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4. Subsistence: Foraging for a Living
Summary (by ocean_breeze)
This chapter allows readers to clear their assumptions of the idea of foraging for existence and subsistence as tough and difficult to survive. The Ju/’hoansi’s survival is based primarily on the notion of sharing and working together as a collectivity which lessens the difficulty of hunting and gathering.
In gathering food, their mode of transport is by foot and half a day is taken to reach their destination. One-piece garments-***-carrying-bags are used to pick mongongo nuts and other food. Their swift pace of picking nuts, of 2000 to 3000 nuts per hour, enables them to gather enough food to feed a person in their campsite for ten days. Their collective method of gathering food allows them to work lesser hours than the average working person in an industrial society. The gender-work division of labour is such that the men work longer hours than the women in hunting and gathering. However, the women are more productive in their contribution of food gathered.
There is a variety of plant and nuts which enables the Ju/’hoansi to survive in an environment with changing climate and weather conditions. The Ju/’hoansi categorize the different kinds of food into a food pyramid based on different factors such as abundance level, ease of collecting, level of tastiness and nutritional value. The most desirable type of food would be the mongongo. Storage space for food is maximized in efficiency in terms of gathering the more desirable food. This effectively reduces the time taken to gather other food and lessens chances of people going hungry. The Ju/’hoansi are able to have good level of nutrition and a well-balanced diet due to the wide variety of vegetables and protein foods. This allows them to have enough energy for physical activities.
The tools of gathering food are simple digging sticks while their tools of carrying are made from foldable garments such as leather bags and kaross that can be manipulated for different objects. Their detailed and differentiated method of carrying is important for successful acquisition of food and objects. Different tools and methods are also used for killing different kinds of animals for meat. Tracking skills are used to increase their levels of success in hunting as valuable knowledge of the prey is garnered. However, the success of a hunt is relatively low due to various factors of hunting and stalking the prey. Despite the low levels of success, when a hunt is successful, the hunters exercise a form of modesty and humbleness associated with maintaining the equality of treatment among the Ju/’hoansi. Due to the scarcity of meat, meat is valued higher than vegetables and is shared in the community with equal portions for everyone. This emphasizes the idea of working together as a community with energies channeled into socially beneficial activities and limits individualistic behaviour and power inequality among them.
Commentaries
Culture over Nature: Ju/’hoansi Hunting and Gathering techniques (by "skinny.jeans")
This chapter allows readers to clear their assumptions of the idea of foraging for existence and subsistence as tough and difficult to survive. The Ju/’hoansi’s survival is based primarily on the notion of sharing and working together as a collectivity which lessens the difficulty of hunting and gathering.
In gathering food, their mode of transport is by foot and half a day is taken to reach their destination. One-piece garments-***-carrying-bags are used to pick mongongo nuts and other food. Their swift pace of picking nuts, of 2000 to 3000 nuts per hour, enables them to gather enough food to feed a person in their campsite for ten days. Their collective method of gathering food allows them to work lesser hours than the average working person in an industrial society. The gender-work division of labour is such that the men work longer hours than the women in hunting and gathering. However, the women are more productive in their contribution of food gathered.
There is a variety of plant and nuts which enables the Ju/’hoansi to survive in an environment with changing climate and weather conditions. The Ju/’hoansi categorize the different kinds of food into a food pyramid based on different factors such as abundance level, ease of collecting, level of tastiness and nutritional value. The most desirable type of food would be the mongongo. Storage space for food is maximized in efficiency in terms of gathering the more desirable food. This effectively reduces the time taken to gather other food and lessens chances of people going hungry. The Ju/’hoansi are able to have good level of nutrition and a well-balanced diet due to the wide variety of vegetables and protein foods. This allows them to have enough energy for physical activities.
The tools of gathering food are simple digging sticks while their tools of carrying are made from foldable garments such as leather bags and kaross that can be manipulated for different objects. Their detailed and differentiated method of carrying is important for successful acquisition of food and objects. Different tools and methods are also used for killing different kinds of animals for meat. Tracking skills are used to increase their levels of success in hunting as valuable knowledge of the prey is garnered. However, the success of a hunt is relatively low due to various factors of hunting and stalking the prey. Despite the low levels of success, when a hunt is successful, the hunters exercise a form of modesty and humbleness associated with maintaining the equality of treatment among the Ju/’hoansi. Due to the scarcity of meat, meat is valued higher than vegetables and is shared in the community with equal portions for everyone. This emphasizes the idea of working together as a community with energies channeled into socially beneficial activities and limits individualistic behaviour and power inequality among them.
