NAMIBIA: Damara People Oldest Inihabitants Of Namibia

Indigenous Damara people of Namibia


Damara are unique ancient and aboriginal hunter-gatherers but now agriculturalist-animal husbandry and Khoekhoe-speaking people inhabiting the environs of the Brandberg and Khorixas, which is now the Erongo Region of Namibia. They once inhabited large parts of central Namibia and are regarded as the oldest inhabitants of Namibia alongside San (Bushmen) and Khoekhoe (Hottentots).

The Damara have been giving anthropologists and historians serious headaches and continue to do so with regard to their actual origins. Their physical appearance and language indicate two completely different lines of descent. The language of the Damara is a Khoekhoe language similar to that of the Nama (Khoekhoe/Hottentots) and recognizable by its characteristic clicks. However, unlike Nama (Khoekhoe) whose physical appearance is of much lighter skin colour, the Damara are completely different and possesses some light but dark skin which resembles any Bantu groups.

The Damara are also known as Khoekhoegowab: ǂNū-khoë, which literally means "Black people." The German clolonialist called them Berg Damara, referring to their extended stay in the hills of Khomas Highland. At various times the Damrara (Daman or the Damaqua) as an ethnic group make up 8.5% of Namibia's population with total number of about 140,000 people.

Some Damara people now lives outside their homeland. They live in the capital Windhoek, Okanhandja, Swakopmund, Walvis Bay, Otabi and Tsumed. Some of Namibia’s most eloquent and influential politicians are Damara, notable examples being former Prime Minister, Hage Geingob, labour minister Moses Garoeb and the speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Theo-Ben Gurirab, also a former Prime Minister.

Language
The Damara speak Khoekhoe language, like that Nama people. The majority live in the northwestern regions of Namibia, however they are also found widely across the rest of the country. They have no known cultural relationship with any of the other tribes anywhere else in Africa.



Their name in their own language is the "Daman" (where the "-n" is just the Khoekhoe plural ending). The name "Damaqua" stems from the addition of the Khoekhoe suffix "-qua/khwa" meaning "people" (found in the names of other Southern African peoples like the Namaqua and the Griqua).

History
The Damara are widely believed to be the oldest inhabitants of Namibia after the Bushmen (San) and Nama (Khoekoe/Hottentots). Thought they share similar language and customs with the Nama people, but their historical origins still shrouded in a mystery. There are two schools of thoughts or theories concerning Damara origins.

One theory avers that which their physical Bantu features, the Damara were the first Bantu people to migrate from West Africa to Namibia where they were subjected by Nama people and as a result acquired similar language and customs through acculturation.
The other theory suggests that the Damara evolved alongside the Nama in Botswana thousands of years ago. And that explains the similarities in language and culture between them. The theory states that the Damara later migrated to Namibia.

Dr Theo Ben -Gurirab, former Namibian prime minister and ethnic Damara man. On the 24th of January 2014, Dr Theo Ben-Gurirab announced he was joining the International High Level Committee for the freedom of Marwan Barghouthi and all Palestinian prisoners. Dr Theo Ben-Gurirab is the Former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Namibia and current Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Namibia. He was elected as President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union for a three-year mandate in October 2008. Since October 2011, he is Honorary President of the IPU. During his 35 years in the field of international affairs and diplomacy, notably in the UN, he served as President of the 54th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. He was instrumental in driving the UN reform process forward and presided over the drafting of the historic United Nations Millennium Declaration in 2000.

By the beginning of nineteenth century Damara communities were established in the most central parts of Namibia. They were living in a mixture of hunting, livestock farming and limited crop cultivation. They were also skilled smelters and workers of copper. It is suggested that they engaged in trade with Ovambo people of the North and Nama to the South.

Moses Garoeb, ethnic Damara man shaking hands with as foreign envoy. Moses Mague ǁGaroëb (14 April 1942 in ǀArixas near Mariental —19 September 1997 in Windhoek) was a Namibian politician, founding member of SWAPO, and member of SWAPO's Politburo and Central Committee.
During his political career, ǁGaroëb served in the Constituent Assembly of Namibia and was a Member of Parliament from the day of Namibian independence, 21 March 1990. He was appointed Minister of Labour and Human Resources in 1995, a position he held until his death

However, as tension over land exacerbated in the 19th century, particularly between the Nama and Herero, the Damara became casualties in the ensuing scuffles as their land were squeezed out from them. Some immediately became servants to the Nama and Herero, whilst many fled to the remote mountainous areas, earning them the name "Berg Damara," meaning mountain Damara.

