`Burden` of Young Men - Environmental Information Service

THE'BURDEN'OFYOUNGMEN:PROPERTYAND
CONFLICTIN NAMIBIA,1880-1945
GENERATIONAL
MeredithMcKittrick
GeorgetownUniversity
I
Centralto the colonialexperiencefor mostAfricanswerethe new formsof
propertyintroducedby Europeantraders,missionaries,andofficials.Africans
experiencedgoods such as clothing,guns, liquor,blanketsand bicycles not
as
only new objectsto be owned, but also as embodyingnew methodsof property
accumulation,whetherthroughthe sale of humans,themarketingof agriculturalproduce, or labormigrancy.And yet while Europeansintroducedthese goods and often
shapedthe meansby whichthey wereobtained,they could not controltheirmeaning
anddistributionwithinAfricansocieties.Instead,local dynamicsandpowerrelationshipsprovidedthe contextwithinwhichtheseproductswereassignedbothvalueand
ownership.
Thisarticleexaminesthesenew formsof propertywithinthe frameworkof one
suchlocal relationship:cross-generational
interactionsandconflictswithinthe northern Namibiansocieties of Ombalantuand Ongandjera,situatedin the region commonly knownas Ovamboland.Relationshipsbetweenold andyoung were crucialin
shapingthe meaningsEuropeanobjectsacquiredin the lateprecolonialperiodandin
shapingaccess to and controlover the objectsthemselveswhen they became more
widely availablein the colonialperiod.In particular,the era of long-distancetrade,
intensiveraiding,andimpoverishmentwhich occurredfromabout 1880 to 1917 resulted in widespreadgenerationalconflict.The sense of instabilityand deprivation
left youngpeople- childrenandunmarriedadults- opento outsideinfluencesand
hence to the alternativedefinitionsof statusandidentitypositedby missionariesand
laborrecruiters.It was these disaffectedyoung people, largelyexcludedfrom traditionalformsof wealthby theraidingeconomyandsociopoliticalchange,who created
the system of meaningsandvalue associatedwith Europeangoods.
The transformationin generationalrelationsduringthese decades forms the
context of a second focus of this study- the way in which generationalfaultlines
affected access to these goods. After South Africa effectively colonized northern
Namibiaand endedraidingin 1917, these generationaldivisions continuedto have
relevanceandyoung people continuedto seek out Europeanproducts.They flocked
tojoin churchesagainsttheirparents'wishes,in orderto obtainEuropeangoods from
missionarieshandingthem out as "gifts"to attractconverts.But the contractlabor
economy,which was regulatedand expandedafter 1917, provideda new and more
reliablesourceof Europeangoods wherebyrecruitscouldearncashwages andmake
theirpurchasesin storesnearlaborcenters.Youngwomen desiringthese commodiAfricanEconomicHistory24 (1996): 115-129
116
MEREDITHMCKITTRICK
ties were barredfromthe main channelsof access becausecolonial officials limited
wage-earningopportunitiesthroughcontractlaborto men.
Also in the earlycolonialperiod,olderpeoplebeganto adoptthe cultureof the
youngandto seek access to thesenew formsof statusthemselves.Oldermen,most of
whom were unwilling to leave their homes for long periodsof time to engage in
contractlabor,manipulated
a precolonialsystemof intergenerational
gift-givingknown
as omutengeas a means of appropriatingthe productsof young men's labor.The
struggleover control of the propertythus became one primarilybetween old and
young men, and only secondarilybetweenthe men who won and the women who
triedto lay claim to a shareof the prize.'
relationshipsfor
Finally,I inquireintothe widermeaningof cross-generational
Africanhistoryandcritiquethe way in whichhistoriansof Africa,still
understanding
tiedto a modelof Africangerontocracies,traditionallyhavetreatedtheconceptof age
andjuniorversusseniorstatus.At a timewhenmanyscholarshavemadegreatstrides
in historicizingsocialfaultlinessuchas class orgender,few haveundertakena similar
task with regardto generation.Yet the one is no less importantthan the others in
understandinghistoricalprocesses.
Insecure Futures and Generational Revolt
The meaningsinvestedin Europeangoods by the colonialperiodaroseout of
the era of raidingand long-distancetradein the late nineteenthand early twentieth
centuries.2EuropeantradersventuringintotheOvambosocietiesof northernNamibia
and southernAngola dealtprimarilywith kings who monopolizedsuppliesof ivory.
When elephantherdswere depleted,tradersreturnedfor cattle and humans,which
kings procuredby reworkingthe traditionalpracticeof raiding,plunderingnot only
the wealthof neighboringsocieties but also thatof theirown subjects.A concentration of power and economic resourcesthusresulted.This concentrationhad several
facets. One was an east-westdivide.Easternkingdomswhich were largerwere also
geographicallymoreaccessibleto Europeantraderoutes.Thusthe easternkingdoms
were the first to obtainfirearms;they then used those armsto raidsmallerwestern
Easternkingdomsalso blockedtradsocieties, such as OmbalantuandOngandjera.3
ers fromproceedingwest, therebypartiallyexcludingwesternregionsfromaccess to
firearmsand otherEuropeangoods.
But anotherfacet of this royal concentrationof power and wealth concerns
generationaldivisions.Even kingsin westernsocietieshad some access to European
goods,fromtraderswho venturedintotheareaandfromFinnishEvangelicalLutheran
missionariesstationedthereafterabout1890. Indeed,access to Europeangoods was
theprimaryreasonthatwesternOvambokingstoleratedmissionaries,andEuropeans
who failedto deliversoon foundthemselvesexpelledfromthe kingdom.Ombalantu
was an exceptionto thisrule;as the only largedecentralizedOvambosociety,traders
Butin all
apparentlyfoundthecommunityclosed orunworkableas a tradingpartner.4
areas of Ovamboland,the increasein long-distancetradingenrichedroyaltyat the
expense of others,particularlyyoung people."And even in relativelyisolatedareas
such as Ombalantu,the rankandfile weredeeplyaffectedby theraidingeconomy-
THE 'BURDEN' OF YOUNG MEN
117
if notby theirown rulers'greed,thenby theaccumulationof resourcesin the handsof
easternelites. SouthAfricancolonialofficials,by definingas "traditional"
the landcame
in
threatened
to
further
entrench
concentration
the
of
1915,
scape they
upon
wealthandpowerin the handsof rulersand,in particular,easternrulers.
