I have never blogged before, so please be patient . . .
I must
admit I became instantly awake when it was discussed in class about the
discovery of a group of humans whose culture closely resembled a period in time
we refer to as Paleolithic. The fact that there could possibly be groups of
people that were descendants from the hunter-gatherer existence that remained
unchanged from more than 10,000 years ago, and found in todays’ world is
astounding to me.
The
discovery of a group of people, known as the Hazda from Northern Tanzania have been
mostly isolated from the outside world, but who have also not evolved into a Neolithic
stage of agriculture and domesticating of animals. This piqued my curiosity on
a number of levels.
This is not
the first time I have heard about people being found in remote locations in
which their lives have remained untouched by the outside world. My first
reaction is - leave them alone. They don’t need us and we will probably only
hurt them – by exposing them to illnesses (even the common cold) and diseases
that they have no resistance against.
However, my
human curiosity asks ~ Who are you? and where have you been that you have been so isolated and hidden that no one has previously known that you
exist? Even more of a curiosity is why
haven’t you evolved from hunter-gatherers when throughout the entire world
regardless of location and without any influences from other continents all
other humans progressed into the Neolithic stage of agriculture and
domestication of animals?
Interesting facts you may not know about the Hazda ~
1.
They love to eat baboon. The head and brain are
prized eats and given to the elder in the encampment. They throw the head into
the fire to simmer, boil, cook the brains, etc. and then crack the skull open
and eat the insides.
2.
They hate snakes ~ for obvious reasons.
3.
Their language includes clicks and gollic pops.
4.
The poison the men smear on their arrowheads,
made of the boiled sap of the desert rose, is powerful enough to bring down a
giraffe. But, NOT an Elephant. Hunter beware ~
5.
Their small hut shelters can be constructed in
about an hour and look like upside down bird nests.
6.
They are serial monogamists, changing
spouses every few years.
7.
Camp size is usually no more than 20 to 30
people, because that’s the largest number who can share a good-size game animal
or two and feel decently fed.
8.
They share their meat communally.
9.
They are looked down on by other close ethnic
groups and referred to as the ‘untouchables of Tanzania’.
10. They
do not celebrate or acknowledge birthdays, weddings, or funerals. For their
dead they simply dig a hole, put them in it and walk away. In the past they
would just leave them where they died and let the scavengers eat them.
The
truth is that regardless of the terrible conditions of the Hazda lands, the world
is encroaching on it and has already taken over approximately 90 percent. The
Hazda are not fighters, they just kept moving out of the way. But now, there is
no longer a place to move away to. They are up against a fence of a National
Reserve where the animals have gone, but they cannot. So now what? What happens
to the Hazda people? Do we absorb them into our economy as welfare recipients?
The truth
is, after two million years, the age of the hunter-gatherer is almost certainly
over. The Hazda may hold onto their language, and storytelling and dance
rituals, but it’s inevitable that their hunting days will become non-existent.
I believe that the loss of the Hazda would be a loss to all of humanity.
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