Introduction: The Khoikhoi, the San and Rooibos
The Khoikhoi have been documented as African Indigenous peoples, along with
the San, who traditionally roamed and stewarded Southern Africa: the Khoikhoi
as nomadic pastoralists and the San as hunter-gatherers. The Khoikhoi people
are made up of historical groupings which include the (i) Griqua, (ii) Nama,
(iii) Koranna and (iv) Cape Khoi, each of which has further subgroupings.
There are also Indigenous farming communities, as descendants of the original
Khoikhoi, living mainly in the Cederberg region in the Western Cape province
of South Africa. In this area, where the cultural heritage of the Khoikhoi is
rich, the Indigenous farming communities continue to practise their traditional
knowledge (TK) of Rooibos to steward the plant. In their land-based cultures
and economies, the Khoikhoi are “known for their spiritual connectedness to
land” (National Khoi and San Council & Cederberg Belt Indigenous Farmers
Representatives, 2019, p. 24). Tied to their beliefs that land is a sacred gift from
nature, rather than an economic commodity, was their shared commitment of
a sacred duty to care for nature, as it cared for them (Natural Justice, 2019).
Expressions of these ways of knowing, embedded in values of sharing, neighboroughly love, respect for the environment and nature, and compassion, can
be found in community-held myths (ibid.). Not only do these stories carry these
values, but storytelling of them was a custom of education to ground these values
across generations.
Within these cosmologies, land was believed to “belong to all living creatures
that live on it” (National Khoi and San Council & Cederberg Belt Indigenous
Farmers Representatives, 2019, p. 24). Therefore, while the Khoikhoi claimed no
individual right to land, as individualised ownership was outside of their ways of
knowing, they maintained deeply held connections to land (Boezak, 2017). The
9
THE KHOIKHOI COMMUNITY’S
BIOCULTURAL RIGHTS JOURNEY
WITH ROOIBOS
Leslé Jansen and Rayna Sutherland
DOI: 10.4324/9781003172642-11
The Khoikhoi have been documented as African Indigenous peoples, along with
the San, who traditionally roamed and stewarded Southern Africa: the Khoikhoi
as nomadic pastoralists and the San as hunter-gatherers. The Khoikhoi people
are made up of historical groupings which include the (i) Griqua, (ii) Nama,
(iii) Koranna and (iv) Cape Khoi, each of which has further subgroupings.
There are also Indigenous farming communities, as descendants of the original
Khoikhoi, living mainly in the Cederberg region in the Western Cape province
of South Africa. In this area, where the cultural heritage of the Khoikhoi is
rich, the Indigenous farming communities continue to practise their traditional
knowledge (TK) of Rooibos to steward the plant. In their land-based cultures
and economies, the Khoikhoi are “known for their spiritual connectedness to
land” (National Khoi and San Council & Cederberg Belt Indigenous Farmers
Representatives, 2019, p. 24). Tied to their beliefs that land is a sacred gift from
nature, rather than an economic commodity, was their shared commitment of
a sacred duty to care for nature, as it cared for them (Natural Justice, 2019).
Expressions of these ways of knowing, embedded in values of sharing, neighboroughly love, respect for the environment and nature, and compassion, can
be found in community-held myths (ibid.). Not only do these stories carry these
values, but storytelling of them was a custom of education to ground these values
across generations.
Within these cosmologies, land was believed to “belong to all living creatures
that live on it” (National Khoi and San Council & Cederberg Belt Indigenous
Farmers Representatives, 2019, p. 24). Therefore, while the Khoikhoi claimed no
individual right to land, as individualised ownership was outside of their ways of
knowing, they maintained deeply held connections to land (Boezak, 2017). The
9
THE KHOIKHOI COMMUNITY’S
BIOCULTURAL RIGHTS JOURNEY
WITH ROOIBOS
Leslé Jansen and Rayna Sutherland
DOI: 10.4324/9781003172642-11