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A KALEIDOSCOPE OF CULTURE What does it mean to be a Namibian? Namibia's population is a smorgasbord of people with vastly different cultures and languages. And within those cultures are even more sub-groups, with varieties in dialects, traditions and dress. The Himba in the northwest of Namibia are known for their nomadic way of life, as well as the women’s beautiful skin covered in red ochre (not to mention their funky head-dresses). They were originally part of the Herero, but the group split from the middle of the 18th century. The Herero reside mostly in central Namibia, near Waterberg. Herero tradition places a high importance on the Holy Fire, which is their connection to their ancestors. The women's typical long dresses are Victorian-inspired, with headscarves in the shape of cattle horns, known as otjikaeva. Then there are the many subgroups of the Owambo people, who together form the largest population group. On festive occasions Owambo women don bright pink dresses that hang loose to just below their knees. The Nama are the only remaining descendants of the original Khoisan from South Africa. Their language is noted for its clicks. Another group, the Damara, also speak a language with clicks. Their culture and history is quite distinct from that of the Nama, however, and their origin is still shrouded in mystery. The San, probably the very first inhabitants of Namibia, make up a small minority of the population. They speak a language full of clicks, and some still practice a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The Kavango and Zambezi (previously known as Caprivi) people in the northeast share many similarities and a common history. These groups are well-known for their woodcarving skills. Then, of course, there are the Rehoboth Basters, a product of southern Africa's tumultuous history. They are descendants of Europeans in the Cape Colony in South Africa, their Asian slaves as well as indigenous people such as the Khoisan. The Basters, as they called themselves, adopted Afrikaans as their mother tongue and followed western traditions. In the 1860s they left the Cape, moved north and finally settled in Rehoboth. The Afrikaners, another small group adding to Namibia's cultural diversity, are also the descendants of European settlers at the Cape. When the Cape became British many Afrikaners migrated further north and crossed the Orange River. Their language, Afrikaans, is mostly derived from Dutch with African and Indonesian influences.
Tarry Butcher
The kaleidoscope of Namibian cultures also includes German, Portuguese and British customs. German traditions have been kept alive since the brief German colonial period ended in 1915.