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58-512: The FMS was organized by K. J. G. Sirelius , who first worked as the society's secretary and during 1864–1872 as its first mission director. The FMS mission school was also founded during his term. The first missionaries from this society graduated in 1868 and were deployed to the Ovambo area in southern Africa that was later separated by colonial borders into southern Angola and northern South West Africa , today Namibia, in 1870. There they established

116-543: A Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, primarily modern Namibia . They are the single largest ethnic group in Namibia , accounting for about half of the population. Despite concerted efforts from Christian missionaries to wipe out what were believed to be 'pagan practices', they have retained many aspects of their cultural practices. They are also found in the southern Angolan province of Cunene , where they are more commonly referred to as "Ambo". The Ovambo consist of

174-584: A dialect of Oshivambo . With a consortium of other mission agencies, in 1966 the FELM was also involved in establishing the China Lutheran Seminary in Hsinchu City , Taiwan . Ovambo people The Ovambo people ( pronounced [ovambo] ), also called Aawambo , Ambo , Aawambo (Ndonga, Nghandjera, Kwambi, Kwaluudhi, Kolonghadhi, Mbalantu, mbadja), or Ovawambo (Kwanyama), are

232-406: A high waist or below the bust , incorporating multiple petticoats and up to ten metres of fabric. The long sleeves display sculptural volume: puffed from the shoulders or frilled at the wrists. Coordinating neckerchiefs are knotted around the neck. For everyday wear, dresses are ingeniously patchworked together from smaller pieces of fabric, which may be salvaged from older garments. Dresses made from

290-475: A living out of rearing domestic animals . Cattle are the 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, household chores, harvesting small field crops and taking care of

348-696: A move that has stirred controversy among the Ovaherero community. Despite sharing a language and pastoral traditions, the Herero are not a homogeneous people. Traditional leather garments are worn by northwestern groups, such as the Himba, Kuvale, and Tjimba, who also conserve pre-colonial traditions in other aspects: for example, they do not buy 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. However,

406-459: A number of kindred Bantu ethnic tribes who inhabit what was formerly called Ovamboland . In Angola, they are a minority, accounting for about two percent of the total Angolan population. There are about 2 million people of the Ovambo ethnic group, and they are predominantly Lutheran (97%) and traditional faith (3%). The Ovambo people reside in the flat sandy grassy plains of north Namibia and

464-474: 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 the majority had escaped through the only passage made available by the Germans, and had been systematically prevented from approaching watering holes, that starvation began to take its toll. It

522-442: A single material are reserved for special occasions. The most distinctive feature of Herero women's dress is their horizontal horned headdress, the otjikaiva , which is a symbol of respect, worn to pay homage to the cows that have historically sustained the Herero. The headdresses can be formed from rolled-up newspaper covered in fabric. They are made to match or coordinate with dresses, and decorative brooches and pins attached to

580-670: A small number in South Africa . The Hereros in Botswana and South Africa are there because of displacement during the 1904 - 1908 genocide committed by the German Empire . Unlike most Bantu, who are primarily subsistence farmers , the Herero are traditionally pastoralists . They 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

638-543: Is acting in the position since Rukoro's death. The genealogy of the Paramount Chiefs of the Herero is: In the 15th century, the Herero migrated to what is now 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,

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696-501: Is also brewed and consumed in urban areas. This liquor is then called omangelengele ; it is more potent and sometimes poisonous. New Era , a Namibian English-language daily newspaper, reported that clothes, shoes, and tyres have been found to have been brewed as ingredients of omangelengele . The following table contains the names, areas, dialect names and the locations of the Ovambo according to T. E. Tirronen's Ndonga-English Dictionary. The table also contains information concerning

754-405: Is not for meat ( ombelela ), but primarily as a source of milk ( omashini ). Their food is supplemented by hunting, fishing, and gathering. During the colonial era, the Ovambo were active in elephant ( eenjaba ) hunting for their tusks to supply the ivory demand, and they nearly hunted the elephants in their region to extinction. Each Ovambo tribe had a hereditary chief who is responsible for

812-733: Is that of the Paramount Chief , the leader of all Herero people. The position is vacant and in dispute, and so far, no formal gazetting has been done by the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development . Potential candidates are Prof Mutjinde Katjiua (elected in March 2021 by the Ovaherero Traditional Authority, OTA) and Dr Hoze Riruako (elected by "a splinter group within the OTA" on 5 February 2023). Meanwhile, Chief Vipuira Kapuuo from Ovitoto

