The World of the Traditional Hunters along the Kavango River

Title: The World of the Traditional Hunters along the Kavango River
Author: Maria Fisch
Publisher: Macmillan Education Namibia Publishers (Pty) Ltd
Windhoek, Namibia 2008
ISBN 9789991609256 / ISBN 978-99916-0-925-6
Original softcover, 15 x 21 cm, 274 pages, numerous b/w illustrations and photos

Condition:

Fair. Few traces of usage. Handwritten dedication in German by the author to a well known academic supporter.
Rare.

About: The World of the Traditional Hunters along the Kavango River

The World of the Traditional Hunters along the Kavango River was first published in German in 1994. This English edition follows with alterations which will display a broader spectrum of the former hunting culture of the tribes living along the Kavango River. The knowledge was collected among Bantu-speaking tribes residing along the middle course of the Kavango River in north-eastern Namibia. From among the five tribes inhabiting the Kavango Region, I have limited my research to the Mbukushu and Gciriku, because detailed knowledge of the traditional hunting complex is still best conserved by them. Sporadic checks among the Kwangali and Mbunza in the west of the Kavango Region established that the hunting songs and poems they can remember are less diverse and less vivid.

It may be of interest to linguists and historians alike that the Mbukushu and Gciriku, though they speak a Bantu language and were neighbours for more than 200 years, still differ markedly in physique and language. Lexical comparisons listed in Chapter 3 show striking differences with regard to expressions for wild animals, environment and hunting activities. Even more surprising is the fact that Mbukushu terms for game species are often related to equivalents in Kxoe. In past times, both ethnic groups shared common residential territories in Angola. In this book, we first find an overview of the historical and social background and of the remarkable multiplicity of the hunters' language, followed by a detailed investigation into hunting methods and into the hunters' magical-religious perception of their environment.

The major portion of this research is devoted to the artistic literary products of the traditional hunters along the Kavango as reflected in their poems, songs and proverbs. This topic has unfortunately been neglected by ethnologists in the past and very little has been published within Bantu-speaking Africa. As I will explain in Chapter 9, the general neglect of ancient African poetry is due to the enormous difficulties encountered in translating and interpreting such texts, even for scholars well versed in the respective language, because the texts are partly a compact succession of archaic and idiomatic expressions mixed with loan words from alien languages.

