Milk not Meat: The Role of Milk amongst the Khoe Peoples of Southern Africa

Author(s): Marlize Lombard and Isabelle Parsons

Source: Journal of African Archaeology, Vol. 13, No. 2 (2015), pp. 149-166
Published by: Brill
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44295208
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 S)
Milk not Meat: The Role of Milk amongst the
Khoe Peoples of Southern Africa

Marlize Lombard & Isabelle Parsons

Abstract Résumé

Les sources historiques soulignent les différents usages

Historical sources emphasise the different uses of livestock
in southern African Khoe societies. Here we review the du bétail dans les sociétés Khoe d'Afrique australe. Nous
role of milk gained from livestock amongst the Khoe , as examinons ici le rôle du lait parmi les Khoe , documenté
recorded over the last few centuries , and demonstrate that au cours des derniers siècles , et montrons que le lait était,
it was of greater subsistence value than the meat of live- en termes de subsistance, d'une plus grande valeur que la
stock In addition , we highlight the recorded technological, viande du bétail Nous soulignons également l ' importance
social and ritual importance of milk amongst the Khoe. technologique, sociale et rituelle du lait parmi les Khoe.
Finally ; attention is drawn to recent genetic research that Enfin, nous attirons l ' attention sur la recherche génétique
suggests the dependence of southern African Later Stone récente qui suggère la dépendance des éleveurs de l'âge
Age herders on milk. de pierre en Afrique australe à l ' égard du lait.

Keywords : Khoe, Later Stone Age herders, livestock, milk, historical accounts

Marlize Lombard ^ mlombard@uj.ac.za

El Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524,
Auckland Park, 2006, South Africa

Isabelle Parsons ^ i.parsons.03@cantab.net

El Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of South Africa, PO Box 392, UNISA, 0003, South Africa

DOI 10.3213/2191-5784-10272
© Africa Magna Verlag, 2015
Received 27 Jan 2015
Revised 05 Apr 2015
Accepted 13 Apr 2015
Published online 08 Aug 2015 Journal of African Archaeology Vol. 13 (2), 2015, pp. 149-166 149

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 M. Lombard & I. Parsons

Introduction including wooden milk pails and containers (Fig. 1),

or milk sacks made from animal skins (cf. Table 1).
Recent decades have witnessed ongoing, sometimes
This problem is representative of the wider issues of
vigorous, debate amongst archaeologists about how
investigating what is a fairly ephemeral Later Stone Age
stock keeping was introduced to, and maintained by,
pastoralist archaeological footprint in southern Africa.
southern African stone-tool users of the last two thou-We propose, however, that the value of fresh liquid, in
thé form of milk obtained from domesticated animals,
sand years (see e.g., Sadr 2013 for a summary of the
can hardly be underestimated in the arid western regions
debate)1. Yet, little attention has focused on a key aspect
of stock keeping - milk. Archaeological exploration of
of southern Africa where we find early traces of Later
southern African Khoe herders and their predecessorsStone Age stock keeping. We also argue that by better
understanding the relationship between Later Stone
traditionally revolves around faunai remains and porta-
Age herders and milk, we might increase our under-
ble material culture (e.g., Smith et al. 1991 ; Beaumont
standing of the archaeological record associated with
et al 1995; Sadr et al 2003), although stone structures
(e.g., Sampson 1985, 1986; Kinahan 2001) and rock these groups.
art (e.g., Smith & Ouzman 2004; Eastwood & Smith
2005) are also sometimes considered. The potential Archaeological interpretations of Later Stone Age
herding practices and material culture in southern Af-
impact of pastoralism on people's diet has furthermore
rica tend to make limited use of historical accounts,
been explored through stable isotope analyses (e.g.,
Sealy 2010). often referring only in passing to reports of large herds
of livestock that drew European seafarers to stop along
Recent, genetic work provides a new dimension the coast for fresh provisions (see Raven-Hart 1967).
for discussions on Stone Age herding in southern Exceptions include investigations by Rudner (1979),
Boonzaier et al (1996), Bollong et al. (1997), Stew-
Africa, centred around milk. Genetic research focus-
art (2005), Fauvelle- Aymar (2008), Sealy (2010) and
ing on lactase persistence, conducted on living Khoe,
San and Coloured populations in southern Africa, Mitchell (2014). A.B. Smith (Smith & Pheiffer 1992,
indicates that non-Bantu- speaking herding popula-1993, 1994; also see Cullinan 2003) has furthermore
tions from East Africa admixed with local San hunter-worked to make available and/or shed light on historical
gatherers (Breton et al. 2014; Macholdt et al 2014;sources themselves. Regular consumption of milk by
PiCKRELL et al 2014), probably resulting in what isthe Khoe has been highlighted (e.g., Smith & Pheiffer
now known as the Khoe population (i.e., groups with1993; Sealy 2010), but as far as we are aware, early
a Khoe linguistic affinity, and historically known literature has never been scrutinised with the specific
to have possessed livestock). One of the strongest purpose of understanding dairying behaviour in Later
genetic pointers is that several communities have aStone Age populations from this region.
lactase persistent variant, allowing them to digest milk
into adulthood. This specific genetic variant - which Historical texts, however, vary in terms of their
evolved amongst East African herders - is currently motivations and potential as valuable sources and
most strongly represented in southern Africa amongst need to be employed with caution. For example, while
the Nama Khoe of Namibia (e.g., Breton et al. 2014); François Le Vaillant set out to write stories to enter-
a heterogeneous group with a complex recent history tain his audience - with himself as the main protago-
relating to much of the western regions of South Af- nist - Robert Gordon based his accounts on detailed,
rica and Namibia (e.g., Webley 1986). The genetic
first-hand observation and often critically compared
his findings with those of Peter Kolb (Huigen 2009).
evidence for lactase persistence amongst a descendant
Indeed, the early 19th-century observer Hinrich
population of southern Africa's Later Stone Age herd-
Lichtenstein (1928 [1812]: xii) remarked that "[each
ers serves as a timely reminder that owning livestock
traveller] in succession has found great fault with his
represents more than meat in subsistence terms (also
see discussion). immediate precursor, ... too often not undeservedly".
South African travel accounts, in particular, have also
The dilemma for Later Stone Age pastoralist ar-
become the subject of influential postcolonial readings,
which view them as the intellectual vanguard of actual
chaeology is that milk does not preserve, nor does much
of the material culture associated with its use, suchEuropean
as annexation (see, e.g., Huigen 2009; but also
see Raum 1997). Although problems may exist with
historically recorded plant- and animal-based utensils,
the context, content and translation of some historical
records, discounting the texts in their totality might
deprive archaeologists of what could be valuable in-
1 Throughout this paper we use ' Later Stone Age herders ' to distin-
guish these groups from Iron Age agropastoralists; see Lombard formation about the people responsible for the regional
archaeological record.
et al. 20 1 2 for interpretation of the Stone Age sequence in southern
Africa.

150 Journal of African Archaeology Vol. 13 (2), 2015

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 The Role of Milk amongst the Khoe Peoples of Southern Africa

Figure 1. A wooden milk

pail and two wooden
milk vessels used by
the Khoe as recorded by
Schultze, redrawn by ML
after Schultze (1907:
244 and 245).

