From Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman by Nisa

3/22

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From Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman by Nisa

“My father hit me, but I kept crying. I probably would have cried the whole night, but finally, he got up and said, “I’m taking you and leaving you out in the bush for the hyenas to kill. What kind of child are you? If you nurse your sibling’s milk, you'll die!” He picked, carried me away from camp and set me down in the bush. He shouted, “Hyenas! There’s meat over here… Hyenas! Come and take this meat!” Then he turned and started to walk back to the village (638). 

This quote was one of many alarming and surprising details of Nisa’s life. Physical violence and verbal abuse are so normalized in her culture. While reading Nisa’s life, a reader that is not familiar with the lives of women in African nomad tribes experiences a culture shock. I think reading this passage is important because it stresses how different people can be based on where they live and how they grow up. Not all cultures value the same things our culture does. For example, the safety of women is not really considered important. Romance has no place in this society. Even morality seems completely lost at times, like when Nisa’s mother wishes to bury her newborn child (640). The treatment of children in this society is not only shocking, but morally wrong in the eyes of the reader. Children in our culture are not supposed to be hit or hurt. People are not supposed to have sexual relations until they are at the age of consent. Most people here get to choose their own partner, or have no partner at all, which is a luxury Nisa can never experience (646). She instead is immediately married at too young an age, always confused because adults will not explain things to her, and fears constantly for her future and well-being. 

I am obviously biased, but I do not believe this society is ethical. I worry for women like Nisa, and wish for them to have the freedom I have. Passages like this remind me how blessed I am and make me thankful that women have made such huge strides towards equality and progression so that I may live the way I do.