South Africa, Khoikhoi Capturing Livestock

Hoe de Hottentotten hunne schapen door de rook jagen (How the Hottentots hunt their sheep through the smoke). The Khoikhoi are the traditionally nomadic pastoralist non-Bantu indigenous population of southwestern Africa. The animals, especially cattle, were a sign of wealth and the Khoikhoi only ate cattle that had died or had been stolen from their enemies. They only killed their own animals for important occasions like funerals or weddings. The women milked the animals and gathered wild plants from the veld and the men killed game for everyday food. This shows that the Khoikhoi hunted and gathered, but also herded animals. Peter Kolbe (1675-1726) was a Dutch astronomer and naturalist. He is best remembered for his publication Naauwkeurige beschryving van de Kaap de Goede Hoop, describing the geography, climate, flora and fauna, followed by an accurate study of the Hottentots (Khoikhoi), covering their language, religion, lifestyle and customs. Cropped, original sized image appeared in: Naauwkeurige beschryving van de Kaap de Goede Hoop by Peter Kolbe, 1727

Picture No

12696958

Media ID

47683282

Size

3430px x 3900px (3.0MB)

Credit

BHL/Science Source/Mary Evans