essay

The Gwi Bushmen

Hunters and gatherers todayNew YorkPublished In 1972 • Pages: 271-326

By: Silberbauer, George B..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article presents a clear, succinct account of the traditional ethnography of the Gwi Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, South Africa. The major topics discussed in this source are language, geography, the economy, spatial disposition of the population (in terms of food supply), inter-band relationships, division of labor, marriage patterns, kinship, socialization processes, religion and social change. The author, a government official, was employed by the British Colonial Service as District Officer in the Bechuanaland (Botswana) Protectorate from 1953-1957, and later served as Bushmen Survey Officer from 1958-1966. The Gwi live in the Kade area, where Sugawara and Tanaka also carried out their fieldwork (See documents nos. 23, 25, 27, 41, and 42)
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Fauna
Flora
Topography and geology
Climate
Settlement patterns
Travel
Functional and adaptational interpretations
Collecting
Hunting and trapping
Child care
Childhood activities
Transmission of skills
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
San
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2005
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Africa
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Southern Africa
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
essay
Evaluation
Creator TypesThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Government Official
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 1988
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1958-1966
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1950-1966
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Gwi, Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana
NotesAdditional notes
George B. Silberbauer
Includes bibliographical references (p. 325-326)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
70179547
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
San (African people)