Hottentots

Hottentots is an historical exonym once used by European explorers and settlers to refer to the Khoikhoi peoples of southwestern Africa. Today the term is considered outdated and often offensive, with Khoikhoi or Khoisan as the preferred labels for these indigenous communities.

Etymology and usage have been debated. The word is commonly linked to early Dutch transcriptions of Khoisan languages, especially their click consonants, and is sometimes described as deriving from a term meaning stammer or stutter. The exact origins are unclear, but the term has come to be associated with stereotypes and colonial-era biases, leading to its near-universal disuse in scholarly and public discourse.

The Khoikhoi, historically described as pastoralists, inhabited coastal and near-coastal regions of what is now South Africa and parts of Namibia. They organized social life around cattle and sheep herding, with clan-based groupings and interactions with neighboring Bantu-speaking communities and later European settlers. Their languages, collectively known as Khoikhoi languages, are part of the broader Khoisan language family, though many speakers today use Afrikaans, English, or other languages.

Colonial contact beginning in the 17th century brought profound changes. The Dutch, and later other European powers, introduced new diseases, warfare, land dispossession, and integration into frontier economies. Population declines and displacement reduced traditional Khoikhoi lifeways, and some groups merged with others to form new communities, such as the Griqua. The term Hottentots persists mainly in historical writings and sensitive discussions about colonial history.

Today, references favor Khoikhoi or more specific group names, and the term Hottentots is generally avoided in respectful, accurate discourse. Notable historical associations includeSarah Baartman, often labeled the “Hottentot Venus” in 19th-century Europe, a term now recognized as a racially exploitative stereotype.