The Himbas - Eric Lafforgue

the himbas
HIMBAS
Himba pastoralists live in the Kaokoland, an extensive territory in northwest Namibia bordering Angola in
the north along Cunene river. The Atlantic Ocean and the Skeleton coast form its Western boundary.
Some Himba, locally referred to as “Hererotracht”, were evangelized by German missionaries in the 18th century and began to
wear Victorian-style clothes.
The Himba are related to the Herero people.
Approximately 10,000 Himba live in Kaokoland
and 3,000 others live in Angola.
The Himba live in small villages that usually accommodate one large family. Enclosures for the cattle (“krall”) are situated in the
center of camp, encircled by huts. A fence made of Mopane wood, a strong and very durable material, surrounds the village.
Each Himba village has a “Okoruwo”, a holy fire kept constantly burning that represents the ancestors. It is located between the entrance of
the krall and the west-facing door to the chief’s home (the “Ondjuwo Onene”). It’s taboo to cross this invisible line between the two.
The houses are made of mud and cow dung. These materials stay cool during the hot days and maintain their heat during the cold nights. The
weather is extreme in northern Namibia. In summer, temperatures reach 45 degrees, while in winter, they drop to what feels like freezing point!
The Himbas move from place to place to find better graze for the goats, but use to come back in the same villages.
Inside the houses, cowhides serve as beds. Various goat and cow hides, used both as clothing and for special celebrations,
cover the walls.
The Himba sleep on wooden
pillows to ensure that they don’t
mess up their intricate hairdos.
Every morning the women milk the goats. According to a local proverb, “A Himba is nothing without his cattle.” The
Himba almost exclusively derive their sustenance from cows and goats, which provide meat and milk.
In Himba society, women tend to have the most difficult daily tasks such as gardening, milking the livestock, caring for the cattle,
constructing houses, and carrying water and wood. The men on the other hand handle political administration and legal trials.
Women removing ticks from a goat foot. Despite the fact that they are living in small villages, the Himba are relatively wealthy, with hers that
can reach up to 200 cows. They will never disclose how many cows they have since they keep it secret to avoid attracting thieves.
The size of a Himba man’s herd reflects his social status. A man without cattle, or that owns just a few, is unworthy of respect. The
word “Tijmba”, which means “Himba without cattle”, is used as an insult. In the Himba culture, the sign of wealth is not the beauty
of your grave, but rather the quantity of cattle you owned during your lifetime, represented by the amounts of horns.
Himba women spend several hours each morning making themselves as beautiful as possible. Their first task is
to take care of their dreadlocks.
One misconception about the
Himba is that they never bathe. If
they have access to water, they’ll
gladly take a bath, but since they
live in arid places, they don’t
often get the opportunity. When
they do have water, they share it.
This in turn leads to huge
problems like tuberculosis, the
second most common cause of
death in Namibia.
Himbas use smoke to purify themselves and their clothes, which they put over a basket in which incense
called “otjizumba” burns. This incense is found on commiphora multijuga tree.
Porridge mixed with milk is the staple of the Himba diet. Meat is eaten on occasion, usually at a ceremony
when they slaughter cattle. Married men eat meat reserved especially for them.
Lunch is not a social thing in Himbas, kids eat when the food is ready or when they are hungry. Don’t
try telling them that eating with the elbows on the table is rude!
The Himba have many music and dance traditions. For fun, they play music with the “ohuta”, a bow instrument.
They summon a witchdoctor when bad things happen in their village. When I was in a village visited by the magic man, nobody wanted to tell me what
happened, as it is taboo. Reciting magic sentences, the man will purify every person in the village one at a time, from sunrise to sunset.
The Himba are nomadic, moving
place to place in search of better
grazing lands for their goats. They
usually return to the same villages
every year. When they move as a
group, the Himba walk in single-file
line in order to avoid snakes bites.
The Himbas have a system of dual descent where every person is linked to both the maternal and paternal
groups of relatives. While authority is patriarchal, economic issues are matriarchal.
Hairstyle is a status indicator. Single men are recognizable by the single plait on the back of their head
(called an “ondatu”) while the rest of their hair is shaved.
This boy is not yet a teen.
When a man has a turban, it means he is married.
Since they never remove this turban, they use an iron tool to scratch their wrapped hair.
All Himba women start the day by completely covering themselves with a mixture of ground red rock and fat called
“otjize”. It acts both as sunscreen and insect repellent. Nowadays, if they do not have enough cow butter, they use
petroleum jelly instead. The red color this gives to the skin is considered very beautiful.