Centralto understanding
how meaningsandvaluecameto be assignedto these
new influencesis the natureof people'sreceptivityto new methodsof gainingwealth
and statuswithintheirsocietiesat this time.And centralto understandingthisreceptivity is theirassessmentof the oldersystemsof wealthandpower as they appeared
on the eve of colonialism.Overthe long term,the generationof youngpeoplecoming
of age in the early twentiethcenturystood to lose the most in the redistributionof
power andresources.Raisedin an era of slaving,violence andraidingandthen subhoweverdisguised,they did
jected to the uncertaintiesof colonial transformations,
not know any othersituation.The resultwas a seriesof actionswhich were designed
to ensureyoung people's economicand social securitybut which looked like rebellion againstkings andelders,andwere treatedas such.
Ovambosociety disadvantagedits juniormembersin a numberof ways. Missionariesnotedthatyoung people sufferedmost in times of faminein the late nineteenthandtwentiethcenturiesandindicatedthatpatternsof householdresourcedistributionfavoredelderssomewhaton a regular,daily basis.6In addition,thereis evidence thatraiderspreferredto captureyoungpeople as slaves, at least for local use,
because they more quicklyforgottheirfamilies and were less likely to escape. In a
time when householdswerebeingdepletedof resources,the chancesthatyoungcaptives would be ransomedwere small and growing smaller.The developmentof a
long-distancetradein slaves to Angola'splantationsheightenedthe sense of insecurity.
But there were also more subtle changes pervadingthe social structuresof
Ovambosociety.Youngpeopleweredependenton theireldersforpermissionto move
aheadwith virtuallyany aspectof theirlives - thatis, to attainthe statusthatmany
fromthe processof aging. Parental
anthropologistshave seen as arising"naturally"
permissionwas requiredfor girls to undergoinitiationandthen to marry,andyoung
men were dependenton theirfathersandmatriclansfor access to stockwhich would
enablethemto marryandestablishtheirown households.Althoughobviouslythere
are no comprehensivestatisticaldata,all availablereportsfrom the late nineteenth
centuryand throughoutthe colonial periodindicatethat this stage of "youth"was
drawnout in Ovambosociety far more than it was in most preindustrialsocieties,
with women being initiatedin theirlate teens andbeyond(andaccordingto one ethnography,into theirthirties),and both women and men marryingquite late.' It was
the durationof this "junior"statusthat might have become particularlycontested
terrainduringthe late nineteenthcentury,as the resourcesnecessaryto move toward
seniorstatuswere depleted.
Childrenin the late nineteenthandearlytwentiethcenturieswere enormously
mobile and their family ties subjectto uprooting.Probablya thirdof the people I
interviewedwho were born in the precolonialperiodhad grown up in households
otherthanthose of theirparents.8Some had been capturedin slave raids,some had
been orphanedby famine,and some had been "given"to relativeswithoutchildren
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MEREDITHMCKITTRICK
who lived dozens of kilometersaway, or had been shuffledaboutwhen marriages
ended or when parentswere expelled from a kingdom.'Orphansand those without
lastingfamily ties were especiallyeagerto leave theirhouses,since they were often
treatedworse thantheirguardian'sown children.10
Frustrationsover the latenessof
"adulthood"were thussurelyheightenedat a time when young people'sfamily situationswere increasinglyinsecure.
And yet the socio-economicupheavalsof the era of raidingand tradewith
Europeansdelayeddecisionson marriageandinitiationstill further,for youngpeople
were often key to householdrecoverystrategies.Familiesstrugglingto reconstitute
theirherdswere likely to delay permissionfor youngmen to marryin orderto avoid
losing cattleto bridewealthin the east or to "gifts"necessaryto starta young man in
adultlife in the west." The depletionof family herdsmeantit also took longer for
these men, once married,to collect the resourcesnecessaryto leave their father's
house andstarttheirown household.Extendingthe timea husbandandhis new wife
hadto live at home was generallyundesirableto theyoungcouple,given theconflicts
which often arosebetweena new wife andherin-laws.And even if the man'sfamily
was willing to let him marryto obtainthe extralaborpower,householdsteetering
nearstarvationwere not likely to forfeita youngwoman'slaborpower,especiallyin
the west whereit was notcompensatedwithbridewealth.12
women's
Youngunmarried
laborwas especiallyimportantin OngandjeraandOmbalantu,wherepolygamywas
a fairlyminimalinstitutionanda manthustypicallyhadfewerhandsin his household
to help cultivate.Youngpeople were thereforeheld in theirparents'directcontrol
longerthanin manyruralsocieties, andfor longerstill in times of economiccrisis.13
And in inheritance- vitalas a mechanismfor bothyoungmen andyoungwomento
collect livestock - therewas less to go aroundonce raiders,kings, rinderpestand
droughthad depletedthe familyherds.
Therewas littlethatyoungpeoplecoulddo aboutthis situationwithinthe hierarchiesthatthey inherited.They were severelydisadvantagedin any familynegotiations over the timingof initiationor marriage,and informantsreportthatguardians
held young people backwhen it suitedthem.'4Similarly,theyhad no reliableway to
pressuretheireldersintogivingthemtheirshareof wealthimmediately;thetimingof
this also was determinedby theseelders.Youngpeoplerecognizedthis vulnerability,
and it is certainthat theirdesire for Europeangoods, and for the distinctforms of
mobility and communitythat migrancyand churchesoffered,was linked to their
deterioratingpositionwithinthe widersociety.Theylookedto new ideasandsystems
of authorityas alternativesthatmightholda betterpromiseof morereliablenetworks,
increasedstatus,and economic power."It was for these reasonsthatyoung people
joined the churchesin largenumbers,riskingeven ostracism,physicalpunishment,
and expulsionby theirparentsfor affiliationwith a foreigninstitutionwhose belief
systemclashedwithmanyaspectsof local values,butwhichnonethelesspositednew
ideas of wealthand statusandpromisedyoung peoplethe tools to acquirethem.
IncentralizedOvambosocietiessuchas Ongandjeraduringthelateprecolonial
period,the possession of Europeangoods came to be synonymouswith wealthand
power.To a largeextent,Europeanproductssuch as firearmsandhorsesgave a person themeansto forciblyobtainindigenousgoods;thiscreateda linkbetweenthetwo
THE 'BURDEN' OF YOUNG MEN
119
formsof wealth.Men withEuropeanclothing,horses,andmanufacturedgoods were
also those with enormousherdsof cattle,securegrainfields guardedwith firearms,
andmanydependents.
In a society whereEuropeangoods andideasrepresentednot necessarilycolonial power,butindigenous,localizedpower,institutionswhichpromisedsuch goods
exerteda powerfulinfluenceover those sufferingmost from the existing situation.
Kings were seen as powerfulnot becausethey had what missionarieshad;the displays of powerwere on the otherside. Missionarieswere seen as usefulbecausethey
had whatkings had,and were morewilling to shareit with youngpeople. Migrancy
served as yet anothermeans of gettingEuropeangoods, and thereis evidence that
some young people went southwithoutparentalpermissionthroughoutthe colonial
period,'6while othersprobablynegotiatedwith theirparentsor were forced to go.
