!Kung San Southern African Collections of

Botswana and Namibia

The Hans Joachim Heinz British Library Collection

Collection overview Field recordings made in Botswana in 1960, documenting songs and music of the Khoe-Sān of the Kalahari Desert. Hans-Joachim Heinz was an anthropologist who from 1961 worked amongst the Khoe-Sān of the Kalahari. Having married into the local community, Heinz lived among the Khoe-Sān for some 40 years. The recordings include vocal solos and duets, healing songs, musical games, and a range of instruments including musical bows, other stringed instruments and lamellophones.

Most of the recordings were made as the community went about its daily life; they therefore include casual conversation, laughter and other everyday sounds.

The songs in this collection were recorded for a project conducted between 2009 and 2012 by researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, in collaboration with Dinka researchers in South Sudan.

(Sourced from the British Library Sound Archive)

This music belongs to the British Library. All the music of this page has been recorded and preserved by the British Library Sound Archive under World and Traditional Music and can also be found on their website with more detailed information.

To find out more information please visit the British Library Sound Archive

Instrumental Music of the Kalahari San - Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

!Kung: – The Music Of The !Kung Bushmen Of The Kalahari Desert - African

Rather than performing for an audience, the !Kung San people from the northwestern Kalahari Desert region "play [music] for themselves, when the mood strikes them." Perhaps that’s what makes it so compelling. Here is a demonstration of music played on gut pluriarc (bow lute), gut hunting bow and sitengena (thumb piano), with vocal accompaniment.

(Sourced from the Smithsonian Folkways Website)

Please Visit the Smithsonian Website

Source: The British Library Sound Archive

Hans Joachim Collection from South British Library Collection

Source: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Instrumental Music of the Kalahari San

Official British Library Sound Archive Website - World and Traditional Music

Official Smithsonian Folkways Recordings Website