Following the German rule over colonial Namibia, the first Damara reserve was created in 1906 around Okombahe area. The colonial administration looked down upon them because of their hunter-gathering status. Goldblatt (1971) averred "the oldest inhabitants of the country, had no fixed abode and lived under primitive conditions, hunting game and being hunted like game by any newcomer into the Territory. They were outlaws of the country... from the earliest times, and those who could not hide in the mountains had been subdued and been made slaves of Namas."

The Okombahe area was enlarged upon the recommendation of Odendaal Commission of Inquiry in 1960`s, when so-called tribal homelands were created for the different ethnic groups in Namibia. In 1973 an area of approximately 4.7 million hectares was proclaimed as Damaraland, with Khorixas as its administrative capital. Following independence, this area became part of the Erongo Region. According to the latest census (2011), about 150 400 people live here, 42 400 more than in 2001. The Damara homeland comprises northwest of the country, from Uis in the south to Sesfontein in the north, and this remains predominant Damara area even up till now.

Economy
The Damara currently rely for subsistence on the varying combination of pastoralism, foraging and horticulture as well as alternative means of income-generation within formal and informal economies.
Nowadays rural Damara people cultivate corn and vegetables, while livestock production has become an important source of income. Many work on commercial farms; others in mines, with some making a living from small mining in the Erongo Region. A relatively large number are employed in urban centres as teachers, clerics and officials.

Tradition and Culture
The community consist of several larger families called haoti. These are clusters of clans and extended families that were formerly concentrated in specific areas, consisting of about eleven sub-groups.

Clans
The Damara consist of 11 clans:
The ǂAo-daman used to live in the settlements of Outjo, Kamanjab, and Khorixas.
The Ao-guwun, their home settlement is Sesfontein.
Dâure Daman (English: Brandberg Damara after Dâures, the Khoekhoe name for the Brandberg Mountain)
The ǀGaio-daman (English: Paresis Damara) lived in the Paresis Mountains between Outjo and Otjiwarongo
The ǀGobanin (English: dune people after ǀgobas, dune) used to live in the area between Rehoboth, Seeis, and Hoachanas.
The ǁHuruben lived nomadic in the Namib Desert between Uniab River and Huab River.
The ǀKhomanin (named after the Khomas Highland) in 1854 were more than 40,000 in number.Their tribal area today is part of the city of Windhoek, rendering the clan essentially landless. Their Chief is Josephat Gawaǃnab.
ǃKhuise-daman (named after the Kuiseb River)
ǃOe-ǂAn (English: Erongo Damara after ǃOe-gas, the Khoekhoe name for the Erongo Mountains) Their home settlement is Okombahe; their current leadership is disputed.
Hago-Daman (named after the Hakos Mountains)
Tsoaxudaman (English: Swakop Damara after Tsoaxaub, the Khoekhoe name for the Swakop River)

Their religion is focused on the ‘eternal fire’ and intertwined with their hunting activities.

NAMIBIA: Herero people Of Namibia

The Herero is an ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. The majority reside in Namibia, with the remainder found in Botswana and Angola. There were an estimated 250,000 Herero people in Namibia in 2013. They speak the Herero language, which belongs to the Bantu languages.

Unlike most Bantus, who are primarily subsistence farmers, the Herero are traditionally pastoralists and make a living tending livestock. Cattle terminology in use among many Bantu pastoralist groups testifies that Bantu herders originally acquired cattle from Cushitic pastoralists inhabiting Eastern Africa. After Bantus settled in Eastern Africa, some Bantu tribes spread south. Linguistic evidence also suggests that Bantus borrowed the custom of milking cattle from Cushitic peoples; either through direct contact with them or indirectly via Khoisan intermediaries who had themselves acquired both domesticated animals and pastoral techniques from Cushitic migrants.

The Herero claim to comprise several sub-divisions, including the Himba, the Tjimba (Cimba), the Mbanderu and the Kwandu. Groups in Angola include the Mucubal Kuvale, Zemba, Hakawona, Tjavikwa, Tjimba and Himba, who regularly cross the Namibia/Angola border when migrating with their herds. However, the Tjimba, though they speak Herero, are physically distinct indigenous hunter-gatherers; it may be in the Herero's interest to portray indigenous peoples as impoverished cattleless Herero.

