Ellis, William F.18/08/201718/08/20172015Ellis, W. F. (2015). Ons is Boesmans: commentary on the naming of Bushmen in the southern Kalahari. Anthropology Southern Africa, 38(1&2): 120�1332332-3256https://hdl.handle.net/10566/3132http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23323256.2015.1056314This paper examines academic debates about the nomenclature of the San in light of recent ethnographic data. Academic debates centre around two aspects: the apparent complicity of the term �bushman� in construing the San as lower on the hierarchy of race and class; and the construction of the San as being in close contact with animals and nature. Academics have sought to resolve this dilemma of complicity by adopting self-referential terms, which would allow them to overcome the effacement of cultural and linguistic variation. Critically, the paper argues that this turn to self-referential terms is problematic in the case of the ?Khomani San of the southern Kalahari because the San themselves claim �bushman� as their identity. The analysis suggests that the ?Khomani San claim this name for themselves in a context of developmental needs. Thus, ?Khomani San chose the name �Bushman� for themselves because it can be commoditised.enThis is the author-version of the article published online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23323256.2015.1056314AuthenticityBoesmanBushmanEthnonymsKhoisan?KhomaniSanSelf-referentialitySouthern KalahariArticle