Christianityandlabormigrationthereforefed off eachother.Returninglaborersoften
converted,and the desire for Europeangoods was encouragedby the missionaries,
promptingmanymoreyoung men to engagein contractlabor.
It is importantto emphasizethatyoung people engagedin contractlaborand
devotedthemselvesto missionariesin responseto real socioeconomicproblems,not
just becausethey liked the clothingor ritualsthey had been exposedto at laborcenters.17The attractionof literacymust similarlybe situatedin a local context;in the
earlycolonialperiod,therewas no indicationthatliteracyandformaleducationwould
lead to economic advancementin the colony.Rather,the productof young people's
laborsandthe ritualsandknowledgestoodfor somethingwhichheld a promisethat
rapidlychanginglocal economies did not. They served as an alternativesource of
wealthand statusto which youngpeoplehad access."8
Youngpeople thus createdan alternativeculturalsphereindependentof and
often in oppositionto thatof theirparents- a worldwith its own set of values and
meanings."9
Europeanclothingwas the externalmarkerof membershipin this community,butwas notits sole feature.In its earlyyears,Christianityseems to havebeen
spreadby a networkof younglaborersandchildrenof bothsexes. Theirstoriesindicate not only the growingimportanceof Europeangoods to youngpeoplein particular,but also the creationof an age-based,closed culturalcommunityandset of social
practicesoutsidetheirelders'purview.Childrenwould show theirfriendsthe counting orreadingskillsortheclothingtheyhadacquiredby attendingthemissionschool,
andwouldpersuadetheirpeersto follow themto church.There,thenewcomerswould
carefullywatchthe ritualsand behaviorof the more experienced,sittingwhen they
sat,kneelingwhenthey knelt,andlearningthe wordsof the hymnsfromthem.20Oral
historyalso indicatesthatthe numberof childrenattendingchurchwould have been
still largerwere it not for actualbansimposedby parentson churchattendance;as it
was, many childrenwould slip away from home with their friends,shirkingtheir
choresandpotentiallycausinga householdconflictfor the chanceto takepartin this
socialexperience.Parentsretaliatedby physicallyrestrainingchilgeneration-specific
dren,deprivingthemof dinner,or permanentlyexpellingthemfromthe house.21
Thelocalityof theforcesshapingsuchresponsesis supportedby missionrecords
showing that young girls, who were barredfrom laborcentersand thus had never
been aroundEuropeansto anyextent,wereactuallythe majorityof convertsuntilthe
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MEREDITHMCKITTRICK
early 1940s.22Reinforcingthe idea that"gender"in this case cannotbe treatedas a
monolithiccategorybut mustbe constantlyintertwinedwith age is the practicalabsence of middle-agedadultwomen fromcongregationsat this time.
H
in both householdeconomiesand identitiesof young people
Transformations
arereflectedin the shiftingmotivationsandmigrationpatternsof laborers.In the late
nineteenthandearlytwentiethcenturies,labormigrationwas a way foryoungmen to
compensatefor subsistenceeconomies contractingunderthe weight of rinderpest,
famineandan economybasedon raidingwith firearmsfor slaves andcattle.Impoverishmentand hungerdrove most young men south;otherswent to earnmoney to
purchasethe cattlethey could no longerobtainby rightat home.23But in the decades
aftercolonialconquest,local economiesweretemporarilystrengthenedby improved
rains,the cessationof raiding,andsufficientfamineaid to preventstarvation.At this
time, manypeople chose to focus theirenergiestowardtheirhomes andattemptedto
replenishfamily herdsand grainreserves.Some continuedto go southbecausethey
were faced with hunger,but untilthe 1940s, when subsistenceeconomiesagainbegan to contract,they were not in the majority.Nor was therea cash tax to be paid in
Ovambolandat this time;laborerswere thusnot subjectto the "economiccoercion"
thatobtainedin otherAfricancolonies.
Instead,informantsreportedalmostuniversallythat,in the threedecadesafter
conquest, migrancyincreaseddramaticallybecause of the growing importanceof
Contractlaborwas a temporaryunderEuropeangoods withinOvamboeconomies.24
taking,wherebylaborers,who were almostuniversallyyoung andunmarried,would
earnmoney to buy Europeangoods andthenreturnhome.This patternwas repeated
until they had substantialsavings;aftermarriagemen generallyavoidedgoing on
contract.The culturalrealignmentof youngpeopleon the side of the missionariesfed
this desirefor goods, and sparkedmanygenerationalbattles,most of themcentered
on missionaryinfluenceand Christianbeliefs forbiddinginitiationandparticipation
in otherindigenousrituals."But migrancybecamea sourceof conflict as well, for
some laborersleft their homes withoutparentalpermission,having independently
decided to go south afterhearingaboutthe potentialbenefitsfrom networksof returnedlaborers.One informantleft his home at the age of ten withouttelling his
family, and found work on a European-ownedfarm.26In such circumstances,a laborermightbringgifts backto his familymembersto smooththe way for his return,
since they would probablybe angryat his action.27Yet such covert migrancywas
apparentlynot common. Rather,an alternativesituation,where family permission
was soughtwiththepromiseof giftsuponthelaborer'sreturn,was themorecommon
one. The systemof laborersgiving gifts to theirolderrelativesseemsto have worked
until the 1930s, when familiesconsistentlybeganto seek more froma laborerthana
few trinketsuponhis return.
A measureof young people'ssuccess in legitimizingalternativedefinitionsof
wealth and statuscan be seen in what began to happenfairly quickly in Ovambo
societies. Non-Christians,particularlyoldermen, beganusing Europeannamesand
THE 'BURDEN' OF YOUNG MEN
121
wearingEuropeanclothing,andbegandemandinga shareof those goods thatyoung
people obtained.Ultimately,by theirvery success at definingandlegitimizingthese
alternateidentitiesandculturalspheres,youngpeopleinadvertentlycreatednew conand "modern"values and cutting
flicts in the society, centeredalong "traditional"
acrosspre-existingfaultlinesof generation,gender,class and self-identification.At
first,however,strugglesto obtainthe new formsof propertyremainedwithina generationalmatrixand revolvedparticularlyaroundmigrantlabor,which held out the
promiseof enrichingthehouseholdas a whole.Childrenmightgaina set of clothesor
a few beads from missionaries,but this was not a steady flow of goods into their
families. Migrancy,on the otherhand,broughtsubstantialnew resourcesinto the
communitywhich could be sharedaround- and hence foughtover.Laborerswere
going south to get goods they wanted,but as the demandfor those goods grew,the
systembecamemorecomplex.Youngmalesnow hada substantialweaponto use in
of familyherds.
