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This ancient people discovered that Hoodia could sustain them by allowing them to ignore their hunger, give them more energy, and give them essential liquids from the moisture in the plant.
Interestingly, the San, who can trace their heritage back 27,000 years based on rock paintings, are one of the world's oldest and most primitive tribes. They have known about the properties of Xhoba for thousands of years.
"For thousands of years, African tribesmen have eaten the Hoodia cactus to stave off hunger and thirst on long hunting trips.
The Kung bushmen who live around the Kalahari desert in southern Africa used to cut off a stem of the cactus about the size of a cucumber and munch on it over a couple of days.
According to tradition, they ate together so they brought back what they caught and did not eat while hunting."
For the last 9 years, the WIMSA (Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa) has been undertaking a Regional Oral Testimony Collection Project closely co-operating with other San organizations.
The San tribes people themselves record and transcribe interviews building up a history of the San. With over 200 interviews conducted to date, the San's knowledge and use of medicinal plants has become easily apparent.
As 20th Century living started to reach out and effect even more remote groups of people, the Khomani community noticed themselves becoming obese - something unknown to them previously. So, they started to eat Hoodia to reduce their appetite, and their weight.
Both young and old refer to Hoodia use with the Anikhwe people of northern Botswana even feeding children who "eat too much" pieces of Hoodia to make them eat less.
During these interviews, even more anecdotal evidence of traditional Hoodia use came to light. The Xun and Khwe tribes from Angola revealed that they took Hoodia to suppress their hunger and maintain their energy levels on their two to three day hunting trips. They even gave their hunting dogs Hoodia to help them get through the extremes of the hunt.
Handed down, generation to generation, Hoodia is still used today by the South African Army as an appetite-suppressant.