It's rare to see an error in the opening sentence of an article, and maybe a nitpick but I believe "bushmen" usually refers to San hunter-gatherer nomads, not Bantu language-speaking pastoralists.
San is a derogatory word to describe them. In general it refers to several language groups that extend all the way from South Africa to Namibia and Botswana.
So is bushmen. Which does attempt to refer to the San people. It is also considered rude.
It depends on how it is used though. The San council in SA is ok with it’s use in positive contexts.
They have other names by which they refer to themselves.like !Kung. These represent their individual nations.
Himbas don’t have the same language or history as San/Bushmen. Also Himbas raise cattle .. So you are correct that the term “Himba bushmen” is very off. (Although I’m not familiar with Himba’s preferred names)
It’s a very western / German thing to talk like this with out knowing the full context and just assuming “hey they live in the bush lol bushmen”
Unless “bushmen” is being used in some generic “people who live out in the bush” sense? That stuck out to me too.
(I’m very closely connected to one of the foremost Western experts on the Himba and have spent time with them myself. Definitely not the same as the Bushmen.)
> I’m very closely connected to one of the foremost Western experts on the Himba and have spent time with them myself
This is such a strange sentence that makes it sound like they're some exotic, uncontacted people. Give it a couple of hours until its waking hours in Namibia, and we're going to have Himba people in this thread.
gargablegar|2 years ago
So is bushmen. Which does attempt to refer to the San people. It is also considered rude.
It depends on how it is used though. The San council in SA is ok with it’s use in positive contexts.
They have other names by which they refer to themselves.like !Kung. These represent their individual nations.
Himbas don’t have the same language or history as San/Bushmen. Also Himbas raise cattle .. So you are correct that the term “Himba bushmen” is very off. (Although I’m not familiar with Himba’s preferred names)
It’s a very western / German thing to talk like this with out knowing the full context and just assuming “hey they live in the bush lol bushmen”
armadsen|2 years ago
(I’m very closely connected to one of the foremost Western experts on the Himba and have spent time with them myself. Definitely not the same as the Bushmen.)
alienthrowaway|2 years ago
This is such a strange sentence that makes it sound like they're some exotic, uncontacted people. Give it a couple of hours until its waking hours in Namibia, and we're going to have Himba people in this thread.