negotiationsover the timingof marriageandthe redistribution
cost
could
be
obtained
at
only
great
by a man leavinghis
Europeangoods
family, fields and herds,and going to a laborcenter,wherewages were even lower
thantheywerein SouthAfrica.Foroldermenwiththeirown households,thiswas not
considereda viable optionbeforethe mid-1940s.It was in this contextthatthe issue
of controllingyoung men's laborpowertook on a new importance,for young men
were seen as channelsthroughwhicheldermencouldgainaccessto thenew formsof
status.And untilthe 1940s,youngmen wereoverwhelminglythe laborforce;in fact,
boys youngerthanthe minimumage constantlytriedto slip throughofficial checks,
indicatingthatthemedianage of the laborforcewouldhavebeeneven youngerhadit
not been for colonialrestrictions.28
In documentsfromthe firstthreedecadesof colonialrule,officialscommentedtimeandagainthatmarriedmen withtheirown households would not go southto labor.29The demographicsof the laborforce began to
changein the postwarperiod,as subsistenceeconomiesbeganto decline noticeably
and as the demandfor manufactured
goods grew to a pointwheremarriedmen were
to
make
the
sacrifice
of
willing
leavingtheirfarmsin orderto satisfythesenew "needs."
But beforeWorldWarII, for those oldermen who had sons of laboringage,
therewas a workablemechanismthroughwhichto obtainthe new symbolsof wealth
and statuswithoutassumingthe costs involvedin leavinghome for an extendedperiod of time. This was knownas omutenge.To marryin OmbalantuandOngandjera,
a young man neededhis father'spermissionand also requireda beast,preferablya
head of cattle. In special circumstances,a young man's first beast might be killed
duringthe weddingfeast, as it was in some easternareaswhereit was actuallya sort
of bridewealth.But moregenerally,it was simplynecessaryto own at least one head
of cattle because this was the markof an adultman who was ready for marriage.
Before the migrantlaboreconomy was established,some young men received this
beastthrougha practiceknownas omutenge(literally,"burden").
Omutengewas some
sortof serviceor payment- saltfromthepansto the southormilletfromcultivation
- whichwas given to an oldermalerelative,usuallythe father,as a gift. In exchange,
a youngmanwouldget a beast- eithera goat or a cow dependingon the size of the
"gift"and the resourcesof the father."
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MEREDITHMCKITTRICK
Many informantswere vague on how omutengehad been fulfilledbeforemigrantlaborwas common,whichindicatesthatit hadbeen only a marginalpracticein
theprecolonialeraandthatyoungmenhadotherways to obtainlivestock.Butrinderpest,raidinganddroughtin the latenineteenthandearlytwentiethcenturiescauseda
dramaticdecline in stock resources,and it may have been this changethat initially
gave oldermen power to demandmore from young men in exchangefor theirfirst
cow or goat. Omutengeperhapsonly becameuniversalwhenaccess to cash became
importantandwhen these otherchannels- inheritance,voluntarygifts frommaternal uncles, serviceto a king, or raiding,for instance- were closed due to livestock
in theomutengerequirement
doubtlessoccurredgradushortages.Thetransformation
ally andhad not begunwhen contractlaborfirststarted.But oraltestimonyindicates
thatit becamethe normvery quickly,probablyby the mid-1920s.
When migrantlabor was first institutedduringthe Germancolonial period,
wages were high relativeto the cost of goods. But by 1918, officialsnotedthatearnings were not keepingpace with inflation,and thatthis was harmingrecruiting:" ...
formerlythey reckonedon gettingtheequivalentof a beastfora termof servicein the
Southand some considerthey get less valuenow.""31
Some informantsestimatedthat
by the 1930s and 1940s,fourcontractswouldhave been neededto save money for a
cow.32This statementindicatesa declinein the realvalue of wages measuredagainst
local forms of wealth.In the very earliestdays of labormigration,therefore,some
young men could avoid the need to rely on male relativesfor the propertywhich
would allow them to marry,by contractingin the south and then using their cash
earningsto purchasea beast, usuallyfrom tradersin Angola.33But as earningsfell
relativeto costs, this optionbecameless feasibleandomutengebecamecentralto the
intersectionof the traditionalandmigrantlaboreconomies.
Informantsreportthatearningsorgoodspurchasedwiththeearningsfromtheir
firstcontractwere almostinvariablygiven to theirfathersor some othermalerelative
as a "gift,"which would smooth the way for them to receive their first beast and
Sometimesmore thanone contract'searningswere required.
permissionto marry.34
The colloquialexpressionfor going south,"gettingone's ax," refersdirectlyto the
idea of gettingthe thingsone neededfor marriage.Mostlaborersdid not actuallybuy
an ax in the south(such tools could as easily be obtainedfromlocal smiths);rather,
the expressionrefersto the whole processof earningandthengivingcashor goodsto
a senior relative in exchange for those items one needed in orderto marry- in
particular,a beast.35
The new version of omutengerepresenteda significantreassertionof the elders'authority,althoughthis was not absolute.In some ways, bothpartiesbenefitted,
since the wages from one contractwere insufficientto buy a head of cattle.Young
men were gettingmorethantheproductof theirlaborin local currencyby providing
goods for elderswho did not wish to engage in contractlabor.Omutengewas thus a
way of linking two systems of wealth,and this is why the system remainedviable
despitethe increasingeconomicresourcesof young men.
But these laborerswere neverthelesslargelyat the mercyof theirelders.The
amountof omutengethat was owed was probablynegotiatedbetweenjunior and
seniorfamilymembers,butthe eldermen almostcertainlyhadan advantage,because
THE 'BURDEN' OF YOUNG MEN
123
livestockcontinuedto be centralto definitionsof wealthandwas difficultto obtain.It
became more so as the priceof cattlecontinuedto inflateon the cash market,andas
herdsshrankdue to droughtandoverpopulationcausedby colonialpolicies.36There
also seems to havebeen some pressureon mento go southfor omutengeregardlessof
whetherthey had access to cattleor not;fathersor unclescertainlyhad othersources
of authoritywith which to force reluctantyoung men to go, for they dictatedthe
timing of a young man'smarriage,and a man and his bridetypicallylived with the
husband'sin-laws for severalyears.37"
This inequalityis vividly recalledeven today.
