Hadzabe: Hunting

Way back when, humans were hunter/gatherers. We hunted where there was meat, and we collected and gathered water, fruit and vegetables where we could. When an environment could no longer sustain us, we moved to the next place to harvest the bounty that was there. Then we discovered agriculture, cultivation and domestication, allowing us to stay in one spot and create villages, cities, and empires.

Today, about 1% of the world's population maintain the hunter/gatherer lifestyle, and the Hadzabe are one tribe that does this. We were privileged enough to follow the Hadazabe while they hunted the lands. We had to stay behind the Hadzabe as they hunted with bow and arrow, and should we get in front of one, there was no guarantee we would not be in between the path of the selected prey and the hunter. While my group did not see a successful kill, some of the other groups did. If the kill was small, say a mousebird or dove, the men (women don't hunt) would light a fire immediately and cook and eat the kill. If it was larger, like a dik dik, they would bring it back to their camp to process there.

Fires are started by hand, using a stick, wood, kindling, and elbow grease. No lighters, not matches... nothing. While our group did not successfully kill anything, we did get to watch them harvest honey. Up a baobob tree was a beehive. Pegs are whittled prior to ascending, and then the pegs are inserted into the baobob and a ladder is formed, with each step being inserted into the baobob with a small hand axe. A fire was started to create a smoke torch to smoke out the bees to be able to retrieve the honey. The men are stung, but they are so used to it, it doesn't bother them.

Boys will start to follow their dads and uncles from about the age of ten, learning to see, stalk and most importantly, aim.

The Hadzabe, while hunter/gatherers to sustain themselves, also cater to tourists such as ourselves (in this context), charging a small fee to let us run around with them, and then at the end of our visit, shedding all their jewelry, accessories, bows and arrows and allowing us to purchase them.