Day 14--Ongongo

Himba Woman

This morning was a lazy morning--we didn't leave camp till 10:15. We only went a short distance from the campsite to a nearby school. This children were at recess so we got to interact with them. They were friendly, but they didn't speak English as well as the children at Bersheba. We spoke to the school administrators to learn about how the school works. They told us that all classes are taught in English, which surprised me because the children didn't speak it very well. When I asked Dr. Davis why they did that, he explained that there are many different languages in the areas so English is their universal language. When someone asked how old the children were at the school, the administrators explained that someone could be 20 years old in Grade 7. This is an effect of apartheid. During apartheid, blacks were not allowed to go to school. Now that they have the opportunity, they are eager to take advantage of it.

After visiting the school children, we visited the Himba and the Herero people. They were originally the same group of people, but the Himba people chose to keep their traditions while the Herero people were influenced by the German colonization.

We visited the Himba people first. They lived in small huts made of wood and clay shaped like small mounds. They were the most stereotypically African people we've visited so far. The women did not wear shirts and they were dressed in their traditional attire. They wore jewelry that represented everything from their marital status, to the number of children they've born, to the status of their parents' lives (dead or living). They carried their babies in sling-like contraptions on their back. Their skin was covered in a reddish clay. They also plait their hair with mud and wear goat's ears on their heads to tell everyone that they're married. The people often have their two bottom teeth removed in a ritual celebrating their entrance into adulthood. They were all happy and welcoming. They're the first people we've encountered that have had questions for us. They wanted to know how old we were and how many children we had. They were surprised that none of us had any children! When we asked how old they were when they had their first child, they told us 16! Many of them had three or more children at only 21. We had the opportunity to buy jewelry that they'd made, so I bought some for Ellen, Emily, and Miya. My favorite thing I bought (and my favorite thing I've bought so far) was a piece of jewelry representing marriage and adulthood called an ohumba. The shell in it is from Angola. The rest of their tribe lives there, so the shell is very valuable to them. The shell is not found in Namibia, so this also increases its value.

After the Himba people, we visited the Herero people. The German colonizational influence is evident in their dress and their homes. They wear very Victorian clothing and their homes are made of clay, but resemble Western homes. They honor the cow, their source of wealth, by wearing an otjikaiva. The otjikaive is a headdress that resembles the horns of cattle. We also learned about the holy fire. They holy fire is used to communicate with their ancestors during important times. They burn this fire when choosing a child's name, when someone is very sick, and when someone has died. When someone is sick, they believe that the ancestors will provide advice about what medicines to use. When someone has died, they use the ancestors to secure passage into the afterlife.

After visiting the indigenous people, we came back to camp for a lazy afternoon. Our campsite has a gorgeous natural pool with a waterfall running into it that we made good use of. There were leeched in the water though, so I didn't stay in too long...

At campfire, we discussed the Tragedy of the Commons in relation to Africa. The Tragedy of the Commons is the principle that when public property is used by a group, each person will try to take more than their fair share to gain an advantage over the others. As a result, the public resource is used up so no one gets any benefit at all. While this tragedy is present almost everywhere in America, it is not a real problem in Africa. This is ironic because Africa is a continent with far fewer resources than America. These people have escaped the tragedy by taking only what they need and sharing with others. Each time we have given gifts to a tribe, they have been evenly distributed among all its members. As a result, no one is more wealthy than someone else; they are all equal. Americans see this equality as widespread poverty--and it is--but this is the only way they can survive on their very limited natural resources.