Marjorie Shostak

Nisa

Relying on his own and other people's knowledge of environmental conditions, he will decide in which direction the hunters should go on a particular day. He may also pay close attention to magical sources—dreams and divination discs—that are thought to provide information on the whereabouts of animals. These sources will also help give him confidence, suggesting as they do that powerful forces of the 'otherworld' are behind him. He may hunt alone or with others. When he hunts with others, he will use secret names to refer to animals being pursued, and the hunters will communicate by hand signals and whistles so as not to disturb the game.

If the hunter is successful in killing a large animal, it will be carefully butchered and brought back to the village. There the meat will be distributed according to well-established rules of precedence. Everyone will receive a portion, directly or indirectly. Meat is highly valued—people may speak of 'meat hunger' even when other food is abundant—and meat well-laced with fat is especially prized because most desert animals are lean. Since the availability of meat is so uncertain, distributions are emotionally charged events; the size of the portions depends not only on clear issues such as kinship, but on subtle ones such as contribution to the hunt. Matters are further complicated by the tradition that most hunters carry other people's arrows in their quivers alongside their own. The arrow that kills an animal may therefore not belong to the hunter who shot it. According to !Kung custom, the person who owns the arrow is considered the true 'owner' of the meat, and the prestigious (and onerous) task of distributing the meat fairly is his (or hers—women sometimes own arrows, as well). Thus the distribution must be handled with great delicacy to insure against insults, real or imagined. Some of the meat may be dried for later consumption, but prodigious amounts will be enthusiastically consumed on the spot. If the hunter is not successful, he may collect some vegetable foods on his way home so as not to come back to the village empty-handed.

!Kung men vary widely in their skill at hunting, but different levels of success do not lead to differences in status. Self-deprecation and understatement are rigorously required of the hunter after a successful hunt. This modesty is in evidence from the moment he enters the village to relay his news. Walking silently, he sits down by a fire—his own or someone else's. He greets people and waits. When they ask, he says, 'No, I didn't see anything today. At least, nothing worth talking about.' The others, well-versed in the rules, press for details: 'That nothing you saw...did you get close enough to strike it?' Thus the conversation slowly reveals that an eland, a gemsbok, or even a giraffe has been shot. Excitement ripples through the camp as the news spreads; meanwhile, the hunter sits as before, quietly describing the events leading up to the kill. If his demeanor is interpreted as boastful or if his accomplishment is not presented as a mixture of skill and luck, pointed jokes and derision may be used to pressure him back into line. Later, dramatic accounts of the hunt will be given, and other important hunts will be recalled. The problem for the truly accomplished hunter (or gatherer, musician, healer, and so on) is to perform as well as possible without provoking envy or anger in others. This strain may be decreased by the custom of sharing arrows, which helps to diffuse responsibility for the kill. In addition, a less successful hunter may feel imbued with power when using a more successful hunter's arrows, and this may give him the confidence he needs to succeed. Most hunters also alternate hunting with long periods of inactivity, thereby affording others the opportunity to bring in meat and to receive the praise and attention of the group—for a while.