Eating Christmas in the Kalahari
Latisha Willoughby
Ivy Tech Community College

“Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” is a story about of how Richard Borshay Lee explores the culture of the !Kung Bushmen natives in the Kalahari Desert. During his journey, his purpose was to find out how hunting and gathering helped the economy of the Bushmen. In order to do this he had to make sure not to supply them with any food, share his own food, or to interfere with any of the gather activities they were doing. Since he was not going to help with food he could supply tobacco and medical supplies. Even though, this helped some it was not enough to hide the difference in wealth between him and the Tswana tribe. He experiences a cultural misinterpretation which causes him grief and concern that almost caused him to end his lengthy three year study.
The Bushmen’s idea of a Christmas story was that it is to “praise the birth of the white man god-chief”. It was only believed that the slaughtering an ox for their village and the surrounding neighbors was a good enough celebration for Christmas. This would be a good will gesture for the Bushmen. Their December activities include congregation at the cattle post for a trade, marriage brokering, and a number of days trance dance and feasting, which local Tswana headman hosts. This would be an example of mechanical solidarity because everyone within this group are all on one accord. This was a yearly tradition and something they are had a level of respect for within their culture. Agents of Socialization would be mostly family and neighbors. Family being the strongest social agent in this tribe because they rely on one another completely in every aspect of life. Family raises children and teach them right from wrong. They also teach children how to hunt and feed themselves as well as others. Family also teaches how to cook and take care of their members when they are in the time of need. Family is the most reliable basis of life within this culture. Neighbors also have an effect. . Neighbors come once a year to feast and dance but they also bring information and stories with them. Within that experience they bring the hidden things your family may never see that neighbors teach you as much as you teach them.
With the end of his study approaching, Lee decided to supply the meat for the Christmas feast as a parting gift. Bushmen take this meal extremely serious because they rely on this meat to get them full, which is something they don’t experience throughout the entire year. So, after Lee purchased the biggest and strongest looking ox he can find, the village heard about it from word of mouth. Bushman after Bushman approached Lee with sarcastic jokes about how foolish he was to have purchased a weak and meatless ox. Lee does not understand why they are being sarcastic and cruel but he believes every word they say. The tribe’s comments causes Lee to be disappointed in himself and feels that has ruined the feast. Lee felt so bad he almost left! Later on he learns at the feast how strong and meaty this ox was. He then realizes they were only joking around previously. He never took into account the Bushmen’s cultural sarcasm. This helped him not only learn something about Bushman culture, but also something about his own culture.
The Gemeinschaft within this story is that their tribe is so close they teach and treat one another the same always no matter what. Things are taught more different than we would, but they teach that arrogance is a bad influence to have in life and is not tolerated. By universal teaching this is what brings them closer together. Christmas was one even that brought the tribe together. They would feast on the ox and share equally within their unit. The feasting and dancing made their unit feel as “one”. The Christmas celebration would be a way for them to celebrate their survival as well as them learning and leaning on one another one time a year. Lee was not seen as a part of the tribe. He could leave and cut off their supply of medical assistance and tobacco. This showed that his status within this journey was power. Status within the group had meaning but it was very little. No one within the tribe had greater power than they next they were all considered equal. This was another difference for Lee that showed how his culture was different than theirs. With our culture there is someone with power. Whether it be at work or just living within the country. You have the company owner whose status of power is superior to the actual worker and you have a leader such as the government that controls the country. This would help with his studies of their culture.
In conclusion, research on this culture would be both qualitative and quantative. With qualitative research, Lee was able to determine the cause and effect of beliefs within their culture. He used methods such as supplying medical supplies and tobacco as a way of him being welcomed. He saw that the members would only prefer to accept something such as food from someone they’ve known versus a stranger. They also showed that everyone’s status within the group is equal. They all have the same belief and understandings. This allowed him access to gain information without having to do much research or ask questions. Lee buying the Ox for the Bushmen be a method that is beneficial to quantative research. What he thought was a great gesture he soon found out the cause and effect of that gesture. What he learned is that to prevent boasting and being prideful they criticize outsiders or one another to show that it is not accepted within their tribe. He could try different methods to see how each member interacted with one another. But buying the Ox was also a method to see how the tribe would react. Studying the way the Bushmen interact with one another is a great way to express the benefits of using both research methods rather than just one.

Lee, R. (1969). Eating Christmas in the Kalahari. Natural History, 1-4. Retrieved from: http://web.mnstate.edu/robertsb/110/EatingChristmas.pdf