The leadership of the Ovaherero is distributed over eight royal houses, among them:

Maharero Royal Traditional Authority, chief Tjinaani Maharero
Zeraeua Royal Traditional Authority at Otjimbingwe
Ovambanderu Royal Traditional Authority, chief Kilus Karaerua Nguvauva
Onguatjindu Royal Traditional Authority at Okakarara, chief Sam Kambazembi

Since conflicts with the Nama people in the 1860s necessitated Ovaherero unity, they also have a paramount chief ruling over all eight royal houses, although there is currently an interpretation that such paramount chieftaincy violates the Traditional Authorities Act, Act 25 of 2000

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Herero migrated to what is today Namibia from the east and established themselves as herdsmen. In the beginning of the 19th century, the Nama from South Africa, who already possessed some firearms, entered the land and were followed, in turn, by white merchants and German missionaries.

At first, the Nama began displacing the Herero, leading to bitter warfare between the two groups, which lasted the greater part of the 19th century. Later the two peoples entered into a period of cultural exchange.

During the late 19th century, the first Europeans began entering to permanently settle the land. Primarily in Damaraland, German settlers acquired land from the Herero in order to establish farms. In 1883, the merchant Franz Adolf Eduard Lüderitz entered into a contract with the native elders. The exchange later became the basis of German colonial rule. The territory became a German colony under the name of German South-West Africa.

Soon after, conflicts between the German colonists and the Herero herdsmen began. Controversies frequently arose because of disputes about access to land and water, but also the legal discrimination against the native population by the white immigrants.

Herero Wars

Herero Wars and Herero and Namaqua Genocide
In the late 19th and early 20th century, imperialism and colonialism in Africa peaked, affecting especially the Hereros and the Namas. European powers were seeking trade routes and railways, as well as more colonies. Germany officially claimed their stake in a South African colony in 1884, calling it German South-West Africa until it was taken over in 1915. The first German colonists arrived in 1892, and conflict with the indigenous Herero and Nama people began. As in many cases of colonization, the indigenous people were not treated fairly.

Between 1893 and 1903, the Herero and Nama people's land as well as their cattle were progressively making their way into the hands of the German colonists. The Herero and Nama resisted expropriation over the years, but they were unorganized and the Germans defeated them with ease.

In 1903, the Herero people learned that they were to be placed in reservations,leaving more room for colonists to own land and prosper. In 1904, the Herero and Nama began a great rebellion that lasted until 1907, ending with the near destruction of the Herero people.

The war against the Herero and Nama was the first in which German imperialism resorted to methods of genocide. Roughly 80,000 Herero lived in German South-West Africa at the beginning of Germany’s colonial rule over the area, while after their revolt was defeated, they numbered approximately 15,000.

In a period of four years, approximately 65,000 Herero people perished.
Tree in Otjinene Koviunda where many Herero people are said to have been hanged.


Samuel Maharero, the Supreme Chief of the Herero, led his people in a great uprising on January 12, 1904, against the Germans. The Herero, surprising the Germans with their uprising, had initial success.

German General Lothar von Trotha took over as leader in May 1904.In August 1904, he devised a plan to annihilate the Herero nation.The plan was to surround the area where the Herero were, leaving but one route for them to escape, into the desert.

The Herero battled the Germans, and the losses were minor. It was when they had escaped through the only passage made available by the Germans, and had been chased away from the last watering hole into complete desertion, that casualties grew to insufferable amounts. It was then that the Herero uprising changed from war, to genocide.

At the 100th anniversary of the massacre, German Minister for Economic Development and Cooperation Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul commemorated the dead on site and apologized for the crimes on behalf of all Germans. Hereros and Namas demanded financial reparations, however in 2004 there was only minor media attention in Germany on this matter.

Culture
Herero Woman Namibia

The Hereros are traditionally cattle-herding pastoralists who rate status on the number of cattle owned. Cattle raids occurred between Herero groups, but Herero land (Ehi Rovaherero) belongs to the community and has no fixed boundaries.

