Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses the impact of state regimes of land use and categorization on the stability of the Ju|'hoansi's social world in east central Namibia.

Paper long abstract:

This paper is concerned with the impact of divergent ontologies on the land and the environment in the Omaheke region in east central Namibia. The Omaheke Ju|’hoansi have been completely dispossessed of their land by waves of settlers in the western Kalahari. Despite the post-apartheid government’s efforts to address the ‘land question’ with regards to historically disadvantaged communities, state land policies have failed to lead to any tangible changes and reduce the threats to the basic stability of the Ju|’hoansi’s world. The ways the Ju|’hoansi constitute their social universe, including the social persons that populate it, face existential dangers from the closing off of large portions of land (such as farms) or the resettlement of communities on small territories. In detailing the Ju|’hoansi’s relational cosmology, I will discuss the differences between ontology and epistemology with regards to conceptions of the environment and will argue in favor of understanding hunter-gatherers’ needs on their own terms.