Items Authors

Plant-based utensils/eq

Hollowed blocks of wood (milk vessels) Sutherland 1864; Theal 1922

Wooden milk pails Fritsch 1872; Schultze 1907 (Fig. 1 )
Wooden dishes, basins and bowls Fritsch 1872; Hahn 1881; Schultze 1907
Wooden butter bucket Schultze 1907
Hollowed milk 'bamboo' Fritsch 1872

Large calabashes (which hold 20 or 30 quarts) Sutherland 1864; Albrecht 1806 in Sydow 1967
Sour milk calabashes Hahn 1 88 1 ; Schultze 1 907
Drinkingcalabash Hahn 1 88 1
Churning calabash with wooden stopper and leath
Milk baskets (beehive-shaped, watertight and woven from

Animal-based utensils/equipment

Skin bags (milk vessels) Theal 1922

Leather bag for sour milk Paterson 1 790; Fritsch 1 872
Hairy leather bags (for butter churning) Schreyer 1 93 1 [1681]; Kolb 1719/1 745 in Jopp 1 979
Leather bowl (for drinking goat's milk) Burchell 1 824
Tortoise shell (milk drinking basin) Theal 1922
Polished tortoise shell spoons Kolb 1719/1745 in Jopp 1979
Mother of pearl spoons Kolb 1 7 1 9/1 745 in Jopp 1 979
Ox horn spoons Kolb 1719/1 745 in Jopp 1 979
Hair swab/brush (to suck milk from) Burchell 1824; Theal 1922; Goodwin 1952

Pottery

Self-made clay pots for drinking, cooking and storage of dairy, amongst other Kolb 1 7 1 9/1 745 in Jopp 1 979
things (similar in shape to Roman urns, but with two small handles through
which a thong could be passed)
Small clay containers Fritsch 1 872
Pots made of clay and ground quartz Hahn 1 88 1
Clay pot with thong handle Schultze 1907

Table 1. Khoe material culture historically associated with milk.

Journal of African Archaeology Vol. 13 (2), 2015 151

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 M. Lombard & I. Parsons

Here we review the role of milk in Khoe popula-

of the Khoe, and that children were taught to drink milk
directly from animal udders. In fact, there is a special
tions as recorded historically over the last few centuries.
We demonstrate that meat, obtained from domesticated Khoe word for "to milk into the mouth" {e.g., Blench
animals, was of lesser day-to-day subsistence impor-
2009: 39), and boys who started herding at a young age
tance than milk, and that milk had social, symbolic andquickly learned how to catch a goat and, sitting under
ritual value within the context of the Khoe worldview. or behind it, to squirt milk directly into their mouths
(Schapera 1963 [1930]: 269). Schultze (1907: 258)
reported that, during milking, the colostrum was con-
Dairy in the day-to-day lives of historical Khoe sidered harmful for the calf, resulting in a hard belly,
but that the Khoe valued and enjoyed drinking this
Fresh milk milk, mostly boiled and thinned with fresh milk.

When they arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, The Khoe also used milk as a boiling liquid or mix-
one of the first experiences of the Dutch was to be wel- ing agent for a variety of foods. Schultze ( 1 907 : 1 84-
comed with fresh milk by the Khoe (Goodwin 1952: 9 206) provided the most comprehensive and dependable
from Jan van Riebeeck's diary; also see Sutherland record of this behaviour. Concerning the consumption
1 864: 72-73). The Khoe men sucked milk from a small of game hide, for example, Schultze wrote that, in order
animal-hair brush (instead of cups), but children were to make it tasty, it was roasted in a fire to remove the
observed to drink directly from the udders of sheep. At hair, cut into strips and hammered with stones before
first, the Dutch were perplexed about the local herd- boiling it in water, or preferably in milk (ibid.: 186).
ers' reluctance to sell healthy cattle to be slaughtered A more opportunistic food source was locusts (prefer-
for fresh meat. They soon realised that the cause of ably females, fat with eggs). The Khoe women would
this reluctance was the low daily milk yield of South pound the collected grasshoppers into a pulp, which
African cows. Roughly ten cows per person were nec- was eaten raw or mixed with milk (ibid.: 191-192).
essary for communities who depended almost entirely One of the main veld foods of the Khoe, uintjies (small,
on milk (Sutherland 1864: 23; Goodwin 1952: 6). wild bulbs and corms), were also sometimes dried,
Several European correspondents at the Cape during pounded with stones, and then cooked with milk into
the 1600s also mentioned the drinking of milk by the a porridge (ibid.: 194). Depending on the season, fresh
Khoe. For example, Olfert Dapper observed that: "[t] milk, cooled or still warm from the cow, was reported
hey drink water or the milk of their cattle" (Dapper to have been mixed with the blossoms of Acacia hór-
1668 in Schapera 1933: 57). Likewise, based on per- rida Willd (Cape gum), or the pea-sized chewed fruit
sonal acquaintance with the Khoe, Willem ten Rhyne of Euclea pseudebenus (blue guarri) (ibid.: 197). The
(1686 in Schapera 1933: 129) reported: "[t]hey drink blossoms of two types of white- and yellow-flowering
the milk of cows and sheep". Theal (1922: 99) even Gazania spp (Namaqualand daisy) were also collected
suggested that, if they had an adequate number of cat- and eaten raw, or boiled with milk into a porridge (ibid. :
tle to provide them with milk to subsist on, there was 202). The Khoe knew that a large, black ant species col-
little need for the Khoe to put much energy into other lected certain grass seeds that are palatable to humans,
subsistence activities. especially those associated with Aristida spp (buffalo
grass). They therefore raided the ant provisions for
Kolb (1719/1745 in Jopp 1979: 125), who reported mierkos (ant food), which they roasted and ground to
on his experience with the Khoe between 1705-1713, a flour with grinding stones. The flour was then cooked
stated that the Khoe sometimes drank fresh milk out with milk into a delicious porridge (ibid. : 200).
of the milking container immediately after milking,
in order to quench their thirst. He mentioned also that According to Schapera (1963: 294), "[t]he milk
both fresh cow's and sheep's milk was drunk (Kolb of their cows is the staple article of diet", but Khoe
1719/1745 in Jopp 1979: 128), and that men enjoyed children subsisted mainly on fresh goat's milk, also
drinking water or cow's milk with their food (Kolb often drunk by adults to save cow milk for butter churn-
1719/1745 in Jopp 1979: 152). According to Alexan- ing (Schultze 1907: 188). However, when family or
der's (1838: 97, 98) observations in the early 1800s, group wealth allowed, each child was given a cow
the staple of the Khoe, old and young alike, was milk for their own use (Schapera 1963: 194), which they
from their cows and goats; this often being the only could milk throughout the day for sustenance. Fritsch
food for weeks on end as a result of unsuccessful hunt- (1872: 325) commented on how, in contrast to Bantu
ing, and because livestock were generally not slaugh- speakers, Khoe adults enjoyed drinking sweet milk. In
tered for food. A century later Dornan (1975 [1925]: fact, he reported that milk mixed with water was the
212) too reported that, together with game and veld preferred drink of the Khoe - something also noted by
food (plant foods gathered from the natural surround- Vedder (1937: 58) about the Nama Khoe of Namibia.
ings), the milk of cows and sheep was the principal food Even though the meat of game was highly prized by the

152 Journal of African Archaeology Vol. 13 (2), 2015

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 The Role of Milk amongst the Khoe Peoples of Southern Africa

