The Harmless People

An interesting and very detailed book about the Bushmen of the Bechualand Protectorate (now Botswana) and Namibia, from an author who spent a lot of time living with groups of them. Published in 1959, the travels all took place in the 1950s. (Now known as San or Saan, this terminology is not used at all in this book, and the tribal naming doesn't align with any of the tribal names given on the San wikipedia page, so I will just stick with what is in this book in my review.) The author describes her current travel, but also throws back to previous trips he family have undertaken, so is able to explain the changes that have taken place between trips (to the family groups primarily, but also references to waterholes, villages etc). She is travelling with her parents, and seemingly sometimes with her brother, although her writing concentrates the story well away from them, and focuses on the Bushmen and the Kalahari Desert.

The first half of the book is about a small group of Bushmen who Thomas calls the Gikwe Bushmen, led by Ukwane and his younger relative Gai. There is a short family tree at the beginning of the book which joins up some of uncertainty I felt (although I am sure it was explained somewhere in the text, I must have not taken it all in). As well as living alongside this family group, sharing their food, their traditional way of life and learning to search for food, listen to some of their handed down stories, Thomas shares all her day to day interactions, but the book retains its accessibility despite containing all this detail anthropological information.

As well as this family group there are other Bushmen, whom Elizabeth refers to as the jealous men from Okwa, although there are women and children with them, who come to camp within a few metres of the family group to ensure they are not missing out on what they imagine of the feasting brought by the white people camping with Ukwane.

After leaving this group and setting out for the northern Kalahari, crossing the border into South Wet Africa (now Namibia). Here they connect with another group of families, referred to by the author as Kung Bushmen, primarily Toma's family (his wife Tu, an daughter Norna, and relatives Crooked Kwi, Gao Feet and Lazy Kwe, and their respective families and those who live with them. Again with this half of the book we get the traditions, the tribal stories and beliefs, information about their hunting and gathered food, and their tribal connections. It is pretty much a full cultural and tribal explanation of their way of life.

Accompanying the writing are several pages of black and white photos. These are of a range of subjects, but primarily people. They are interesting and of reasonable quality given the date, and certainly add to the writing.

While perhaps not the most spirited for books - it goes flat for pages at a time - it is detailed and thorough, it gives no obvious reason to disbelieve any of the information, and is quite readable.

4 stars.