870-419: Is the daughter's lineage that created Ovambo people, according to the traditional beliefs of the matrilineal Ovambo people. The rituals involve elaborate fire making and keeping ceremonies, rain making dance, and rites have involved throwing herbs in the fire and inhaling the rising smoke. The head priest traditionally was the king of a tribe, and his role was in part to attend to the supernatural spirits and be

928-425: Is the mainstay of their economy. Historically cattle raids occurred between Herero clans, but Hereroland (Ehi rOvaherero) belongs to all the Ovaherero and has no fixed boundaries. The Herero have a double descent system. A person traces their heritage through their mother's lineage, or eanda (plural: omaanda ), and one gains clan leadership from their father's lineage, or oruzo (plural: otuzo ). In

986-762: 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. Herero people believe in Okuruuo (holy fire), which is a link to their ancestors to speak to Ndjambi on their behalf. Modern-day Herero are mostly Christians, primarily Catholic, Lutheran, and Born-again Christian. The Herero make

1044-495: The Cunene Province in south Angola , sometimes referred to as Ovamboland. These plains are generally flat, stoneless and at high altitude. Water courses, known as oshanas , irrigate the area. In the northern regions of Ovamboland is tropical vegetation sustained by abundant but seasonal rainfall that floods the region into temporary lakes and islands. In dry season, these pools of water empty out. The Ovambo have adapted to

1102-747: The Himba , Tjimba (Cimba), Mbanderu , and Kwandu. Groups in Angola include the Mucubal OvaKuvale, Zemba , OvaHakawona, OvaTjavikwa, OvaTjimba and OvaHimba, who regularly cross the Namibia/Angola border when migrating with their herds. However, the OvaTjimba, though they speak Herero, are physically distinct indigenous hunter-gatherers . It may be in the Hereros' interest to portray indigenous peoples as impoverished Herero who do not own livestock. The leadership of

1160-463: The 100th anniversary of the genocide, German Minister for Economic Development and Cooperation Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul commemorated the dead on site and apologised 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. The Herero are traditionally cattle-herding pastoralists, thus cattle

1218-785: The 14th century from the Zambia region to the northeast. They settled near the Angola-Namibia border then expanded further south in Namibia in the 17th century. They have a close cultural, linguistic and historical relationship to the Herero people found in more southern parts of Namibia, and Kavango people to their east settled around the Okavango River . In contrast to most ethnic groups in Africa, their isolated, low-density pastoral nomadic lifestyle left

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1276-501: The 1920s, Kurt Falk recorded in the Archiv für Menschenkunde that the Ovahimba retained a "medicine-man" or "wizard". 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

1334-593: The Bantu settled in Eastern Africa, some Bantu nations spread south. Linguistic evidence also suggests that the Bantu borrowed the custom of milking cattle from Cushitic peoples; either through direct contact with them or indirectly via Khoisan intermediaries who had acquired both domesticated animals and pastoral techniques from Cushitic migrants. Though the Herero primarily reside in Namibia , there are also significant populations in Botswana and Angola . In Botswana,

1392-576: The Herero dress." Kavari has won the Best Herero Dress competition three times in a row, but has been criticised for raising the hem of the garment to the knee. 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

1450-459: 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,

1508-510: The Herero people learnt that they were to be placed in reservations, leaving more room for colonialists to own land and prosper. The Herero, 1904, and Nama, 1905, 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

1566-584: The Hereros or Ovaherero are mostly found in Maun and some villages surrounding Maun. These villages among others are Sepopa , Toromuja , Karee and Etsha . Some of them are at Mahalapye . In the South eastern part of Botswana they are at Pilane. There are also a few of them in the Kgalagadi South, that is Tsabong, Omawaneni, Draaihoek and Makopong Villages. The Herero claim to comprise several sub-divisions, including

1624-600: The Mbanderu, incorporates and appropriates the styles of clothing worn by their German colonizers. Though the attire was initially forced upon the Herero, it now operates as a new tradition and a point of pride. During the 1904-07 war, Herero warriors would steal and wear the uniforms of German soldiers they had killed, believing that this transferred the dead soldiers' power to them. Today, on ceremonial occasions, Herero men wear military-style garb, including peaked caps , berets , epaulettes , aiguillettes and gaiters , "to honour

1682-516: 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 18th 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,

1740-516: The Ovaherero is distributed over several heads of clans of which some are more prominent and referred as royal houses, among them: Since conflicts with the Nama people in the 1860s necessitated Ovaherero unity, they also have a paramount chief ruling over all clans of Ovaherero, although there is currently an interpretation that such paramount chieftaincy violates the Traditional Authorities Act , Act 25 of 2000. The highest office

