Namibia Local Customs

 
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The Herero

by MikeAtSea

The third-largest group with about 150.000 members, are the Herero people who mainly inhabit central Namibia. The Herero women's wide skirts and colourful headgear; the shape of which reminds one of a cow's horns, can be traced back to the influence of the missionaries' wives who, in the beginning, were upset about the women's sparing traditional dress. The proud, tall and strongly built Herero people are fanatic cattle breeders. Their land is always overgrazed. Their centre is Okahandja where every year, they hold a festival to honour their ancestors.

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Meet the locals

by mad4travel

Herero WomenYou may come across Herero women selling handicrafts by the side of the road. The Herero are a people belonging to the Bantu group, The majority of the Herero live in Namibia, with the remainder living in Botswana and Angola.The Herero have a sad history in Namibia. During the late 19th century, Europeans began entering to permanently settle the land. 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 of the native...

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German Influence

by SanguiniA

It is common knowledge that Namibia has a cetrain Gerrman influence .... one example is the beer, brewed to German standards. And do the Namibians know how to make a refreshing beer!!! I am referring to the wonderful Windhoek Lager - yummy. There is also Tafel but I would prefer the Windhoek anytime, especially in the desert :-) But a word of warning, drunk driving is not looked upon nicely here so be careful, for your own sake first and foremost ;-)

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Respect the Locals

by Acirfa

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.

local food - Biltong

by chicabonita

Biltong is dried meat. Meat from different game is used. I ate kudu and oryx biltong. It is very very delicious. But it is nothing for vegetarian and I guess not everyone would like it. I could ate tons of it :-))

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Namibian Barbecue

by chicabonita

Namibians love to barbecue! It is called brai. The meat in Namibia is excellent. Namibians really love to eat meat! It isn't the country for vegetarian :-) Try also the more extraordinary ones like oryx or springboek. A must which goes with a Brai is the very delicious chutney and a toast with apricot jam ... mmmmmmmmmmhhhhh!!!

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Termite Hills

by Myndo

Termite Hills are a common view in the lnadscapes of Namibia.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...

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back from School

by Myndo

You will see this several times in Namibia, especially when you have to fill up for gas and food in the bigger cities.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).

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Himba Men

by diageva

Men are changing their traditional Himba wears that are to pieces of leather for front and behind, and replacing them for cotton clothes.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.

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Himba Chief

by diageva

Himba Chief is the more important of the village. In front of the entrance of his hut you will find the holy fire. The space from the entrance hut to the fire is a sacred space and no one can get in.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.

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Local traditions and culture in Namibia

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Local Customs: Cities in Namibia
  1. Windhoek Local Customs
  2. Etosha National Park Local Customs
  3. Swakopmund Local Customs
  4. Namib-Naukluft Park Local Customs
  5. Katima Mulilo Local Customs
  6. Uis Local Customs

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Khomas Local Customs  Erongo Local Customs  Swakopmund Local Customs  Caprivi Local Customs  Karas Local Customs  Kunene Local Customs 

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Questions and Answers

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Q:  Hi, I've been looking into planning a trip to Namibia and Botswana, but I haven't been finding much useful information as to how... 

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A: The two countries share a huge border. I've been through the crossings at either end of the Caprivi Strip so could offer general comments (although better travelled... 

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