Namibia - Herero cultural tour

The Herero people are one of the groups of pastoralists who migrated to southern Africa, displacing many of the original hunter/gatherers.

Family head and his wife greet us by the "holy fire"

Traditionally they live in family groupings raising cattle and goats and growing a few subsistence crops. Our visit was to one of these family groups where we were welcomed and shown around by the head of the family and his wife.
The "traditional" dress worn by the Herero women bears a strong similarity to the "Mother Hubbard" dresses of Fiji and Vanuatu - showing a strong influence of missionaries.

Old and new building styles

Several of the houses in the compound are of modern materials but some are of the traditional mud and thatch construction. The mud for these is taken from termite mounds where it has made much stronger and more water-resistant by the termite's saliva used as a bonding agent.

Termite skyscraper

The termite mounds get quite large round here.

This family has quite a large herd of cattle kept largely for milk, but used for meat at special celebrations.

One side is for the calf, one for the people

Susan tries her hand at milking.

Churnimg milk

The milk is churned in a calabash to make buttermilk.
This is fed to the children for breakfast, the adults only eat once a day.

School sports day

After the village visit, the local school in Okakarara was at the stadium for sports day.

The red team and the blue team over 1,000 pupils. starting age 7 years finishing age could be 18, our guide finished at 21.

Happy children at the pre-school

A German charity has set up a pre-school for local orphans and other disadvantaged children.
Here the children learn to play which is not taught in the local school.
Two of the local women have now completed the preschool teaching diploma and this has been accepted in their community.

The sandpit is popular

Not really her style

Susan gets the opportunity to try a local dress.
She will not be having one made as she decided that the cow ear headdress did not suit her.