Book

The harmless people

KnopfNew York • Published In 1959 • Pages:

By: Thomas, Elizabeth Marshall.

Abstract
This source is a popular account of an expedition to the Kalahari Desert in 1955. It concentrates on the life of two groups of San, the Gikwe and the Kung. The author gives a general description of the culture of these slightly differing groups, the Gikwe living in a more arid environment than the Kung, concentrating on the food quest which is the main interest of these marginal people. The book concentrates on the personal relationships between the author and the various members of the families and bands, singling out individuals for fairly detailed description. In this way, the reader gets a good idea of the normal daily round of the people, although little detail is given about various aspects of the culture, particularly in the areas of social organization and material culture. For such detailed studies, the researcher should see other sources in this file, such as 1: Marshall and 5: Marshall.
Subjects
Observation in research
Fauna
Flora
Life history materials
Collecting
Hunting and trapping
Water and thirst
Music
Dance
Literary texts
Ingroup antagonisms
Family relationships
Behavior toward non-relatives
External relations
Disasters
culture
San
HRAF PubDate
2005
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Southern Africa
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Traveler
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Timothy J. O'Leary ; 1961
Field Date
1951-1955
Coverage Date
ca. 1950s
Coverage Place
Namibia, Botswana
Notes
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
LCCN
59005437
LCSH
San (African people)