The KhoiKhoi/Bushmen

Bushman, Strandloper, San, Hottentot, KhoiKhoi, Sonqua are just some of the names given to a remarkable group of people, the original inhabitants of South Africa. Even though they don't give themselves a collective name I will simply refer to them as the Bushmen

As artists they painted rich scenes of animals and hunts, never a battle scene, a peaceful group of people that strove for harmony with nature and other peoples.

So what happened to these peaceful people, well first the migration south of the strip farming Bantu tribes on the fertile eastern seaboard, who enslaved, incorporated or displaced them. Evidence of the bushman influence is found in the Xhosas who have incorporated some of the "clicks" into their language
(Nelson Mandela is such a remarkable humanist?)
Then came the European Settlers who initially traded then stole the Bushmens valuable livestock and introduced deadly diseases (Spanish Influenza virtually wiped out the settlements)

I took a trip to the Cederberg Mountains and viewed a rock painting of a fifteenth century sailing boat, alongside some colourful Eland and a strong scent of camphor trees growing in the rocky outcrop, looking out at the empty hills completely empty of these ancient artists I wonder at what has been done that can never be undone