Forward into the past

                                            

It is not every day that one gets a glimpse, let alone an encounter with a chapter in the history of humanity which for many is merely another lesson in our development passed on to us through the eyes of others. Recently, I was fortunate enough to be part of such an experience and it was an eye opener. It happened during my trip to Tanzania where I visited the Hadzabeh people (AKA Hadza).The experience filled me up with awe and wonderment, intrigued my thrill seeking curiosity, kept me pondering long after our encounter and prompted me to want to learn more about this fascinating group of people.

When our tour guide, Omar, led us through the winding path deep into the Eyasi bush past some breath taking scenery of overwhelming cliffs spectacularly shaped as if carved by some unseen celestial hand, I did not expect anything like what was about to unfold itself to me. Nothing could have ever prepared me for it

There, next to a beautiful tall Baobab tree, sat a group of people, unlike any I had ever seen before. Their bodies were covered with Baboon furs. Some were holding spears while others were adjusting their bows and arrows. Others yet, were busy attending to their recent hunt as they were cooking their next meal over the open fire. This was all going on while the background sound of click like sounds were heard as the men were communicating in their ancient language. I froze in my place dazzled by what I saw. It was all too much to absorb at once

Time stood still in that remote place. And “yes,” I thought to myself, as I was standing there glued to the ground and slowly regaining my senses, the “Gods must be crazy,” indeed. 

                                       Photo by Ophir Horesh                            

                                      Photo by Peter Shaposhnik

                                      Photo by Peter Shaposhnik

                                      Photo by Peter Shaposhnik

“The Hadza number about 1250 people,” Omar explained to us. “They are the smallest tribe in Tanzania. They are a nomadic tribe that originated from the Kalahari Desert in the southern part of Africa. They live as hunters and gatherers as their ancestors had thousands of years ago.” As throughout early human history, the men are the hunters. They are highly skilled and adjust their meat diet to the prevailing, mainly seasonal, conditions. During the dry season, game hunting increases. That is the time where the men spend long hours, mainly at night, waiting near waterholes in hope of shooting animals in search of a drink. The weapons they use for hunting are bows and arrows that are treated with poison extracted from the Adenium Cutaneum shrub. The women are the gatherers and usually bring home berries, honey (which they get from trees and which tastes delicious), baobab fruit (a seed with sour flavor which appealed to my pallet) and tubers such as potatoes and other underground growth. 

                                                                 

                                      Photo by Peter Shaposhnik

Mostly short people whose height averages 4ft (with the tallest ever recorded being 4.8ft), the Hadzabeh are genetically closely related to the Pygmies. They are still in the first stage of human development, or what Omar referred to as ‘Primitive Communalism.” The term, as I later found out was first coined by Friedrich Engels in his book “in Origins of the Family, Private Property and the State.” Though it is not the intention of this article to debate Engels’ book, the theory of which some anthropologists vehemently oppose, its main premise is that in the early stages of human development,  society was largely organized around affinity rather than economic relationships. And that is what Omar wished to convey to us.

“They live in small huts,” Omar continued as he guided us towards their sleeping quarters. Raising his hand in the direction of the nearby mountains, he added, “During heavy rains, they go up to the mountains and live in caves. They practice monogamy. One of their more interesting customs,“ he added, ‘is that of choosing a spouse. The popularity and esteem of a man increases considerably when he shoots a baboon, preferably the leader of the baboon community. That proves to his family and group that he is strong enough to feed them. A matured girl will then hand a necklace on his neck as a sign of being selected by her to be her husband.”

                                                                           

                                                 Photo by Peter Shaposhnik

                                               

“So how do they pass their day once they have eaten, finished making weapons, or processing the skin that they had just stripped off their prey?” I asked Omar.

“They just lay there, smoke Marijuana which they get from local tribes and continue to rest until they are hungry next,” he replied.

The kind of life some may choose, I thought to myself, as we made our way on the rocky path back to the Jeep. Not mine, I decided. But they know nothing else and they are happy, they hurt no one and live peacefully in their community, I debated with myself. At the end of the day, that is what matters.