A first hand account of life in a changing world for one of the last remaining tribes of hunter gatherers - The Hadza People of Tanzania
“The Hadza, We need development but we need the nature because nature is good” That’s what 21 year old Dalaly Julius Indaya told me when we sat down to talk in Lake Eyasi, Tanzania. The Hadzabi are one of the world’s last remaining tribes of true hunter-gatherers. Joining on a hunt, I felt as though I had stepped into another era - a time where man lived intimately as part of nature. Yet on this same hunt it was impossible not to notice the imprints of the tide of change that has swept the planet and threatens the nature and hence the hunter- gatherer lifestyle that the Hadzabi have inherited from their ancestors.
The fact that my mom and I are invited to join the Hadza on a hunt is in itself a testament to how times are changing. At 6am, a hot cup of Masala coffee starts the day off right. We follow Dalaly down the path to a magnificent baobab tree. Under the tree several hunters are busy straightening their arrows using fire and knives. Once the knives would have been carved of stone but these days a trip to the market requires much less time and effort. For the average person the same could be said for using a lighter instead of fire by friction but the Hadza are masters at the art of fire. All that a Hadza needs to start a fire is two specifically shaped sticks and some good tinder. The fire master rubs his palms rapidly twiddling one of the sticks, which is long and pointed and fits into a divot in the other stick. Within a matter of seconds the friction has produced smoke and soon sparks. Another hunter puts the sparks on the dried grass tinder and blows while holding the smoking grass in his hand. When the flame jumps out he places the grass onto a pile of sticks and a fire is crackling.
A small boy, around four years old, looks on with interest. Dalaly explains that culture is passed on to younger generations by the elders. “My grandfather taught me to hunt because my father was busy. My father went hunting early in the morning but my grandfather stayed home to teach“, says Dalaly. Likewise grandmothers teach culture to their granddaughters. Most Hadza boys start learning how to hunt rats and birds at three or four years old. “I remember catching rats. Around nine, I shot my first dik dik (small antelope), Dalaly remembers. Now Dalaly is an accomplished hunter having shot impala, zebra, kudu, baboon, bushbuck, bush pig, monkeys, and guinea foul. These days game is more scarce and the young must travel far to hunt.
It takes one week to craft a bow out of an acacia tree and a tendon of an impala, kudu or zebra. These days nylon string often replaces the tendon, as it doesn’t break as easily when it rains. It takes about two days to make twenty arrows. Each arrow serves a unique purpose… The one with a piece of corn on the end is for small birds. There’s a plain stick for larger birds, a metal tipped one for small animals, and a black colored poisoned tipped one for large game.
Dalaly explains that the poison arrow has the potency to take down a buffalo, giraffe, elephant or rhino. These days however the Hadza can no longer hunt buffalo, eland, lion, leopard, giraffe, elephant, lion, or rhino.
Just as quickly as the fire was started it is extinguished. The hunt begins. The men rise to their feet and more join. We begin walking. Each hunter wears the skin of an impala he has shot slung diagonally over one shoulder. Some of the skins are embroidered with colorful beads. The men don bright colored jewelry contrasting with their beautiful ebony skin. Their bodies are lean and tawny. One hunter wears a baboon fur headband while others wear beaded crowns.
Occasionally the hunters stop and take aim at a bird. Birds are numerous but take flight quickly rendering them hard to catch. My mom and I walk slightly behind, less nimble in this environment. The ground is bare, sprinkled with shrub-like acacias. Every now and then we encounter a herdsman from another tribe chaperoning a flock of goats or cows.
Suddenly, the men gather around a tree and point with excitement. Bush babies! A skilled shot pierces one of the bush babies straight through the head. It hangs down from the arrow lodged at the top of the tree. I am both saddened to see this beautiful animal’s death and awed by the skill of these huntsmen. The hunters throw pebbles to flush out the remaining two bush babies so they can shoot them. The bush babies jump nimbly from branch to branch and tree to tree but they manage to evade the skilled huntsmen. Soon the men decide to leave this victory to nature, collect their kill and move on. The youngest hunter climbs the thorny tree with graceful ease and fetches the catch. On the ground again, he ties the bushbaby to his belt.