1798-471: The Ovamba have preferred a syncretic form of Christianity. Most weddings feature a combination of Christian beliefs and Ovambo traditions. Their traditional dancing is done to drumming (Oshiwambo folk music). The traditional home is a complex of huts surrounded by a fence of large vertical poles linked by two horizontal poles on each side. The complex is a maze with two gates but it is easy to get lost within

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1856-478: The Ovambo people is the primary faith of less than 3%, as most state Christianity to be their primary faith. The Ovambo's traditional religion envisions a supreme being named Kalunga , with their rites and rituals centered around sacred fire like many ethnic groups in southwestern Africa. The Kalunga cosmology states that the Supreme Being created the first man and first woman, who had a daughter and two sons. It

1914-657: The Ovambo people largely unaffected by Swahili-Arab and European traders before the 19th century. When Germany established a colony in Namibia in 1884, they left the Ovambo people undisturbed. The Germans focused on the southern and coastal regions. After World War I, Namibia was annexed by the South African government into the Union of South Africa as the Territory of South West Africa . This brought major changes, with South African plantation, cattle breeding and mining operations entering

1972-557: The Ovamboland. The Portuguese colonial administration in Angola, who had previously focused on their coastal, northern and eastern operations, entered southern Angola to form a border with the expanding South African presence. The Ovambo people launched several armed rebellions against South African rule in the 1920s and 1930s, which were all suppressed by the Union Defence Force . The South African administration in Namibia continued

2030-587: The area that today is the Kavango Region . The first Ovambo pastors were ordained in 1925. By 1960, the society had deployed over 100 people in Ovamboland alone. Following political unrest in the Namibian struggle for independence , in the 1980s there were only 14 Finns left. After independence, Finland became one of the major supporters of development in Namibia. The Finnish Missionary Society ceded their missionary work and instead started to promote "friendship between

2088-623: 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 were killed. Samuel Maharero, the Paramount Chief of the Herero, led his people in a large-scale 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

2146-439: The centre front. This dress style continues to evolve. In urban Windhoek , fashion designers and models are updating Herero dress for modern, younger wearers, including glamorous sheer and embellished fabrics. "Change is difficult, I understand, but people need to get used to the change," says designer McBright Kavari. "I'm happy to be a part of the change, to be winning souls of people and making people happy when they are wearing

2204-463: The chief representative of the Ovambo tribe to the deities. Christianity arrived among the Ovambo people in the late 19th century. The first Finnish missionaries arrived in Ovamboland in the 1870s, and Ovambo predominantly converted and thereof have identified themselves as Lutheran Christians. The influence of the Finnish missions not only related to the religion, but cultural practices. For example,

2262-501: The classification of noun class of the Proto-Bantu language for these words. Herero people The Herero ( Otjiherero : Ovaherero ) are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa . 178,987 Namibians identified as Ovaherero in the 2023 census. They speak Otjiherero , a Bantu language . Though the Herero primarily reside in Namibia , there are also significant populations in Botswana and Angola , and

2320-509: The daughter's children, not the son's. Polygyny is accepted, with the first wife recognized as the senior. Ovambo brew a traditional liquor called ombike . It is distilled from fermented fruit mash and particularly popular in rural areas. The fruit to produce ombike are collected from makalani palms ( Hyphaene petersiana ), jackal berries ( Diospyros mespiliformis ), buffalo thorns ( Ziziphus mucronata ), bird plumes and cluster figs ( Ficus racemosa ). Ombike , with additives like sugar,

2378-449: The fallen ancestors and to keep the memories alive." Herero women adopted the floor-length gowns worn by German missionaries in the late 19th century, but now make them in vivid colors and prints. Married and older Herero women wear the dresses, locally known as ohorokova , every day, while younger and unmarried women wear them mainly for special occasions. Ohorokova dresses are high-necked and have voluminous skirts lavishly gathered from

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2436-554: The homestead. Each hut generally has a different purpose, such as a Ondjugo (the woman of the homestead's hut) or Epata (kitchen area). The Ovambo people lead a settled life, relying mostly on a combination of agriculture and animal husbandry. The staple crops have been millet and sorghum ( iilyavala ), and beans ( omakunde ) are another popular crop. In drier regions or seasons, pastoral activity with herds of cattle ( eengobe / eenghwandabi ), goats ( iikombo / onakamela ) and sheep ( eedi ) becomes more important. The animal husbandry

2494-497: The independent churches". The best-known Finnish missionary in Namibia was Nakambale ( Ndonga for 'the one who wears the hat'), a nickname given to Martti Rautanen . From 1880, Rautanen worked in Olukonda at one of the first mission stations to the Ovambo people. He initiated the building of the first church in Ovamboland in 1889, and he translated the Bible into Oshindonga ,

