Bushmen — the last battle for the first people of South Africa

The rulers of the desert, the Bushmen are a small group of hunting tribes living in the south of the black continent, mainly on the territory of South Africa. The most archaic forms of the socio-economic system have been preserved in these tribes. Today's few tribes are the remnants of a much larger ancient population of this part of Africa, pushed back by later newcomers.

The photos collected here were published in the article "Bushmen: The Last Battle for the First People of South Africa," February 2001, in the magazine "National Geographic" (c) Chris Johns/Chris John

Being in a trance, the old man puts his hands on the girl to identify and expel from her the evil spirits that have caused mental illness. Tourists are willing to pay money to watch such ceremonies. Thus, such rituals bring both money and healing to Bushman communities at the same time.

Figures of bushmen in animal skins with bows and arrows walking through the salt lake of the Nyae Nyae Reserve in Namibia. It is forbidden to use firearms, dogs and horses here, so these people hunt in the traditional way. They live in a village built to attract tourists and wear Western clothes most of the day.

The former military who lost the war, who fought on the side of the South African army against the independence of Namibia, languish in a tent city at the Schmidtsdrift mine in South Africa. In the hospital of the camp, a girl wraps up a child with tuberculosis. Originally from Angola and Namibia, the participants in the hostilities hope that they will one day live on a neighboring farm.

Goods for tourists in a souvenir shop in the South African resort of Kagga Kamma. The seller earns about $30 a month, much more than most bushmen.

Women working on a farm near Ganzi, Botswana, went on a break to gossip and have a snack of wild berries. Foraging accounts for 70 percent of the entire bushmen's diet, but most of the bush thickets on which bushmen have been collecting berries since ancient times are now used by cattle ranches.