Hadzabe encyclopedia topics

Genetic evidence for origins

According to Knight et al. (2003), Hadza Y-haplogroups mainly consist of B2b (52%), i.e. the same subclade of Y-haplogroup B that is present in typical Pygmy groups like Mbuti. The high presence of E3a (30%) shows a marked Bantu admixture, and the rest is predominantly formed by other E-subclades. Their mtDNA lineages are formed by L2 (mainly a Pygmy lineage L2a1) and L3 (mainly an East African lineage L3g), and none of them is shared with the San from South Africa, who originally belong to L0d/L0k mtDNA haplogroups. The overall genetic picture suggests that the original Hadzabe population, possessing Y-chromosome haplogroup B2b and mtDNA haplogroup L2a1, was influenced by gene flow from the Bantu and East Africans.

Threats to existence

The remaining hunting grounds of the Hadza are threatened by encroachment. In 2007, the government of Tanzania leased 2,500 square miles (6,500 km²) of this land to the Abu Dhabi royal family of the United Arab Emirates, for use as a "personal safari playground".

Subsistence

Hadza men usually forage individually, and during the course of day usually feed themselves while foraging, and also bring home some honey, fruit, or wild game when available. Women forage in larger parties, and usually bring home berries, baobab fruit, and tubers, depending on availability. Men and women also forage cooperatively for honey and fruit, and at least one adult male will usually accompany a group of foraging women. During the wet season, the diet is composed mostly of honey, some fruit, tubers, and occasional meat. The contribution of meat to the diet increases in the dry season, when game become concentrated around sources of water. During this time, men often hunt in pairs, and spend entire nights lying in wait by waterholes, hoping to shoot animals that approach for a night-time drink, with bows and arrows treated with poison. The poison is made of the branches of the shrub Adenium coetaneum. The Hadza are highly skilled, selective, and opportunistic foragers, and adjust their diet according to season and circumstance. Depending on local availability, some groups might rely more heavily on tubers, others on berries, others on meat. This variability is the result of their opportunism and adjustment to prevailing conditions.

Traditionally, the Hadza do not make use of hunting dogs, although this custom has been recently borrowed from neighboring tribes to some degree. Most men (80%+) do not use dogs when foraging.

Women's foraging technology includes the digging stick, large fabric or skin pouch for carrying items, knife, shoes, other clothing, and various small items held in a pouch around the neck. Men carry axes, bows, poisoned and non-poisoned arrows, knives, small honey pots, fire drills, shoes and apparel, and various small items.

While men specialize in procuring meat, honey, and baobab fruit, women specialize in tubers, berries, and greens. This division of labor is rather apparent, but women will occasionally gather a small animal or egg, or gather honey, and men will occasionally bring a tuber or some berries back to camp.

A myth depicts a woman harvesting the honey of wild bees, and at the same time, it declares that the job of honey harvesting belongs to the men. For harvesting honey or fruit, Hadzabe sometimes beat little pointed sticks into the trunk of the tree, forming “scales”.

When the resources near their homes have been exhausted, the Hadzabe relocate to a more abundant ecozone. If a man kills a particularly large animal (such as a giraffe) far from home, a camp will temporarily relocate to the kill site. Smaller animals are brought back to the camp. Shelters can be built in a few hours, and most of the possessions owned by an individual can be carried on their backs.

The Hadza like many predominantly hunter-gatherer societies are predominantly monogamous.

Myths and tales

''The names of mythological figures are given in the transcription of the source (Kohl-Larsen 1956a): German approximation, augmented with some diacritics and surplus symbols (including a ! symbol designating a click consonant). A conversion to IPA is not appropriate because of possible ambiguities.

Myhological figures with celestial connotations

There are some mythological figures who are believed to take part in arranging the world, for example deciding about the animals and humans (food, environment). These figures have celestial connotations: Ischoko is a solar, Haine is a lunar figure.

