Patterns of Identity Loss in Trans-Cultural Contact Situations Between Bantu and Khoesan Groups in Western Botswana

According to Lamy (1979) and Pool (1979), ethnic identity comprises four distinctive features, namely linguistic identity, cultural identity, autonymic identity and ethnonymic identity. When an ethnic group is losing its identity because of pressure or attraction from a major or dominant ethnic group in a marked bilingualism situation (Batibo, 1992, 2005), the loss is usually progressive, starting from linguistic identity and ending with ethnonymic identity. Although this pattern has been attested in a number of cases, particularly in trans-cultural situations, there have been several exceptions.This paper is based on a study which investigated the patterns of ethnic identity loss in western Botswana, Southern Africa, which is both linguistically and culturally complex, due to the co-existence of Bantu and Khoesan groups. The study showed that the ethnic identity loss model can be distorted, where there are factors that have strong impact on people’s lives in terms of fundamental human needs. Also, strong external socio-political pressure, such as restrictions and group domination may contribute to this situation

Preserving and transmitting indigenous knowledge in diminishing bio-cultural environment: Case studies from Botswana and Tanzania

The rapid bio-diversity loss due to the effects of urbanization, socio-economic demands, change in life style, technological advancement and globalization has resulted in the depletion of the ecosystem. At the same time, the younger generations are no longer acquiring knowledge in their indigenous environment, partly because of the new lifestyle of going to school instead of going hunting or herding, and partly because the fauna and flora is being destroyed and therefore no longer available for the children who are born and raised in villages. This has resulted in them not being able to acquire the relevant knowledge and skills when they become adults. This paper highlights the problem of indigenous knowledge transmission and preservation by describing case studies from Tanzania and Botswana. It then reflects on the known patterns of identity loss in societies. Finally it discusses the several measures that are being carried out to deal with the problems of bio-diversity loss in Africa

Hessel Visser. Naro Dictionary: Naro?English, English?Naro

Although this dictionary was not published by a well-established publishing house, its quality and usefulness rival those of seasoned publishers in the field of Khoesan studies, such as the dictionaries by Dickens (1994), Traill (1994) and Haacke (2002). This fourth edition of Visser's Naro Dictionary is a medium-sized dictionary of 240 pages, including 16 pages of appendices. The work is the result of more than 10 years of lexical compilation which resulted in several editions of the dictionary, each of which was an expanded version of the earlier one. Thus, from a miniature version, it has grown into a sizeable high-quality work, in spite of the compiler's modest observation in his introduction that it is a mere "working document" and that it is still a "preliminary publication"

The two-directional tone melody spread in Sukuma

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