The Himba people

A Window into Himba culture

During our recent visit to Windhoek, Namibia, I stumbled across an exhibition by Namibian youth, so decided to visit the tents. Two of the tents I found particularly interesting, as they illustrated the life of the Himba people, a group of people in northern Namibia and the Angola border around the Cunene river.

An articulate young woman really enjoyed telling me about her roots. She showed me two different crushed rocks that are used in personal care. She explained that woman do not bathe in water, but every morning and evening, anoint themselves with a mixture of cow butter and ochre, which is made by crushing a red stone. She explained that the ochre protects against the rays of the sun and repels insects. The reddened necklaces on the right of the powdered rock are rubbed with ochre; you'll also notice the ochre rubbed into other items below. Himba women are known for going topless, and for their beautifully groomed, reddened skin and hair. 

They also use a sweet smelling mixture of leaves/herbs, bark and dried seeds/ fruits that is pulverized. The smoke of this “perfume” is absorbed by the skin. You can see the items that are used in the bags in the picture. Another visitor was so pleased to see this perfume and mentioned that his grandmother would be interested in getting some--something she was not able to get while living in the city.

Young boys have a braided mohawk type of hair style, while girls wear their hair in several tight braids. When young women are married, they may put on a headdress made of leather. They always wear this, except for funerals. (Though not easy to see, the headdress is in front of the calabash in the picture.)

They sleep using a pillow made from wood. The rounded top supports the side, not the back of the head. In the picture below, the wooden pillows are lined up on the left. They make intricate and beautiful baskets from grasses. Two small baskets are on the upper right.  Two cow horn containers are in the centre, just below the dolls.

Their cattle provide much of their sustenance. She showed me the calabash, or large gourd that holds fresh milk. This milk is left for a few days, then shaken, until the sour milk becomes the right consistency; then is sipped from a large wooden spoon.  Many objects are made from leather or cow horn. To transform a cow horn into a container for the ochre, the ends of the horn are closed by cowhide. Then the leather is wrapped tightly by string around the ends, and left in the sun to dry.

 Leather from cow or goat hides is  also used for loin cloths and cases for handmade metal knives.  They make beautiful bracelets from brass, cow horn and plastic pipe. Necklaces are made from fragrant wood, palm fronds, bits of wire, or a mixture of beads and seeds. I asked about the significance of the jewelry and she mentioned that after the first child, a woman wears a bracelet on her ankle, and adds one for each additional child.

Village life remains much the same as it has for centuries, and my young friend explained that she doesn’t wear her city clothes when she goes back to visit relatives. She now lives in the city, and someday would like to become a nurse. Of course, I encouraged her!

I asked about their religion, which seems to be centered around a “holy fire” and the ancestors. I was fascinated to read a note in the National Museum in Windhoek, regarding some thoughts from someone in this tribe towards Christianity. “They say Christianity means that we have to believe and trust somebody whom we cannot see, and who is not even black as we are and just not known to us.  Some say he is the white people’s god. Yet, there are of our people who say they can live in a relationship with him. They say he can become our Mukuru and help us. Most of us are not yet sure about these things.  Jesus Christ seems to demand too many changes from us.  There are many of those who say they are Christians, but we too often see them not living the way we have been taught by the missionaries. 

So we rather want to live the way we have known.  We have heard that Jesus Christ is the herder of his people.  He sees his people as his sheep, which he cares for as we care for our cattle.  But there are not many of us who understand this yet.”