As we returned to the village, the Hadzabe women had gathered several fruits and berries but with weak results. Between the hunt and the foraging, the result was impressively little and not enough to sustain the tribe. However, it is said Hadzabe do not encounter famine, being able to find substance regularly, even if on the limited scale. The Hadzabe tribes move their camps to follow the game, and even more so when hunting big animals which body they can’t budge. Given their limited possession – a pot, a blanket or two – the camp can migrate quickly to accommodate the hunting needs. By nature, Hadzabe hunter-gathers go at their tasks daily. The resources, however, have diminished through to the development around them, and especially by the Datooga herders clearing the lands where Hadza traditional live. Dedicated lands have been granted to them by the Tanzanian go
Armed with bows, arrows, knives, and machetes, the group of five or six teens and young adults from 10 to 20 years old, trotted away in a well-balanced cadence. We followed suit through the large spiked acacia bushes and thick shrubs. Signs of the strengths of these spikes were noticeable on the bare back and arms of the hunters, all with visible scars. They did not seem to mind as they trailed further out.
Truth be told, previous hunting accidents, knives, and animals encounters caused these scars, not the scary thorns. On our end, we appreciated our long pants and sleeves to save us from similar scars.
We tried hard to keep up as there are no trails, no signs to navigate and relied on the Hadzabe to lead us back. We reached an overlook by the river, where a couple of rare trees and baobabs stood above the shrubs. The hunters lifted their bows and had a shot at two small birds, the size of doves, perched high on the branches. But the chance was on the bird side. Arrows flew high and landed hard.
As they picked their arrows, the hunters carried on their search, running over the edge of the cliff. Not far below stood the river, where another group of women in colorful grabs washed clothes and filled containers with water. From the hunters and the group of women, we witnessed the traditional way of rural Africa – a scene probably untouched over hundreds of thousands of years.
Suddenly the hunters got excited and ran faster toward a corner of the cliff. With the dry season, animals tend to gather close to the water, a more fruitful hunting ground. One hunter came back with a small golden mongoose on his arrow. The poor beast was hardly the size of half-a-arm and still squeamish. But how could we be sensitive and mindful of the little beast when five hungry men were about to share its small carcass.
But this was still a pitiful hunt, and the hunters were definitely interested in more game. The day started to warm up. We had a hard time following the Hadzabe hunters around over the uneven rocky terrain. The patience and hunting skills of the hunters, however, paid off as they arrowed down two small birds.
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