Hunting was one of the most common traditional economic activity in most African societies. Hunting was usually conducted in small or bigger groups of 3-12 man of different ages depending on the types of animals being hunted. From stone age to iron age, hunting played a crucial role in ancient African societies as it was a source of food as well as a social activity of instilling bravery in men. Above this, hunting also helped in facilitating barter trade as people exchanged animal skin, meat or even horns for other basic goods.
Hunters were highly recognised as man of great bravery and usually held a high social status in the society. In most cases,hunters headed relatively large polygamous families as they were able to support such families .
Hunting of different animals was usually done in accordance to seasons. It can be taken for example, the hunting of small animals like mice which was usually done by young boys of different ages during the early rain and winter season.
Simple hunting weapons like bows and arrows as well as spears were made use of by the hunters to kill animals of different sizes. However, the jungle had also its risks like in the modern day where cases of humans being mauled by dangerous animals like lions and leopards are known among hunters
The coming of the European settlers during the colonisation era didnt lead to the collapsing of hunting as a crucial economic activity, it rather improved it. The first settlers hunted animals for different purposes like trading their skins and ivory thus there was an improvement in the hunting tools which were being used as there was introduction of guns.
The use of modern and more effective weapons in hunting saw an improvement in hunting and some Europeans were even interested in huntung as a hoby and made use of ancient but improved tools like bows and arrows for fun.
The coming of more and more Europeans in the early years saw a reduction in some animal species thus giving a status of being 'endangered' to some wild animals as they were running low in their numbers and these included rhinos and buffalos among others. This situation led to the system of reserved areas for animals called game parks thus reducing cases of ilegal hunting.
However, still in the modern day in African countries like Zimbabwe where vasts forests and jungles still exist, hunting activities are still being done on commercial and small scale basis but in a formalised manner.
Zimbabwean rural informal hunter after a day in the bush.
Despite the introduction of game parks and reserves, in modern day Zimbabwean rural areas, some wild animals like hares and bucks roam around in the forests and the rural dwellers hunt these for relish using their trained dogs!
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