Content: The World of the Traditional Hunters along the Kavango River

Preface
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
2. Historical and sociological background
3. Linguistic peculiarities of the hunters' language
3.1 General remarks
3.2 Indigenous names of wild animals
3.3 Specific terms for groups of animals, their tracks and places of abode
3.4 Linguistic relations of hunting terms between Khoe and Bantu
4. Traditional weapons and tbeir uses
5. Hunting and trapping methods
5.1 Hunting methods
5.1.1 The stalk
5.1.2 The chase
5.1.3 The drive
5.1.4 The introduction of rifles
5.2 Methods of capturing game
5.2.1 The pitfall
5.2.2 Snares and spring-pole snares
5.2.3 Gravity traps
5.2.4 Spikes and spears sunk in the ground
5.2.5 The destruction of large predators
5.2.6 The killing of burrow and cave dwellers
5.2.7 Steps to take when monkeys or baboons become scourges
5.2.8 Hunting cane rats
5.2.9 Catching moles
5.2.10 Methods of catching crocodile
5.2.11 Catching frogs
5.2.12 Catching birds with bird lime
5.2.13 Collecting termites
5.3 Shields and camouflage
5.4 Poisoning of drinking water
6. Utilisation of the organs of wild animals
6.1 The use of meat
6.2 Skin, hair and sinews
6.3 Horns
7. The hunter's relationship to the supernatural
7.1 Good and bad omens
7.2 Rites and customs related to hunting
7.3 The initiation of the professional hunter
7.4 The ritual hunt
7.5 Taboos and ascetic prescriptions
7.6 Magical methods for enhancing hunting and general luck
7.7 Warding off ill fate
8. An overview of the Kavango peoples' literary products
9. The Poetry of the Kavango Hunters
9.1 Nature and structure of the poems and songs
9.2 Overview of the healing dances, during which animal songs are sung
9.3 Instruments to accompany songs
10. Poems, songs and proverbs in their original wording
10.1.1 Gciriku praise poem
10.1.2 Mbukushu hunting song
10.1.3 Gciriku hunting song
10.1.4 A proverb well known all over southern Africa
10.1.5 Mbukushu song
10.1.6 Gciriku poem
10.1.7 Mbukushu proverb
10.1.8 Song in the Nyemba dialect, sung during the Nyambi ritual
10.2 Giraffe (Mbahe/Mvashe; Giraffa camelopardalis)
10.6 Buffalo (Nyatji; Syncerus caffer)
10.7 Eland (Ntjefu/Hefu; Taurotragus oryx)
10.8 Blue wildebeest (Ngerenge/Thovu; Connochaetes taurinus)
10.9 Tsessebe (Kakuhu/Rufuvu; Damaliscus lunatus)
10.10 Roan antelope (Mpengu/Mengo; Hippotragus equinus)
10.11 Kudu {Horongo/Myu; Tragelaphus strepsiceros)
10.12 Sitatunga (Mbuli/Ndhowe; Tragelaphus spekei)
10.13 Lechwe (Ntjonge/Honge; Kobus leche)
10.14 Reedbuck (Ntushi/Ruvi; Redunca arundinum)
10.15 Duiker (Mbambi/Mapi; Sylvicapra grimmid)
10.16 Steenbok (Mpundja/Mundha; Raphicerus campestris)
10.17 Lion (Nyime; Panthera led)
10.18 Leopard (Ngwe/Ndhogho; Panthera pardus)
10.19 Cheetah (Lishumbu/Dihumbwa; Acinonyx jubatus)
10.20 Spotted hyena (Shimbungu/Dimbungu; Crocuta crocuta)
10.21 African wild dog (Mbindi/Mbindhi; Lycaon pictus)
10.22 Jackal (Mbwawa; Canis mesomelas)
10.23 Springhare (Nkwiyu/Nwiyu; Pedetes capensis)
10.24 Hare (Ndimba/Kadimba; Lepus spp.)
10.25 Vervet monkey (NtjimalShoko; Cercopithecus pygerythrus)
10.26 African wild cat (Shinono/Thinono; Felis lybica)
10.27 Genet (Rutimba/Thimba; Genetta)
10.28 Slender mongoose (Kamukondo/Kamuncono Herpestes sanguineus)
10.29 Tree squirrel (Ngere/Thindi; Paraxerus sepapi)
10.30 Striped polecat (Kangambe; Ictonyx striatus)
10.31 Honey badger (Ntjanda/Shanda; Mellivora capensis)
10.32 Warthog (Shinguruve; Phacochoerus aethiopicus)
10.33 Otter (Ntjorovere/Mbagho; Lutra maculicollis)
10.34 Bat (Kapukupuku; Epomophorus W.)
10.35 Ostrich (Mpo/Mwe; Struthio camelus)
10.36 African fish eagle (Mpungu; Haliaeetus vocifer)
10.37 Spurwinged goose (Litjokwe; Plectropterus gambensis)
10.38 Whitebacked vulture (Likuvi/Dikwi; Gyps africanus)
10.39 Bateleur (Shipupa; Terathopius ecaudatus)
10.40 Yellowbilled kite (Shihere/Tjihere; Milvus migrans)
10.41 Helmeted guineafowl (Nkanga/Nanga; Numida meleagris)
10.42 Francolin (Shiwali/Dikwakwa; Franco!, livaillant.)
10.43 Namaqua dove (Kambogho; Oena capensis)
10.44 Drongo {Shitengu/Thitengu; Dicrurus adsimilis)
10.45 Ground hornbill (Shingomba; Bucorvus leadbeateri)
10.46 Blacksmith plover (Kakurekure; Vanellus armatus)
10.47 Secretary bird (Mukongo; Sagittarius serpentarius)
10.48 Rufousbellied heron (Shivo; Butorides rufiventris)
10.49 Crocodile (Ngandu)
10.50 Snakes (Mayoka)
10.51 Bullfrog (Lintjeti/Dihethi; Rana adspersd)
10.52 Termites (Ghunhwa)
10.53 Bees and honey (Ushi and Wiki)
10.54 Meat not well-done (nyama)
10.55 Praising the hunter (mukongo)
10.56 The rifle (uta/ghuta)
10.57 Bush fire
11. Detailed description of the ritual dances
11.1 Kambembe
11.2 Shikavedi
11.3 Nyambi
11.4 Liware/Diware
11.5 Lishemba and Shindongo
11.6 Rengo
12. Literature