{"id":1037,"date":"2024-07-02T11:42:46","date_gmt":"2024-07-02T09:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/royalafricansafaris.com\/simon-belcher\/?p=1037"},"modified":"2024-07-02T11:45:02","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T09:45:02","slug":"hunter-gatherers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/royalafricansafaris.com\/simon-belcher\/blog\/hunter-gatherers\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunter Gatherers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert talk about the two \u201chungers.\u201d There is the \u201cGreat Hunger\u201d and there is the \u201cLittle Hunger.\u201d The Little Hunger wants food for the belly; but the Great Hunger, the greatest hunger of all, is the hunger for meaning. . . Once what you are doing has for you meaning, it is irrelevant whether you\u2019re happy or unhappy. You are content \u2013 you are not alone in your Spirit \u2013 you belong.<\/i>~ Laurens van der Post.<\/p>\n

This article will be different from the usual RAS newsletter fare; it intends to venture into our human past and shine a light on our modern present. I will try and find an area of commonality which binds the human traits of curiosity, community, compassion, philosophy and safari.<\/p>\n

I have had the immense privilege to have known some \u2018hunter-gatherers\u2019 in my life, both in Tanzania and in Botswana.The Hadzabe and the San Bushmen have many similar traits although they are separated by thousands of miles; they have \u2018clicks\u2019 in their respective tongues; they are small in stature; they have a profound sense of community; they have a huge sense of humor and they live off the land. In the morning, if they wake up hungry, they go and find something to eat; be it berries, digging up tubers or shooting an animal with a poison tipped arrow. No agriculture, no storing of food for the future, no permanent homes. They own what they can carry in their two hands and on their backs but have no need of charity; in fact everything they need is all around them: in the African desert.<\/p>\n

Compare that to what we \u2018modern men\u2019 have achieved:we have changed and shaped our environment to suit our complicated and complex lives.Our technology is frankly amazing: we have unraveled the mystery of the genome and sent a man to the moon. We have explored the smallest particles in the universe and discovered the forces which hold them all together. We have invented drugs which can save thousands of lives and we have invented weapons which can kill thousands more with just the push of a button.<\/p>\n

What we have achieved is astounding and what the future holds is both exciting and terrifying. Will humanity be able to continue creating and evolving while at the same time find a way to keep it sustainable on our beautiful planet?Or will we use up every resource, cut down our rainforests, pollute our oceans and plunge over the cliff out of our own arrogance; taking all other life on earth along with us?<\/p>\n

I think we can learn much from the San and the Hadzabe; to be more aware of and \u2018in tune\u2019 with the earth, a return to innocence and wonder; a return to community and simplicity; learn to laugh at ourselves and with others; to look up at the stars around a campfire and tell tales of wonderful adventures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I\u2019m not sure that we have much to give the hunter gatherers since they already have all that they require. In fact, if somehow the world as we know it was to end, by nuclear explosion, meteorite impact or some other calamity then it is they who shall inherit the earth.They have no need of electricity, money, refrigeration and all the other technological props which we have become so dependent upon.<\/p>\n

I always say that a safari is more than just the physical journey but also a spiritual one, its a chance to return to a simpler way of living, even if just for a short time.It\u2019s where we have a chance to reflect on nature, our\u00a0place in the complex web of life on earth and our responsibility as the most influential animal that ever walked its face.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe spirit of man is nomad, his blood wanderer, and love is the aboriginal tracker on the faded desert spoor of his lost self\u201d<\/i> ~ Laurens van der Post<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert talk about the two \u201chungers.\u201d There is the \u201cGreat Hunger\u201d and there is the \u201cLittle Hunger.\u201d The Little Hunger wants food for the belly; but the Great Hunger, the greatest hunger of all, is the hunger for meaning. . . Once what you are doing has for you meaning, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":1043,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHunter Gatherers - Simon Belcher<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/royalafricansafaris.com\/simon-belcher\/blog\/hunter-gatherers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hunter Gatherers - Simon Belcher\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert talk about the two \u201chungers.\u201d There is the \u201cGreat Hunger\u201d and there is the \u201cLittle Hunger.\u201d The Little Hunger wants food for the belly; but the Great Hunger, the greatest hunger of all, is the hunger for meaning. . . 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