222 Leslé Jansen and Rayna Sutherland
Khoikhoi’s heritage and identity, intimately tied to land, is still beautifully etched
into the environment today, in the form of rock art. Though the Khoikhoi’s rock
art is comparatively rare to that of the San, it may be described as follows:
The art of painting on rocky surfaces in caves and in open lands is a unique
and defining characteristic of our distinct identity and heritage. Our paintings date back thousands of years and serve as a testimony to our right to
land and its resources in South Africa. Khoikhoi rock art is made up of different designs, finger dots and handprints common amongst the Khoikhoi
people. The designs were applied with fingers, making a striking contrast
to the work of the San.
(National Khoi and San Council & Cederberg Belt Indigenous
Farmers Representatives, 2019, p. 24)
As documented in colonial British, Dutch, German and Portuguese archival
records, the Khoikhoi held and shared vast wealth inclusive of cattle, sheep, TK,
customary resources and diverse languages, constituting a rich heritage (National
Khoi and San Council & Cederberg Belt Indigenous Farmers Representatives,
2019). Just as the Khoikhoi expressed their stories with land through their respective forms of rock art, they were also connected to their environment through
TK of its flora and fauna, including of Rooibos (Natural Justice & the ABS
Capacity Development Initiative, 2018). Rooibos is endemic to South Africa
and is plentiful specifically in the Cederberg Mountains of the Western Cape
province, as well as in some areas of the Northern and Eastern Cape (National
Khoi and San Council & Cederberg Belt Indigenous Farmers Representatives,
2019). Through “oral tradition, storytelling and teaching by doing” (ibid., p. 60),
the Khoikhoi’s ancestors passed down their TK to share the knowledge to use
and care for the plant across generations. The Khoikhoi expressed their belief
that they “have a transgenerational link to the transmission of the traditional
knowledge and that this is evident in the knowledge that [they] hold and share”
(ibid.). While there is no internationally accepted definition of TK, the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) speaks to it as follows:
Traditional knowledge (TK) is knowledge, know-how, skills and practices
that are developed, sustained and passed on from generation to generation
within a community, often forming part of its cultural or spiritual identity.
1
Rooibos, known to the Khoikhoi in Afrikaans as “die arm man se tee” (the poor
man’s tea) or “bossie tee” (bush tea) and known scientifically as Aspalathus linearis,
is plentiful in uses, intimately known by the Khoikhoi (National Khoi and San
Council & Cederberg Belt Indigenous Farmers Representatives, 2019, p. 6). For
generations, it has been prepared for its benefits of high antioxidants as well as
its uses to relieve allergy systems, boost energy, heal damaged skin, stimulate
appetites, boost immune systems, facilitate relaxation and treat maladies such as
Khoikhoi’s heritage and identity, intimately tied to land, is still beautifully etched
into the environment today, in the form of rock art. Though the Khoikhoi’s rock
art is comparatively rare to that of the San, it may be described as follows:
The art of painting on rocky surfaces in caves and in open lands is a unique
and defining characteristic of our distinct identity and heritage. Our paintings date back thousands of years and serve as a testimony to our right to
land and its resources in South Africa. Khoikhoi rock art is made up of different designs, finger dots and handprints common amongst the Khoikhoi
people. The designs were applied with fingers, making a striking contrast
to the work of the San.
(National Khoi and San Council & Cederberg Belt Indigenous
Farmers Representatives, 2019, p. 24)
As documented in colonial British, Dutch, German and Portuguese archival
records, the Khoikhoi held and shared vast wealth inclusive of cattle, sheep, TK,
customary resources and diverse languages, constituting a rich heritage (National
Khoi and San Council & Cederberg Belt Indigenous Farmers Representatives,
2019). Just as the Khoikhoi expressed their stories with land through their respective forms of rock art, they were also connected to their environment through
TK of its flora and fauna, including of Rooibos (Natural Justice & the ABS
Capacity Development Initiative, 2018). Rooibos is endemic to South Africa
and is plentiful specifically in the Cederberg Mountains of the Western Cape
province, as well as in some areas of the Northern and Eastern Cape (National
Khoi and San Council & Cederberg Belt Indigenous Farmers Representatives,
2019). Through “oral tradition, storytelling and teaching by doing” (ibid., p. 60),
the Khoikhoi’s ancestors passed down their TK to share the knowledge to use
and care for the plant across generations. The Khoikhoi expressed their belief
that they “have a transgenerational link to the transmission of the traditional
knowledge and that this is evident in the knowledge that [they] hold and share”
(ibid.). While there is no internationally accepted definition of TK, the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) speaks to it as follows:
Traditional knowledge (TK) is knowledge, know-how, skills and practices
that are developed, sustained and passed on from generation to generation
within a community, often forming part of its cultural or spiritual identity.
1
Rooibos, known to the Khoikhoi in Afrikaans as “die arm man se tee” (the poor
man’s tea) or “bossie tee” (bush tea) and known scientifically as Aspalathus linearis,
is plentiful in uses, intimately known by the Khoikhoi (National Khoi and San
Council & Cederberg Belt Indigenous Farmers Representatives, 2019, p. 6). For
generations, it has been prepared for its benefits of high antioxidants as well as
its uses to relieve allergy systems, boost energy, heal damaged skin, stimulate
appetites, boost immune systems, facilitate relaxation and treat maladies such as