Khoe, milk was preferred above any other food source times produced curdled milk by allowing fresh milk
and served as Lebenselixir (elixir of life) - this close to stand untouched for two days in a calabash until a
relationship with milk being expressed in the Khoe lan- thin, sour liquid formed on top, with a thick curdled
guage through the use of specific terms such as "cow- substance forming at the bottom of the calabash (ibid.:
warm milk" or "cooled milk" (Schultze 1907: 186). 187). Schapera (1963: 237) suggested that, because of
the abundance of milk after good summer rains, Nama
In more recent times, with the increasing im- Khoe families subsisted almost entirely on dairy, includ-
poverishment of the Khoe, goat's milk became even ing thick sour milk that was considered a staple, made
more important, but sheep's milk was still rarely used by adding plant ingredients (Schapera 1963: 237). Mix-
(Schapera 1963: 298). In fact, the use of goat's milk ing some plant foods with milk probably enhanced the
was probably the fall-back mode through time for early thickening process. Schultze (1907: 202), for example,
African herders. Alexander (1838: 278) claimed that reported that Oxalis spp (sorrel) were used in this way.
"[t]o an African traveller goats are invaluable; they can The leaves, stems and flowers were dried in a pan over
accompany him every where [sic], and live where cattle the fire, crushed, cooled and mixed with raw milk, which
would pine away and die; though the cattle of South then thickened. We also know that some Khoe groups
Africa are assuredly the most hardy and enduring in the used plant roots in an effort to preserve milk through
world. What care they for clover fields, and meadows curdling. Plants used in this way included Aspilia eenii ,
of thick green grass, as long as they can range among Boscia albitrunca (caper busch), Cullen obtusifolia and
the thorn bushes, and fearless of the prickles, get their Tephrosia dregeana (Van Damme et al. 1922).
tongue round the blades of white and sweet grass which
grows up among the twigs. They also eat the tops of In fact, and notwithstanding several records to the
many bushes, but not of so many as the goats, each of contrary, some reporters suggest that "milk is never
which give nearly as much milk as a Namaqua cow, drank while it is sweet" (e.g., Paterson 1790: 20), and
and of much richer quality". that soon after milking, it was mixed with curdled milk
and kept in a leather sack. Sparrman (1785: 239) also
Finally, a number of travel reports emphasise that told of how the Khoe welcomed his company by invit-
Khoe hospitality involved offerings of fresh milk. Wil- ing them to drink sour "sack-milk", which tasted like
liam Paterson, who travelled in the Cape and Namibia syllabub. On this occasion, their hosts informed them
between 1777 and 1779, and "presented a series of that sweet milk was "unwholesome", and thus always
facts, noted down upon the spot" (Paterson 1790: mixed with sour milk in the milk sack. They were as-
viii), recounted several occasions where various Khoe sured, however, that this was done daily to supply them
hosts presented him and his entourage with milk upon with 'fresh' sour milk without having to bother with
arrival at their encampments (Paterson 1790: 27, 51, cleaning the bag in which it was kept. Barrow (1801 :
56, 120). Gordon (1779 in Cullinan 2003) likewise 170) also reported that the milk baskets of the Khoe
mentioned a number of instances where he asked for he encountered were never "washed nor cleaned". The
and/or was given milk when encountering Khoe on fresh milk poured into them thus immediately curdled,
his fourth expedition into the South African interior. and was used as such "and never sweet from the ani-
During his first journey into the interior (1781-1782), mal". He speculated that "[hļaving no bread, nor veg-
Le Vaillant (2007 [1790]: 117) and his travelling etables, nor roots, but such as grew spontaneously in the
party were apparently brought "large quantities of country, and as they seldom kill any of their cattle for the
milk every evening" by the women from a nearby sake of the flesh, the necessity of taking something solid
Khoe group, whom his Khoe travelling companions into the stomach led them, perhaps, to adopt this manner
had befriended. Upon his departure, he was given "a of drinking their milk; and the best proof of its nutritious
large provision of milk" in a pitcher (Le Vaillant quality, in such a state, was the general healthy appear-
1972 [1790], I: 311). Milk was also one of the major ance and vigor of their persons" (ibid.: 170).
barter items, and was frequently offered to Europeans
instead of cattle (e.g., Paterson 1790; Alexander
1838; Sutherland 1864). Butter

The South African cows encountered by the Dutch

Fermented milk produced about 2-3.5 pounds of "very fine and yel-
low" butter per week (Sutherland 1 864: 22 [from the
Apart from fresh milk, Khoe groups also used fermented Van Riebeeck diary, New Year's day 1653]). Several
milk as a major part of their subsistence. Milk that was descriptions exist of how the Khoe made butter. One
left standing, but was still liquid, was called "piss milk", of the earliest is provided by Schreyer (1931 [1681]:
because of its urine-like taste (Schultze 1907: 187). 46), who did not find the process very amusing. He
Similar to their Tswana neighbours, the Khoe some- described how milk was poured into a sack of animal

Journal of African Archaeology Vol. 13 (2), 2015 153

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 M. Lombard & I. Parsons

to the Europeans. Ten Rhyne (1686

in Schapera 1933: 129), however,
found that butter was made "by an
elegant process". A bird would be
skinned and the skin turned feather-
side in. This sack was tied to a hol-
low stick and shaken until the milk
separated into butter and whey. The
whey was drunk, whereas the butter
was used to smear on their heads.
Ten Rhyne further commented on
the fact that the Khoe did not know
how to make cheese, nor did they
like to eat it.

Schultze (1907: 187) re-

ported a different butter-churning
method. He described how sour
milk was ladled from a wooden
bucket into a calabash with a wood-
en stopper (Fig. 2). The calabash
was then rolled back and forth on
a soft surface, often constructed by
layering animal hides on top of each
other. This would happen in the full
sun and close to a fire, so that after
about three hours of rolling, butter
concentrated in the top of the cala-
Figure 2. Butter-churning calabash with wooden stopper and leather holding sling
bash. The freshly cut roots of Portu-
as described by Schultze, redrawn by ML after Schultze (1907: 187). laca sp. (pigweed) were sometimes
added to the churning calabash to
increase the butter yield. The but-
termilk was enjoyed immediately after churning, and the
hide with the hairy side turned inwards and with a small
hole at the bottom that was tied closed. Two people butter eaten fresh or fried with plant foods (ibid.: 187).
The leaves of Mesembryanthemum edule (sour fig), for
would then take the sack, each to an end, shaking and
throwing it as long as it took to churn the milk intoexample, were sometimes fried in butter (Schapera
butter. The buttermilk was then drained from the small
1963: 238).
hole at the bottom of the sack, and the slightly sour but-
ter removed. What Schreyer did not find "funny", but
rather repulsive, was the fact that the resulting butter Other uses for milk
was full of hair. The Khoe, however, did not seem to
mind eating the butter in this form. The use of milk, however, extended beyond consump-
tion. We have already mentioned that it was often used
Johannes Gulielmus de Grevenbroek (1695 inas a skin balm (e.g., Ten Rhyne 1686 in Schapera
1933: 129; Schapera 1963: 237; Kolb 1719/1745 in
Schapera 1933: 247) described a similar butter-churn-
Jopp 1979: 125). However, Gordon (1779 in Cullinan
ing scenario: "They take a skin bag, with the woolly
2003) noted that milk would be poured into flutes, made
side in, and almost fill it with milk; then the neck is tied
from "reed or thorn tree bark", to keep them "moist
tightly with a thong, and the butter-maker, standing with
and sound", and that a "chewed-up plug of thorn-tree
his legs apart, and holding one end of the bag in his left
hand and the other in his right, moves it vigorously upbark is then pushed in [to the flute], after it has been
moistened with milk" to produce a single note when
and down, to and fro, shaking and churning it, until the
cream has been massed and hardened into butter". Kolb played. String, used for a variety of daily activities -
(1719/1745 in Jopp 1979: 125) provided a further sack-like the sewing of skin objects, the construction of reed
churning vignette, and was as disgusted as Schreyer bymatting, the knotting of net bags, and setting snares -
could also be prepared using milk. Schultze (1907:
the butter full of hair and other "small stuff'. He sug-
gested that the Khoe did not consume butter, but that 241-242), for example, described how the best string
was produced from Acacia hórrida Willd (Cape gum)
they used it only for smearing on their bodies or selling it

