Khoikhoi

The Khoikhoi (/ˈkɔɪˌkɔɪ/; "people people" or "real people") or Khoi, spelled Khoekhoe in standardised Khoekhoe/Nama orthography, are a group of Khoisan people native to southwestern Africa. Unlike the neighbouring hunter-gatherer San people, the Khoikhoi traditionally practised nomadic pastoral agriculture. When European immigrants colonised the area after 1652, the Khoikhoi maintained large herds of Nguni cattle in the Cape region. The Dutch settlers labelled them Hottentots (/ˈhɒtənˌtɒts/; Dutch: Hottentotten), in imitation of the sound of the click sounds that are characteristic of the Khoekhoe language, but today this exonym is considered derogatory.

Archaeological evidence shows that the Khoikhoi arrived in present-day South Africa from Botswana through two distinct routes:

The largest group of the Khoikhoi to remain as a group are the Namas.