2552-468: The legal discrimination against the native population by the white immigrants. 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

2610-435: 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 missionaries considered the shape of the traditional headdress Ekori , which symbolized the horns of cows (the main source of wealth of the people), as a symbol of the devil and rejected it. The dress of the Herero proper, and their southern counterparts

2668-463: 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

2726-618: The mission station at Omandongo , today in the Onayena Constituency of Oshikoto Region . The mission station was proclaimed a national monument in 2014. At the request of the Rhenish Missionary Society , but also due to a contempt of the politics and ideas of the German missionaries, their activities started with the Ondonga tribe of the Ovambo people. They later spread to all of Ovamboland , southern parts of Angola, and to

2784-399: The more cattle one has, the richer one is, making cattle a symbol of wealth. In celebrations such as marriages, cattle is normally eaten, whereas religious or ancestral veneration ceremonies involve the sacrifice of cows or other animals. Goats and sheep are kept for their meat and milk. Goatskin is manufactured into child carriers and to create household ornaments . Goat dung, meanwhile,

2842-581: The north. However, because of labor shortage in the Police Zone and South Africa, in part because of massacre of native Africans such as through the Herero and Namaqua genocide , the South African government allowed migrant wage labor. Numerous Ovambo people became migrant laborers in South African towns such as Cape Town and in the Police Zone, where they experienced segregation and lived under highly restrained human rights. The South African Apartheid rule

2900-534: The people: Anyone who delivers one captain will receive 1,000 marks, whoever delivers Samuel Maharero will receive 5,000 marks. The Herero people must, however, leave the land. If the populace does not do this, I will force them with the Groot Rohr [cannon]. Within the German borders every Herero, with or without a gun, with or without cattle, will be shot. I will no longer accept women and children, I will drive them back to their people or I will have them shot at." On

2958-404: The so-called "Police Zone" in south, a region created by the Germans with a veterinary Red Line covering about two-thirds of the province later to become Namibia. Ovambo people were not allowed to move into the Police Zone, neither other tribes nor Europeans could move north without permits. This isolated the Ovambo people, preserving traditional authorities and reducing numbers of White farmers in

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3016-514: The tribe. Many tribes adapted representation by having a council of headmen who run tribal affairs. Members of the royal family of the Owamboland are known as aakwanekamba , ovakwaluvala , ovakwamalanga , ovakwaanime , aakwanyoka and many more; only those who belong to this family by birth, through the maternal line, have a claim to chieftainship. The tribes figure their descent by a matrilineal kinship system, with hereditary chiefs arising from

3074-425: The typical dress style of the contemporary Ovambo women that includes a head scarf and loose full length maxi, is derived from those of the 19th-century Finnish missionaries. The Ovambo now predominantly follow Christian theology, prayer rituals and festivities, but some of the traditional religious practices have continued, such as the use of ritual sacred fire. They also invoke their supreme creator Kalunga . Thus,

3132-567: The widely varying seasonal weather patterns with their housing, agriculture, and livestock practices. The Ovambo people are a Bantu-speaking group. In Namibia, these are the AaNdonga, Ovakwanyama, Aakwambi, Aangandjera, Aambalantu, Ovaunda, Aakolonkadhi, Aakwaluudhi and Aambandja. In Angola, they are the Ovakwanyama, Aakafima, Evale and Aandonga. The Ovakwanyama are the largest sub-tribe. The Ovambo started migrating to their current location around

3190-451: 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 their iconic fabric hats shaped like cow horns. They believe that

3248-480: Was brought into the Ovamboland in 1948. The South African government declared the Ovamboland an independent province in 1973, and appointed chiefs aligned with the South African government's policies. The Ovambo people rejected these developments, and in 1975 the appointed chief minister of Ovamboland was assassinated. In conjunction with the armed SWAPO movement, Namibia and its Ovambo people gained independence from South Africa in 1990. The traditional religion of

3306-413: 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 peoples' land and cattle were progressively being taken by German colonial settlers. The Herero and Nama resisted expropriation over the years. In 1903,

3364-457: Was then that the Herero uprising changed from war, to genocide. Lothar von Trotha called the conflict a "race war". He declared in the German press that "no war may be conducted humanely against non-humans" and issued an "annihilation order": "... The Herero are no longer German subjects. They have murdered and stolen, they have cut off the ears, noses, and other body parts of wounded soldiers, now out of cowardice they no longer want to fight. I tell

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