The Bushmen of the South Western Cape have been extinct for more than two centuries but due to the rock paintings in the Cedarberg mountains, we know that they, (also known as the San), were part of this landscape during earlier times.

Though the Bushmen were famous for their hunting with bows and poisoned arrows, the bulk of their diet consisted of plant foods. In the northern Kalahari, the last remaining descendants of the Bushmen utilize more than a hundred plant food species. In the drier Southern Kalahari, plant foods are less abundant, but even there, plant foods such as the tsama melon and gemsbok cucumber are of critical importance for survival. Not only are they important foods, but for long periods may be the only source of moisture, as parts of the Kalahari only has standing water during the relatively brief rainy season.

As women are the main collectors of plant foods, they are in a sense the breadwinners among the Bushmen. Hunting, nevertheless, is an important activity, as meat is a much sought after food. Men are therefore under constant pressure to hunt. This is mostly done in small parties searching for fresh animal tracks, which are then followed. As Bushmen arrows are light and flimsy, a hunter must be close to the animal before he shoots, thereafter relying on the poison to kill the animal. Kalahari Bushman mostly use the contents of the pupae of certain beetles of the family Chrysomelidae, though Cape Bushmen in earlier times also used plant and snake poison.

Contrary to popular belief, Bushmen hunting activities are often not directed at the larger antelope, but rather at smaller animals such as duiker and steenbok, as well as burrowing animals such as the springhare and porcupine. Custom demands that the meat of larger animals must be shared with others. Not only does it strengthen the ties between people, but it can also be seen as an insurance policy, ensuring that no one will go hungry while others may have an abundance of food. A hunter's parent-in-law are usually the first to receive their share. This obligation is part and parcel of the custom of bride-service, which must be performed by the groom for some time after marriage.

The Bushmen who lived in the Cedarberg area in earlier times most likely had a similar subsistence system. In this area the Bushmen had a mixed diet of plant foods, particularly the corms of species of Iridaceae (including Watsonia, Babiana, Homeria and Moreae), as well as a variety of fruits and berries, combined with the meat of animals such as rock hyraxes, tortoises, steenbok and klipspringer.

Interesting enough, the northern Cedarberg Bushmen seem to have migrated to the West Coast seasonally. It has been suggested that they utilized food resources in the mountains during the spring and summer months, when these were at a peak, and moved to the coast during the winter months to utilize foods such as mussels, limpets, fish, rock lobster, marine birds etc.

Throughout the Cedarberg, there are several rock art sites containing a variety of paintings, some of which are particularly well-preserved and interesting. The paintings are records of the animals and people who lived in the area during historical and prehistoric times. Thus they tell us that elephant and other animals were present in the area, which had since become extinct, but they also tell us about the people who once lived here.

Most of the Western Cape rock paintings are associated with the Bushmen. Rock paintings are difficult to date accurately, but we do know that the painting tradition in Southern Africa is an ancient one, as a painted slab from Southern Namibia has been carbon-dated to some 26 000 years, putting Bushmen paintings in the same age category as European cave paintings. In contrast with Europe, however, our rock paintings continued over millennia up to the previous century, as the art also depicts ships, ox wagons and mounted soldiers of historical times.

This article is condensed from an article on the Kagga Kamma website. Our limited San Range of ceramics is dedicated to and inspired by the art of this fascinating people.

Kalahari San - photo by Roger De La Harpe