2024 Volume 24 Issue 1 Pages 78-110
The nomadic lifestyle of the San has been characterized as one of egalitarian societies, and recent studies have depicted their social change as a process of continuous reorganization in which the egalitarian principle is attenuated by external factors but then restored by the San themselves. However, it is less well known that these arguments were based on field research only in Xade and New Xade, where the San’s nomadic lifestyle has been best preserved. On the other hand, the authors’ fieldwork in Kag|ae, which has been a contact zone among various ethnic groups and organizations, identified the following features of social change in this community: (1) most economically affluent people resided far from their relatives to reduce the opportunities of distribution based on traditional kin relational norms; (2) this San society was characterized by multi-layered, complex social relationships with neighboring ethnic groups and organizations; and (3) although hunting and gathering activities around Kag|ae declined much earlier than did those around Xade and New Xade, new subsistence activities reflect well the livelihood strategies to which San are accustomed in terms of flexibility in choosing their means of livelihood. These findings suggest an alternative perspective on San society as a dynamic and open system through which people continuously and actively interact with their natural and social environments.
