By Anita Mbali Mvane
Alan Weyer delivered a talk at Red Café last week exploring the deep human history of southern Africa, tracing the migration and evolution of early humans and the development of societies and cultures in the region.
“Over the years, I’ve looked at a few things which I think I can put into perspective for where we are today, and in order to tell the story, we actually have to start a long time ago,” Weyer said.
Africa: The cradle of humankind
Africa is known as the cradle of humankind because that is where modern humans originated. Archaeological sites such as Pinnacle Point in Mossel Bay show evidence of stone tools and cave art dating back 160,000 years, providing some of the earliest evidence of modern human existence.
Weyer described the Bushmen (San people) as having the widest genetic diversity, which shows they are one of the oldest continuous human populations.
Domestic animals like cattle, sheep, and goats, originating from the Fertile Crescent in Asia, eventually arrived in southern Africa. This introduced larger, more structured communities, leading to the development of social hierarchies and more complex societies compared to the earlier hunter-gatherer groups.
Bantu migration and cultural integration
Bantu-speaking communities, crop farmers and cattle herders began to expand southward into the region. Through interaction and intermarriage, they mixed with earlier hunter-gatherer populations, leading to the formation of the Xhosa and related groups.
Weyer highlighted the importance of language, especially the incorporation of click sounds from Bushman languages into isiXhosa.
The talk explored initiation rites, patriarchy, the role of women, and the importance of polygamy and cattle in Xhosa society. Leadership structures and conflict resolution practices were also discussed, showing how negotiation and oral traditions shaped governance.
European contact and colonisation
Weyer described how Portuguese explorers such as Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama became the first Europeans to round the Cape, motivated by trade with the East. Numerous shipwrecks occurred along the South African coast, with survivors sometimes assimilating into local communities.
In 1652, Jan van Riebeeck established a Dutch East India Company refreshment station at the Cape, setting the foundation for colonisation. The spread of smallpox in 1713 devastated indigenous Khoi communities, creating a power vacuum.
Boers (Dutch settlers) moved inland, leading to disputes with local peoples over land and resources. Weyer also described the Xhosa Wars of the late 18th and 19th centuries as prolonged, complex conflicts involving Europeans, the Khoi, the San, and various Nguni clans.
