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Aga Szydlik
www.agalphotography.com
This project aims to document daily life of a Bushmen tribe members. The Bushmen are one of the oldest cultures on our planet. Records of their lifestyle date back to the Stone Age. Their members are aboriginal to sub-Saharan Africa and were the first inhabitants of South Africa. Members of the tribe are also known as 'San.’ Their genetic origins reach back to over a million years ago, revealing the oldest gene pattern amongst modern humans. Evolutionary studies support the evidence indicating that San is the closest surviving people to the original Homo sapiens and ancestors of contemporary humanity.
The indigenous identity of Bushmen tribe is based on their language and culture. Families within a clan would speak a common language, but neighboring clans would usually speak a different tongue, with a fair degree of similarity and understanding between them.
Bushman tribe social structure resembles a loosely knit family, where decisions are made by discussion and agreement by consensus. Although San men are very caring, it's the women who are the primary caregivers. The importance of women in the tribe is very high and their opinions often take precedence, particularly where the food and child-rearing are concerned.
Less than 3,000 of the tribe members have retained their traditional lifestyle of hunters and gatherers. For thousands of years, the San hunter-gather lifestyle remained relatively unchanged, as they had no concept of the ownership of land or animals. The hunters have exceptional skill at tracking animals. The tribe is always on the move in search of game and plant foods. They do not build permanent settlements, but use rock shelters or open camps, with the choice depending on weather conditions.
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