The !Kung tribe refers to a group of hunters and gatherers who live primarily in Namibia. The unique spelling of their name, with the anglicized spelling including an exclamation mark, represents a clicking sound in the !Kung language (Lee, 2012). As a hunter and gatherer population, the life of the !Kung revolves around the procurement of food, which is different in the United States and other first world nations where food is often perceived as a convenience or something that can be obtained quickly. The !Kung will often spend the entire day trying to obtain their next meal. Their daily life revolves around the process of gathering nuts that can be eaten or hunting prey, with little time for anything else.
This makes them more connected to the foods they eat and they are more respectful and grateful (Lee, 2012). Hunting expeditions can often take days; hunters will track and observe prey before striking with spears. In the meantime, tribe members at home may go days without a hunter returning with meat, and will have to rely on roots and nuts (Lee, 2012). A treat would be something like a little bit of honey, which is enough to cause excitement when they are able to find it while hunting. Compared to western diets, where nearly everything has sugar, the smallest treats are highly valued for the !Kung.
Both men and women in the !Kung tribe work together in preparing food: “Here, in a society of ancient traditions, men and women live together in a nonexploitative manner, displaying a striking degree of equality between the sexes” (Shostak, 2014, p. 78). Even though both men and women are equally important in preparing food, they still have different roles. Men will do most of the hunting, while women will prepare the meals at camp. During the evenings and when food is plentiful, the !Kung spend much of their time socializing with others in the tribe.
The !Kung believe in shamanistic practices as part of their religious code (Lee, 2012). They also believe in animism, which personifies animals to an extent, in that animals are believed to have consciousness and culture of their own. In this way, the !Kung are traditionally respectful of animals, even during the hunt, and they offer gratitude and prayer upon consuming the animal. Besides their animistic beliefs, the !Kung have a belief in a spiritual world that coexists with the natural world (Lee, 2012). They believe sickness and illness, for example, to be the work of evil spirits, while they believe that good spirits will often aid the tribe during its hunts. Factors such as weather are also believed to be the result of spirit influence. They employ several rituals, such as the laying of hands on someone who is sick, as a way to drive off malicious or evil spirits that may be nearby.
Although gender roles are delineated by responsibility, the !Kung does not believe in the generalized authority of one gender over another (Shostak, 2014). Marriage often occurs in the teenage years, although it is quite common for newlywed brides to continue staying at their parents’ home until they become comfortable with their husband. If this never occurs, the !Kung are comfortable with annulling a marriage and they have no provisions against divorce. Marriages are considered to be an equitable arrangement that is agreed upon by both partners as well as their parents. Additionally, violence from one partner towards another is prohibited, as the !Kung tends to disallow violence of any form between members of the tribe.
Beyond the role of the family unit, the !Kung do not have a recognizable hierarchal structure, and therefore there are no class distinctions between tribe members. Children are considered adults once they are able to actively participate in tribal responsibilities, which is often once the child enters his or her early teens. Children also tend to be collectively raised by multiple women in the tribe, who share nurturing responsibilities between them. This is due to frequent amount of time that !Kung spend with one another, particularly amongst the women who remain at camp, as nearly all activities include socialization. Privacy can be rare, as sleeping spaces are often shared.
There is no designated role of chieftain that has been observed in other similar tribes; while some !Kung tribes have been known to adopt a role similar to chieftain, this does not include any political authority and is instead regarded as a specific job function: the chieftain might be responsible for distributing meat following a hunt in an equitable manner, for instance, although he would have no particular authority over other members of the tribe (Shostak, 2014). The Chieftain might also provide spiritual advice or lead ceremonies, but does not receive any special privileges himself.
Although the !Kung tribe has remained largely independent and allowed autonomous rule, globalization has had an increasing impact on the tribe: surrounding lands, once considered ideal for hunting, have seen encroachment due to industrial expansion or exploitation of resources. Many of these lands have been claimed by ranchers or others with capitalist interests, while other lands have been claimed by the local governments as wildlife preserves, although these also represent capitalist interests as they are intended as tourist destinations. Safaris, for instance, particularly those that attract western tourists, are increasingly being located in traditional !Kung lands (Shostak, 2014). The !Kung are not forcibly removed from these lands, but the encroachment still has an adverse impact in that it scares away prey. Additionally, local employers seeking labor have also been known to employ !Kung members, which often necessitates them leaving the tribe if they accept employment.
Although the !Kung forego any use of modern technology, they are increasingly aware of its use through contact with others. Other members of the !Kung tribe have occasionally sought life outside of the tribe; while this practice is not encouraged, the !Kung do not mandate that members are unable to leave. Thus, the overall population of the !Kung tribes slowly appears to be diminishing over time.