The mixture is not only put on to their skin and hair but also their clothes and jewelry. Himba women
are very proud of their traditional clothing.
Dress codes and hairstyle rules are incredibly complex.
Once they reach puberty or are married Himba women use various materials (from hair to straw) to sculpt the dreadlocks before
covering them with Otchize.
In addition to those materials, some Himba women have actually started to purchase Indian hair extensions!
A young girl typically has two
plaits (ozondato) of braided
hair. The form is determined by
the oruzo (patrilineal descent
group).
If many strands hang all over a teen’s head, it signifies that she is going through puberty. Such a girl tends to hide her
face from the men.
When she has been married
for about a year or has had a
c h i l d , t h e w o m a n w e a r s
the “erembe” headdress made
from animal skin.
This woman has dreadlocks signifying that she is married.
A wedding dress in the Himba
tribe. Weddings are arranged
when boys are roughly 19 and girls
are about 13. This is to ensure that
sufficient wealth has already been
accumulated. The Himba do not
really know their age unless the
government has registered them
for health, education, or voting
purposes. Women move to their
husband’s villages after marriage
and assume their new customs
and taboos. Himba marry into
another clan to avoid
consanguinity.
Marriage is important in Himba
culture, but extramarital
relations are encouraged.
Polygamy is the rule for both
men and women, who can
have other partners in addition
of their husbands.
Himba men are often not
monogamous and may have
children in several villages.
For women too it is not unusual to
have other partners. New problems
are affecting the Himba. AIDS is a
major threat because the Himba do
not use condom, as contraception is
not part of their traditions.
Young children usually have
shaved heads. This child has a
special haircut. In his clan, it is
forbidden to take care of sheep
with small ears. Their meat cannot
be eaten.
On the left: a girl who has a twin (1 plait). On a the right, a prepubescent girl (2 plaits).
A young girl’s back decoration.
Young Himba children leave
their parents huts to live with
other village children at the age
of 3. Together, they play and
look after the livestock.
Toddlers are amazingly selfs u ffi c i e n t . I t ’s s u r p r i s i n g l y
common to see children as
young as one year-old walking,
running, eating and being totally
independent of their mothers.
The famous large white shell worn that Himba women wear on their breast is called the ohumba. The shell originates in
the Atlantic Ocean, hundreds of kilometers away. It is passed down from generation to generation.
Himba like to use the wires of the electric fences to make their jewelry.
Married women wear copper or iron necklaces which are very heavy.
Keys and bullets are also used as
adornments. Most houses in the
bush do not have locks.
During high tourist season, the women sell jewelry made with beads, PVC pipes, and seeds to raise money to buy
extra food during droughts.
Adult women wear heavy iron or copper bracelets that can weigh several kilos.
The new ones are made with PVC tubes or given by tourists!
Himba women use also
Omangetti seeds as adornments
since they enjoy the noise the
seeds make as the women walk.
When kids get pens from the tourists, they like to put pen ink on their toenails!
The adult Himba women all have beaded anklets (“Omohanga”) that helps them hide their money. The anklets
also protect the legs from venomous animal bites.
Only when they are in mourning do the Himba men show their hair.
The horns are turned upside down on the grave of a woman, and kept right side up for men. A person’s cows are killed on
the day of his funeral but the meat is given to another clan.
There are currently plans to build a huge dam on Cunene River, which would cover the sacred tombs of the Himba. In
exchange for their lands, the government promises to build schools and clinics. The negotiations are ongoing.
More and more of the Himba adopt elements of globalized culture. They have begun to use modern furnishings like chairs and
camping tents. The next step towards modernization will be when they stop wearing their traditional clothing.
There are several initiatives to provide primary education for the Himba. If teens wish to pursue a secondary school, they have
to leave their villages and live at a school, usually in Windhoek. Many of the young never return to their villages as they find
work elsewhere.
Modernity is coming to Himba tribe. Some abandon their traditions and some incorporate them them like this man who kept his huge
necklace!
Western civilization has a huge
i n fl u e n c e o n H i m b a .
Everywhere tradition is giving
way under the pressure of
globalization. Himba women
are especially adamant on
maintaining their way of life like
their traditional dress code.
They are resisting change more
than the men.
Football jerseys have arrived in
the bush even though Himba
men did not know anything
about the Brazilian football
team or the football world cup
since TV and electricity did not
yet arrive in their villages.
Pictures and Texts: Eric Lafforgue + Stéphanie Ledoux