The Khoikhoi People

Who Are the Khoikhoi?

The Khoikhoi (also called Khoekhoe or, pejoratively, "Hottentots") are one of southern Africa's most ancient indigenous groups, pastoralists who herded cattle and sheep across the Cape region for over 2,000 years before European colonization. The Khoikhoi speak languages characterized by distinctive click consonants—linguistic features shared with the San (Bushmen) hunter-gatherers, together forming the Khoisan peoples. When Dutch colonizers established Cape Town in 1652, the Khoikhoi were the first indigenous Africans they encountered, initiating tragic cycles of land dispossession, disease epidemics (particularly smallpox), cultural erasure, and violence that decimated Khoikhoi society. By the 18th century, Khoikhoi communities had been largely destroyed as distinct political entities, with survivors absorbed into "Coloured" populations or reduced to landless laborers on settler farms. However, Khoikhoi descendants number in the millions across South Africa and Namibia, and recent decades have seen cultural revival movements reclaiming Khoikhoi identity, language, and heritage. The Khoikhoi's sophisticated pastoral economy, complex clan systems, and rich oral traditions demonstrate that they were not the "primitive" peoples colonial stereotypes depicted, but rather advanced societies tragically destroyed by European conquest.

Ancient Pastoralists of Southern Africa

The Khoikhoi emerged as distinct pastoralist societies around 2,000 years ago, representing Africa's transition from hunter-gatherer to food-producing economies. Archaeological evidence suggests they acquired cattle and sheep (introduced from East Africa) and developed sophisticated pastoral economies based on herding, supplemented by hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plants. The Khoikhoi organized into numerous distinct groups including the Goringhaiqua, Gorachouqua, Chainouqua, Hessequa, and Nama, each controlling specific territories and seasonal migration routes. Their society was organized around patrilineal clans, with wealth and status measured in cattle ownership. Cattle were not merely economic assets but social and spiritual capital, used in marriage transactions (lobola), dispute settlements, and religious ceremonies. The Khoikhoi developed expertise in animal husbandry, breeding hardy livestock adapted to semi-arid conditions, and managing seasonal migrations between wet and dry pastures to optimize grazing.

Social Organization and Material Culture

Khoikhoi society demonstrated sophisticated political organization despite colonial characterizations as "primitive." Leadership came from chiefs (khoib) who governed through councils of elders and consensus decision-making rather than autocratic rule. Social status derived from cattle wealth, age, oratorical skill, and genealogy. The Khoikhoi built portable mat houses (haru oms)—dome-shaped structures made from bent saplings covered with woven reed mats—easily dismantled and transported during seasonal movements. Material culture included finely crafted pottery with distinctive thin-walled, pointed-bottom designs; leather clothing decorated with ochre and beadwork; and sophisticated tools including iron-tipped spears, bows, and knives (ironworking skills likely acquired through trade with Bantu peoples). The Khoikhoi excelled in copper working, creating jewelry and ornaments from copper mined in Namaqualand. Their oral traditions preserved historical memory through praise poetry, creation myths, and trickster tales featuring the hare and jackal.

Colonial Encounter and Catastrophe

The Dutch East India Company's establishment of a Cape refreshment station in 1652 initiated disaster for the Khoikhoi. Initially, relations involved trade—the Khoikhoi exchanging cattle for beads, tobacco, and metal goods. However, Dutch settlers rapidly expanded, seizing Khoikhoi grazing lands and water sources. The Khoikhoi launched resistance wars (particularly the First and Second Khoikhoi-Dutch Wars in 1659-1660 and 1673-1677) but were defeated by superior firearms. More devastating were disease epidemics: smallpox outbreaks in 1713, 1755, and 1767 killed an estimated 90% of Khoikhoi in some regions—a demographic catastrophe from which they never recovered. Survivors faced systematic oppression: laws prohibited Khoikhoi from owning land, forced them into labor contracts with settlers, and banned traditional leadership structures. Many Khoikhoi became servants and laborers on European farms, losing language, culture, and identity. Intermarriage with enslaved peoples from Southeast Asia and Madagascar created the population later classified as "Cape Coloured" under apartheid.

Cultural Erasure and Modern Revival

By the 19th century, distinct Khoikhoi political communities had largely disappeared, absorbed into broader "Coloured" or mixed-race populations. The Khoekhoe languages declined precipitously, with only Nama (spoken in Namibia) surviving as a living language. The term "Hottentot"—originally a Dutch onomatopoeia mocking Khoikhoi click sounds—became a global symbol of "primitive" peoples, with Khoikhoi individuals like Saartjie Baartman exhibited in European "human zoos." This cultural genocide was so complete that many South Africans today are unaware of Khoikhoi heritage. However, recent decades have seen remarkable cultural revival. Organizations like the Khoisan Resistance Movement and First Nations Collective advocate for Khoikhoi recognition as South Africa's indigenous peoples, land rights, and constitutional acknowledgment. Khoikhoi descendants are reclaiming their heritage, learning Nama language, reviving traditional ceremonies, and demanding repatriation of ancestral remains from European museums (including Saartjie Baartman's remains, finally returned in 2002). This revival challenges apartheid and colonial narratives, asserting that the Khoikhoi were not simply victims who disappeared, but resilient peoples whose descendants continue fighting for recognition and justice.

The Nama: Surviving Khoikhoi Culture

The Nama people of Namibia and South Africa represent the largest surviving Khoikhoi-identifying group, numbering approximately 250,000. The Nama maintained pastoral traditions, Khoekhoe language, and cultural practices through South African colonial rule and apartheid. They played crucial roles in resistance, including the Nama-German War (1904-1908) where Nama guerrillas fought German colonizers. German forces responded with genocide, killing thousands in concentration camps and the desert. Today, Nama communities continue traditional pastoralism, speak Khoekhoegowab (Nama language), and maintain cultural festivals. The Nama's survival provides a living link to Khoikhoi heritage, demonstrating that colonialism did not completely erase these ancient peoples. Their continued existence offers hope for broader Khoikhoi cultural revival and recognition as southern Africa's first inhabitants.