The San are an indigenous people who live in Southern African nations. DNA testing has shown that they are direct descendants of the first Homo sapiens, and have lived in the region for around 20,000 years.
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In Botswana the San are known as the Basarwa, and their culture is under threat from encroaching modernity and the advent of technology.
CNN
Bihela Sekere, who used to work at the Botswana High Commission in London, is aiding efforts to boost the indigenous culture of his people. He grew up in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, the second largest of its kind in the world, hunting as his father had done before him. But in 1997 the government began relocating Basawra populations.
CNN
Today many Basarwa can be found in resettlement villages, where some struggle to pass on their traditions to the following generation. Sekele says that as children sent to school learn other languages, like English, there's a threat to their native tongue.
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A strong oral tradition is being maintained by village storytellers, who gather children around and retread ancient fables for the benefit of the next generation.
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When it comes to Basarwa art, Tsodilo Hills is like an outdoor museum. Some 4,500 rock paintings dating back to the Stone Age can be explored with the help of local guides.
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The caves have become a tourist destination. Aside from the pictures, it is a place of legend too. Guide Xontae retells the story of 'The Origin of Man,' a place within the formations where God first taught humans how to reproduce.
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Another way indigenous heritage is being preserved is through the Kuru Art Project, which provides Basarwa people with materials to create original pieces of work while connecting to their roots.
courtesy Kuru Art Project
Many of the works depict scenes from the Basarwa's hunter-gatherer lifestyle of years past, and the fruits of the project have sold around the world.

Story highlights

The San are direct descendants of the first Homo sapiens

They live across South Africa, Botswana, Angola and Namibia

In Botswana, they're known as the Basarwa, and they live a largely nomadic lifestyle

CNN  — 

Caught between modernity and 20,000 years as hunter-gatherers, the San people sit at a crossroads.

An indigenous people in southern Africa, they are our oldest human ancestors, DNA testing proving the San are direct descendants of the first Homo sapiens. But today their culture, traditions and heritage are at risk of being lost forever.

The San live across South Africa, Botswana, Angola and Namibia. In Botswana they’re known as the Basarwa, where they live a largely nomadic lifestyle that has remained undisturbed for millennia.

07:58 - Source: CNN
Meet the indigenous people of southern Africa

“Culture is something that can die and we should understand that culture is dynamic,” says Bihela Sekere, part of the indigenous population who previously worked at the Botswana High Commission in London.

Sekere grew up in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, the second largest of its kind in the world, hunting as his father had done before him. But in 1997 the government began removing the Basarwa from the reserve, ostensibly to protect the area and integrate the community into mainstream society.

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Now based in a resettlement village, passing on age-old traditions has become harder and harder for the Basarwa.

“Some of the kids, Basarwa kids, are taken to schools (and) they can lose their culture because they are taught other ways of living,” explains Sekere. “To start with the language – if they are taught Setswana and English, it means the language will suffer.”

Sekere also cites the famous trance dance, a stalwart of Basarwa culture, as something that could one day suffer at the hands of modern music, played on radios and mobile phones by youths.

08:33 - Source: CNN
Rock paintings on Botswana's 'Mountains of the Gods'

Hope is not lost, however, while there are those willing to preserve indigenous culture. Local man Xontae guides the curious around some of his people’s greatest heritage sites, including the Tsodilo Hills, where 4,500 rock paintings dating back to the Stone Age can be explored. Meanwhile the Kuru Art Project seeks to revive art making among the Basarwa once more.

British-Caribbean artist Ann Gollifer, who is part of the initiative, says that the work the Basarwa create mainly depicts a hunter-gatherer lifestyle of yesteryear. Using modern mediums to paint ancient traditions, these artworks have sold all over the world.

06:14 - Source: CNN
Celebrating the heritage of the Basarwa people

It’s proof that culture is dynamic, malleable and susceptible to change – for better or for worse. But with will and determination, the likes of Sekere believes the Basarwa have what it takes.

“Culture on its own, it is what makes you who you are. … It’s upon us, the youth, to learn from these old people to promote our culture and to preserve it while they are still alive.”

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