Namibia Culture
Experience the people and culture of Namibia
Introduction
African history and culture are so richly varied that they differ not only from one country to the next but also between and within regions and nations.
The authentic social fabric of customary rituals, works of art, and music which serve as the foundation for constructing identities, is held together by the culture of each ethnic group.
Background
The people of Namibia are a diverse group, and their culture and traditions incorporate both African and European elements.
Contributing to its colorful history is how the majority of Namibians who still reside in rural areas strongly hold cultural traditions despite the nation's rapid urbanisation.
With a population of about 2.55 million people, German along with English and Afrikaans, is the languages that is still extensively spoken in this Southern African country.
The People and Tribes
Namibians, who come from a range of linguistic and cultural groupings, are primarily engaged in agriculture, hunting and gathering, traditional pastoralist practices, subsistence and commercial farming, trading, mining, and fishing.
All groups and people in Namibia continue to live extremely independently from outside influences and are primarily involved in agricultural operations.
The Himba people, a nomadic people with an incredibly untouched culture, is one example of this, and interestingly, they rarely bath with water but instead apply red ochre to their skin and partake in a daily smoke bath in order to maintain good hygiene.
They are famed as the ‘red people’ due to the staining of the red ochre and there is an incredible beauty in their intricate hairstyles, traditional jewelry and warm welcoming of strangers.
Namibia’s dry lands is actually a home for about 13 different ethnic groups with Ovambo (or Ambo) the largest ethnic group, making up about 50% of the total population.
