The Kalahari San or Bushmen are one of the most researched ethnic groups. As such, multiple images, produced by research, popular literature and films exist of them. Tsumkwe, the administrative centre of what used to be known as 'Bushmanland' during Apartheid, occupies a special place in the context of San image production as it is the site of most visual material produced about San, a popular destination for tourists who want to see San and a successful indigenous governed conservancy that attracts many NGOs and other projects aimed at San. The people living in Tsumkwe are the Ju|'hoansi, a group considered to be part of the 'San' category. This thesis considers ethnographic questions about the Ju|'hoansi and those who visit them, through a framework based on the theory of images. How do the Ju|'hoansi inhabit the multiple images of San-ness which non-San bring to Tsumkwe and how do they navigate the pressures of both San sociality and expectations from outsiders within and outside the structures of knowledge which shape our perception of these images? In addition to general participant observation in Tsumkwe and the surrounding Nyae Nyae conservancy, I make use of ethnographic data from filmmaking workshops I conducted with Ju|'hoan participants. These workshops created important primary data. Further, by inverting the hitherto passive relationship to film into an active one, the engagement with the medium and its production enabled usually invisible concepts and understanding of self and others to become articulated. Additionally, I conducted interviews with tourists, researchers and NGO workers. As Gordon discusses in The Bushman Myth, the label of San or Bushmen is an externally invented and constructed category. Over the course of the 20th century, a multitude of images of the San have emerged, ranging from 'underdeveloped primitives', to no 'noble savages' to 'disempowered minorities'. However outdated, once articulated, remnants of these images have remained and contribute to the body of preconceived ideas outsiders approach the San with. | Inhabiting Images: Ju|'hoansi, vi San, and Others In Tsumkwe, different images exist simultaneously. In interactions with outsiders, Ju|'hoansi informants confirmed and enacted sometimes opposing images, depending on the context, without considering one more 'true' than another. Some Ju|'hoansi were able to switch between different images particularly well. Despite of the Ju|'hoansi community in Tsumkwe being accepting of the various images of San-ness brought in by outsiders, Tsumkwe was overall governed by Ju|'hoan values and sociality which stopped any of the NGOs that tried to establish themselves and their world views in Tsumkwe from becoming too dominant. Egalitarian pressures, however, also affect not only outsiders seeking to establish themselves but also Ju|'hoansi. Additionally, many Ju|'hoansi, experience the multitude of images brought in as a pressure. This double pressure can be somewhat relieved through carefully negotiated play in which caricatures of identities are acted out playfully. Despite possible overlap between San images and Ju|'hoan sociality, it is useful to understand San images as being a reflection on those who construct them. For the Ju|'hoansi, these images are part of the world they inhabit creatively.

Studien syftar till att analysera sanfolkets existentiella riter och transformativa processer ur ett dramapedagogiskt perspektiv. Bakgrunden avgränsas till att undersöka och redogöra för Ju/’hoansifolkets etnografi, kosmologi samt riter med fokusering på de transformativa processerna. Metodansatsen är en aletisk och objektiverande hermeneutik med ett abduktivt tillvägagångsätt. Tidigare forskning belyser det antropologiska perspektivet på riter, Ju/’hoansis ontologiska transformationer samt beröringspunkterna mellan antropologi och teater. Den teoretiska referensramen redogör för det dramapedagogiska paradigmet och dess olika tolkningar på transformativa och kommunikativa kunskapsprocesser. I analysen redovisas resultatet med hjälp av rotmetaforer med den mest framstående korrelationen; den ontologiska pluralismen. Genom analysen framträdde även ett övergripande tema av det upplevelsebaserade kontinuumet. Resultatet och metodansatsen revideras i diskussionen. / The study aims to analyze the existential rites and transformative processes of the san people from a drama educational perspective. The background is constrained to examining and describing the Ju/’hoansi people's ethnography, cosmology and rites with a focus on the transformative processes. The method approach is alethic and objectifying hermeneutics with an abductive reasoning. Previous research sheds light on the anthropological perspective on rituals, Ju/’hoansi’s ontological transformations and the points of contact between anthropology and theatre. The theoretical frame of reference describes the drama educational paradigm and its different interpretations of transformative and communicative learning processes. In the analysis, the results are reported using root metaphors with the most prominent correlation; the ontological pluralism. Through the analysis, an overarching theme of the experience-based continuum also emerged. The result and the method approach are revised in the discussion.

Text in English / This dissertation, deals with the verb structure found in Ju/̕hoansi, Naro and !Xóõ, which form part of the Northern, Central and Southern Khoesan respectively. Although previous studies have been conducted on these languages, no study has been done to date involving a detailed comparison of the structures in these languages. Thus, not much has been done in the area of syntax; particularly syntactical comparison. Previous studies ignored comparisons of grammatical categories and structures such as noun class markers, plural formation markers, tense and aspect markers and verbal extensions. This dissertation consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 covers the language situation in Botswana. Chapter 2 is devoted to the literature review. Chapter 3 deals with the linguistic features found in the three languages. Chapter 4 covers the methodology and the theoretical framework adopted in the dissertation. The theoretical framework is eclectic in nature, in other words, the study is largely descriptive. However, on occasion, some aspects of lexical functional grammar (LFG) are used. This theoretical framework is appealing as it best handles important aspects of the languages under consideration, particularly the verb extensions. Chapter 5 describes the noun class system, highlighting the markers found in different noun classes. It also covers tense and aspect markers as well as the verbal extensions found in the three languages. Specifically, it is argued in this chapter that plural formation occurs in three ways; regular plurals, irregular plurals and neutral plurals. The study reveals a close relationship between tense and aspect and the motion of the events, points of reference and moment of speech encoded in the verbs involved. Adverbials can co-occur with the relevant tenses. Lastly, it is shown that verbal extensions do not just combine freely; they are subject to different kinds of sequential constraints. Chapter 6 summarizes the main findings, highlighting the similarities and differences in the three languages. Naro is SOV while Ju/'hoansi and !Xóõ are SVO. Chapter 6 also indicates areas in these Khoesan Languages requiring further research. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)