HIMBAS

the 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 ch i ld , the  woman wears 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 a n o t h e r c l a n t o a v o i d consanguinity. Marriage is important in Himba cu l tu re , bu t ex t ramar i ta l relations are encouraged. Polygamy is the rule for both men and women, who can have other partners in addition of their husbands.

H i m b a m e n a r e o f t e n n o t 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 self-sufficient . I t ’s surpr is ingly 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!

H i m b a w o m e n u s e a l s o 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