Some sons wouldreturnfromthe southandpresenttheirearningsto theirfather,only
to be told thatthey were inadequateand the son would have to go on anotherconUndoubtedlythehigher-paying
jobs permittedmento provideomutengefaster.
tract."38
Understandingthe centralityof omutengeto the migrantlaboreconomy providesa
new perspectiveon numerousfeaturesof thateconomy,fromthe patternsof migration andage of the migrantsto the aversionof manymen to workinglow-payingjobs
on farms.
But to understandwhatomutengedidto socialrelationshipsin the shortterm,it
is importantto realizewhatit hadbeen beforecontractlaborexisted.It is certainthat
the "burden"involved in omutengeincreasedsubstantiallyafterit was redefinedin
termsof a cash economyandbecameuniversalpractice.A man could get a goat or a
cow in the precolonialera,presumablyin times of plenty,by collectingsalt fromthe
pansfor his father.One tripto the saltpanssouthof the settledOvamboregiontook a
total of six days. Or he could raisea field of millet andgive the harvestto his father.
Raising the millet took several months, but it certainlydid not occupy all of the
cultivator'stime. Once omutengebecamelinkedto the contractlaborsystem, what
was requiredwas a young man'sentireearningsfromat least one laborcontractfrom one yearto eighteenmonthsspentin isolationfromhis community,living and
workingin harshphysicalconditions.
In addition,omutengebecamesomethingthatevery man had to provideif he
wished to get livestock from his father,while the uncertaintyof informantsabout
earliersystemsindicatesthatit was perhapsnot a universalpracticein the nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries.And when comparedto earlier ways of fulfilling
omutenge,migrancyinvolvedfarmorelaboroutputfor no greaterreward.This "inflation"was due to an encroachingcolonialeconomywhich,even if it rarelyaffected
Ovambocommunitiesdirectly,neverthelessset monetaryvalues on objectsthatthe
Ovambowanted,underscoringexactly how " cheap"the laborof these young men
Was.
IV
Anthropologistshave in the past identifieda numberof social fracturesregardedas common to most Africansocieties. Meillassouxtargetedinequalitiesbetween men andwomenandjuniorsandelders,positinga staticview of Africansocieties which perpetuallyreproducethemselvesthroughhierarchiesbased on gender
and age.39While recognizingthe functionalismof his model, scholarshave largely
mostAfricansocietacceptedthe divisionshe identifiedas a basis for understanding
124
MEREDITHMCKITTRICK
ies. In addition,distinctionsin wealthor status,usuallytermed"class"differences,
have been duly noted, whetherclass is takento be a descriptiveor an analytical,
Marxistterm.
Of these faultlines,both genderandclass have been subjectedto rigoroushistoricalanalysis,wherebyscholarshave shown how such divisionsopen up to yield
conflict in times of crisis and changesuch as the colonialperiod.Meanwhile,however, generationhas languishedin the old view of stasis.Recently,some historians
have directedtheir attentionat how generationaldivisionsdrive social change, but
they have not consideredthe process in reverse:that social change can also create
changes in the natureof generationalidentitiesand conflicts.In addition,historians
have on the whole ignoredgeneration'sinteractionwith gender,positing "juniors"
and "seniors"as primarilymale; nor have they examinedthe actualconstructionof
age-basedstatus.4
Generationhas been ignored,or not subjectedto the same theoreticalchallenges as otherwidely recognizedsourcesof social inequality,becauseof the nature
of agingitself.Thatis, ajuniorstatusbasedon age is seen as somethingthateveryone
- butparticularlymen- inevitablyoutgrows.41Theinequalityis not seen as permanentlyembodiedin certainmembersof society,but as revolvingamongthose members.This view of age-baseddifferencesperceivesthemas temporary,andthuslacking the urgencywhich drives social action between the sexes or between classes.
Eventually,the argumentgoes, subordinateyoung people will gain power;they are
less likely to attemptto changethe systembecausethey have a stakein its continuation.42
But this was not how people in Ombalantuand Ongandjeranecessarilysaw
their situation.A varietyof Europeaninfluenceswere popularized,entrenched,and
appropriated
largelythroughthe agencyof youngpeople,bothfemaleandmale.Conflicts overthe meaningandvalidityof thesenew influencescrystallizedalonglinesof
old and young, and some young people paid a high pricefor theiractionsand allegiances. Clearly,they felt a sense of urgency,even if anthropologistsand historians
have not recognizedit as such. For seniorityrests on more thanage, as SaraBerry
pointsout;it is a statuswhichis achievedin manyhistoricallyspecific ways.43
The age at which seniorstatuscan be achievedin a given society holds steady
of resourcesto a younger
only in circumstanceswhichpermitthecontinuedtransferral
generation.This assumeswillingnesson thepartof the elders,and some measureof
continuationof thoseresources.It also assumesthatresourcesarenot beingredistributedalong otherlines to the exclusionof juniors- for example,to kings in the east.
When dramaticchangeoccurs,it calls people's futuresinto doubtby threateningto
restructuresocial relationsandthepool of resources.ContactwithEuropeansjeopardized the very systemswhichwouldhave allowedyoungpeopleto link socialmobility to age. In the eraof heightenedraidingandconcentrationof wealthbeforecolonial
conquest,and in the social and politicaluncertaintiesof the early colonial period,
seniorityas it hadbeen definedbeforebecamea statusthatnot everyonewas guaranteedto reachsimplyby becomingphysicallyold. Indeed,in extremecases of famine,
the possibilityof even becomingold was minimal."4
THE 'BURDEN' OF YOUNG MEN
125
In focusingon generationfor the purposesof this study,I have not intendedto
ignorethe dynamicsof gender,for colonialismwas itself a genderingproject.Butthe
resultof this projectwas to providemen with almostexclusive firsthandaccess to
Europeanproducts,by reservinglaborcontracts(andthuscash wages) for men. Nor
was contractlaborthe only relevantinstitutionconfinedto men:omutengeitself was
a male domain;young women were not given livestockthrougha similarpatternof
exchange,therebydisadvantagingthem (in this formof wealth)fromthe start.45
And yet the very exclusion of women from access to Europeangoods is also
instructive.The importanceof the intersectionof colonial(andmissionary)ideasand
local, institutionalizedformsof social controlfor revisingpropertyrelationscan perhapsbest be seen in the lack of access whichwomenhadto the new formsof wealth
andstatus.Womenwerebarredby a coloniallaw,definedas traditional,fromleaving
Ovamboland;formost,therefore,migrantlaboranddirectaccessto thecasheconomy
were not an option.Unlikeyoungchildrenandadolescents,adultwomenapparently
felt thatthey hadlittleto gain fromjoiningChristianchurches.All denominationsin
Ovambolandforbadedivorceamongtheirmembers,even when a womanwas in an
abusivemarriage.And yet, paradoxically,if a polygamouswoman wished to join a
church,missionariesinsistedthatshe leaveherhusband.If the womanwas in a secure
marriage,such a move createdeconomicinsecurityfor her,andmost women apparently decidedthataccess to Europeangoods was not worthlosing access to landand
livelihood. Some women may havejoined churchesto escape an unsatisfyingmarriage, but since women had the optionof divorcein indigenousmarriagepractices,
they had little incentiveto use anotherroute.
