San Ostrich Egg Canteen - Timothy S. Y. Lam Museum of Anthropology (2024)
The San people of southern Africa have lived in the region of the Kalahari Desert for thousands of years. Formerly called “Bushmen,” a label that is now recognized as both racist and sexist, the term San actually refers to a diverse collection of hunter-gatherer groups with historical and linguistic ties. Although they are traditionally nomadic people, in recent years many San have settled in larger groups near water sources or joined neighboring communities.
Ostrich eggs like this one from Botswana have traditionally been used by the San as canteens. Having a method to store water is incredibly important in the desert, and ostrich eggs provide a means to accomplish that. Additionally, ostrich eggs are very nutritious, equivalent to about two dozen chicken eggs. Acquiring an egg, however, is not an easy task because ostriches can slash with their long talons. Successful hunters locate an ostrich nest and either wait for the vigilant adults to leave or use a high-risk strategy of scaring it away.
Once collected, a small hole is made in the egg to drain the contents to eat, and the egg is cleaned and filled with water when available. The hole is then resealed with beeswax. The eggs are often decorated with simple designs as this one is. The filled eggs are buried along frequently traveled paths to provide drinking water while hunting and foraging. The San also make jewelry from pieces of broken ostrich eggshells.
The freshly filled 'flasks' would be buried along hunting trails; the precious water kept safe and clean within the ostrich eggs. When tracking an animal for kilometres, the hunters could dig up the ostrich eggs for a drink of water, before continuing on their journey.
According to a recent study, Stone Age hunter-gatherers in sub-Saharan Africa used ostrich eggshell beads — kind of like smooth, creamy Cheerios — for more than just pretty jewelry; they also used them as a highly visible sign of friendship. A prehistoric form of social media, if you will.
The eggs are incubated by the females by day and by the males by night. This uses the coloration of the two sexes to escape detection of the nest, as the drab female blends in with the sand, while the black male is nearly undetectable in the night.
In the later 1st millennium B.C., ostrich eggs were used as grave goods by the Punic Phoenicians and Etruscans, symbolizing resurrection and eternal life, as well as providing “food” for the deceased. Today, ostrich eggs are still used by Moslems to honor the dead, being hung near or above the place of burial.
Many places do not sell edible ostrich eggs. Mostly because it's impractical and not economical. An ostrich egg makes the equivalent of a 24-chicken egg omelet and most people don't need a breakfast that large on a regular basis.
An average ostrich egg weighs around 3 pounds (about the weight of two dozen chicken eggs!) and is about 6 inches long. In the wild, ostrich nests are communal; several ostriches lay their eggs in the same nest. Then, one male and one female take turns incubating the eggs.
For the San Bushmen, the ostrich egg is a gift from the gods. Not only does the inside of the egg feed a family, the outside can be used as a water vessel. An obvious sign of fertility and prosperity, an eggshell made into beads and given to a friend is a wish for good luck.
Egg production usually begins when the female is sexually mature (at about two years of age) and if she is mating with a male. Eggs are generally produced about five to ten days after the first mating. During the mating season the plumage of the male gets much brighter.
Introduction: My name is Greg O'Connell, I am a delightful, colorful, talented, kind, lively, modern, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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