The Herero have a bilateral descent system. A person traces their heritage through both their father's lineage, or oruzo (plural: otuzo), and their mother's lineage, or eanda (plural: omaanda). In the 1920s, Kurt Falk recorded in the Archiv für Menschenkunde that the Ovahimba retained a "medicine-man" or "wizard" status for homosexual men.

He wrote, "When I asked him if he was married, he winked at me slyly and the other natives laughed heartily and declared to me subsequently that he does not love women, but only men. He nonetheless enjoyed no low status in his tribe."The Holy Fire okuruuo (OtjikaTjamuaha) of the Herero is located at Okahandja.

During immigration the fire was doused and quickly relit. From 1923 to 2011, it was situated at the Red Flag Commando. On Herero Day 2011, a group around Paramount Chief Kuaima Riruako claimed that this fire was facing eastwards for the past 88 years, while it should be facing towards the sunset. They removed it and placed it at an undisclosed location, a move that has stirred controversy among the ovaherero community.

Language

Otjiherero
Despite sharing a language and pastoral traditions, the Herero are not a homogeneous people. The main Herero group in central Namibia,sometimes called Herero proper, was heavily influenced by Western culture during the colonial period, creating a whole new identity. The Herero proper and their southern counterparts the Mbanderu, for instance, wear garments similar to those worn by colonial Europeans.

Traditional leather garments are worn by northwestern groups, such as the Himba, Kuvale, and Tjimba, who are also more conservative in other aspects such as not buying bedding, but rather sleep in bedding made of cow skin. The Kaokoland Herero and those in Angola have remained isolated and are still pastoral nomads, practicing limited horticulture.

The Herero language (Otjiherero) is the main unifying link among the Herero peoples.It is a Bantu language, part of the Niger–Congo family.Within the Otjiherero umbrella, there are many dialects, including Oluthimba or Otjizemba—which is the most common dialect in Angola—Otjihimba, and Otjikuvale. These differ mainly in phonology, and are largely mutually intelligible, though Kuvale, Zemba, and Hakaona have been classified as separate languages. Standard Herero is used in the Namibian media and is taught in schools throughout the country.

Beliefs and superstitions

Omuroi
Omuroi is a Herero noun describing someone who is suspected of being a witch who flies at night, or someone who performs witchcraft or rides people at night. More sort of a ghost person, some claim to struggle with sleeping when a certain person is around due to their belief of that person possessing omuroi. Others claim to also believe that such beings talk at night and when such voices are heard, a shout may scare them away.

Others resort to sleeping with candles on, believing that the omuroi fears or hates light. Some may even bring in spiritual doctors to perform ceremonies to chase this omuroi away. This superstition has been passed on for generations and continues in the modern culture of the Herero people.

Domestic animals
The Herero making a living out of rearing domestic animals, including:

Cattle
Ankole Cattle

Cattle are most valued domestic animals in the Herero culture, therefore cattle herding is the most significant and substantial activity for the Herero people. In the Herero culture the cattle herding and cattle trading activities are only conducted by males while females are responsible for milking cows, carrying out household chores, harvesting small field crops and taking care of the young children. As women are responsible for milking cows, there are also responsible for preparing the delicious sour milk called "Omaere".

Although males are responsible for the cattle trading activities the females do most of the trading such as bartering for other goods. The Herero people take pride in their cattle hence the culture of Herero requires women to wear hats shaped of cow horns so as to show importance of cattle in their culture and they also believe that the more cattle one has the richer he or she is, so cattle is used as symbol of wealth in this culture.

In call for celebrations such as marriages cattle is normally used for meat consumption while for carrying out religious or ancestral ceremonies, ancestors are honored by sacrifice of cows or animals.

Goats and sheep
Goats and sheep are also used for meat consumption, and the goat milk is used to make dairy products. The goat skin has a significant use as it can be used to carry babies on the back and create household ornaments. In the Herero culture the goat dung is a used for medicinal purposes as it is normally used for healing chicken pox.

Horses and donkeys
Horse and Donkeys are normally used for transportation. In cases of herding or searching for lost domestic animals the Herero people engage horses to carry out these activities. Herero people consume donkey meat too but rarely consume horse meat.

Dogs and chicken
When males go for hunting they use dogs to help in hunting also for herding. The Herero people tend to hunt to acquire meat,hides and horns so as to barter for goods such as sugar, tea and tobacco. Chickens are kept for meat consumption and breeding eggs.