When it comes to the !Kung, they strongly believe that the spiritual world is apart of all aspects of their life. To them, the spiritual world determines their health, death, as well as the abundance of food and water. the !Kung have many restrictions about the dead. They believe that the ghosts cause them injury or even death. It is against the rules for them to mention the name of the person. who has died for reasons of health and. Even if a Person of the tribes die, they will move a away from place, because they believe that when you die your spirt stays in that once lace. So as a sign of respect they move away to let them have peace.
The !Kung rituals provide a community bonding experience as well as serve as medical services to the community. The spiritual leaders in the !Kung are considered diviners and healers. The healer uses spells to both heal and communicate with their ancestors. Dancing and ceremonial smoking are the only type of religious ceremonies that the !Kung have. They believe that their ancestors are involved in curing ritual. For example, "the healing dance". this dance happens annually, as a way to rid star sickness Around the fire, woman of the tribe will clap and sing to keep the healers safe.While the men will dance around the fire. Then thy will start in a trance like state, and will begin to cry. which is believed to be the evil spirit leaving the body of the men.
Religion is also a very important aspect of the !kung. They do believe in the traditional religions mainly Christianity. they also believe in symbols of religion, like we believe in the cross, but our cross is basically compared to the healers, who talk to the dead. the healers are very important because it bring the community of the tribe together. This happens because the entertainment is religion, it lets them rely on each other also for success and survival in the rituals, for example the woman support the male healers. so they can perform the rituals properly.
Animals also play a big part in religion, .a preying mantis is seen as evil to the tribe because they belong to the greater god, so the kung fear the mantis, as well as millipedes are seen to work with the greater god in the eyes of the tribe. So they are also avoided because if a person harms or kills one of those animals it is believed that they will die because of it, or the harvest will be ruined
N.p. n.d. "!Kung - Cultural Anthropology @ KSU." !Kung - Cultural Anthropology @ KSU.
N.p. n.d. “!Kung San: Religion.” !Kung San: Religion.
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 my culture has very many things. In common we both value religion. Religion in the !Kung is the way of life, it is the entertainment in the village, the bonding of people. In my my culture it could be considered as important as it to the Kung, but many things in our daily life is revolved around religion or was. But I think after a tragedy happens in the United States that's when it's most influential and brings people together again.
ReplyDeleteThe Kung and my culture differ on the dead. In the !Kung it is against the rules to speak of the dead, and they stay away from a place where a person has died to not Anger the. in my culture we like to honor our dead by telling their stories. Bringing flowers to the burial site or where they died if it was a tragic accident to pay respects.
So that is some ways how, the Kung and my culture has some things in common and how we are different. But at the end of the day we are very similar because we both believe in a god to guide us and help us in our life.