Commentaries
Culture over Nature: Ju/’hoansi Hunting and Gathering techniques (by "skinny.jeans")
This Youtube clip demonstrates the ingenious ways employed by the Ju/’hoansi in hunting/gathering their food. In this video, you will also find various cultural artefacts of the Ju/’hoansi, such as:
(i) The huts in their chu/o (probably dry season huts, since they appear quite large and well-constructed and the site appear to be well-cleared),
(ii) The da-tsi (fireplace; we can also see them building a fire), and
(iii) Their weaponry (I noticed that they are referred to as “arrows”. Perhaps the filmmaker mis-translated it, or perhaps the Ju/’hoansi have learnt to use arrows in place of darts).
The film shows that:
1. The Ju/’hoansi possess immense knowledge of their environment which allows them to manouvre around the terrian and survive in their relatively harsh environment with much ease. This knowledge is probably accumulated through many generations and handed down through enculturation.
2. They make use of materials obtained from nature to create daily necessities (e.g. ropes), and amazing devices such as a “bird trap”. This demonstrates the sovereignty human, and the culture they developed, have over the environment live in, which is essentially what Franz Boas intended to illustrate in his study on the Inuit of Baffin Island in the late 1800s.
In addition to the knowledge and skill demonstrated by the Ju/’hoansi in going about their everyday lives, we also realise that the “outsider” is not as adept at Ju/’hoansi practices such as building a fire using dry sticks. This shows that any claim of superiority in intelligence or culture over “premodern” (We should be cautious of the negative connotations which often accompany such terms!) societies is unjustified. We should appreciate each culture in light of their merits and evaluate their practices according to their culture’s criteria, i.e. cultural relativism.
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| panda90 | Some Thoughts on the Dobe Ju Skill in Tracking | 2 | Sep 15 2011, 4:47 AM EDT by metalhorse | ||
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Thread started: Oct 19 2010, 2:17 AM EDT
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Upon reading about how the Dobe Ju are able to read animal prints in intense detail during their hunt, I was struck by how humans in the modern world have largely lost the ability to do the same - that is, connect with their instincts and really function without the help of technology. Growing up in the 21st century, all I have ever really known, for example, is the power of technology. This reading really made me re-think what we consider as our basic needs in society, and the power of the human instinct.
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| Anonymous | meat insulting | 9 | Nov 12 2008, 8:53 PM EST by Vmack | ||
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Thread started: Oct 2 2008, 5:16 AM EDT
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Humble is a virtue that everyone should posses.But,if "over-humble",it will eventually give the impression of sarcastic by the others.I am very attracted by what a !Kung said that he was not good at hunting,just get a tiny one when in fact he captured a big animal(pg52).To me,it sounds sarcastic rather to term it as humble.In my opinion,I think to be humble means to lower yourself,be sincere and honest to yourself and also to others.It is different that if you boast about your achievement,it is not humble at all,and i can agree to it.However,if you happen to hide the truth when asked about your achievement,i consider it as sarcastic.However,i am attracted by the system of sharing the provision with the people around,it can decrease the gap of economy status between people.
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| tzeling | Hunting and Sharing | 2 | Oct 4 2008, 1:53 PM EDT by huitungsing | ||
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Thread started: Sep 28 2008, 11:55 AM EDT
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This could be oversimplifying things a bit, since a foraging society is very different from our post industrial, post modern society.
But I was thinking that it might be interesting to compare the two different systems, assuming that this was the way most of humankin started out. In a way, couldn't we say hunting and one's hunting prowess is a "method of production", and he who controls production has power? Hence the need to insult the meat. Within a small society like the Ju's, social pressure is mostly enough to ensure that a skilled hunter does not abuse his ability and shares his spoils with the rest of the camp. Even without a central authority, the individual is made to serve the greater good of the tribe. In contrast, although there is a central authority in most societies today and laws in place to safeguard the good of society, we still see a lot of social and economic inequality. And the trend in capitalism is to revere those who control methods of production, rather than pressure them to share. At the same time, could we say scandinavian countries with their strong focus on community and equality, are the 21st century's answer to the Ju's egalitarian community? |
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