Marriage is an ever changing concept in the !Kung tribes. Men and women alike can decide whether to marry, divorce, or accept multiple wives. Each factor changes the dynamics of both the couple and the families involved. Marriage negotiations often starts between two families with children of marrying age, which is between twenty and thirty for men but sixteen or seventeen for women. It use to be between ten and twelve but as their culture as a whole has changed so have their traditions for marriage. Arranged marriages are never done with first of kin, even first cousins; marriages are also often done between people from varying geographic areas (Shostak and Nisa 2000). Husbands and wives must also meet specific requirements that each family desires. Favorable traits for men are being unmarried, mildly young, having excellent gathering and hunting skills, a family friend, and accepting of the responsibilities bestowed on him by his new family. A wife's favorable traits are being young, industrious, and fertile. After negotiations and the ceremony are finished and if the bride is still young the husband will move into his wife's village until she is old enough to move away. This can cause the husband's family to compete with the wife's for the couple's attention and resources (Shostak and Nisa 2000). These changes from the bride living with her parents to moving in with her new husband can be traumatic, especially if she is still perceived as a child by herself or her tribe. But a !Kung girl must menstruate, marry, and bear children before she may be considered a "woman." The change in status allows for her to have more influence in her community as well as the families she's involved with (Shostak and Nisa 2000).
Menstruation is a key part in the woman's changing status but also a strong way to increase bonds with other women. This part of a woman's life has its own rituals surrounding it and if they are not followed correctly then the girl could be subject to the immediate termination of the ceremony and humiliation. The ceremony requires the girl to remain motionless and silent until other women of the tribe find her. They then place her in a hut, cover her, and don't allow her to talk to anyone until her cycle is over; that is because the first menstruation is viewed as a spiritual vision. The women who have already passed through the cycle dance outside the hut in joy that another girl is transforming and joining their ranks. However if the girl is seen by a man before her cycle is complete she will be subjected to her belongings taken away and her head shaved (Shostak and Nisa 2000).
The marriage ceremony is modest and gifts are exchanged before it even takes place; the ceremony itself includes building a hut for the new couple, festivities, a night solely for the bride and groom, and marriage oil rubbed on them by their mothers. If the woman was hesitate about marrying the man and still feels that the marriage is incompatible she may divorce him if there is a group consensus between her and her family. Since there is no legal procedure divorce runs rather smoothly. Property isn't shared and the children often stay with the mother. The newly eligible man and women would then look for new spouses and continue with their lives (Shostak and Nisa 2000). If the dissatisfied wife doesn't find support for the divorce she may threaten suicide with poison arrows or running into the bush. By voicing her emotions so strongly the divorce usually occurs soon after (Shostak and Nisa 2000).
A major reason for divorce is when a man takes multiple wives. When a man searches for a second or third wife he must often include his first wife in the discussion. If not, it could lead to quarrels between the individuals and force one or more of the wives to divorce the husband due to sexual or emotional jealousy. A first wife may feel insecure sharing her husband especially when she is young. However a wife may even propose a polygamous marriage if she feels herself aging and requires more help with chores like gathering water or tending to the children. A senior wife has more control over the newer wives but the junior wives have no control over the first wife. With all the changes the occur intragenerational- within a person's lifetime- it is no wonder that customs and traditions of the !Kung are always changing (Shostak and Nisa 2000).
Shostak, Marjorie, and Nisa, eds. 2000. Nisa, the Life and Words of a !Kung Woman. Cambridge Mass. Harvard University Press. (Retrieved from eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) on October 10, 2015.)
FGeography And History
History
The !Kung tribes are of the San people living if the Kalahari Desert in Africa. They call themselves the !Kung or the !Xun, but most of the world only refers to them as Kung. They use to live in camps of 10-30 people, and would live by a body of water until it dried up. Then they would move camp to a new body of water (Fielder and King). They were hunters and gatherers, with men hunting and making tools like spears and poison arrows while women would spend days foraging for roots, nuts, and berries (Fielder and King). The tribe has many beliefs, such as not mentioning anyone dead for fear of the ghost attacking them and also that women should birth their child alone in the wild (Shostak). In recent times, they've taken to farming cattle, and as a result are making more permanent settlements and towns (Fielder and King). They are also famous for their language, which features a large number of clicks.
Fielder, C., & King, C. February 1, 2004. Culture Out of Africa. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
Shostak, M. (1981). Nisa, the Life and Words of a !Kung Woman (2nd ed., pp. 77-81). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Geography
The area where the !Kung people reside is in the Kalahari Desert across the lands of Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa which is about 360,000 square miles. The north is considerably wetter than other areas and to the east there are woodlands. It is also part of the Kalahari Basin which includes the Okavango River and its delta. The area receives about five to ten inches of rain annually (n.p. n.d.). A few things about the desert itself is that it's not actually a desert because of the rainfall that does fall. Due to that fact it would be better to call it a "thirstland" (Harvey n.d.). This rainfall allows for sparse vegetation like desert grasses, shrubs, deciduous trees and camelthorn which is a key part of the ecosystem. The temperature also varies greatly in the area and can range from 117 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer to a bone-chilling 7 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter (n.p. n.d.).
Harvey, Martin. n.d. "Kalahari Desert." WWF. Retrieved September 15, 2015 (http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/best_place_species/current_top_10/kalahari_desert_.cfm).
N.p. n.d. Kalahari Desert. Retrieved September 9, 2015 (http://www.kalaharidesert).
Map of !Kung Locations
The !Kung and Me
ReplyDeleteThe !Kung culture has many differences as well as similarities to the culture I was born to. The culture I speak of is Western culture, specifically that of the United States. Marriage is a universal idea between the cultures but they have different ceremonies, rules, and type. In the United States, marriage is often thought of as a huge event that should be celebrated widely with friends and family. There is often the wedding itself, a reception afterwards, and an explosive amount of money spent on both. However the !Kung believe it should be modest and arranged by the parents. I don't agree with it personally because I believe both the man and woman should have the choice to marry whomever they choose without their families deciding the fate of the couple. The fact that the wedding is modest doesn’t faze me, however, because the money spent shouldn’t matter, the people involved should.
The rules of the weddings are also different. There are superstitions in the United States that believe the bride shouldn’t be seen by her future spouse the night before or it could cause future bad luck. Another superstition is that the bride must wear “something old, something borrowed, something blue, and something new” to create a happy married life. The !Kung have their own rules like the bride and groom staying separated until the ceremony is over. I think that the ceremony is definitely different but not disagreeable. Everyone has their own way of celebrating the binding of families and it shouldn’t matter how it is done as long as the people are blissful.
For the type of marriage, they are also different. The United States believes that marriages should be monogamous. The !Kung believe that polygamy should be allowed because it can create more resources and childcare for the household. I don’t agree with polygamy because I was ingrained with the idea that people should have only one partner. But I can still understand the reasons behind polygamy; extra spouses can make life a little easier when more food is needed or if someone is sick and can’t perform the day’s chores.