Explained: Who are Khoisans In South Africa

King Khoisan, the leader of one of South Africa's oldest indigenous communities, was detained for growing cannabis near South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's Pretoria office recently.

For the past three years, Khoisans have been protesting near the president's office, demanding recognition for their culture and language, among other things. King Khoisan has stated that his detention was a means of putting a stop to the protests and displacing the community.

According to Queen Cynthia, King Khoisan's wife, the president simply refused to engage with the community, despite the fact that all they sought was acknowledgement. "I am very cross. We’ve been here since November 2018 and Ramaphosa has never even taken a minute of his time to address or acknowledge our presence yet they now bring in police to torment us." She claims that dagga (cannabis) has been used medicinally in her society for a long time.

"This was also just their way of getting rid of us," King Khoisan remarked after being released from jail on Thursday, calling his detention a smack in the face. "But this is not going to stop. We will continue to fight because it is in our blood," he asserted.

The Khoisans are said to be the earliest people to settle in South Africa, and they were made up of two distinct populations that shared similar traditions and languages: nomadic farmers the Khoikhoi and hunter-gatherers the San.

The Khoisans are said to have been the first people in South Africa to meet Dutch settlers in the 17th century. Khoisans were enslaved or slaughtered as the Dutch began to take over land in the region, and their popularity dwindled over time. European colonists mocked the people, calling them Bushmen and Hottentots.

The Khoisans were described as illiterate, "of inferior intellect and culture," "thievish and not to be trusted," and unassimilable, according to Shula Marks' research article, 'Khoisan Resistance to the Dutch in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.'

The Independent reported in 2009 on a study of "121 distinct populations" of Africans, which revealed that they were all derived from just 14 groups. The scientists discovered that the San were the most genetically diverse group after studying the DNA of over 3,000 Africans for over a decade. This means that the San were the oldest population of humans in South Africa and on Earth.

According to Sarah Tishkoff of the University of Pennsylvania, the experiment discovered that current Africans had the most diversified DNA of any racial group on the planet, reinforcing the notion that "Africa is the birthplace of humanity."

What has been the cause of Khoisan protests since 2018?
Outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria, where South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's office is located, Khoisans have been protesting. With King Khoisan, a troop of Khoisans marched 1200 kilometres from Port Elizabeth to the Union Buildings.

When the group arrived at the Union Buildings, they declared that they would not leave until their demands were granted. They've pitched up camp outside Ramaphosa's office and near Nelson Mandela's statue since then.

The Khoisans wanted to be recognised as the country's first nation, and this was one of their main requests. In addition, the community has been demanding land rights and recognition as the true owners of property that has been taken from them in the past.

Despite the government's establishment of a new land reform mechanism that would allow disadvantaged communities to purchase property for agricultural purposes, the Khoisans want the government to properly transfer land to the people of the community. The community also wants Khoekhoe to be recognised as a national language.

The Khoisans are also demanding that the term 'coloured,' which dates back to apartheid, be removed from government papers and from use to characterise the country's people. Although the phrase has been identified as disparaging, the Khoisans are requesting that it be outlawed.

The Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act 3 was signed by Ramaphosa on November 28, 2019, with the goal of "to provide for the recognition of traditional and Khoi-San communities, leadership positions, and the withdrawal of such recognition."

It also mentions "kingship or queenship councils, primary traditional councils, traditional councils, Khoi-San councils, and traditional sub-councils, as well as the support to such councils."

The Khoisans, on the other hand, were dissatisfied. The act, according to King Khoisan, did little to recognise the community. "We went through a public involvement process and offered ideas about what we want, but none of our suggestions was used to change the bill." He had stated, "Clearly, the president is not ready to take us seriously and we shall continue our protest."

(First published at Indiatimes.com)