Traditional Village Life

I have been meaning to post pictures of some of the traditional tribal village life for awhile. First, here are some pictures from Opuwo and Kunene area in northwest Namibia. This is home to the Himba and Herero tribes. The Himba live in the rural, desert areas and are nomadic pastoralists. Their traditional dress usually consists of loin cloths. The women are famous for covering themselves with otjize paste, a cosmetic mixture of butterfat and ochre pigment, which gives their skin a reddish color.

Traditional Himba Housing

Himba Roadside Market

Himba Women in Front of Market

Himba Selling Perfume and Pigment

The Himba are very forceful marketers when selling their goods. It probably took Kelda and I 15 to 20 minutes to extricate ourselves from about ten young girls selling bracelets. They also demand some type of payment for taking their pictures; even from a distant. We weren't allowed to leave until we paid for the pictures of the Himba housing (they literally blocked the movement of our car).

The Herero live side-by-side with the Himba. They are actually related historically. But, their style of dress is entirely different and Victorian in nature. So, it is quite the contrast as you walk down the street.

Herero and Himba at Opuwo Market

Herero Women in Traditional Dress

Donkeys are used a lot for transportation

The Damara live in the really arid, high desert region. It is amazing that they are able to survive in such a barren and desolate area.

Damara Homestead

The Oshiwambo tribe is the largest in Namibia. This is the region we visited when Karen and Kelda had the opportunity to grind mahangu grain.

Traditional Oshiwambo Homestead

Oshiwambo Huts

Young Men Thatching a Hut

A few of the kids in the homestead

Most homesteads surround a common area with small markets and bars where the locals gather at nights

Besides cattle, they also raise lots of goats

In most of these village areas, it is common for people (usually the women) to walk 1, 2 or even 5 kilometers to the nearest well to collect water. They often have to make several trips a day. The average per capita income is about $1.00 USD per day. So, most are pretty poor.

We haven't visited these areas yet, but here is an example of some other tribal housing.

House from the Caprivi Strip (up north along the Kavango River)

San Bushman Tribal House (Nomadic tribe in the Kalahari Desert)