San Culture and Language

The Northern Cape has a long and rich human history. Also called the !Xam, the hunter-gatherer San (most of whom prefer to be called Bushmen, as it describes their skill) have a culture that dates back more than 20,000 years, and their genetic origins are more than 1 million years old, contemporary humans' oldest. Fast-forward a few years—about 2,000 years ago, to be inexact—when Korana or Khoi (Khoe) herders migrated south, bringing their livestock and settling along the Orange (Gariep/Garieb), Vaal, and Riet rivers. During the 18th and 19th centuries the Griquas—thought to be part Khoi and part African and Malay slaves—moved into the Northern Cape with their cattle and sheep.

At one time 20–30 languages pertaining to various San/Bushmen clans flourished, but colonialism brought with it devastating results for most of these languages, which lost out to Tswana and Afrikaans. In the nick of time in the 1870s, British doctor Wilhelm Bleek (who spoke !Xam) and Lucy Lloyd recorded the last activities of !Xam culture and tradition. (Some of these records can be found at the McGregor Museum in Kimberley.)

Still thousands of Northern Cape residents today acknowledge an ancestral connection to the largest San or !Xam group of the 18th and 19th centuries. The two biggest remaining groups are the !Xu and the Khwe, who live at Schmidtsdrift, 80 km (50 miles) from Kimberley. Among the best-known groups in South Africa today is the Khomani San, some of whom still speak the ancient Nu. For a good overview on the languages, culture, and peoples who migrated to the Northern Cape, check out the McGregor Museum.