The item’s the Bushmen carry on a hunt, is very interesting to me and I am sure to many other bushcrafters, woodsmen and hunters. We are a materialistic civilization, it is evident when going to read and watch content on the internet on the outdoors. There are always list of things, the 10 essentials, the 5 C’s and so forth.

The bushmen are no different, but what passes for enough for them many would consider to be incredibly spartan.

The thing in which they carry their equipment is a simple hand tanned shoulder bag, with one strap. It is carried like a purse over one shoulder only not across the body.

Inside is a tube made of the root of a certain species of Acacia tree(I don’t know the exact species) , where the outer bark and wood is strong but the inside is softer and pithier. The pith is hollowed out leaving the tube.

Inside this tube they carry their poisoned arrows. With the tip up. You see that the poison is only on the shaft of the arrow not on the blade of the broad head. They reach into the quiver by feel and gently grasp each point as it is needed.  If they think they will need several shots, they will on the same hand that holds the bow hold a few extra arrows.
Stored neatly in the bag is their bow, which is very small and low poundage. They draw it back only half way, and don’t have an anchor point like Eurasian archers. They still get decent accuracy, and the fletching less arrow goes quite far.
In the folds of the bag the scabbard for their spear, and tucked above all that is their axe.
In addition to their primary tools, a small knife is sometimes tucked inside the bag for small task and skinning game, but this is preference hunter to hunter. !Kung, the head man carries a traditional African double blade knife on a sheath on a western leather belt. !Tuka the old grizzled hunter carries no knife, but instead carries a larger axe with a heavier blade that could more quickly fell a tree.

There is often a hand full of snares made of natural cordage hand spun from the Zanzaberia plant, an aloe vera like desert succulent.

A few lumps of resin mixed with charcoal is their adhesive much like pine resin. A lump of beeswax propolis mix is a weak adhesive, which joins their spring hare hook joints together.

A few pieces of short sinew for repairs of their bow, arrows and other equipment.

A hand full of seeds of the false mopane tree can usually be found to bait the snares for birds.

A few nuts of the mangetti tree will be stored inside, although the nuts are so hard, they would have to use the blade of their ax to crack them against some hardwood log.

A bottle of water with a cotton cloth cover hand woven on it. In the old days I read they would carry an ostrich egg canteen. I have never seen a hunter need to drink water despite walking for about 8 hours in the 100*F heat. They seem to only drink in the morning and at night.

To top this off every Bushmen carries with them a set of traditional fire starting sticks, but all of them also have a box of matches or if they have it a bic lighter.

The bushmen love tobacco, so they always keep a small tin of tobacco, but they are always low and bum it off me because they know I have many pounds of it in my supplies at my basecamp.

To smoke their tobacco, the young bushmen like to roll up little cigarettes from newspaper that burns an acrid green.

The older men like to smoke out of copper pipes or large cartridge casings (300mag or 375HH) with the end sawn off. They wad up some grass into the mouthpiece of the pipe to make a rudimentary filter. After a few hits they roll the hot metal pipe in their hands up and down to cool it before putting it away.

They walk carrying their 15-20ft foot long rabbit hooks sticks up in the air.

-Don Nguyen

If you are reading this post it is because you are interested in survival in the Kalahari desert. I found myself searching Google for this very thing as I prepared to go survive naked in the Kalahari on the TV show Naked and Afraid. There was little good, well-researched information for an adventurer other than limited snippets on TV and the internet. I will try to share with you all the things I wish I knew then.

The San people of the Kalahari often went out hunting and foraging far away from water sources such as watering holes or shallow wells. They would cache ostrich eggs and when all of these sources were unavailable they utilized certain tubers.

The plant in this video is called Bi, or Goeh(pronounced gweh), or Raphionacme burkei.

This was the first plant that they taught me about in my three weeks at Nhoma village.

In the dry season, when there is little surface water and when it is most needed, the tuber is incredibly difficult to find as only a bare, dried stalk remains above ground. The Bushmen described that they can only identify the Bi by its size and how the leaves once attached to that withered stalk. Unfortunately, I did not have an opportunity to practice this skill first hand.

Here’s how to find it in the wet season (a much easier task).

Look for a 6-12 inch stem sticking out from the sand. The leaves are up to 2 inches long, obovate or lance shaped with a tiny point at the tips. They are opposite decussate in formation on the stem.

The leaves appear slightly matte, waxy gray and they are slightly folded and curved.

Once these features are identified the Bushmen dig at it with their hands and a digging stick pulling out the grapefruit to cantaloupe sized spherical tuber. They dust it off with quick slaps of the hands.

A bed of clean leaves from a nearby tree is gathered to create a preparation mat to guard the tuber and its shavings from the sand. A stick is taken from the ground or green of a shrub and one side is shaved flat to an edge. Then, with two hands, they scrape the mush into a pile while holding the tuber between the knees, kneeling. A fist full is scooped up and the hunters wash their hands or bodies with it like a wash cloth. The soiled pulp is discarded.

Once their hands are clean they shave off another fist full and ball it in one fist. Above their mouths, they squeeze the pulp pointing the thumb into the mouth to guide the milky liquid. It is bitter and plant-tasting, but satisfies the thirst.

Carrying the tuber back to the village, they use more of the freshly squeezed liquid to thin out the poison for their arrows. This will be covered later.

In her books, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas mentions that the pulp is used to wash the body and for drink. Additionally, on incredibly hot days, the squeezed pulp is laid out in a little grave-like trench, presumably over a larger bed of clean fresh tree boughs, in the shade. The pulp is urinated on and it soaks up the pee. The Bushmen then took naps on the cool bed in the midday heat.

Below I’ve listed some of the amazing books I read that introduced me to the Bushmen and their way of life before visiting. They are an important resource in beginning to understand the hunter-gatherer way of life in Namibia.

Leffers, Arno. Gemsbok Bean & Kalahari Truffle: Traditional Plant Use by Jul’hoansi in North-eastern Namibia. Windhoek, Namibia: Gamsberg Macmillan, 2003. Print.

Thomas, Elizabeth Marshall. The Old Way: A Story of the First People. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006. Print.

Thomas, Elizabeth Marshall. The Harmless People. New York: Vintage, 1965. Print.

Stay tuned, there is more to come!

-Don