Results of Bantu migration and settlement into South Africa

Results of Bantu migration and settlement into South Africa

The Bantu intermarried with the Khoisan which led to cultural transformation. The Khoisan was displaced by the Bantu speakers.

The Khoisan finally settled in the drier desert margins. The Bantu speakers conflicted with Khoisan over land.

The Bantu migration, movement and settlement led to population increase in the area(s). To a very bigger extent, the Khoisan lost their independence to the Bantu.

The Khoisan lost their identity and existence, as the Bantu dominated them.

The constant raids of the Bantu to the Khoikhoi led to loss of their animals. The San and the Khoikhoi lost their lives due to constant wars.

The Khoisan adopted the art of working Iron. They both carried out trade with each other. Many features of them political and social set up of the Bantu were adopted by the Bantu. There is evidence that the Khoisan women were raped by the Bantu men.

The Bantu competed into the Khoisan in many economic activities.

How the movement and settlement of the Bantu affected the Khoisan people

The Origin and Expansion of the Bantu

It affected them politically, socially and economically. The Sotho-Tswana settled north of the Orange River. The Nguni- Tsonga settled along the Natal Coastal plains. The Ambo moved into present day Ambo- land and settled in Namibian plate

The Shona settled in what is now Zimbabwe between the Zarnbezi and Limpopo rivers. Their movement and settlement in these areas affected the inhabitants in the following ways;

With the Bantu migration and settlement into South Africa, there was a gradual displacement of the Khoisan. This was because the Bantu grew food and wanted more land for cultivation.

Inter marriages between the Bantu and the Khoisan led to absorption of the latter into the formers’ culture.

The Bantu were many in numbers, as they wanted more land for settlement, which led to conflicts with the Khoisan, which led to loss of life.

With the settlement of the Bantu in South Africa, the Khoisan where pushed in arid regions like the Kalahari desert where most of them survive today.

The Khoikhoi adopted the Bantu's social and political organisation, for example the religious customs of the Xhosa people affected those of the Khoikhoi.

The Khoisan languages affected the Bantu languages, as the Xhosa got a click sound in their language. The Xhosa also borrowed some words from the Khoisan speakers. Many Bushmen, not only lost their independence but their identity and existence as well.

The Bantu were great iron workers and introduced these skills to the Khoisan.

The Bantu were cultivators who introduced crops like pumpkins, millet and beans, which added to Khoisan foodstuffs.

The Bantu also exchanged their products like iron implements with cattle, sheep and cattle products from the Khoikhoi.

Note that the San, Khoikhoi and the Bantu are believed to be the earliest people to settle in Southern Africa.

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