The result of women's involuntaryexclusion from migrancyand voluntary
exclusionfromthechurchwas thatwomenbecameverydependenton men foraccess
to Europeangoods, if they got them at all. In 1926, the Native Commissionerof
Ovambolandsaid that adult Ovambowomen were evincing "a growing desire to
retaintheir tribalgarb"- a change which, if reflectedin reality,probablycorrespondedto a lack of access to Europeanclothingas muchas anything.46
Women,by
being excludedfrom labormigrancy,were unableto access goods such as clothing
independently.Instead,they had to rely mainly on husbandsand male relativesfor
these things,therebyincreasingtheirdependenceon men.47Thereseemed to be an
expectationthata respectableman would seek to clothe his wife as he clothedhimself, and so migrantlaborersreturnedwith clothingfor women as well as men. But
when such goods came fromwomen'shusbands,they were often considered"gifts"
whichhadto be returnedto the husband'skin uponhis deathundermatrilinealinheritancepatterns.Althoughtraditionalgifts such as necklacesalso had to be returned,
women's independentaccess to these things was far less restrictedthan it was to
Europeangoods. Underthis system,when it was enforcedto its extreme,a woman
who receivedEuropeangoods fromher husbandcould be forcedto replacethem if
they were wornout,andcouldbecomeindebtedto his familyuponhis death,thereby
compoundingtheeconomicvulnerabilityshe alreadyfacedin a systemof matrilineal
inheritance.48
Even when the system was not pushed to its extremeby the man's family,
Europeangoods increaseda woman'sdependenceon herhusband,underminingwhat
126
MEREDITHMCKITTRICK
had previouslybeen a loosely basedunionwith a greatdeal of economicautonomy
anda strictdivisionof property.Manywomenfoundthisincreaseddependenceundesirable.It is thereforenot surprisingthat adultwomen were far cooler to the new
patternsof wealthand statusthantheirmale counterpartswere.In this case, as in so
many others, generationand gender are inseparablylinked, and historicalchange
cannotbe understoodwithoutaccountingfor both.
V
Omutengewas of themostimportantsystemsformanagingnew formsof property in colonial Ovambo societies such as Ongandjeraand Ombalantu.Implicitin
these practiceswere certainpatternsof authorityand social control,in which older
men exercisedrightsover youngmen'slaborpower.Thesepatternswere widely recognized, albeitoccasionallyresistedandnegotiated,andtherewere mechanismsfor
enforcingsuchrights.Colonialofficialswere obliviousto thisinstitution;not once is
Yettheseinstitutionsplayed
omutengementionedin colonialrecordsorethnographies.
a tremendouslyimportantrolein determiningotheraspectsof colonialism,including
the timingandsize of themigrantlaborsupply- somethingofficialsconstantlytried
but failed to regulate.
In resistingelders' rightsto not only controlresourcesbut also to define the
importanceof thoseresources,youngpeopleshoweda degreeof creativityandinitiative not usually consideredpossible within scholarly,abstractmodels of African
gerontocracies.They hadjoined withthe new forces withinsociety,the missionaries
and laborrecruiters,andhadpursuedthatportionof powerto whichthey had access
- not the firearmsandhorses,butthe clothingandothercheapergoods, andknowlits meaningto suittheirown situation.Further,they,andnot
edge - andappropriated
theirelders,institutedsome of the most far-reachingculturalandeconomic changes
in colonial Ovambosocieties.Left to theirown devices, seniorOvambomen would
probablyhave been far slower to enterinto relationshipswith missionariesand networks of labormigrancy.It was the generationalconflicts withinOvambolandthat
first allowed these new influencesto gain a footholdin the society and they, much
more than directcolonial rule, were to play a majorrole in reshapingthat society
throughoutthe twentiethcentury,untilthe presentday.
Notes
'For moreinformationon women's place in these strugglesover property,see M. McKittrick,"Conflict
and Social Changein NorthernNamibia,1850-1954"(Ph.D. diss., StanfordUniversity,1995).
2
The colonialperiodin Ovambolandeffectivelybeganin 1915,withthe SouthAfricanconquestof South
WestAfrica,because Germany,realizingthatthe Ovambowere numerousand well-armedand beset by
problemswith the Herero,never attemptedto exert directcontrolover the northernpartof its territory.
SOvambo societies are scatteredon both sides of the Namibian/Angolanborder;these societies were
politicallyindependentand somewhatculturallydistinctfrom each otherin the precolonialperiod,but
recognizeda commonorigin.The largestsocieties, andthosewhichgrewthe strongestfromraiding,were
UukwanyamaandOndonga,followed by Uukwambiandthe Ombandja.The societies whichsufferedthe
THE 'BURDEN' OF YOUNG MEN
127
most from the raidingeconomy were Ombalantuand Ongandjera,the focus of this paper,as well as
Uukwaluudhiand severalsmall decentralizedgroupsfurtherwest.
4 Informantsrecountedthat Ombalantusufferedmore from raidingthan any other Ovambo kingdom,
becauseit was poorlyarmed,disunited,andisolatedfromtradenetworks.Theextentto whichthis isolation
was voluntaryis unclear.The Mbalantuwere famed for assassinatingtheir king in the early to midnineteenthcenturyandrefusingto enthroneanother.Theeventapparentlycreatedhorroramongneighboring
OvambokingdomsandEuropeantraders,andmayhavepromptedthemto shunthe Mbalantu,contributing
to isolation. On the other hand,Europeanrecordsrecounta traderwho was chased from Ombalantu,
barelyescapingwith his life, in the 1850s. He probablydid not understandthe decentralizednatureof the
society and neglectedto ask permissionof all the appropriateheadmento traversethe region;however,
the story circulatedand futuretradersdid not attemptto enterOmbalantu.A policy of barringEuropean
The neighboring
tradersis not rememberedin Ombalantutoday,butsuchpolicieswere notunprecedented.
Mbandja,who have close culturalandhistoricalties to Ombalantu,allowedonly Africantradersintotheir
kingdom. But Ombalantulacked the sheer strengthand influence of Ombandja,and the lack of direct
Europeantradeisolatedthem in a way thatdid not occurin Ombandja.
