Katelyn Almeda: Outside Reading-The Bushmen

In my globalization class, we learned about the Bushmen of Namibia. This society includes hunters and gatherers that live in the jungles of southern Africa. Everything that they use comes straight form nature. This includes food, shelter, clothing, weapons, tools, and various other necessities. Although it may sound like they have a pretty tough life, the bushmen get along really well. They are peaceful and share everything with each other. There are no specific class systems and even though they live in a pretty harsh environment, they are very gracious and loving to one another.
When it comes to spirituality, they believe in animism. According to this belief system, every animal and natural object has a soul. Spirits are everywhere, and you have to remember to respect them. According to my Global Sociology book, written by Linda Schneider, they also believe that sickness is caused by tiny arrows shot into the sick person by the spirits of the dead. She states, “These spirits are not malevolent, but lonely, and with the living to be with them (155).”
The Buschmen were very interesting to study. I thought it was fascinating how even though the conditions that they live in are so harsh, they have very strong connections with those that they live with and never really seem to complain. Their religious beliefs may sound odd from our culture’s perspective, but they see it as completely ordinary. I wonder what they think of American society.