Blog 24: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman / Nisa

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 Jordan Miles 

The Life and Words of a ! Kung Woman by Nisa is a book written by Marjorie Shostak about her life experiences with Nisa who is a member of the tribe living in the Kalahari Desert. The story explores major ideas and themes similar to the ones we have read about in various memoirs such as gender roles and relationships, as well as diving into the traditions and beliefs of the culture. She brings attention to some of the challenges they faced due to the cultural clashes between the Kung people with the arrival of Europeans and its effect on their culture and society. Something that stood out to me in the book is the gender roles present. They showed how the traditional role of women in society is the caregiver of the family and is responsible for tasks like cooking and cleaning. Whereas, the man's job is traditionally to provide food through hunting and being more of the protector role. The book shows the value of both men and women. A quote that shows this aspect of their culture is, "Women should be happy, and they should not be abused. Men should be happy, and they should not be abused. Everyone should be happy." They see the value in both genders being content and should not be mistreated or abused, not just the females, which is important. Something I also noticed is how the females are supportive of one another when facing adversity in the book. They were there to help one another with caring for the children, sharing resources, and being emotionally helpful during hardships such as facing a loss or illness. They helped to demonstrate a strong sense of community. 

Comments

  1. Rebeka OgrenMarch 24, 2023 at 6:45 AM

    I agree, I think it is very important to acknowledge the gender roles that are present in this piece. That quote struck me when I was reading because of the truth and maturity it entails. Women are abused, but men are too, and that is a fact that is sometimes overlooked. But, either way, people should love each other and be happy! If a group of people based out of tradition and survivalist tendencies can acknowledge gender roles as productive while also supporting each other, why can we not?

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