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 The Role of Milk amongst the Khoe Peoples of Southern Africa

Figure 3. A drawing of in-

sufflation, thought to pre-
date 1713, in which a reed
may have been used to blow
air into the cow (unknown
author, from the National
Library of South Africa, de-
tail of Khoikhoi with cattle
[INIL 6256v; number 6256
of a set: INIL 6250-6264])
created around 1700-1740
AD; also see Smith &
Pheiffer 1993: 54-55).

branches. A freshly chopped branch was quickly were

drawnsuckling calves. When the calves could feed them-
through hot ashes and bashed on the ground to loosen the milk dried up. Yet some cows, exposed to
selves,
good
the bark and thorns, which were then stripped. The in-pastures, were able to give milk until shortly
before
ner white layer of fibre was separated out from the restgiving birth to the next calf, even though the
of the branch and hung up to dry. Later, the fibrousquantity
mass of milk decreased with time. Under ideal cir-
cumstances, a cow could produce 10-15 litres of milk
was soaked in lukewarm milk or, if in an emergency,
in water, before being sucked and chewed. Finally, a but four litres seems the average for Afrikaner
per day,
(Sanga)
length of fibre prepared in this way was twisted be- cows. During years of drought, calves starved
when
tween the right palm and thigh, while the end of cows did not produce enough milk, and at these
the
fibre was held in the left hand. times milking for human consumption was equally dire.
For a week after a calf was stillborn or died prema-
turely, the cow only produced about 0.5-0.75 litres of
Milk yield and the milking of cows milk each morning and evening, apart from colostrum.
However, with the correct treatment, such a cow could
As mentioned previously, Europeans who wanted be brought
to to produce similar quantities of milk as a
obtain cattle for meat soon realised that the Khoe were cow with healthy calves. The treatment would include
loath to let go of healthy cattle because of the relatively blowing hard into the vulva of the cow (insufflation),
low milk yield and their dependence on milk for sub- or by using the hide of the dead calf to "cheat" the cow
sistence (Sutherland 1864: 23; Goodwin 1952: 6). into believing that she still had an offspring. After the
Dornan (1975: 211-212) reported that the wealth of third or fourth calf, a cow was at her most productive
the Khoe consisted of long-horned cattle and sheep, regarding milk yield.
and that the milk of cows and sheep was their princi-
ple food, together with game and veld food. He also In one of the earliest accounts of milking in this
noted that the cows did not give as much milk as their region, Schreyer (193 1 : 45-46), who wrote about his
European counterparts. However, they were "hardy experiences at the Cape of Good Hope during 1669-
and throve well", and the sheep had fat tails and were 1677, related how women would bind the hind legs of
able to exist on the sparsest of pastures (Dornan 1975: a cow together and then set a calf under the cow to start
211-212). suckling. Once the milk was flowing, the teat would be
removed from the calf's mouth and the women would
In a rather technical discussion, Schultze (1907: start milking. When the cow refused to give milk, her
257-258) indicated that, in contrast to European milk hind-quarters were pulled apart and blown into, stimu-
cows, South African sjtock's milk yield was still syn- lating milk flow. Another early description, provided
chronised with the fertility of cows and whether they by Grevenbroek in 1695 (see Schapera 1933: 187),

Journal of African Archaeology Vol. 13 (2), 2015 155

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 M. Lombard & I. Parsons

might be more than 2000 years old also seems to de-

told how the cattle were brought from the pastures into
their enclosure at dusk, the cows then being tetheredpict insufflation (e.g., Le Quellec 201 1). Le Quellec
to a stake by the left forefoot, and the women proceed-(2011) gives a thorough ethnohistorical summary of
ing to milk them. Here too it was observed how, if the
a behaviour amongst pastoralists, showing that it is
cow withheld her milk, the woman milking her - ormost often practised in Arabia and Africa (see map 2
sometimes a man - would blow into her to make the in Le Quellec 2011: 89). Indeed, Fauvelle- Aymar
milk flow. A drawing, thought to pre-date 1713 (Fig. (2004) emphasises that the practice of insufflation is
3), exists of this practice. The accompanying note to found amongst Khoe and Nilotic-speaking specialised
the drawing specifies, in the original Dutch, that a reed cattle herders in eastern Africa and the Sahel (the zone
may have been used to blow air into the cow (Smith & of transition between the Sahara Desert to the north
Pheiffer 1993: 54-55). and the Sudanian Savanna to the south), while Smith
& Pheiffer (1993: 54) mention its occurrence amongst
Kolb (1719/1745 in Jopp 1979: 124-125) too de- the Fulani and Nuer in particular.
scribed the use. of calves to stimulate milk flow before
milking. To the milking repertoire he added that, when The Khoe also had milking strategies for situations
a calf succumbed, its hide was placed over another calf when a limited number of milking cows were available.
to suckle on the calfless cow - thereby deceiving the For example, Schultze (1907: 258) described how,
cow into thinking this was its own calf. According to Le when an adequate number of cows were available for
Vaillant (1972, II: 90] the hide could simply be placed milking, each was milked only once in a single sitting.
next to the cow, although this device was apparently only However, when only a single cow or few cows were
successful for a limited amount of time. If the hide was available, calves were brought to suckle for a second
not available, the back legs of the cow were bound and time. The "after-milk" that is obtained during a second
the cow blown into. Ajournai entry by Gordon in 1779 milking is mostly thicker and more yellowish than the
(see Cullinan 2003; also see Alexander 1838: 146) first yield, so after-milk was often diluted with water.
described the same practice: "[h]ere I saw for the first The Khoe also had specific words for the milk obtained
time that after they have milked a while they grip the from third and fourth milkings in a single sitting, but
labia of the cow's vagina in both hands and then blow cows were seldom submitted to such an extreme milk-
strongly into it. Shortly afterwards the cow pisses and ing regime. Goat's milk was the staple of cattle-poor
they go on to milk. They say they do this if the cow with- Khoe groups or families. A goat delivers about 1-1.25
holds its milk". Schapera(1933: 186 note 15) noted that litres of milk per day. Sheep's milk was the least fa-
"[e]ven at the present day, among the Naman, if a cow vourite for the Khoe, and sheep would only be milked
refuses to give milk, as may happen when its calf has when a ewe lost a lamb (ibid: 264).
died prematurely, someone may stand behind it and blow
hard into its vulva while the milking is taking place".
Milk in relation to Khoe social status and gender
Levin (1972: 301) found that Kolb's (1719/1745
in Jopp 1979: 126-127) description of insufflation, Dairy products and social and economic status
together with an important woodcut illustration of a
person "with face almost buried in a cow's posterior", Some accounts provide insights into how milk is associ-
was worthy of further comment in a medical sense. He ated with social and/or economic status. For example,
explained how the posterior pituitary extract contains Grevenbroek (1695 in Schapera 1933: 259) reported
oxytocin, a chemical that will not increase milk flow how, when a chief died, the Khoe would shave their
in lactating mammals, but rather hasten the milk flow heads and throw any headgear "into the nearest river or
by increasing intra-alveolar pressure. Oxytocin produc- mountain stream as a sign of mourning". During the first
tion is activated through the stimulation of the sensitive month of mourning a chief, no one would eat curdled
nerve endings in and around the skin of a teat or nip- milk, and for a year after his death everyone would
ple, as well as distension (enlargement or ballooning) refrain from using butter on their bodies and would
of the cervix and vagina. He went on to say that, even "go with uncovered heads and shaven chins". Barna-
though the physiology of insufflation is only a recent bas Shaw (1821 in Schapera 1963: 334) furthermore
discovery (dating to 1911), "its practical value has noted that a Nama chief would keep "a large quantity
long been known"; for example, he mentions that the [of] milk at the door of his hut", to be given to the poor.
Scythians (Iranian equestrian tribes) used bone pipes
to inflate the vaginas of their mares, and some Afri- Amongst some groups, wealth, and consequently
can farmers are also known to practise this technique. status, could also be signalled symbolically, in the
Levin (1972: 302) suggested that "Kolb's woodcut person of the teyaap or "milk-drinker" (Wikar 1779 in
is perhaps the earliest -representation of augmented Mossop 1935: 43). Hendrik Wikar (1779 in Mossop
lactation". However, rock art in northern Africa that 1935: 41-43) explained how, amongst the Great Nama-