5Fordetaileddescriptionsof this period,see P Hayes, "A Historyof the Ovamboof Namibia,c. 18801935" (Ph.D. diss., Cambridge University, 1992); R. Moorsom and W.G. Clarence-Smith,
andClass Formationin Ovamboland,"in RobinPalmerand Neil Parsons,eds., The
"Underdevelopment
Roots of Rural Povertyin Centraland SouthernAfrica (Berkeley,1977); and H. Siiskonen, Tradeand
SocioeconomicChangein Ovamboland,1850-1906 (Helsinki, 1990).
6NationalArchivesof Namibia(NAN), ResidentCommissionerOvamboland(RCO)Vol.8 file (9), Famine
report,MarttiRautanen(1915); A.Wulfhorst,Schiwesa:Ein Simeonaus den Ovambochristenvon Miss.
AugustWulfhorst(Barmen,1912),3, notesthatyoungboys herdinglivestockalso did notget a lot of food
fromtheirhouseholds.
tE.Loeb,In Feudal Africa (Bloomington, 1962), [37]; also C. Mallory,"SomeAspects of the Mission
Policy and Practiceof the Churchof the Provinceof SouthAfrica in Ovamboland:1924-1960"(Ph.D.
diss., RhodesUniversity 1971) [129].
ninetymen andwomen in the Ovambo
8 Between JuneandDecember1993, I interviewedapproximately
communitiesof Ongandjeraand Ombalantu.Informants,whose ages rangedfrom sixty to nearly 100,
were drawn from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds.They also varied in their religious
experiences;some had convertedto Christianityas childrenwhile others convertedin old age. About
equal numbersof men and women were interviewed.
'Expulsionsfromwesternkingdomsalso seem to haveincreasedin the late nineteenthandearlytwentieth
centuries,as kingstriedto shoreuptheirpower,whichwas beingincreasinglycontestedby raidingparties
from the east andby theirown dissatisfiedsubjects,who felt the king no longerprovidedprotectionand
security.
Angombe,interviewed29 July 1993 at Eengolo, Ombalantu.
1?Priskila
IIOne of thedifferencesamongOvambosocietiesis theexistenceof bridewealth.InOmbalantu,Ongandjera
andotherwesternsocieties, no suchinstitutionseems to haveexisted;in the largereasternsocieties, it did
exist, but usuallyin a more limitedformthanin manyothersouthernAfricansocieties.
12M6ller,travelingamong the Ovamboin 1895-96, statedthat Ovambowomen marriedas late as 30.
Informantsconcur (Rusia Elago, interviewed 17 September 1993 at Okalondo, Ongandjera;Maria
ShikalepoandHenok Shikwabi,interviewed1 November 1993 at Epumbu,Ongandjera).
strictcontrolson pre-initiationpregnanciesand harshpenaltiesfor transgressions(deathor
13Extremely
expulsion)representedanotherway elders ensuredthat young people did not move into adultroles too
quickly.See McKittrick,"Conflictand Social Change,"Ch. 5.
14MarianaOshooka,interviewed3 November1993 at Okahala,Ombalantu;
Simon Ileka,interviewed10
TobiasAmupala,interviewed20 July 1993atUutaapi,Ombalantu.
September1993atOngozi,Ongandjera;
15Thisvulnerabilityandopennessto new ideasexistedin all Ovambosocieties,althoughit was potentially
more exaggeratedbetween generationsin westernsocieties such as Ongandjeraand Ombalantu,where
resourceshad been channeledeast, and politicalsystems were facing majorrestructuringin the colonial
era. Christianityandlabormigrancybecameestablishedin the west at a laterperiod,butboth grew faster
in the west, to the pointwherethe proportionof convertsandlaborersalike was aboutequalto thatin the
east by the late 1930s andearly 1940s.
16Ifthereareany changesin this patternovertime, it is very hardto tell fromeitheroralor writtensources.
Colonial officials complain of boys going south withouttheir parents'knowledge in the first years of
128
MEREDITH
MCKITTRICK
colonialrule,andagaininthelate1930s,whenfearsof eroding"traditional"
controlswereattheirheight.
Twoinformants
andtheywouldhavegonein the 1920sor
reported
goingwithoutparental
permission,
1930s:TomasShihepo,interviewed
22 July1993atOmbathi,
TobiasAmupala,
interviewed
Ombalantu;
20 July1993atUutaapi,
Ombalantu.
"Manyhistorians
ofAfricahaveassumed
thatEuropean
heldanattraction
toAfricans,
goods"naturally"
to thepointwheretheywerewillingto destroytheirownsocietiesto getthem.See forexampleW.G.
Clarence-Smith,Slaves, Peasantsand Capitalistsin SouthernAngola, 1840-1926 (Cambridge,1979) for
haveargued,however,thattheattractions
Ovambosocieties.A fewscholars,mostlyanthropologists,
of
thesegoodsmustnotbe seenas irrational,
norcanthemeaningsand"functions"
be assumedto be the
sameasthoseassignedthembyEuropeans.
theobjectstakeonmeaningandfunctionwithinthe
Rather,
socialcontextintowhichtheyareintroduced.
SeeforexampleN.Thomas,
Objects:
Entangled
Exchange,
materialcultureand colonialismin the SouthPacific (Cambridge,1991).
in 1929,abouttheeastern
Tobias,
"sMallory
quotestheAnglican
missionary
writing
Uukwanyama
kingdom:
"Onethingthathasgreatlyhelped(ourwork)is therealization
thatpeopleof noaccountwhohavejoined
theChurchhavebecomepersonages."
[164]
saidchildrenwhowentto churchtaughtfriendsto readandthatcountingskillslearnedin
9"Informants
churchandtheEuropean
inthesouthweremarkers
of statusamongtheirpeers.Tomas
learned
languages
12August1993atUukwalumbe,
Johannes
interviewed
16
Uushiini,interviewed
Andrinu,
Ongandjera;
Ombalantu.
August1993at Olupaka,
20EliaserKaanandunge
andSelmaPelema,interviewed
6 August1993atOngozi,Ongandjera;
Thomas
12August1993atUukwalumbe,
Uushini,interviewed
Ongandjera.
21 Gideon
AuneNamadhila
Hishitile,interviewed3 August1993at Oshima,Ombalantu;
Negongo,
interviewed
12August1993atUukwalumbe,
AiliMokwandjele,
interviewed
26 July1993
Ongandjera;
at Onawa,Ombalantu;
JoasMweshaanyene,
interviewed
16 September
1993atOluvango,
Ombalantu;
TobiasAmupala,
interviewed
20 July1993atUutaapi,
Ombalantu.
was designated
as a laborreserve,whereEuropean
22 Ovamboland
by the SouthAfricangovernment
settlement
wasforbidden.