We continue. The landscape is changing. In the distance the mountains rise blue and immense and Lake Eyasi glimmers in pastel colors. We cross a surreal looking landscape where seasonal water flow has eroded the soil and tall wild date palms abound. From time to time we pass swaths of forest that have been cleared or burned and every now and then we pass another herdsman or settlement.
The Hadza spot monkey tracks... we are on the trail of pursuit. From time to time the men fan out. Sometimes they tell us where to go and other times I follow whoever seems easiest. Occasionally I lose sight and realize I would be very lost without them. Would I find my way home? Probably not! At one point the guy in front of me looks over his shoulder, nods and starts running. I entertain the idea of sprinting after him but decide it’s better not to. My reasoning is: I would probably scare the prey, I may get lost and my mom is still behind. We wander through the forest and I find comfort in the thought that at least the Hadzabi will be able to find us. I don’t know how, but they seem to choreograph their movements as a team and navigate seamlessly. This, the forest, is their home.
We hear some stifled shouting and see movement. Ahead the hunters are in hot pursuit… Vervet monkeys. The men run following their treetop prey, while dodging the underbrush. One catches a shot and launches his arrow to its target at the top of a date palm towering almost 100ft up into the air. Has he got it? Looking up there is no sign of movement. Two palms stand close together and I wonder which one the monkey was in? The Hadza throw some sticks and pebbles up. No signs of life. They discuss among themselves, pointing up and encircling the tree.
The youngest will scale the tree and retrieve the monkey. I wonder how on earth he can climb this towering palm with only his bare hands? He uses the twin palm to balance as he begins the ascent. As he gains height, he must maneuver nimbly around the stalks of fronds skirting the crown. Some are dead and he mustn’t risk putting weight on them or they could break off and send him crashing to the ground. He expertly tests the stability of his next hand and foothold before progressing up. At last he reaches the crown and there, sure enough, is the monkey. He lifts it up and lets it fall to the ground. It is shot straight through the heart – a quick death. The young hunter makes his way down which looks even harder than the ascent but it’s clear he knows what he is doing.
The elder hunters have a hot fire crackling in no time. They pull out a knife and filet the monkey using a large palm frond as a cutting board. Straight onto the fire it goes and in no time the hunters are enjoying charred, juicy morsels of their catch. The innards are thrown to the seemingly eager and skinny dogs but curiously they appear uninterested possibly due to the heat. I am offered a small morsel of liver and I can’t resist the symbolic gesture of generosity and honor, though monkey hits a little too close to home for my comfort.
The men save some grilled cuts for the women and children at home and the fire is extinguished. We leave the forest as we found it minus one bush baby and one monkey. The sun is getting high in the sky so the hunt is concluded. We wander through rapidly expanding cornfields (that provide habitat for no animals) where the forest once reigned and pass herds of meandering cattle until we reach the Hadza center where we started the day.
In the late afternoon of the same day we are invited to join the women. The men are the primary hunters and the women the primary gatherers. Dalaly says that people get married from around twenty years old. Usually the women carry their babies strapped effortlessly to their backs but for our mission into the forest there are no children accompanying. The Hadza women wear beautiful handmade jewelry. Bright colored cloths are tied around their wastes and sometimes heads. Traditionally they wear impala shells like the men but these days the majority wear T-shirts instead. We are gathering what the forest has to offer. The women stop every now and then to pick wild fruits. We sample a small, yellow, cherry sized fruit that is sweet to the taste.
One of the women’s “made in china” plastic sandals breaks. This is not a problem because the forest can provide. She strips a piece of bark from a tree and with the help of a friend threads it through a hole in the broken plastic and secures it in place. She is back in business.
The women don’t carry bows and arrows; instead they each carry a long pointed wooden stick. As we walk there is a lot of chatter and the mood seems light and social. Suddenly the group becomes animated with excitement. The women gather together and start digging using their hands. I am surprised when they proudly display the cause of the commotion – Mice! I expected to be harvesting roots not rodents! The Hadza women start digging in a new location. The spot looks nondescript, like the rest of the ground but apparently to the experienced eye the earth is slightly raised over mouse burrows. Sure enough they are soon capturing another handful of mice. The Hadza women are elated! The live mice are stashed in pockets so we can continue. We learn through translation that they pull out some of the mice’s teeth so that they can’t bite.