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 The Role of Milk amongst the Khoe Peoples of Southern Africa

qua, a young unmarried man, selected by his kraal's of it; only women and children could have this com-
leaders, would be confined to his bed for at least three modity (e.g., Schreyer 1931: 46; Stow 1964: 235;
to four months. During this time, an attendant fed him Kolb 1719/1745 in Jopp 1979: 128). In fact, sheep's
the milk of eight cows on a daily basis. Nobody else, milk, as opposed to that of cows and goats, was most
apart from the attendant himself, could share this milk, often offered for sale to early European colonists (Kolb
and the drinker was not allowed to get up under any 1719/1745 in Jopp 1979: 128). Kolb tried on several
circumstances. After several months he would start to occasions to establish the reason for the Khoe 's seem-
gain weight and his buttocks to display stretch marks, ingly odd relationship with sheep's milk, and spent ß. lot
"like the abdominal skin of a young woman who is of tobacco in an effort to prise answers from men and
pregnant". Finally, once he had drunk all the fat of a women alike, but was only ever laughed at (ibid.: 128).
specially slaughtered sheep and became a "monstrosity
of fatness", he was allowed to get up. Wikar's inform-
ants noted wryly that "his one-time attendant, the one Milk in Khoe medicine, taboos, beliefs, rituals
who was with him during his treatment, is not by any and folktales
means emaciated either".
Milk and medicine

Gender roles pertaining to the Khoe dairy industry Difficulty in child labour was remedied by invoking "a
plant of wonderful efficiency, which happily expels the
Strong gender roles were adhered to regarding day-to- foetus" (Ten Rhyne 1686 in Schapera 1933: 147). Kolb
day milking activities and the consumption of milk. (1719/1745 in Jopp 1979: 92-93) provided more detail
Hahn (1881: 19), for example, tells us that in every about this remedy, describing it as a drink concocted
Khoe household, the wife was the "supreme ruler", and from finely chopped tobacco cooked in some cow's
that the husband had no say. If he so much as dared to milk (sheep's milk could be used if cow's milk was not
take a sip of sour milk without the wife's permission, available). After the brew had been cooked for a while, it
his nearest female relatives would impose a fine to be was sieved so that the plant material was removed from
paid in cows and sheep to his wife. Khoe wives thus the liquid, and the birthing mother drank of the cooling
had their own herds, some of which she would have liquid. The remedy helped to increase contractions and
received from her parents as a child, and some when lessen pain, and resulted in the woman throwing up
she was married (ibid.: 25 1). A husband would not sell heavily so that the child was "pushed forth".
or slaughter his wife's animals without her consent,
and would even consult her when bartering his own Dapper (1668 in Schapera 1933: 64, 65) observed
stock (ibid.: 251). Women were in charge of milking healers bleeding patients with a knife, and sealing the
livestock at fixed times, i.e., at dawn and dusk (Ten wound by applying "a glowing bit of iron". Afterwards,
Rhyne 1686 in Schapera 1933: 129), and men would freshly-cooked sweet milk mixed with a local herb was
only help with this activity on occasion (Schultze dripped into the wounds, probably to disinfect and help
1907: 257). According to Hahn (1881: 20) the eldestheal the wound. Patients were often treated for a variety
daughter was highly respected, so much so that the of ailments by way of fasting and dieting during which
milking of the cows was left entirely in her care. He cow's milk, boiled with aromatic herbs, was favoured
also cited a charming song that illustrates the daughter's (Grevenbroek 1695 in Schapera 1933: 243). Schultze
status by calling her a "lioness" and a "great man's (1907) also reported on two remedies in which milk was
daughter" who milks the cows with a soft hand (ibid.: used. The treatment for chickenpox, for example, was
21). Amongst the Nama who possessed "in abundance to have a daily drink consisting of half a litre of diluted
horned cattle, sheep, and goats, which were assigned to milk boiled with a handful of fresh (or two handfuls of
the care of the children and boys" (Stow 1964 [1905]: dry) goat's dung. Other than this concoction, the patient
253), the women too would milk the cows and the men was only allowed a bit of dried goat's meat (Schultze
would produce the wooden vessels for holding the milk. 1907: 223). When a child suffered from unexplained
fainting fits, s/he was given, a powder made of eland
According to some accounts, children mostly con- skin, first cut into small (lintel-sized) pieces and then
sumed goat's milk, but adults would also do so when burnt, mixed into a mouthful of milk. A fat-softened
they wanted to save the milk of cows for butter produc- eland thong was then bound around the child's chest,
tion (e.g., Alexander 1838: 97-98; Schultze 1907: and if it fell off within a day, the healing was considered
188; Schapera 1963: 237). Wikar (1779 in Mossop successful, and the healer paid with a goat skin (ibid.:
1935: 206), however, noted that while the Nama did not227). Finally, Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk (1932: 83)
eat their goats, they used their skins and, importantly, recorded the Nama boiling the tuber of Pelargonium
'adored' (beminne) their milk. Sheep's milk was rarely antidysentericum (namiewortel/n&m'Q root) in milk for
drunk, and men were not allowed to drink even a droptreating dysentery and diarrhoea.

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 M. Lombard & I. Parsons

Taboos and beliefs associated with milk one custom that persisted was that associated with a
girl's "first symptoms of maturity". During this time
her head was shaved, all ornaments were removed
We have already noted that drinking sheep's milk was ta-
from her body, and for the first and only time in her
boo for adult men (e.g. , Schreyer 1 93 1 : 46; Stow 1 964:
235; Kolb 1719/1745 in Jopp 1979: 128). Children were life, she was "clean washed and scoured". For the
permitted to nourish themselves with sheep's milk, butduration of the girl's menstruation, she was restricted
to a diet of milk and could not be in contact with men.
the commodity was considered dangerous for adults (e.g.,
Schultze (1907: 296) described how, after a girl's
Grevenbroek 1695 in Schapera 1933:179). Schultze
(1907: 297) also reported that menstruating girls and first period ended, an older woman would apply fresh
cow or sheep dung mixed with milk into a paste over
women were not allowed near the cattle or to milk them,
and Frazer (1938: 9) indicated that Nama Khoe girls the girl's whole body. This mixture quickly dried on
the warm skin of the girl and fell off her body by the
were not allowed to drink milk during their puberty rite
seclusion. Barrow (1801: 163), in contrast, noted thatend of the cleansing rite. The cleansed girl could then
emerge from her seclusion hut as a sign to all that she
girls amongst the southern and eastern Khoe groups were
restricted to a milk diet while having their periods. was eligible.

