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 Termite Castle by Myndo
Normally they have the same color as the underground they stand on, but sometimes you will see white ones and the underground is red. That is, because they dig so deep (over 75m to get to a water supply) that they bring up the material from different geolocical layers.
Most termite hills one sees are about 1 to 2 m high, but there are bigger ones. This one (in the pciture) was the winner: 8 - 10 m high. They grow bigger the older they are and this one is said to be over 100 years old, maybe several hundreds, it is hard to know, because erosion from wind and rain wears them down, too.
If there is rain some fungus will grow out of the termite hills. The termites care for them as if they were gardeners. They grow as abig as a human head and are said to taste very very good (better than truffel).
Unfortunately nobody managed to cultivate it outside the Termite Hills.... this would be a speciality world wide.
When they grow they attract not only humans, but also many animals, so they are gone fast again. Leave a Comment
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 Steffney by diageva
Tuhafeni (our great driver) did wave every single man or woman or car we find in our way and always he did have a wave back.
I love to wave, so from the beginning, before even I did notice this was a custom, I did wave all the people we saw from our bus. Waving I get to know the beautiful Steffney and other children and other people that always did wave back with a big smile.
So, remember, if you go to Namibia, do wave in your way. Leave a Comment
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 Himba Man by diageva
They are a semi-nomads descendants of Herero. Cattle and goats are very important, the men go out for search grazing for their cattle.
Himba are polygamists, but they have to have enought cattle for having wives. Leave a Comment
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 Herero by Myndo
About half of them are the Ovambo. But there are a lot of different others: the San, the Nama, the Damara, the Himba, the Kavango...
One of them are the Herero.
They make about 8% of the population.
European Missionars influenced them a lot in the end of the 19th century. This can still be seen today in the traditional clothing of the Herero woman. Its victorian stile and they wear about 12m of cloth !
The woman in the picture I stumbled upon during her changing into the clothes she works in (she made the bathrooms on the Camping place). She was actually really thin under all that clothes (I wouldn´t believe it either, if I hadn´t seen).
She saw I was interested in her stile and asked whether I wanted to make a picture (oh, sure!) Leave a Comment
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It is important to take into acount the locals demure ways. They are well covered and do not reveal their bodies, behave accordingly, it shows respect.
Try to avoid looking the local men in the eye, this is taken as a come on.
Ladies travelling alone, it is wise to carry a phot of a man and children, show it often and speak of them, even if they dont' belong to you. Leave a Comment
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 Himba boy by diageva
Male boys are also painted in black their neck as the adult men.
They learn to respect animals from the beginning and to know they are part of the village and that they are not toys but helpful for the village.
Their hair is also cut in a sort of way. A Himba boy is shaved bald, except a small hair-band in the middle.
All, hair shape and jewellery has its meaning Leave a Comment
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 Himba Women by diageva
They never use water to wash their selves; they use instead something like a sauna with herbs. Each women use their own herbs for have their own perfume.
As blood is forbidden at the Himba village, women must go out it to bear their children or in menstruation days.
Married women wear braided hair with pieces of skin.
Jewellery is very important, metal rings around their ankles, as other jewellery made of shells, copper, skin ….
It easy see them making their hair one to the other. Leave a Comment
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 by Gili_SLeave a Comment
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 Himba Chief by diageva
The holy fire must not extinguish in theory. The holy fire symbolizes the continuity between the world of the deaths and that of the living. Leave a Comment
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 School children, Outijo by Myndo
After twelve o´clock the streets fill with many school children, all wearing the same clothes.
This picture was taken in Outijo, that is close to the Etosha National Park (well, relatively close. In Namibia everything under 300km is). Leave a Comment
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