Like the San, the family formed the basic unit of social organization in the Khoikhoi community.
Both the San and the Khoikhoi respected the preying mantis as a symbol for wealth and good fortune.
The San were spread all over South Africa, unlike the Khoikhoi who were scattered.
For both, initiation to adulthood was also important for it promoted the youth to another stage.
The Khoikhoi knew the use of iron and copper but knew nothing about weaving unlike the San.
Unlike
the San who lived in small bands or communities - consisting of about
20 to 100 people, the Khoikhoi lived in large groups ranging from about
600 to 1,000 people.
The San had the skills of
rain- making and iron working, which the Khoikhoi could not do. They
were knowledgeable of the wild, knew medicinal herbs, they cured by
trance- dancing, they were skilled artists. This was not the case with
the Khoikhoi.
Marriage among the San took place
between 7 to 8 years old girls and 14 to 15 year old boys. For the
Khoikhoi it occurred at puberty and only after initiation.
The San also lived in groups of 20 to 200 people and the Khoikhoi between 200 and 3,000 people.
Though
they both had chiefs, the San chiefs' role had little powers, but the
Khoikhoi chiefs, to a very smaller extent had powers to convict and
punish an offender or criminal.
Whereas the San depended largely on hunting and raids, the Khoikhoi cultivated a few crops, domesticated sheep and cattle.
The
Khoikhoi lived in camp shelters built of reeds around their Kraals.
Hence they had some form of organized small homesteads, unlike the San
who lived in caves and some other protected places, such as large and
thick trees.
Unlike the Khoikhoi, the San were great artists and used to paint scenes of major events on the walls of their caves.
The San practiced polygamy and married at an early age, unlike the Khoikhoi.
The
bridegroom among the San community worked hard for the bride's family
for a specified period of time before leaving an independent marriage
life. For the Khoikhoi community, the bridegroom would stay at the
bride’s parent's home until the birth of the first child.
Like the San, the Khoikhoi also hunted wild game, collected fruits, roots and honey to enrich their diet.
Both lived in small groups, which formed a political unit.
The
San basic food was on wild food and game. They also feasted and fasted.
Thus at times, it made them resort to eating their ill- begotten
children in times of starvation.
They never carried out farming and keep the dog as a domestic animal. As for the Khoikhoi their basic food was milk.
Like the San, the Khoikhoi were also ever on the move looking for better grazing grounds and pasture.
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Sometimes the San raided the Khoikhoi for cattle.
Because of their origin in the same places, that is either East or Central Africa, they are given a collective name Khoisan.
Like the San, the Khoikhoi had more material wealth, for example they had a more assured supply of food.
Like the San who were hunters, the Khoikhoi were mainly pastoralists who kept animals like goats, cattle and fat tailed sheep.
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