Compare And Contrast Dobe/Ju'Hoansi

The book, The Dobe Ju/'hoansi is a great example of an ethnography. It is a very detailed description of every aspect of the San people's life. From the environment they inhabit to the food they eat, the book goes into great detail on how these people survive. More importantly, the book describes their personal relationships with each other and other band level societies, marriage and sexuality topics, and how they solve disputes. Personally, I feel the attention directed towards their interpersonal relationships, was the key in understanding these Ju/'hoansi's way of life. Some of the most important topics mentioned in the ethnography are the foraging for a living, their marriage and sexuality, and conflicts, politics, and exchange. With the help of Richard Lee's case study of these hunters and gatherers, our society can become more cultural relative and get a peak into the way of life of a dying breed.

The Ju/'hoansi are a hunting and gathering society who are located on the border of Namibia and Botswana. These two countries are in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa. In the 1950's Richard Lee wanted to research these people because he wanted to dispel two myths. He wanted everyone to know that these people were not "missing links" and that the Ju were not prehistoric creatures (Lee 2003). Upon arrival to the Kalahari Desert, he did just that.

At first glance, this band level society does not have much in common with the technologically advanced western society. However, the more the two cultures are compared, the more they seem to resemble each other. One huge difference in the societies is the environment. In South Africa, the weather is scorching. The landscape is not full of rolling hills, forestry, or flat grasslands like much of the United States. The Kalahari Desert is dry, with little vegetation and hardly any forestry compared to the United States. Unlike Americans, the Ju are a very mobile society. In our society, sturdy houses are built over a period of months. The houses are usually bigger than what we would necessarily need. Usually, we live in these houses for years and sometimes decades. The Ju however, move a few times a year. They build their huts in one day during the dry season and four days during the rainy season (Lee 2003). The reason for such mobility is because they can not live off of the environment in one place for very long. Water may become scarce along with animals and fruit. Once they have slightly exhausted their resources in one area, they pack up and travel to another area which has not yet been exploited. In America, we rely on agriculture and the means to pay for it, to successfully feed our families. Therefore, we do not have to be as nomadic as the Ju. That is probably one of the biggest differences between the two cultures.

One important similarity between The Ju/'hoansi and our society is how much emphasis is put on being family oriented. These people put more emphasis on family than anything else. For this reason, structure of each little village is based upon family. The center of each village is anchored by brothers and sisters who have become the eldest of the camp. Around them, are their sons and daughters and their families. Just as the Ju/'hoansi do, our society for the most part, lives relatively close to our relatives for many of the same reasons as they do. We cherish our families more than we do anyone else, we trust our families more, and we can rely on them when we are in need. The stronghold of our lives is our family, no matter what culture or continent we come from. For that reason and that reason alone, we can relate with the Ju/'hoansi.

The Ju are among the most adaptive and creative societies on earth. They work relatively small amounts of hours per week to survive. In our society it is socially acceptable to work at least forty hours a week. For them, they work no more than twenty-five hours a week (Lee 2003). In our society, we have to work steady jobs for an annual income to buy the necessities and the amenities for our way of life. The Ju/'hoansi only have to work for food. They do not have to buy cars, electricity, cable, clothes, or any other accessory we believe we must have. Occasionally, the Ju must build huts and maintain the camp, but that takes a mere five hours a week on top of the twenty hours worked to gather food (Lee 2003).

When the Ju are not gathering nuts and berries and other fruits as their main source of food, they use four techniques of hunting; the mobile hunt, hunting with dogs, underground hunting, and snaring (Lee 2003). The Ju do these out of necessity whereas our society does these for recreation. When we mobile hunt, we use bow & arrows just as the Ju do. However, our bow & arrows are more potent than the Ju/'hoansi due to technology. While recreational hunting, the target which has been hit, usually goes down within minutes. For the Ju, the poison used on the tips of their arrows leads to a slow death which could take a few days. In our society we use dogs to sniff out game that has already been shot. The Ju use dogs for finding wounded or dead animals as well, but sometimes dogs are used to kill live animals. Nonetheless, dogs are an essential part of hunting for both societies. We do not do much underground hunting, but we do use the occasional snare. The biggest difference in hunting is that we as Americans hunt for fun, whereas the Ju must hunt for survival.

Between the two cultures, marriage is by far the most similar aspect. Both societies marry for many of the same reasons. We marry for economic reasons, child rearing, access to sex, political alliances and social relationships. Economic reasons are simply the division of labor. Women want to marry a man that can support them and vice versa. Obviously, we need to have sex, which suggests that we should marry. Also, having children is a vital part of keeping a community flourishing. Also in both societies, social relationships are important. If you are married, you know without a doubt that you spouse and their family will be there for you.

Just as in our society, men and woman of the Ju/'hoansi ultimately