Ischoko (solar)

The character under the name "Ischoye" seems to be identic with Ischoko. He is also depicted in some tales as someone who created animals, even people. His creatures included also some people who later turned out to be a disaster for their fellow people (the man-eating giant and his wife): as Ischoko saw this, he killed the man-eaters: “you are no people any longer”.

Uttering Ischoko's name can mean a greeting, a good wish to someone for a successful hunt.

Haine (lunar)

Haine's gender is not consequent in the various tales and myths: sometimes she is regarded as a female, or even Ischoko's wife, but more often he is presented as a man. In a myth the roles are reversed: Ischoko is the wife of Haine.

Roles of a culture hero

The man who returned from death

Indaya, the man who went to the Isanzu territory after his death and returned (according to a myth), plays the role of a culture hero: he introduces habits and goods to the Hadzabe.

Isanzu people

The Isanzu are a neighboring people to Hadzabe. Unlike the Iraqw and the cattle-raiding Maasai (who used to lead raids towards Isanzu and Iramba through Hadzabe territories), the hoe-farming Isanzu are regarded as a peaceful people by Hadzabe. Moreover, many goods and customs comes from them, and the Hadzabe myths mention and depict this benevolent influence of the Isanzu. This advantageous view about Isanzu makes the role of this people comparable to that of a culture hero in Hadzabe folklore.

Also in some of the mythical stories about giants (see below), it is an Isanzu man who liberates the Hadzabe from the malevolent giant.

Stories about giants

The stories about giants describe people with superhuman strength and size, but otherwise with human weaknesses (they have human needs, eat and drink, they can be poisoned, cheated).

Senganii and his brothers

One of the giants, Senganii was Haine's helper, and Haine gave him power to rule over people. In Haine's absence, the giant endangered people with his decisions. The people had to resist him, thus the giant ordered the lions to attack people, which surprized people, because formerly lions were regarded as harmless beings. The people killed the giant in revenge.

This giant had brothers, Ssaabo and Waonelakhi. Several tales describe the disaster these giants caused to Hadzabe by constantly killing, beating them. The Hadzabe had to ask for help from neighboring groups, finally, the giants were tricked and poisoned, or shot to death by arrows treated with poison.

Man-eating giant

A man-eating giant, !esengego (and his family) was killed by a benevolent snake. The snake turned out to be the tool (“medicine”) applied by Ischoko in favor of people to liberate them. Ischoko changed the corpses of the giant family into leopards. He prohibited them to attack people, except for the case they would be provoked or wounded by an arrow.

!hongongoschá

Another giant, !hongongoschá played the role of a mythological figure. He did not bother Hadzabe (except for some smaller stealths done secretly at night), his nourishment was flowers of trees (and stolen vegetables). People greeted him with great respect, and the giant wished them good hunting luck, which indeed realized. The giant provided further his good wish to people even after he was hurt deliberately by a boy, but he took a fatal revenge on the boy. Finally, the powerful mythological figure Haine decided about the fate of this giant and the people: he warned people, revealed the malevolent deed of the boy, and changed the giant into a big white mussel.

Notes

References

A. Knight et al. (2003). "African Y Chromosome and mtDNA Divergence Provides Insight into the History of Click Languages". Current Biology 13 464–473.
Kohl-Larsen, Ludwig (1956a). Das Elefantenspiel. Mythen, Riesen und Stammessagen. Volkserzählungen der Tindiga. Eisenach • Kassel: Erich Röth-Verlag. The book is a collection of Hadzabe myths about giants, also some tribe myths about culture heroes, and anecdotical tales.
Lee, Richard B. (1999). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Hunters and Gatherers. Cambridge University Press.
Marlowe, F.W. (2005). "Mate preferences among Hadza hunter-gatherers". Human Nature 15 364–375.
McCrummen, Stephanie "50,000 Years of Resilience May Not Save Tribe". Washington Post, Retrieved on 2007-09-15.