Until the third day after its birth, it was consid- Winifred Hoernlé (1918; 1923 in Schapera 1963:
272-279;
ered unfit for an infant to drink his or her mother's milkalso see Seligman 1961: 32, 33) also gave
(Schultze 1907: 221). If a wet nurse was not avail-
a thorough description of how, when a Nama girl has
her first period, she was temporarily secluded. When
able, the child was given goat's or cow's milk, and often
her confinement neared its end, she was thoroughly
would be very weak, even too weak to suckle, by the
time it was allowed to take its mother's breast. Schap-
cleansed of "child dirt", in this case with melted butter
era (1963: 263) reminds us that although Schultze pro- and cow dung, which was then secreted away in an
vided no explanation for this taboo, a similar custom animal hole or ant heap (Schapera 1963: 274). After
was recorded amongst the !Kung (! represents one of feasting and dancing, the girl was taken around the
the several click sounds in the Khoe and San languages kraal and reintegrated into the community. During this
of southern Africa) hunter-gatherers who believed that reintroduction phase, she was thought to increase the
both mother and child might die if a child was allowed fertility of all that she touched, including men, male
to have milk from its mother's breast too soon. Intrigu- animals, and milking vessels. Before resuming her
ingly, snakes were believed to be fond of milk, and to normal milking duties, the girl first had to milk a cow,
suck on cows in the kraal at night, or even on women in ideally one with calf for the first time, and the resulting
their huts. It was held that, should a woman or cow dare milk had to be drunk by the aba taras , the old woman
to refuse a snake, they would get bitten (Hahn 1881:81). who officiated during her puberty rites. In future, she
Also, sorcerers could use the roots of a harmless shrub in was not allowed to milk cows during menstruation,
milk to "cause the death of a person" (Hahn 1881 : 83). because it would be dangerous to anyone who drank
it. Milk also seems to have played a role in the puberty
rites of Khoe boys. Gordon (1779 in Cullinan 2003)
Milk and anders machen (to change) rites and rituals noted that the Khoe did not drink sheep's milk after
becoming men, while Johannes Olpp (1888 in Schap-
Milk also appears to have played an important role era 1963: 282) observed how, for a period of one or
during various ritual activities of Khoe groups. Anders two months during their puberty ceremony, Nama boys
machen is the term used by Kolb to indicate rites and were only allowed to drink large quantities of cow's
rituals that changed the nature of things, for example milk. If any other food was consumed, the rite had to
(but not exclusively), rites of passage (Kolb 1719/1745 be repeated from scratch.
in Jopp 1979). One such an event would be a young
girl's puberty rite. During this time the girl is Inau. Another form of anders machen was when sheep
Generally speaking, Inau is a state of crisis during were chased through fire or smoke (Kolb 1719/1745
which a person is believed simultaneously to be ex- in Jopp 1979: 85-86). This was an infrequent event.
posed to danger, and to pose a danger to other people First, the women had to milk the cows, add all the
and animals. Such a person had to be secluded from his milk together, and bring it to the gathered men. The
or her everyday surroundings, to be reintroduced after men would receive the milk with solemn demeanour,
a while as a changed person with new characteristics, and after a short, serious discussion, drink all the milk
assuming their normal place in the group (Hoernlé 1918 so that not a single drop was left. Women were not
in Schapera 1963: 257). Barrow (1801: 163) reported allowed to drink any of the milk produced for this
that little was preserved of the religious behaviour of occasion; if this were to happen the whole ceremony
the groups that he encountered during his travels, but would be rendered fruitless. As soon as all the milk was

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 The Role of Milk amongst the Khoe Peoples of Southern Africa

consumed, the men would rise and start a fire outside Milk and Khoe mythology
the kraal, which they covered with green branches
to produce much smoke. A passage was left for the Kolb (1719/1745 Jopp 1997: 63) described, as a reli-
sheep to pass through the smoke. The sheep did not gious act of the Khoe, the dancing to the moon, which
like to do so, so that the men had to circle and chase was given godly reverence. He observed for several
them through the smoke. As soon as one sheep passed years how the dancing, clapping of hands and singing
through successfully, the others would follow. When took place throughout the night during new and full
all the animals passed through the smoke, a loud cheer moons. During one of the songs, the dancers would
could be heard accompanied by joyful jumps and jigs. look up at the moon, greet it, and then pray for abundant
The reason given for this ceremony was to protect the honey as well as good pastures for their cattle so that
sheep from wild dogs. they might have much milk. Hahn (1881: 42) fully
endorsed Kolb's observations and confirmed that he
had witnessed the same behaviour.
Milk and rain making
An old Nama man told Hahn (1881 : 61) the fol-
Milk also featured during the great annual Nama rain- lowing story: "Tsüi//goab [// represents click sound]
making ceremony. In 1913, Hoernlé (1921: 20-21) was a great powerful chief of the Khoikhoi; in fact, he
was told the following about rain making, or the "yearly was the first Khoikhoib, from whom all the Khoikhoi
killing", the most important Khoe feast: tribes took their origin. ... He could do wonderful
things, which no other man could do, because he was
"All families which could possibly do so took very wise. He could tell what would happen in future
part in it. It was held near the chief's kraal, and if pos- times. He died several times, and several times he rose
sible on the banks of a stream. If there was no stream again. And whenever he came back to us, there were
near, then a trench to simulate one was dug. When great feastings and rejoicings. Milk was brought from
the old men judged that the summer rains were due every kraal, and fat cows and fat ewes were slaugh-
(in November or December) they told the chief that tered. Tsüi//goab gave every man plenty of cattle and
it was time to hold the yearly feast, and he sent word sheep, because he was very rich. He gives rain, he
to all outlying families and decided the day and spot makes the clouds, he lives in the clouds, and he makes
for the ceremony. Each family contributed according our cows and sheep fruitful".
to its means, all bringing milk, and those who could
some female animal, which in the old days was either Heitsi-eibib is another "good being", with char-
a cow or a ewe, which must be pregnant. The feast acteristics similar to those of Tsüi//goab (Hahn 1881:
could not be held at all without one pregnant animal. 65). Heitsi-eibib was born as a calf from a cow, grow-
. . . When the fire at the riverside was ready, and a ing into a large bull that ran away from those who
channel to the river had been made, "the old men of wanted to slaughter him, then transforming himself
the tribe who were good at prophesying would take into a man making milk tubs {ibid.: 65). In the legend
the uteri, hold them over the fire and pierce them with of Heitsi-eibib 's fight with the lion {ibid.: 71-73), his
sticks so that the uterine fluid would flow directly mother poured sour milk from the calabash for him
through the fire and down into the river. At the same after he conquered the lion, anointed him with fresh-
time milk in plenty and fat from the animals were roasted butter and sprinkled him with buchu {Barosma
thrown on to the fire, so that liquid really flowed, and crenulata and Barosma betulina ), after singing the
great clouds of smoke rose into the sky, while all the following song:
people called to the rain asking it to come, to come in
plenty, to make the ground soft, and the grass green, "Thou son of a great woman,
that people might have plenty of food for the year" Thy body looks like a cow's body;
[quotation marks here indicate the words of Hoernlé's Thou big acacia with large branches,
informant] . . . This rain ceremony seems to me [Ho- Thou red bull,
ernlé] as full of symbolic rites as any I know. Female Thou son of a red she-Bull {i.e., of a heroine)!
animals must be used, and those, too, pregnant, the Thou who drankest my milk!
more to typify fertility. Milk is there in abundance, Thou whom I did not give the breast slowly {i.e., thou
and milk and water stream through the fire, putting it whom I nursed very carefully and gave much milk)".
out just as the rain does, and run into the river, sym-
bolising the running of the rivers after the rains. The Schmidt (2005: 158) discusses the concept of the
smoke ascends to the sky in huge clouds, darkening evil co-wife/stepmother in Nama folklore. In one such
everything, and so, too, do the rain clouds when they tale, "driven by jealousy or by an attempt to obtain an
come" (Hoernlé 1921: 21). orphan's heritage for her own child", a stepmother tries

