San Culture Essay

Submitted By latricia98
Words: 631
Pages: 3

SAN CULTURE
ANT 101
DONALD ANDERSON
NOVEMBER 25, 2012

SAN CULTURE Kinship means a relationship with another that is connected by blood, marriage or adoption. The San are people of the foraging society who are known for their hunting and gathering capabilities. They lived in the southern portion of Africa called the Kalahari Desert. The San’s culture promotes a strong family bond, unselfishness and consideration of others. They limit their wants and needs so that it is easy for them to satisfy their desires (Nowak & Laird, 2010, section 3.3). The kinship system of the San impacts the culture in the ways that the people think, act and live.
Each individual in the San culture possesses a specific skill that is very important to their thought process. The men are known for hunting meat and the women are known for gathering nuts, fruits, melons and berries. Over time the men and women learn different ways to increase their skills to make it easier for them to hunt and gather what is needed to provide for their families. Regardless to the amount or size of the contribution, modesty is required. This helps the people of the San culture to be equal and never place any one individual above another. In our society today modesty is definitely not a requirement. People today can choose to look out for themselves and not care what others think or feel. In today’s society we have to weigh our options and see how we can benefit from a situation without considering others.
As with any culture there will always be disagreements. The San do not have a formal leader, but they recognize their respected elders as decision makers. The culture is very humble and the communities reach out to one another so that they all have time for their families and extracurricular activities. Reciprocity insures food for everyone. Even though the San do not keep track of different contributions it is still noted. One cannot be considered lazy and not expect consequences to follow, just the same as one cannot be overzealous to try and gain a higher respect. There are consequences for each individual’s actions in the San culture and this is the same in today’s society. The difference is laziness will actually cause you to fail, there are laws to assist with disagreements and people of today will not feel sorry for you. If you are not