The universal hunter?

Abstract

Commercial hunters in southern Africa often claim that they have immediate and privileged access to the culture of indigenous hunter-gatherer groups because they share the same subsistence pursuit. In this contribution I challenge these claims on two accounts. First, I highlight that hunting was part and parcel of many different social groups in southern Africa and I outline some of the historical shifts that have occurred to 'hunting' as the historical context changes in which hunting is being practiced across time and space. I propose a notational system to identify differences (and similarities) in the hunting practice. Second, I underline that hunting is only appropriately described in terms of the social relations that it constitutes. I suggest to apply the notion of 'community of practice' in a way that facilitates the comparison of various forms of interaction between commercial and indigenous hunters in terms of the positioning of the agents involved.