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 M. Lombard & I. Parsons

to kill the orphaned half-brother of her son by bury-those which owing to sickness, old age or lameness are
ing him alive so that all the milk of the orphan's cow
unable to follow the herd; nor any sheep, except when
could be used to feed her own son. Barren couples aretwo people get married. . . . Two of the fattest sheep in
another regular topic in Nama lore (ibid.: 164). In one
the whole village are then sought out and slaughtered
example, a childless couple with a herd of cattle, but
for this newly-married couple and dished up partly
no children to help tend them, is "advised by a crow boiled, partly roasted" (Dapper 1668 in Schapera
to kill a completely black cow, to butcher it and then1933: 55, 61; also see Le Vaillant 1972 [1790], II).
to put all the parts back into the hide again and to bury
Likewise, upon the birth of a child the father, providing
he is well stocked, would offer one of his cattle for a
it. This they do, and many children come forth from it
"birthday feast" (Grevenbroek 1695 in Schapera 1933:
and they have the names of the different parts of the
cow - Head, Ear, Stomach and so on. The youngest 205), and even when a child was stillborn the father
and most beautiful one is called 'Milk' and she becomes had to slaughter one or two sheep (Kolb 1719/1745 in
the heroine of the tale" (ibid.: 164). Jopp 1979: 93).

Finally, in two different Khoe stories (Bleek Using the Dutch term for Kolb's anders machen,
1864: 50-56; Schultze 1907: 406-409) a girl is Wikar (1779 in Mossop 1935: 62-63) distinguished
chased around a bush by an enraged lion that eventu- between Khoe killing for the household, and their cer-
ally catches and eats her. The lion then creeps into her emonial killing, or andersmaak. Everyone was allowed
undamaged skin. So disguised, he slips into her sister's to eat of a household kill, and this sets it apart from an
bed, but the sister recognises the lion by its sharp claws. andersmaak kill. According to Wikar (ibid.: 63), the
She shouts for help and, subsequently, the hut that latter was a "kind of sacrifice of which only certain
she and her sister shared is burned to the ground. Her people may eat, i.e., those who of their own free will
mother, however, retrieves the sister's heart from the have already performed such a sacrifice". Thus, women
ashes, and places it in a bowl of milk, upon which the and children could not eat the ceremonial killing of a
girl is brought back to life. In both stories fresh, rich man, and conversely men could not eat the ceremonial
milk had to be used, retrieved from a "young cow who killing of a woman or child. Ceremonial killings were
has just calved" (Wittenberg 2012: 672). made when girls had their first periods, when women
were courted, married, fell pregnant, went into labour,
or passed away. Such killings were made for men after
Meat and livestock in the Khoe worldview their first game kill that involved daring, or upon their
own death. Ceremonial killings also occurred after
battle, for those who had been killed, and for healing
Centuries of historical writing recorded how the Khoe
obtained meat for every-day consumption mostlypurposes,
by as a plijsterbeest (plaster cattle). Unusually,
everyone was allowed to partake of a healing kill (ibid.:
hunting game, and that they did not routinely slaughter
their livestock for meat (e.g., Barrow 1801; Alexan-
67, 69). Wikar (ibid.: 81) recorded that a girl remained
der 1883; Dapper 1668 in Schapera 1933; de Beaulieu
at home while experiencing her first menstruation, and
1620, 1622 in Raven-Hart 1967; de Flacourt 1655 in her parents or friends would proceed to slaughter
that
Raven-Hart 1967; von Mandelslo 1639 in Raven-sheep and cattle for her. The girl then wore the gall
Hart 1967; Le Vaillant 1972, II; Kolb 1719/1745 bladder
in of the slaughtered animal on her head, the
Jopp 1979; Gordon 1779 in Cullinan 2003; but also omentum (netvet) around her neck, and the sinews
see Smith & Pheiffer 1993: 10). Especially during around her legs. If a family was wealthy, this could
continue for two weeks, but if they were poor one
the winter months, when milk and plant foods became
scarce, the men would resort to hunting, snaring animal
and would suffice.
trapping game to supply their groups with food (Schap-
era 1963: 237). Animals from the stock herds wereWhen a woman accepted a man's marriage pro-
never slaughtered, unless there was an extraordinary posal, a sheep or ox belonging to the suitor was killed
reason (e.g., Kolb 1719/1745 in Jopp 1979: 147), suchfor her (Wikar 1779 in Mossop 1935: 85). During the
as festive and/or ceremonial occasions "when a feast celebrations that followed, men and women competed
has to be provided" (Schapera 1963: 237; also seeto see who could continue singing and dancing the
Boonzaier et al. 1996: 41, 46). 'humming dance' (bromdans) longest; if the men lost,
they slaughtered for the women (but not vice versal).
Even the wealthy families would rarely, if ever,The dance could continue until the next evening, and
slaughter livestock for food (Schapera 1963: 237).lead the participants to lose their voices so that they
However, because many animals die from weakness, ended up "chirp[ing] like finches" (ibid.: 89). The suit-
sickness or old age, and because nothing edible was or paid a bride price of two milk cows to the mother,
ever discarded, the meat of domesticated animals wasand in return she provided the couple with a few basic
consumed. "They slaughter no cattle for food, excepthousehold items. This settled the matter, and the mar-

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 The Role of Milk amongst the Khoe Peoples of Southern Africa

