Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman | Key Figures

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Key Figure	Description
Marjorie Shostak	Marjorie Shostak is a 24-year-old ethnographer studying the !Kung San people. Read More
Nisa	Nisa is a !Kung woman in her 50s who is interviewed extensively by Shostak. Read More
Gau	Gau, Nisa's father, is a !Kung healer and hunter. Read More
Chuko	Chuko, a !Kung woman, is Nisa's mother. Read More
Tashay	Tashay is Nisa's third husband and the father of her children. Read More
Besa	Besa, Nisa's fourth husband, often works for the Tswana in the East. Read More
Bo	Nisa is married to Bo, her fifth husband, at the time Shostak interviews her. Read More
Bau	Nisa's fourth child, Bau is not yet walking when she dies from a chest sickness.
Bey	Bey, Kantla's first wife, likes Nisa and urges her to marry her husband and be a co-wife to her.
Bo	Nisa's first husband Bo doesn't last long; he sleeps with her guardian Nukha and their marriage dissolves within days.
Dau	Dau, Nisa's older brother, is a healer who often helps and protects Nisa. Nisa loves and admires him and often goes to him for help.
Debe	Debe is one of Nisa's lovers during her marriage to her fifth husband Bo.
Dem	Kantla's younger brother Dem has an affair with Nisa, too. When the brothers fight over her, her husband Besa hears about it, and she denies Dem is her lover.
Isak Utugile	Isak Utugile was the first official regional headman in the Dobe region, appointed in 1948. A respected leader, he mediated problems among the !Kung, Tswana, and Herero for more than two decades.
Kantla	Kantla, a married man, is Nisa's lifelong lover and one of the most important men in her life. He offers to marry Nisa many times, but she does not want to be a co-wife.
Keya	Keya is Nisa's friend, with whom she plays sexually.
Kumsa	Kumsa, Nisa's younger brother, takes Nisa's place in nursing when he is born, though she is not ready to stop nursing. Kumsa later gives his young daughter Nukha to Nisa to raise after her own children die.
Kunla	Kunla is Nisa's childhood friend, with whom she plays sexually.
Kxamshe	Nisa's younger sister Kxamshe, whom she loved very much, died from a "trembling sickness" in childhood.
Kxau	Nisa's son Kxau, who is just learning to hunt, dies from a chest sickness before he reaches adulthood.
Little Chuko	Little Chuko is Nisa's first daughter, whom she names after her mother. Little Chuko dies very young from a sickness in her chest.
Nai (Nisa's friend)	Nai is Nisa's childhood friend, with whom she sometimes plays sexually.
Nai (Nisa's daughter)	Nisa's helpful daughter Nai marries and moves away from her family. Her husband tries to rape her when she refuses sex, and she dies after he throws her down and her neck breaks.
Nanau	Nanau has an affair with Nisa, but her husband Besa catches them together and Nanau is beaten as a punishment.
Nisa's son-in-law	Nisa's son-in-law is the husband of Nisa's daughter Nai. When Nai refused to have sex with him, he becomes enraged, throwing her down and breaking her neck.
Nukha (Nisa's guardian)	Nukha is an older woman who is supposed to watch over Nisa when she first marries as a young girl. Instead, she sleeps with Nisa's husband, Bo.
Nukha (Nisa's niece)	Nukha is Kumsa's young daughter, whom he gives to Nisa to raise when his wife becomes pregnant again.
Numshay	Numshay is Nisa's lover in the Tswana village.
Saglai	Saglai is the woman Nisa's father tries to make his co-wife.
Tikay	Tikay is Nisa's first boyfriend, and it is with him she first explores sexual play.
Tiknay	While Nisa is married to Tashay, he marries a second young girl, Tiknay. Nisa fights with her frequently and finally chases her away.
Toma	Nisa's mother Chuko leaves her husband for her lover Toma, who is also her sister's husband. Toma leaves his first wife and does not even pay his respects when she dies.
Tsaa (Nisa's husband)	Tsaa is Nisa's second husband, and though she likes him, she refuses to have sex with him. He then refuses to give meat to her or her father, so her father dissolves their marriage.
Tsaa (Nisa's lover)	Tsaa is one of Nisa's "important loves," but she becomes jealous when he takes another lover and refuses to see him again.
Tuma	Tuma is Nisa's cousin who makes sexual advances toward her.
Twi (Nisa's brother-in-law)	Twi, the younger brother of Nisa's husband Tashay, becomes her lover and the father of her first child, Chuko.
Twi (Nisa's rescuer)	Twi is Nisa's lover after her husband Besa abandons her. Her brother Dau eventually runs Twi off.
Unnamed 15-year-old girl	The unnamed 15-year-old girl discusses various aspects of childbirth with Shostak.

Context Key Figure Analysis

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