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Published: March 25th 2015
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Himba boys
On entering the village The Himba Tribe
Day 5.
After hundreds of Kilometers of dusty roads, game drives and more hot, dusty unpaved roads we make our way to Kamanjab to visit a nearby Himba community.
The Himba, a nomadic people have lost huge swaths of their land to mines, farmers, westernization and have suffered greatly being displaced by the wars that raged in nearby Angola.
At present count roughly 50,000 Himba live the nomadic life in the northern regions of Namibia while the several stationary settlements, the 'buffer zones' or 'educational tribal centers' are visited by outsiders for a fee...the money collected goes to support orphaned Himba children, the greater community living in the wild and of course the buffer villages themselves, their last line of defense.
The buffer villages offer us a glimpse into the lives of these nomadic reclusive people who live life much as they have 1000 years ago their traditions and customs in place. The land and their livestock providing 100% of their needs.
The red ochre clay mixed with oil from their butter is used as a beautifying agent and also to protect their skin from the sun.
Initiation is harsh, art
Himba woman
Himba woman prepares a smoke bath the age of 15 both male and female have their 4 bottom front teeth removed....knocked out, as a special right of passage, now as a 100% member of the Himba community they can recognize each other wherever they may roam.
Puberty for girls marks the end of bathing or any cleansing with water, smoke baths with sweet smelling incense and leaves suffice.
Surprisingly their skin is smooth, flawless in fact, glowing with the red ochre body butter.
The smell of the people while pungent and strong is not the smell of sweat or the funk of unwashed bodies, it is more like 'smoky earth butter' unique but not unpleasant.
Now every woman loves her fashion, and to adorn ourselves is a natural part of being human, the Himba ladies are certainly no exception
Red clay ocher, necklaces, anklets, bracelets and above all hair! In the past Himba hair extensions came from the tails of slaughtered animals but today modernization creeps in to the buffer villages. As we know fake hair is everywhere and the Himba ladies have embraced it with gusto!
The small crown or tiara atop their heads is made of animal skin,
but those luxurious twisted ocher tresses that end in an explosion of black tufts are 100 store bought if not Brazilian at least man made hair, lots of it!
At the end of the village tour we visit their small craft market, through an interpreter I joke with the women buying trinkets and jewelry they have made, they are tough business women, sticking to their price and barging hard, being mostly single women as there is a shortage of men, they are self supporting, trust me girlfriends I understand!
Through the male interpreter we commiserate about the single life, I complement their beauty, their business savvy, we laugh shake hands, I grab the goods and pretend to escape, bedlam ensues, shouting, laughing they 'capture' me, I fork over the ransom, hug the children...my sisters! Order is restored.
As I take my leave of these beautiful women I am struck by our similarities despite out marked outward differences. The Himba are known to be cold, unyielding, distant.
Not so...
They bless me with smiles and warmth, I bless them with camaraderie and respect, all the richer we part ways.
As we leave the village the
Modern Himba hairstyle
Lady in market place selling jewelry interpreter says the women want to thank me for being 'with them'. I thank them for allowing me to be.
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