riage was finalised. Then the groom exchanged cattle practices; and the presence of milk in Khoe mythol-
with his new father-in-law (ibid.: 89, 91). Gordon's ogy. They furthermore emphasise the involvement and
(1779 in Cullinan 2003) account confirmed the pay- responsibilities of women in the management of stock,
ment of bride price, in the form of ten heifers and the similar to other pastoral communities (e.g., Bollig &
slaughter of one of them for the bride. Interestingly, Schnegg 2013: 7). Importantly, they also report quite
according to Gordon the bride price was actually a consistently the irregularity of slaughtering healthy
loan, and the animals were returned after a few years. livestock outside of a ceremonial context. Regarding
Stow's (1964: 253) observations, made a century later, the latter, Jesse et al. (2013: 78) explain that cattle
complement Wikar's in that the husband gave cattle herders in dry environments, such as the western part of
to the parents of the bride who would slaughter some southern Africa, tend to subsist predominantly on milk
of them for a feast. products. In such contexts cattle are slaughtered only
during social, ritual or ceremonial occasions, and meat
Amongst recorded initiation practices is that of shared within the community (ibid.: 78). The authors
a young man who would first be washed with water view ritual and sacrifice as a coping mechanism, and
to rid him of the dirt of childhood, cleansed using refer specifically to Dahl and Hjort (1976 in Jesse et al.
fat, and then urinated upon by the old men for three 2013: 81), who stated the following:
days. Finally, he would be cleansed with the blood
of a purposely killed animal, and again washed and "[A]part from slaughter in cases of emergency, the
rubbed with fat before his cattle were sprinkled with most frequent type of slaughter is . . . for ceremonial
fat too (Wikar 1779 in Mossop 1935: 93). In this way purposes. These may relate to life-cycle ceremonies,
he attained manhood. Wikar ( ibid ,è. 109, 1 1 1) recorded yearly thanksgiving or prayer for rain, etc. It should be
that when one of his companions was initiated as a remembered that such sacrificial feasts do not involve
hunter, the merry making first involved cooking of the destruction of the sacrificed animal, but rather pub-
the dangerous animal killed (e.g., a rhinoceros), and lic ceremonies with communal and communiai sharing
was then repeated with the meat of a sheep. Finally, of food . . . [and] many such feasts, such as appease-
a pregnant ewe would be killed when a woman could ments for better times, occur during famines when milk
not have children, whereafter the woman would carry, production is low".
or aba , the placenta of the lamb on her back like a
baby (ibid.: 92-93). Historical sources on the Khoe confirm the
slaughter of livestock during life-cycle ceremonies,
Hoernlé's account of the ceremony surrounding held at a person's birth, coming of age, marriage,
a Nama widow further extends the suite of special and death, and also as part of rain-making ceremo-
circumstances under which livestock were slaughtered. nies (also see Boonzaier et al. 1996). Khoe herders
According to her, a Nama woman became !nau when were well adjusted to living under pressure, in arid
her husband died. She was largely excluded from the and semi-arid conditions. In the historical accounts
death rites that followed, until cleansed (Schapera outlined above, this is hinted at by accounts of sour
1963: 365). Interestingly, the rites involved the slaugh- milk being refreshed on a daily basis; of families
ter of animals by the dead man's relatives, "to their contributing animals for slaughter and communal
means" (ibid.: 364). Once the widow had been ritually consumption, within their means: and perhaps also by
purified, she scattered the content of a slaughtered the practice of only breastfeeding babies once their re-
animal's stomach in the cattle kraals, while saying "let silience has been determined. It may be possible that,
there be plenty of milk" (ibid.: 365). under comparatively vulnerable conditions, highly
valued domestic stock were integrated with ritual and
ceremony to allow "societies to cope both physically
Discussion and mentally" (Jesse et al. 2013: 93, our emphasis),
rather than slaughtered as a daily food source. The
The central importance of milk to stock-keepers Khoe
ob- exploited their livestock in a reliable, future-
served by Europeans in southern Africa is one that
orientated way, i.e., by subsisting essentially on their
milk, instead of their meat.
many investigators appear to overlook (but see, e.g.,
Fauvelle- Aymar 2008; Sealy 2010). Historical ac-
counts of the Khoe, as presented above, emphasise theWhereas the Later Stone Age dairy economy re-
mains largely invisible, archaeological evidence does
social, symbolic and ritual value of milk. They attest
to a daily dependence on fresh and processed milk
point to livestock as a meat source during the last
as sustenance; practical uses of milk in technology;
2000 years in southern Africa. For example, at Boom-
technologies devised around the processing of milk;
plaas Cave (Western Cape Province, South Africa; see
Mitchell 2002: 228 for locations of archaeological
symbolic employment of milk to indicate status, wealth
and hospitality; an interweaving of milk and ritual
sites mentioned in the text) calcified or vitrified dung

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 M. Lombard & I. Parsons

layers included sheep remains that were taken to in-

could be an indicator, but may not always preserve,
dicate both the herding and consumption of stock inespecially if manufactured from fast-perishing plant
the cave (Deacon et al. 1978). Jakkalsberg A and or
B animal materials (see Table 1). Culling patterns
of livestock may be another line of evidence, but do
in the Richtersveld region of the Northern Cape Prov-
not always yield clear results (e.g., Jesse et al. 2013).
ince stand out for yielding remarkably high numbers
of domestic animal remains (Brink & Webley 1996; Rock art and linguistic evidence, for example, has
Sadr 2002, 2003). Simultaneously, archaeologicalbeen used to suggest that prehistoric features in the
eastern and central Sahara, hinting at ritual cattle
faunai components suggest that herders supplemented
slaughter, may represent rain-making ceremonies in
their diet by hunting and gathering, so that sites lacking
large numbers of domestic animal remains may well
response to environmental aridification (e.g., di Lernia
2006 in Jesse et al. 2013). Archaeological traces of
represent stock keepers 'out hunting' (Klein 1986;
Schrire 1992). ritual behaviour and language studies (see, e.g., Ehret
2008; Güldemann 2008) may likewise be of use in
Another possible explanation for the absence ofexploring prehistoric uses of milk in southern Africa.
domestic faunai remains could be that stock was kept
In this part of the continent, however, the dependence
elsewhere. Kinahan (2005) suggests that livestock
of Later Stone Age herders on milk is already persua-
sively born out by genetic evidence.
was not kept in encampments during aggregation peri-
ods in the Namib, but at stockposts located kilometres
away. Sampson (1996) attributed small numbers of A high presence of the lactase-persistent genetic
lithics or ceramics associated with animal enclosures
variant (-140 10C), associated with specific East Afri-
to herders camping away from kraals. Finally, Webleycan pastoralist populations currently living in north-
(1986) noted in an ethnoarchaeological study amongsteast Africa, persisted in the local Khoe, especially the
Nama (Breton et al. 2014; also see Macholdt et
descendants of Nama herders, that huts were built be-
tween 30 and 50 m away from the kraal at stockposts. al. 2014, 2015). This genetic variant is one amongst
a handful that allows the ability to metabolise lactose
Taking into account the added influence of factors such
as sampling bias and preservation, there clearly are (the
a main sugar in milk), and thus the consumption of
number of possible reasons for the limited occurrence fresh milk into adulthood, and has an age estimate of
of domestic animal remains at ceramic final Later Stone 6000-7000 years (e.g., Tishkoff et al. 2007; Ingram
Age sites. et al. 2009; Itan et al. 2010; Gerbault et al. 2011;
Macholdt et al. 2015). Apart from it being present in
The overall limited occurrence of domestic animal current-day Ethiopian populations, it is also frequent
remains in these contexts, however, has meant that in the non-Bantu-speaking groups of Kenya and Tan-
their discovery in more substantial numbers draws zania, and thus probably linked with the emergence
particular attention. Sadr has offered a provocative of pastoralism in the Great Lakes region of East Af-
explanation for their presence at sites such as Jakkals- rica (Rocha 2012; for additional arguments for links
berg and Kasteelberg (KBA and KBDe), attributing between northeast Africans and the Khoe see, e.g.,
the large-scale accrual of sheep remains to a feasting Fauvelle-Aymar 2008; and Henn et al. 2008 for Y-
economy. Feasting - the "communal consumption of chromosome evidence). Selection on the variant was
food and drink for a special purpose" that essentially initially weak, which implies an extended period for
represents a political act enabling the manipulation of subsistence practices to develop to a level that would
social relations (Sadr 2004: 5) - has been associated allow populations to reach the full fitness benefits of
with the development of a local final Later Stone Age lactase persistence, probably by about 5000 years ago
'Big Man' economy rather than as evidence of true (e.g. , Macholdt et al. 20 1 5).
pastoralism (e.g., Sadr 2004, 2013; but see above
historical references to rain-making and other Khoe Macholdt et al. (20 1 5) also suggest that the com-
ceremonies). paratively stronger signal of selection on the -140 10C
genetic variant in southern African populations shows
The historical record, like the archaeological one, that pastoralism was fully established in the groups who
is imperfect. It features some inconsistencies, gaps, started moving southwards by at least 3000 years ago.
and biases, but the overwhelming message seems to Thus, the lactase-persistence fitness benefit was already
be that milk yielded by their stock was highly valued present with the first gene flow between the migrants
by the Khoe - adding an important perspective of- and the local hunter-gatherer San (Macholdt et al.
ten lost by studying and interpreting archaeological 2015). Because of natural selection, genetic lactase
assemblages in a detached manner. Evidence of milk persistence occurs most commonly in populations with
and of dairying behaviour during the Later Stone Age a longstanding tradition of milking pastoralism and the
is difficult to trace archaeologically. Material culture consumption of unprocessed milk, whereas lactose

162 Journal of African Archaeology Vol. 13 (2), 2015

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 The Role of Milk amongst the Khoe Peoples of Southern Africa

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