Opinion The Sans of Namibia. A life on margins of society
Ellison Tjirera writes: Who are the San people, and what is their position? Historical accounts indicate that the San people are the first indigenous people of Southern Africa. As hunter-gathers, they foraged the entire southern African region, living modestly and sustainably with nature.
Black peoples of Southern Africa, who are the majority of the region’s population, can be divided into speakers of two languages: Khoisan and Bantu. The San people belong to the former language family but speak various dialects.
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Issues of marginality, inequality, and oppression that brother Suraj (Yengde) grapples with, strike a chord with the pitiable all over the world. What effortlessly comes to my mind as a Namibian is the plight of the San people in Namibia. There is a lot to learn from the Dalit struggle in India and globally to make sense of San people’s marginality. That the fight for equality and inclusion by various Dalit activists and scholars has kept their struggle in the public imagination remains admirable. This sustenance of momentum has maintained the relevance of continuing the fight for social justice.
Who are the San people, and what is their position? Historical accounts indicate that the San people are the first indigenous people of Southern Africa. As hunter-gathers, they foraged the entire southern African region, living modestly and sustainably with nature. Black peoples of Southern Africa, who are the majority of the region’s population, can be divided into speakers of two languages: Khoisan and Bantu. The San people belong to the former language family but speak various dialects.
According to the latest report of the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, the San people number between 28,000 and 35,000, translating into less than 2% of the total national population. The same report states that 80% of the San people have been dispossessed of their ancestral lands and resources, and they are now some of the country’s poorest and most marginalized peoples. Their dispossession is entwined with both historical and contemporary factors. The Bantu arrival from central Africa, European colonisation and post-colonial nationalisation have pushed San people to the brink of marginal, forgetful entity.
To think about my country and its inequalities, the San people’s marginality, and their plight continue to animate my curiosity. I teach Advanced Sociology of the Namibian Society at the University of Namibia, Windhoek. What strikes me is that whenever the theme of San Marginalization is discussed, many uncomfortable truths come to the fore. Their plight is concerning because their situation has worsened compared to other social groups over time.
As a corollary, marginalization and poverty have become common features of the San identity for attributes that are synonymous with them, including an ‘underclass’ status; high level of political, social, and economic exclusion; and limited access to social services, as Dieckmann, Thiem & Hays have noted in their work. Marginalization of the San people has morphed into dependency due to loss of land and access to resources. Moreover, their popular stereotypes include being incapable, unreliable, childlike, and drunken.
Despite some interventions by the Namibian government, studies show that the San people are worse off than they were immediately before independence in 1990. Government-run projects appear to be highly paternalistic and top-down. This explains the limited success that government interventions have yielded despite the allocation of resources and official recognition of San as a ‘development priority’.
After two national land conferences — in 1991 and 2018 — the concerns about the San people’s alienation from their ancestral land continue to be neglected. Many other ethnic groups in Namibia amplify their colonial land dispossession to make claims for restitution in a manner suggestive of historical amnesia.
I am not suggesting that other ethnic groups must speak on behalf of the San people. However, the deliberate indifference to the plight of minority groups does not augur well for the ethos of social justice. How do we embrace peaceful coexistence and equality for all when we deny the humanity of others through deliberate exclusion and historical erasure? The struggle by Dalits in India and across the globe to organise around issues that affect them is instructive in fighting oppression and exclusion. In 2019, Chief Frederick Langman of the #Kao //Aesa Traditional Authority is reported to have rebuked the usage of ‘marginalized’ when talking about San communities.
“I have swallowed enough of these glowing coals and want to get rid of what is in my heart because it burns me. Stop using this term [marginalized],” the chief said. (Source: Xoagub, F. 2019 [June 17th])
The writer teaches sociology at the University of Namibia, Windhoek, and is associated with a Windhoek-based think tank, IPPR. Suraj Yengde, author of Caste Matters, curates the fortnightly ‘Dalitality’ column
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