Socioeconomic Change among the Basarwa in Botswana: An Ethnohistorical Analysis

Abstract

Much of the anthropological attention paid to the Basarwa (San, Bushmen) of southern Africa has concentrated on foraging adaptations. Analyses of ethnohistorical and oral-history data suggest that the Basarwa have lived in a variety of socioeconomic situations. Drawing upon data from the Central (Ngwato) District of Botswana, this study reveals that significant changes have occurred over time in the social, economic, and political systems of Basarwa populations. Interethnic interactions have ranged from severe maltreatment of the Basarwa by other groups to a kind of paternalistic interest in their welfare. The Basarwa have tended to become part of the lowest class in a multitiered socioeconomic system in Botswana. The impact of state systems on indigenous peoples has become a major focus of anthropological inquiry in recent years (Bodley I982; Leacock and Lee I982). Often such interaction has been characterized by conflict and competition leading frequently to the wholesale destruction of indigenous peoples or their cultural systems. In the case of most African culture-contact situations, the interplay between ethnically distinct populations has involved elements of cooperation and symbiosis. Ethnic minorities who lived by hunting and gathering have sometimes become specialists in the heterogeneous societies of which they are a part, exchanging goods and services for nonlocal resources or a measure of support and protection.1 A common perception of indigenous foragers in Africa is that they continued to hunt and gather contentedly, changing little if at all, until comparatively recent times. The encroachment of outsiders, including farmers, hunters, traders, and settlers, has been blamed for the major changes they have undergone. Colonial government policies involving indigenous peoples ranged from outright genocide to benign neglect. Some groups fought back vigorously against incursions; others moved into remote and inaccessible regions in the hope of maintaining their freedom and cultural integrity. The Ethnohistory 34:3 (Summer I987). Copyright ? by the American Society for Ethnohistory. ccc ooI4-I80o/87/$I.50. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.187 on Sun, 15 May 2016 06:28:54 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms