San peoples

The San peoples (also called Bushmen) are the indigenous hunter-gatherer groups of southern Africa and represent the region’s oldest continuous cultures. Genetic studies suggest their lineage may have diverged from other human populations between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago. Their traditional lands covered what is now Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and South Africa.

The San speak—or their ancestors spoke—languages from the Khoe, Tuu, and Kxʼa families, all known for click consonants. They are defined as a distinct group mainly in contrast to neighboring pastoralists like the Khoekhoe and later arrivals such as Bantu, European, and South Asian peoples. In 2017, Botswana had about 63,500 San, the highest proportion of any country at 2.8% of its population. Namibia counted 71,201 San in 2023, the second-highest proportion at 2.4%.

The term “San” comes from a Khoekhoe word meaning “picking up from the ground,” used derogatorily for foragers without cattle or wealth. It was adopted by Western anthropologists in the 1970s and remains standard in English-language ethnography, though some later returned to “Bushmen.” The older term “Bushmen” derives from 17th-century Dutch *Bosjesmans*. While still used by some for self-identification, it is now considered pejorative by many South Africans. In 2008, a South African court ruled that *boesman* (the Afrikaans equivalent) was not derogatory when used positively, after the San Council stated it had no objection in such contexts.

The San have no collective word for themselves in their own languages. They prefer to be referred to by their individual nations, such as ǃkung (including Juǀʼhoansi), ǀxam, Nǁnǂe (part of the ǂKhomani), Kxoe (Khwe and ǁAni), Haiǁom, Ncoakhoe, Tshuwau, Gǁana, and Gǀui (ǀGwi). In 2003, San representatives stated a preference for using these group names where possible instead of the collective term “San.” The compound “Khoisan,” coined by Leonhard Schulze in the 1920s and popularized by Isaac Schapera in 1930, refers to both the pastoralist Khoi and the foraging San together. Anthropological use of “San” was detached from this compound.

The adoption of “San” as a collective term followed meetings in the 1990s, including a 1993 conference in Gaborone, a 1996 meeting of the Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa (WIMSA) in Namibia, and a 1997 conference in Cape Town. The term is now standard in South Africa and appears in the national coat of arms. The South African San Council, representing San communities in the country, was formed as part of WIMSA in 2001.

In Botswana, the collective term “Basarwa” (singular “Mosarwa”) is used, sometimes shortened to “Sarwa.” The older variant “Masarwa,” which uses prefixes associated with disreputable people and animals, is offensive and was dropped at independence. In Angola, the San are sometimes called “mucancalas” or “bosquímanos” (Portuguese for “Bushmen”). In Zimbabwe, terms include “Amasili” and “Batwa.” Xhosa speakers refer to them as “Batwa,” and Sotho speakers as “Baroa.” The Bantu term “Batwa” generally refers to any foraging tribesmen and overlaps with the term used for the “Pygmoid” Southern Twa of south-central Africa.

The San are widely considered descendants of the oldest Neolithic societies in southern and east Africa. About 10,000 years ago, these groups ranged from Tanzania, Zambia, and Angola down to Cape Agulhas. Peoples related to the San occupied the southern shores and eastern shrublands, possibly forming a Sangoan continuum from the Red Sea to the Cape of Good Hope. By the first millennium BCE, two dominant groups had emerged.