Smoking and drinking
The Bushmen are fond of beer and smoking.
As they grow no crops themselves, they sometimes exchanged
meat for the corn to brew the beer themselves. The beer is
brewed in the following way: The corn is wetted and allowed
to sprout. It is then ground into a course meal and mixed
with yeast and water, and allowed to ferment. This could take
between one and four days, depending on the required strength.
Due to their changed life over the last 40 years, there has
been an alarming increase in alcohol consumption. Groups of
Bushmen commuted to Johannesburg to work in the mines. Here
they were introduced to city life and money that they never
needed before.
This is when they started to drink heavily which lead to fighting
and a breakdown of daily tasks. With the hot sun overhead
and their low tolerance of alcohol, many of them are drunk
during the afternoon.
The Bushmen also enjoy taking snuff and smoking. Makaranga
tobacco is the favourite of the Kalahari Bushmen. This is
a very strong tobacco that is mixed with honey from the wild
bees. It is made into a paste and allowed to dry. This is
also made into snuff.
Certain Bushmen are also fond of dagga or hemp.
