Page 7 - Bulletin 1 1997

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The Khoikhoi were genetically similar to the Sonqua, so originally came from the
aboriginal hunting people of Southern Africa. We are not sure exactly how they became

herders. Several theories exist: one suggests that they intermarried with African farmers
when they arrived in South Africa 2000 years ago, and got their stock from them; another

would look to pastoral contact in East Africa as a source of the animals. Whatever the

source, the language of the Cape Khoi was similar to that spoken by the Khoe-speaking
Bushmen of northern Botswana, and this may well be where they came from (see Elphick,

1985).

Since the KhoiKhoi were so mobile, seldom would they return to exactly the same camping
site on a regular basis. The result of this is that they did not accumulate rubbish in large

enough quantities for archaeologists to find. Thus we have had to rely for a considerable

amount of detail about Khoi life on the historical records (Boonzaaier et al, 1996.) One
exception to this has been the site at Kasteelberg, a kopje just 4 km from the coastal town

of Paternoster on the Vredenburg Peninsula. This site was repeatedly occupied by herding

people over a period of 1000 years, starting around 1800 years ago, and continuing up to
roughly 800 years ago. The reason for this unusual re-occupation was due to a specialised

activity taking place, culling seals. The seals, along with shellfish, were taken back to the
site from the coast for processing. We can be sure of this since all the bones of the seals are

present on the site, and they constitute the largest number of mammal bones.

The seals were not primarily a food resource. The fat of these animals was very valuable, to

be mixed with red ochre and smeared on the body. A quote from the Van Riebeeck Journal
th
for Wednesday 30 October, 1658 describing the Cochoqua chief Oedasoa: “Like all the
Hottentots he was dressed in skins and so besmeared that the fat ran down his body, which
was the highest mark of distinction”. Usually butter fat would have been used, and to smear

on it on the body was a sign of wealth (or as anthropologists would say: ‘conspicuous
consumption.’) The idea that fat was being used with ochre at Kasteelberg is supported by

almost 150 grinding grooves in the granite bedrock on the site. We excavated several