All about the ancient tribes
The Himba people live in the Kunene Region (also known as Kaokoland) in north-western Namibia, a rural region of the nation that receives few visitors from across the world.
The Himba are a people.The Himba (singular: OmuHimba, plural: OvaHimba) are a group of indigenous peoples who live in northern Namibia, in the Kunene Region (formerly Kaokoland), and on the other side of the Kunene River in Angola.Their population is estimated to be around 50,000 people, with the majority residing in Namibia.There are also a few groups of the OvaTwa, who are also OvaHimba, that are still around.
Camping in Omungunda, the Ovahimba Living Museum is a great experience.What is the location of the Himba?The Owambo people, who inhabit the Northern areas between the Kunene and Okavango rivers and number 700 000 people, are Namibia’s biggest ethnic group, accounting for around 45 percent of the country’s overall population.The Herero people dwell in Namibia’s northernmost part, in the Kunene region, which has a current population of 250 000 people.
Despite the fact that there are several little Himba communities scattered around the Kunene area, only a handful of them have managed to maintain their ancient way of life.The contemporary world has had a significant impact on the majority of people, particularly in terms of modifying their traditional diet and increasing their consumption of junk food.The Kunene area is located in northern Namibia.Namibia’s regional map is shown below.
Under bilateral descent, every tribe member is a member of two clans: one via the father (a patriclan, also known as oruzo), and another through the mother (a matriclan, also known as oruzo) (a matriclan, called eanda ). Himba clans are governed by the eldest man in the clan, who is usually the eldest son.
The amount of cattle owned by a nomad determines his or her level of financial well-being. The Himba are a polygamous tribe, and once they reach puberty, their daughters are married off to male partners chosen by their fathers.
Location. They are a traditional pastoralist community that live in the northwest corner of Namibia, in a section of the Kunene area known as Kaokoland, in a region known as the Kunene region. In the Omuhonga Basin, approximately 150 kilometers from the district’s major town of Opuwo, is the field site for this project to be carried out.
The explanation for this is otjize, a paste made of butter, fat, and red ochre – often perfumed with fragrant resin – that Himba women apply to their skin and hair every morning, giving them an unique red colour and making them stand out in a crowd of other women. Traditional Himba ladies have created an iconic picture of Africa, and their appearance has been synonymous with the continent.
It is the Himba who are renowned for their crimson matted braids, which are meticulously created by combining animal fat with ash and crushed ochre, a stone that can be found in the area. A group of women is getting together only a few feet away from where we are seated. Each of them is putting the same ochre concoction all over their body.
Porridge is the only way to go. Mahangu is another name for pearl millet, which is a common crop in Namibia because it grows well in low-fertility soils and produces a high yield. The Himba do consume meat on rare occasions, such as weddings, although this is more of an exception than a norm for the people of Namibia.
Polygamy is a sort of partnership in which a person marries more than one spouse, and it is most common in Asia. 1 Polyandry is the practice of a woman marrying more than one guy at a time. Polygamy is the polar opposite of monogamy, which is the practice of one person marrying only one spouse.
When is the best time to travel? It is possible to visit Himba villages at any time of year, but this depends on where they are located in relation to your accommodation. Because they are nomadic, they may not always be in close proximity to where you are staying.
Namibia is a higher-middle-income nation with an estimated annual GDP per capita of US$5,828.However, the country’s economic distribution and quality of living are extremely unequal, resulting in enormous inequities.It has the second-highest Gini coefficient of any country, with a value of 59.1 as of 2015.It is the most unequal of all countries.
Only South Africa has a higher Gini coefficient than the United States.
A mixture of ochre and butter fat, known as otjize, is applied on Himba women’s bodies to protect them from severe weather conditions and to nourish their skin. The deep red of the soil and blood represents the color of life.
Those who live semi-nomadically in Namibia and Angola are surrounded by one of the most harsh ecosystems on the planet: the deserts that separate the countries of Namibia and Angola.In order to conserve water, they apply a variety of pastes to both their bodies and hair..These pastes combine the fragrant resin of the omazumba bush with animal fat and powdered red colored stone to create a distinctive flavor.
The Himba tribe, a nomadic tribe in Namibia, is sometimes referred to as the ″last nomadic people of Namibia.″ They are mostly livestock producers who measure their prosperity in terms of the number of cattle they possess. The Himba women, who are distinguished by their red clay skin and hair, have been photographed and represented as an iconic image of African tribes.
Mursi women are well-known for their wooden lip plates, which serve as a sign of both beauty and individuality. When a girl reaches the age of 15 or 16, her lower lip is sliced (sometimes by her mother) and kept open with a sodden plug until the wound heals completely. It is entirely up to the ladies how far they choose to have the lip extended.
In Africa, there are several ethnic groupings, some of which are so huge that they have sub-ethnic groups inside them.There are 500 indigenous languages, tribes, and civilizations in Nigeria alone, and this number is growing.Africa is a big continent with 54 countries, making it the most diversified continent on the planet, which is not surprising given its size.This is owing to the fact that Africa is considered to be the cradle of mankind.
The Himba, like other indigenous people, subsist solely on the resources provided by nature. Porridge is the staple food of their diet, with meat kept for exceptional occasions only (such as weddings). Like many other tribes in the area, the Himba rely on cattle for their existence, and as a result, a Himba man who does not have a herd of cattle is not seen to be deserving of respect.