, 2010). An average size of the extended family ranges from 25 to 50 individuals. The extended families are known as bands. Due to this type of kinship connection an individual from the San culture will have a relative in every band they visit. Being related in this way helps family understand other families and helps them share things, especially in a time of shortage. According to our Nowak & Laird (2010), "if a household is facing a shortage of resources where they live, they can go to another band's territory and find relatives, a place to stay, and access to water." These bands are great for supporting families and sharing supplies.

Kinship to the San is making sure everyone is taken care of by sharing, giving and helping each other when needed (Nowak & Laird, 2010). The people of the San culture function with behaviors of the reciprocal exchange (Nowak & Laird, 2010). This behavior is generally found among the band societies. "Reciprocity is a mutual, agreed-upon exchange of goods and services" (Nowak & Laird, 2010). The most commonly type of exchange is the generalized reciprocity in which the giver does not require an exchange of an item for another item (Nowak & Laird, 2010). This type of reciprocity is very important to the San culture because sharing with friends, family and extended family members promote continued existence. "No value is placed on the item and no one keeps track of the exchange" (Nowak & Laird, 2010). When there is an abundance of meat from a slaughter of a huge animal the family shares the meat with other hunters that came up empty handed during the hunt. This type of behavior helps to decrease the amount of food and meat that could possibly spoil.

There are several cultural comparisons and between the San society and my own. The San culture is very simple and content. The pace of life San culture is relaxed and slow.