Traveling to get to know other cultures, being aware of differences that aren’t really differences, witnessing other ways of life and then with all that, if you want, having a review of priorities, or not, to each their own… Sometimes, to discover those other realities scattered around the world you have to pay a small toll and participate in one way or another in a business that you don’t know to what extent it harms or helps those who participate in it.
During the trip to Namibia, one of the dreams was to get to know the Himba tribe. In the north of the country, in the area of Epupa Falls they are quite numerous, however the independently planned route didn’t leave room to get there, which made it harder to turn that dream into a memory.
The ideal: meeting them along the way, stopping the 4×4 and spending as much time as possible with them, even staying overnight in their huts.
The reality: you pay in kind, with money, or by buying their supposed handicrafts to spend some time, take some photos and try to absorb like a sponge everything the guide/translator tells you.
Result: reality sometimes tramples on ideals and leaves you with a somewhat stale aftertaste and a strange feeling of guilt… what can you do… or maybe something can be done… anyway, that’s another debate.
Be that as it may, the dream came true even if it had to be adjusted a bit to the imposed reality. And the result is a unique experience to learn about the Himba, one of the most famous tribes in Africa, along with, for example, the Masai and the Bushmen. Then you discover that they are a semi-nomadic people who live mainly from herding their livestock consisting of cows and goats. This is why in the mornings only women and children are seen because the men are out with the animals. Men who, by the way, can have more than one wife, as long as the husband does not spend more than two nights with the same wife.
They are in charge of building the mud and wood huts where they live, carrying water, cooking, taking care of the children and even shaving the men. Himba women are characterized by their reddish color that they get from smearing their bodies with a mixture of ochre, cow butter, and ash that protects them from the sun and keeps their skin and hair clean since they are forbidden from washing with water. Their leather skirts are striking, as are their hairstyles and ornaments that indicate their social position within the tribe, whether she is single, married, widowed, if she is a mother…
If you are going to travel to Namibia on your own but if, like me, you do not reach the Epupa area, you can meet the Himba near Kamanjab, not far from Etosha National Park, at Gelbingen Lodge , a farm with accommodation owned by some Germans where these Europeans live alongside the Himba. It is not necessary to stay there; you can simply write to them in advance to arrange a visit (in 2011 it cost 300 NAD for two people, about 24 euros) during which you will be accompanied by a young Himba who speaks English and will tell you many interesting facts about his ethnic group. To enter the property you will find a metal gate in the middle of nowhere that seems closed but is not; you have to get out of the 4×4 and open it yourself to get through.
Regardless of whether we are contributing to their destruction or helping them (although that reflection should not be left aside), I am left with the best memory: this look.
You can read more about the Himba and see more photos on the blogs of:
