Cultural Tours in Namibia

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An estimated 25 000 years ago, San tribes originating from areas further south moved into the Namibian territory and continued their lives as nomadic hunter-gatherers on the game-rich fringes of the Kalahari. Many of the petroglyphs in Southern Africa are ascribed to the San. They are the oldest human race still in existence but marginalised by developments over the last few hundred years, they are nowadays fighting to keep their ancient believe system alive – and ultimately for their own survival.

The Living Museum projects in Namibia support the San in their plight and provide renewed hope through facilitating gentle adaptations to modern times. One of these projects is based on the Omandumba Farm in the Erongo Mountains where travellers may experience the amazing knowledge of nature, the traditions and survival skills of the San first hand.

Historic evidence proved that the desert-dominated territory that is now the independent Republic of Namibia also used to be inhabited by another ancient people, many thousands of years ago. Little is known about those hunter-gatherers who had livestock and semi-permanent settlements as well.

They migrated between summer and winter pastures situated far apart, and obviously felt as comfortable in the highlands separating Namibia’s two great thirstlands as they did on the edges of the Namib Desert. The origins of this people and whether they were at least partially responsible for creating those awe-inspiring rock art galleries found all over Namibia remained however shrouded in mystery.

The Damara are regarded as the oldest ethnic culture of livestock breeders and subsistence farmers in the country but their origin is likewise unknown.

Damaraland features some of the most fascinating geological and historical curiosities, such as the World Heritage Site of Twyfelfontein, the Organ Pipes, the Burnt Mountain, the Vingerklip rock formation and the Petrified Forest.

Travellers may gain insights into the traditions and rituals of this ancient African culture by visiting the Living Museum of the Damara situated near the Twyfelfontein rock engravings.

Another ancient ethnic culture of still undetermined origin is that of the Nama of southern Namibia. The presence of many click sounds in their language and some physical features seem to point at Khoikhoi and San influences. The Topnaar, a Nama splinter group, settled further north, near the Kuiseb River mouth, and their descendants still farm the !Nara plant indigenous to that part of the Namib.

All other ethnic African cultures in Namibia, - the Caprivians, Herero, Kavango and Owambo -, are Bantu-speaking and originate from north-central or western Africa. Traditionally cattle and subsistence farmers, they arrived in south-western Africa approx. some 600 years ago, where a great human migration ended. After moving down the eastern side of the continent and finding Southern Africa occupied by mostly warrior tribes, they circumnavigating the Kalahari Basin, until they finally found the vast uninhabited tracks of fertile land they had been searching for.

The majority of these immigrants settled in the north of Namibia where permanent rivers ensured a frequent supply of grazing and additional food sources. The rural lives of their descendants are still largely dictated by vivid ancient traditions, and even political changes since 1990 have had little effect on the structures of local communities.

Only the Herero people whose majority wanted to settle on the arid western edges of the Kalahari experienced a split when the Himba tribe refused to give up their traditional life style.

The Himba eventually retreated to the remote Kaokoland, just south of the Kunene River. Here they continued living as semi-nomadic pastoralists, and gained the attention of foreign visitors from far and wide, especially for their use of ochre for skin protection and their adornments made from iron.

The remainder of the Herero went on to become some of the most successful cattle breeders in Namibia and to adopt European influences into their culture, such as a Victorian-inspired fashion. Travellers staying in the Okahandja area on the third Sunday of August should not miss the annual Herero Day celebrations in town.

Namibia has also got small pockets of Batswana, mixed-race groups like the Rehoboth Basters and Coloureds, and several of European descent, each with their own language, customs and cultural heritage.

Although English is independent Namibia’s only official language, Afrikaans and German, the languages of the former colonial powers, are still widely spoken. Christian believes are also shared across the nation, as are many preferences in food and beverages.

Namibia is a multi-cultural nation whose intrinsically peaceful mentality was shaped by the sedate life style of its pastoral African cultures and the humanistic values of Europe. The resulting calmness in the country is contagious to the visitor, as is the unpretentious friendliness, which make cultural experience in Namibia not quite as glamorous as elsewhere but truly authentic.