Where It All Began

The Khomani Cultural Landscape – our 9th World Heritage Site

 

Hardly any South Africans, have even heard of the Khomani Cultural Landscape.  It’s an area in the southern Kalahari, bordered in the east by Botswana and the west by Namibia, is where you will find a small group of the Khomani San a people who, until recently, were thought to have vanished.

The history of the San people in South Africa is a very traumatic one, hunted as they were like animals by early European settlers and driven north into the desert.  The original name for Table Mountain (Hoerikwaggo) and Cape Town (Camissa) are both San names.

Inch by inch, the San are acheiving recognition, not just of their culture and existence but now also of their land, particulary since the Khomani Cultural Landscape has been named South Africa’s 9th World Heritage Site.

The Khomani Cultural Landscape has changed little from its original form, the desert of the southern Kalahari having remained protected as nature reserves. It covers 959 100 hectares, forming part of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and including the whole Kalahari Gemsbok National Park.

Whilst staying there, you can go on daily tracking trips with the San, where you’ll learn traditional bush arts of finding and hunting small game with bow and arrow and gathering of special plants.

But living amongst the San is even more special the longer you spend with them: their society is completely egalitarian. Men and women have different tasks but take an equal share of the workload. They have no parliament, government, king or leaders.  Family structures are also not traditional with members leaving and joining different families (the San don’t have a word for ‘family’, only ‘clan’) as and when each clan decides to accept them.

The San are also the most environmentally conscious and sustainable community living on the planet today (if you’ve been around for more than 150 000 years with very little change to your lifestyle, it’s easy to see why).

The San are very welcoming of visitors who truly want to understand their culture: one way to do this is to stay at the Fair Trade accredited !Xaus Lodge which is community-owned accommodation option in the Kgalagadi Park.