Khoikhoi (original) (raw)

The Khoikhoi ('men of men') or Khoi are a division of the Khoisan ethnic group of South-West Africa, closely related to the San or Bushmen. They have lived in this area for about 30,000 years.

They were once known to Europeans as the Hottentots, a name that is now considered derogatory (it means "stutterer" in Dutch, describing the clicking sounds used in the Khoisan languages). The word lives on, however, in the names of several African animal and plant species, such as the Hottentot fig, Carpobrotus edulis.

See also: Khoikhoi mythology.