December 26-28
Hello everyone!
Namibia is a huge country, twice the size of Germany. Before
Boers, Brits and Germans started annexing territory from the middle of the
nineteenth century, the land which is now known as Namibia had been controlled
by many different ethnic communities over the course of human history. Evidence
of their existence and way of life is particularly visible in the region known
as Damaraland.
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| A member of the Himba ethnic community |
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| Rock engravings at Twyfelfontein |
Though an ethnic group in their own right, the main visits
in this area had little to do with the Damara people. One of the more famous –
certainly more photographed – ethnic groups are the Himba, who have links with
the Herero group which rebelled and were subsequently massacred by the Germans
at the start of the twentieth century. They are semi-nomadic by nature and are
almost exclusively located in the northwest of Namibia, near the Angolan
border.
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| Most Himba live north of this point, near the Angolan border |
One Himba group, however, is based south of Etosha National
Park, and it was this village that we visited to learn a little bit more about
their way of life and the meanings behind some of their fashion choices.
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| The pit in the middle of the village, where livestock is protected from predators such as jackals |
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| The fire is a key place of worship |
There are 26 indigenous women and 6 indigenous men who live
in this village: Himbas are polygamous. 39 children are also present in the
village, which operates primarily to help orphans or Himba families with no
money.
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| The hair is bound using ochre |
It wasn’t a true cultural experience (the villagers were
clearly used to having foreigners asking to take photos of their hair) but
interesting nonetheless.
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| A Himba lady preparing to show us how they shower - smoke under the armpits |
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| Great creativity in the school's classroom - a light using a plastic bottle and a hole in the roof |
The territory, sparse and arid, seems to offer no signs of
life for a long period of time when you’re on the road. Probably a geologist’s
paradise with all of the incredible rock formations, it often seems like the
landscape belongs to another planet. So much of Namibia is like that but it
would arguably be a different planet for each part of the country. Then suddenly
a giraffe will appear at the side of the road and you’re reminded of where you
are.
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| A fairly common sight in Namibia: the great open road |
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| Giraffes grazing in the sunshine |
Damaraland is also the home of Twyfelfontein, unfortunately
not linked with Wales in any way despite its Welsh-looking name. It actually
means ‘Doubtful Fountain’, one of the stranger name explanations I’ve heard,
due to the fact that farmers in the 1940s were never sure if the springs would
have water.
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| These rocks take the shape of a foot if you use your imagination |
What Twyfelfontein does have is Namibia’s first UNESCO World
Heritage Site, which are sets of rock engravings dating from in excess of 2000
years ago. Amazingly, they are in the open, exposed to weathering from the wind
and erosion from the rain, yet have survived for all this time.
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| Possibly an elephant or kudu |
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| A variety of animals - the one on the right may be a seal |
As our rather snappy guide (I do enjoy it whenever I ask a question and the response is, “Because I
said so,” without further explanation) led us around the site, we saw a
wide range of animals encountered by the San people who were known to live in
this area at the time the engravings were created.
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| An engraving of a giraffe |
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| The engravings have survived weathering and erosion for thousands of years |
The penguins and seals were particularly interesting as it
suggests that members of the group had travelled a very long distance to reach
the sea where these creatures are based. The large set of engravings is thought
to be a map of where these animals were located.
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| A potential penguin |
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| Possibly a map of an area with watering holes and animals |
This region has had a torrid and turbulent last 200 years
and the ethnic groups within its boundaries have suffered greatly at the hands
of others. The opportunities we had in Damaraland are a reminder of what these
cultures have provided the global village we currently live in.
Love you all
Matt
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