The Kalahari Bushmen kaross


The two Kaross' I bought from the San bushman family at Palaype, Botswana in 1966.






The Silver Jackal



The black backed jackal, or silver jackal [ Canis mesomelas Schreber, 1775 ] has two populations: South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, and Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. It is quite abundant and not on the endangered species list.


The Civet Cat



The african civet cat [ Civettictis civetta Schreber, 1776 ] is found throughout Africa and is not on the endangered species list. It was at one time hunted for its scent - civetone - produced by it's perineal glands




From my diary:
"By 16.00 we were at Palapye where we met some Kalahari bushmen. They were encamped by the railroad line and we had some good conversation with them as they had goods to sell or trade. Only a couple of them had good english and they conversed together in their 'click' language.They were dressed in old european clothes and the women had kaross' over them and a young baby. They said the kaross was their house and showed me how they covered themselves , huddling together under the skins.This was an entire family group that had come into Palapye following the railway line. I bought three African masks [R2] made out of ironwood,which they told me they used in dance. I bartered for two Kaross' [silver jackal and a civet-cat]. These are still some of my prize possessions that adorn my home in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains where I now live. I went over to the local veterinarian office and got a vet certificate certifying they were not diseased and sent them off to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where I would take up a position as Associate Professor in a few months. San women who simply bite the skin over and over again and break the fiber cured the skins. We gassed-up the Rover and traveled about 25 miles before making camp under a dolomite koppie." [www.ScienceAnd.net/SciSite-diaries/kalahari/kalahari.html].