➢ Like the san these were also brown skinned people but taller than the san. ➢ The khoi khoi were also called the hottentoes or the herders. ➢ They had a click sound in their language, which was even richer in vocabulary than that of the san. ➢ They were also called men of men because they felt stronger than the other men. ➢ They were also divided into groups e.g. the western Khoikhoi. ➢ By the time the Portuguese arrived in South Africa the khoi khoi were living in the surrounding bays. ➢ Like the san the khoi khoi are also believed to have been in east or central Africa before they had migrated in South Africa. ➢ Because of various factors they were forced to head/ face south wards up to South Africa were they reached at around 13th and 14th… ➢ They occupied in South African areas around Atlantic Ocean coast up to buffalo coast on Indian Ocean. ➢ However, some khoi khoi settled far away from the coast in an attempt to search for fresh water. ➢ At around 14487 during the Portuguese invasion in South Africa, the khoi khoi were living at saladanh bay, Table Bay mossel bay. ➢ By 1650 some khoi khoi were living at the cape along the banks of river orange, the coast of natal, Zulu land and coast of Namibia. ➢ Today the khoi khoi are living in present day republic of South Africa and Namibia. THE ORGANISATION OF THE KHOI KHOI ➢ The khoi khoi were also organized socially, politically and economically. ➢ However, politically the khoi khoi were much stronger than the san as below. ➢ They lived in lager groups of about 500 and above people. Summarized notes of the History of South Africa, July 2019 Page | 6 ➢ Each group were the khoi khoi consisted so many clans. ➢ Each group made up a village which operated independently as a political unity. ➢ The elders in each clan were responsible to settle the group disputes. ➢ In settling disputes, political meetings were held in publics and all people were free to make suggestions. ➢ During meetings a chief was to take over the control. ➢ The chiefs were also responsible for the safeness of their groups. ➢ After the meetings, common suggestions were implemented. Economic organization ➢ They had sheep of long and big tails. ➢ They were herders and kept cattle of long horns. ➢ The dogs were also kept as domestic animals. ➢ They were fishermen and carried out fishing especially in seasons of famine. ➢ They slaughtered their animals during important days e.g. for celebration. ➢ They practiced iron working and pottery. ➢ The khoi khoi had a lot of minerals than the sans. ➢ Milk constituted and dominated their diet. ➢ Their was division of labour between the khoi khoi e.g. men were hunters and women were food gatherers. ➢ They hunted using oxen and used them as mode of transport. ➢ They carried out trade especially with the Bantu. Socially ➢ The khoi khoi lived in simple homesteads each consisting of bee hives shaped like huts made out of reed mats. ➢ Initiation ceremonies were held done on boys as a preparatory stage to child hood. ➢ Marriage was done after initiation. ➢ It was a taboo to marry from the same clan or tribe. ➢ The bride and groom were required to stay with the boy’s family till the birth of the first born. ➢ After the first born, they were set free to establish their own families. ➢ They practiced polygamy. ➢ They encouraged many children. Summarized notes of the History of South Africa, July 2019 Page | 7 ➢ Several important ceremonies were practiced like birth, puberty, marriage and death. ➢ Cerebrating people were sprinkled with blood of sacrificed animals and wore animal intestine. ➢ Magicians were highly valued for their advice in times of crisis e.g. wars, death, earth quakes e.t.c. ➢ They believed in power of ancestral e.g. ghosts. ➢ Ghosts would create danger in case they were annoyed. ➢ They used healing herbs as medicine and they taught them to young ones. ➢ The boys were circumcised. ➢ They sacrificed for rain because they lived in dry areas.
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