Page 5 - Bulletin 1 1997

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spirits and get help to fix the ailments of the society, both physical and social. The art
depicts, or metaphorically represents, this experience. (Yates et al, 1990).

Hunters were the sole human occupants of the Cape Peninsula until around 2000 years ago

when the first herding peoples appeared. The impact of these early pastoralists with their

flocks of sheep was probably minimal initially, but as the number of animals increased
through time greater competition was bound to have occurred between domestic stock and

wild game hunted by the Sonqua. This competition reached its peak a few centuries before
th
the Europeans made their discovery of the end of Africa in the 15 century, in the form of
large herds of cattle. Cattle only appear in numbers after AD1000, suggesting that the social
hierarch of KhoiKhoi society we know from the descriptions of early Europeans observers

started only then. This is due to cattle becoming real wealth, and a distancing mechanism

between those who had stock from those with no chances of having any. The Sonqua could
steal cattle, as they did, but their society did not believe in private ownership, so all animals

captured would have been killed to share the meat.

The Khoikhoi (formerly known as Hottentos) were herders. Their name is one which would

seldom have been used by them, but means ‘The Real People’, in contrast to the Sonqua
who had no stock, and would steal animals when they could, so the name became

synonymous with stock thief. The Khoi would have been known by their clan names, such
as Gorachoqua or Goringhaiqua around the Cape Peninsula.

Since they had so many animals, and the pastures of the Peninsula are not very rich, they
had to be on the move constantly, to keep their animals in good order. This meant all their

possessions had to be light and portable, including their mat huts which were carried on the
backs of oxen. Oxen were also ridden by people (see Smith & Pheiffer 1993) (Fig. 1.1) and

trained as war animals to charge enemies in battle.