We started heading southwards towards Outjo where we stopped off at a German bakery. It's surprising how strong the German influence still is in Namibia, given that they were only there for 30 years and left some hundred years ago. The abundance of wonderful, freshly baked bread and cakes is a legacy that is hard to resist - especially the apple strudel!
Our next stop was near Kamanjab, where we camped by a small village of Himba people. The Himbas are a very old, semi-nomadic tribe who still retain their traditional way of life. The most notable aspect is that the women never wash with water, but smear themselves on a daily basis with a mixture of cocoa butter, red ochre and bush herbs. This serves as a moisturiser, natural sunblock and insect repellent, while staining their skin a distinctive terracotta-like hue.
They also smear the mixture onto their braided hair, which makes it look similar to dreadlocks and they add extensions to make it as big as possible. They wear traditional tribal clothing with little more than an animal-skin skirt and a cotton cloth around their shoulders. The women also have a decorative adornment around their ankles which is permanently attached once they reach puberty. This is not merely decorative, but serves to protect them from snake bites when they're out in the bush.
The Himba have become quite a tourist attraction in Namibia and tend to be put on show for photos. We were advised that the Himbas don't mind their pictures being taken, as long as they can see the photos afterwards. I guess it is the only occasion that they can actually see what they look like as there were no mirrors in their camp.
Before our visit, we were encouraged by our guide to take a gift for the elder woman of the village, such as salt, sugar, maize or anything that is generally useful to them. We were invited to go inside one of the huts where a young woman lived with her child. One of the women in our tour group requested the interpretor to ask her what her hopes and dreams were for the future. She replied that she wanted more goats and animals. It's interesting that even within this primitive culture, the aspiration to have "more" was still the norm - although her aspirations were at least centred on things that would ensure her physical survival.
One of the little boys then took me by the hand over to meet his mother who was sitting outside her hut. My cowl-shell necklace had sparked some interest as the Himbas frequently use cowl shells in the jewellery that they make. I bent my head forward while the mother removed my necklace so she could inspect it more closely and see how it was made. And as we left the camp, we had the opportunity to buy some of the jewellery that they had made.
The experience left us thinking how different their lifestyle is from our own and how it must be difficult not to go stir-crazy while living within such a small camp. The Himbas do move around to access better grazing for their animals, but day-to-day life takes place within a very small area. This particular group are living in an area outside their traditional territory further north in Namibia. They were given permission by the farmer to live on the land, in return for allowing tourists to come and visit them. One young girl seemed very self-conscious at being virtually naked while the tourists were fully dressed and it was hard to walk away without feeling that they were being exploited.
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