Intheearlycolonialperiod,therewereprobably
nottwodozenEuropeans
in
theseweremissionaries,
colonialofficials,andoccasionally
a trader,
allof whomrequired
Ovamboland;
officialpermitsto residethere.
23 Hayes,"History
of theOvambo"
[99, 146-52].
24 Tomas
22 July1993atOmbathi,
Shihepo,interviewed
Johannes
interviewed
16
Ombalantu;
Andrinu,
SimonIleka,interviewed
10September
1993atOngozi,Ongandjera;
Ombalantu;
August1993atOlupaka,
FestusShingenge,
interviewed
30 August1993atOnakaheke,
Ongandjera.
2• See McKittrick,
"Conflict
andSocialChange,"
Ch.5 fora discussion
of theseconflicts.
26 TomasShihepo,
interviewed
22 July1993atOmbathi,
Ombalantu.
22 July1993atOmbathi,
Ombalantu.
'7Tomas
Shihepo,interviewed
wasof coursenowayto provechronological
2'There
age;in general,officialschosemenwholookedat
leasteighteen,butoftentherewaslittleagreement
onwho"looked"
eighteen.
RCOVol.2 file2/1916/I,RCOto Secretary
of theProtectorate,
26 June1918.
29NAN,
thatitwascommontogiveomutenge
to a paternal
uncleif theirfatherwasdeadorhadno
30 Menreported
stocktogiveinexchange.
Inmatrilineal
alsoservedtoredistribute
Ovambosocieties,therefore,
omutenge
betweenlineages.
property
of theProtectorate,
8 January
1918.
3NAN,RCOVol.2 file2/1916/I,RCOto Secretary
Aulamba
andKanelombo
interviewed
31August1993atOmamboo,
Ombalantu.
32Mbaranabus
Shehama,
is unclearif a contract
inAngola,whichwasanoptioninthenineteenth
wassufficient
toearn
33It
century,
thepriceof a cow.
29 October1993atOmbanda,
interviewed
Ongandjera;
KamboyKandjele,
3TomasAngala,interviewed
27 July1993atOmateleleko,
Ombalantu.
Onceomutenge
waspaid,a subsequent
contract
wasoftenpaid
to thekingin Ongandjera,
further
thetimea manhadto engagein migrancy
beforehe could
extending
establishhisownsavingsandmarry.
SeeMcKittrick,
"Conflict
andSocialChange,"
Ch.4.
3 August1993atAnamulenge,
Ombalantu.
Andowa,interviewed
35Modestus
36These
colonialpoliciesincludedencouraging
AngolanOvamboto settlein forestedlandwhichhad
beenreserved
forgrazing,andscraping
whichalsoaffectedgrazingland.
borders,
awayatOvamboland's
At first,theycircumscribed
youngpeople'saccessto stockin muchthesamewaythattheeventsof the
immediate
theecologicalsituation
in a contracting
resulted
precolonial
however,
periodhad.Eventually,
of grainproduction
as well.By theendof thetimeperiodcoveredin thispaper,someyoungmenwere
THE 'BURDEN' OF YOUNG MEN
129
going south out of hungeras they had on the eve of colonial rule when famine raged,not merely to get
Europeangoods.
37Modestus
Andowa,interviewed3 August 1993 atAnamulenge,Ombalantu;Apete Nepaka,interviewed
6 August 1993 at Ongozi, Ongandjera.
TomasAngala,interviewed29
38MaxAnkumbo,interviewed29 October1993 at Ombanda,Ongandjera;
October1993atOmbanda,Ongandjera;
KashukuNamboga,interviewed1 September1993at Onakaheke,
Ongandjera.
to Production:A MarxistApproachto EconomicAnthropology,"
39C. Meillassoux,"FromReproduction
Economyand Society 1 (1972), andMaidens,Meal, and Money(Cambridge,1981 [Paris,1977]) offers a
structuralmodel for generationaltensionbut leaves little room for agencyor change.
4"M.Chanock,"APeculiarSharpness:An Essay on Propertyin the Historyof CustomaryLaw in Colonial
Africa,"Journal of AfricanHistory 32 (1991) [65-88]; C. Murray,Black Mountain:Land, Class and
Power in theEasternOrangeFree State,1880s-1980s (Washington,D.C., 1992);S. Berry,FathersWork
for TheirSons (Berkeley,1984 ); H. MooreandM. Vaughan,CuttingDown Trees:Gender,Nutritionand
AgriculturalChange in the NorthernProvince of Zambia, 1890-1990 (Portsmouth,N.H., 1994). An
exceptionto the assumptionthatjuniorsand seniorsare men is B. Bozzoli's study of Phokengwomen,
which howeverstill treatsgenerationas a descriptive,andnot an analytical,concept.B. Bozzoli, Women
of Phokeng:Consciousness,LifeStrategyand Migrancyin SouthAfrica,1900-1983 (Portsmouth,N.H.,
1991). More recentwork has begun to considergenderand generationas linked social constructs;for
Politics of
example, see LynnThomas"'Ngaitana'(I will circumcisemyself):The Gender-Generational
the 1956 Ban on Clitoridectomyin Meru,Kenya."Genderand History8 (1996) 338-63.
4"Olderwomen often are consideredto have a statuselevatedover thatof women of child-bearingage,
who are ratherEurocentricallydescribedas "legal minors."But it is men especially who standto gain
from the system, since they will eventuallyrise to a positionof leadershipanduniversalrespect.
42Meillassoux, Maidens,Meal, and Money [80-81].
43Berry,Fathers Workfor TheirSons [8-9].
"The 1914-16famine,knownas the GreatFamineor "thefaminethatswept,"killed a significantfraction
of Ovamboland'spopulation,althoughestimatesvary wildly in the absence of solid demographicdata.
Churchconversions,mainlyamong young people, rose exponentiallyin the aftermathof the famine.
"Womenin Ovambolandcould inheritcattle,andtheoreticallyan inheritancewas supposedto be divided
equallyamongmale andfemaleheirs.But in practice,womenwere oftenslighted,andin generalthey did
not have equal access to livestock. Omutengeis anotherexampleof the inequality.
"NAN, NativeAffairsOvamboland,Vol. 18 file 11/1, 1926 AnnualReport.
47GideonHishitile,interviewed3 August 1993 at Oshiima,Ombalantu;PaulinaEkandjo,interviewed4
August 1993 at Omundjalala,Ombalantu;Frasinalitembu,27 August 1993 at Eembwa,Ongandjera.
4"Ofcoursewomensharedin theestatesof theirmaternalrelatives.Buttheirlaborwentintotheirhusband's
household,whichthey hadno rightsin once theirhusbanddied.This was one of severaltensionsinherent
in Ovamboland'smatrilinealbut partilocalkinshipstructures.