The Kaokoveld region, covering north-western Namibia and south-western Angola, is one of the remotest areas in southern Africa. Although it's extremely dry, it is a center of species endemism: many sp...

Mountain flora in the Kaokoveld deserve priority conservation efforts.

A Reflection on Ethnography and Expectations

Stories from the field, the fire, and the in-between. Research reflections on ritual, memory, and OvaHimba/OvaHerero life in postcolonial Namibia. Rooted in long-term relationship. Click to read Where...

The Republic of Namibia celebrated its 34th year of independence in March 2024. The Indigenous Peoples of Namibia include the various San groups, the Ovatue, Ovahimba, Ovatjimba and, potentially, a number of other peoples including the Ovazemba, Damara, Nama, and the distinct Nama group of the Topnaars (!Aonin).

Namíbia északnyugati részén az ovahimba közösségek ma is őrzik a generációkon át öröklődő szokásaikat. A Hamu és Gyémánt egy 2018-as beszámolóra hivatkozva írja: bizonyos himba közösségekben a házigazda felajánlhatja férfi vendégének, hogy az éjszakát a feleségével töltse.

Ombu Cultural Village founder Vetumbuavi Mungunda says he is pleased with the growth and success of the living museum that continues to preserve and impart knowledge of OvaHerero traditions. Mungunda expressed this at the 3rd edition of the heritage cultural festival held at Okakarara. This year's celebration attracted hundreds of OvaHerero and OvaHimba tribesmen and visitors, which Mungunda credits to how the living museum continues to showcase their history, traditional skills and heritage. "This festival is a combination of education, it's a combination of preservation, but it's also a combination of celebration, so we have, you know, traditional cultural music. You know, it's really, you know, a celebration, but we also do that in a competitive manner, so people also compete against each other in terms of the art and also in terms of knowledge of cultural and traditional matters." 150 participants competed in various traditional categories. "They have come from across the country, from the Kunene Region. We have got a group of people that have come from Botswana, from obviously within the central part of Namibia itself as well and also we have elders within our communities that have knowledge about cultural and traditional aspects and they are here to share this knowledge and part of that sharing of the knowledge is for us to compile this into forms that can be published later on." This year's festival was held under the theme "Transmitting traditional knowledge to the future generations".

A dying star, a deathless ancestor, and the trouble with keeping only one clock