“Eating Christmas in Kalahari”, is a short story written by Richard Borshay Lee, about his time spent with the !Kung Bushmen. The story is centered on the Bushmen’s version of Christmas and their customs concerning “arrogance”. When evaluating the story from a sociologist perspective, one can see the agents of socialization, status, the differences between mechanical and organic solidarity, and the representation of Gemeinschaft. After three years with the tribe, during which Lee observed the hunting and gathering methods of the !Kung, he decided to observe the bushmen’s custom of the Christmas ox. He wanted to thank them for allowing him to live amongst them and because to them he “was a miser” (Lee, 1969). After picking out the perfect ox, Lee was proud of the one he chose, but the Bushmen began to make him doubt his choice. Ben!a, an outspoken woman of sixty-five, was the first to comment on his choice, stating “Do you expect us to eat that bag of bones?”. (Lee, 1969). Lee was confused as to why she would say this, when the ox “must have weighed 1,200 pounds on the hoof” (Lee, 1969). Lee at first chose to ignore it, but eventually others began to comment on his selection of ox. The young men referred to the ox as a “sack of guts” and that it would “hardly feed one camp” (Lee, 1969). Eventually, one of his friends, Tomazo, questioned his choice of ox, claiming, “it gives us pain to be served such a scrawny thing as Yehave’s black ox” (Lee, 1969). Lee began to feel disappointed , but became suspicious when Tomazo commented on a “young, fat, barren cow that the owner was willing to part with” (Lee, 1969). It was not until u!au, who had a fierce reputation, visited and imparted his thoughts concerning the ox, stating, “do you honestly think you can serve meat like that to people and avoid a fight” (Lee, 1969). Having been witness to the tension that surrounds the division of meat between the Bushmen, Lee considered not even attending the feast.
When Christmas arrived, Lee was tired and bored of the negative comments, yet he still felt some trepidation about attending and believed that it was going to be a disaster. When the customary butchering began, “the first cut opened a pool of solid white” (Lee, 1969). Upon seeing this, he became excited, exclaiming, “that ox is loaded with fat” (Lee, 1969). Again, he was met with insults and laughter. It was then that Lee realized they were “joking” when they insulted his choice of ox.
After two days of celebrating, the “joke” was still on his mind and he decided to question the Bushmen. He learned from Hakekgose, /gaugo, and Tomazo, that it is their custom to insult the efforts of another. When Lee asked why they would do this, Tomazo replied, “Arrogance” (Lee, 1969). He went on to explain to Lee that it was important that no one feel more superior to another, lest they become to prideful and one day kill another. It was then that Lee understood why they had done it and that he had been considered the “perfect target” (Lee, 1969).
By observing the customs of the Bushmen and choosing to participate in their rituals, this represents the socialization within the story. The insults that were given concerning the ox also can be considered an agent of socialization, as it was a custom among the tribe to do this. Status was shown within the descriptions that Lee used when referring to certain tribe members, such as u!au, when Lee referred to him as having “a reputation for fierceness”. Mechanical solidarity was also displayed with the rituals and celebration of the Christmas feast and the roles that each person played during the butchering of the ox. When discussing organic solidarity, this again will lead one to think of the insults as this was done by everyone in the tribe. Finally, Gemeinschaft is represented by the bushmen themselves and the small rural community in which they lived. Everyone knows each other and they share the same beliefs, customs and rituals.

References
Lee, R. B. (1969). Eating christmas in kalhari. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/a/ivytech.edu/file/d/0B6gySZ94i15FVmpQOHdybExSUm8/edit?