We walk onward until we reach a rocky embankment where the pointed sticks are put into action. This time we are indeed uncovering roots. Large, juicy tubers, which serve as a source of H2O in the bush! Apparently their fibers, though more bitter than the succulent tuber flesh, are medicinal and good for teeth. I give digging a go but quickly appreciate how skilled the Hadza are at uncovering the tubers from the rocky hillside using nothing but sticks as it takes me a lot longer to do so.
The sky is darkening, announcing rain is on the way. It is time to return to the camp. Some women gather bundles of sticks to fuel fires this evening. The sun shines against the dark clouds casting a golden light and painting the trees vivid shades of green. We wander back, the sweet scent of a tamarind tree in bloom hanging in the air.
Back at the center, the mothers give the still lively mice they have harvested to the children. The kids hold the mice with fascination. Snacks! We are informed that the mice will be boiled and provide a tasty nutritious protein bite for the kids.
The day’s work provided very little food (one bush baby, one monkey, a couple handfuls of mice and a few small fruits and tubers). My mom and I no doubt diminished the efficacy of hunting and gathering but it is also a sign of the changing times… “Many Hadza lived in the bush not meeting other people” Dalaly tells me. That is no longer the case as people have arrived in Hadza territory bringing with them them cattle, deforestation and charcoal burning which destroys the nature that the Hadza depend on. The development has driven wildlife away from the Hadza territory and into the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. Though it is not the Hadzabi people who have caused the imbalance, they suffer the consequence, as nature can no longer sustain them.
Dalaly thinks that perhaps the animals would return if the government moved some of the people out of the area. Whatever the future holds, it seems inevitable that the abundance of nature that the Hadza have lived harmoniously with for centuries will not return anytime soon. This raises the question: Can the Hadza people, among the planet’s last true hunter-gatherers, hold onto their lifestyle and culture under pressure from a developing economy? Beyond that, can they act as guardians and advocates for the nature they depend on? Only time will tell.
As the environment changes so does the culture. Dalaly says that these days Hadza children go to government boarding schools where they are provided with everything they need including food (I am guessing no mouse snacks). When Dalaly turned 7 years old his parents took him to school. Due to tuition costs and family responsibilities he couldn’t continue to secondary school so he returned home. Dalaly says that this is typical for Hadza children. Returning home gives children the chance to continue to learn about Hadza culture however the tide of education means there is less time and value placed on learning the immense skill-set which the Hadza have carried for generations.
Personally Dalaly hopes to preserve the knowledge and skills of his forefathers through sharing them with the world through the modern tourism economy. He completed a five month English course in Arusha thanks to funding from an American doctor he met and became friends with. It is thanks to this training that I am interviewing him as most of the Hadza don’t speak English. After the training he got sponsored by another person from LA to go to tour guide school for one year. Dalaly says he wants to continue learning about tour guiding. “For me, I want to change because in my future I want to be a tour guide. I want to get clients, from the US, Spain, Germany and walk together and show Hadza culture.”
Without adequate game to support hunter gathering and a world that does not support the nomadic lifestyle, the Hadza people face immediate challenges of meeting their survival needs. The tide of change has also brought about new issues to cope with like cultural decay, alcoholism and drugs. Dalaly says that the development the Hadza need is in health, lands, education and food. It was these needs that lead to the creation of the “Simple Hope” Hadza center in Lake Yasi. The center has fresh water, and through planting fruit trees, installing bee hives, and starting a permaculture garden it provides the Hadza with a sustainable way to survive and supplement their hunter gathering lifestyle while still remaining close to nature.
Dalaly tells me “I think it’s good because it provides fruits, fresh water and can teach the Hadza about chickens and health.” The project has been a success and is now Tanzanian run and called the “Ushindi (Winners) Center”.
Just as the Hadza must learn new ways to live in the world we live in today, I feel we also need to learn from them how to live together with and respect nature. No matter how far removed we are from going out in the forest to find our meals, we all share this planet and each of us ultimately depends on nature to survive.
Thank you to the Hadza community, especialy Dalaly for taking the time to do the interview and for sharing their incredible knowledge and skills! Thank you also to MaaViva the Institute of Interconnectedness, The Ushindi Center and founding project Simple Hope for making this connection possible!