Happiness in Sand and Goat Dung

(Dana) The village of Okangombezemba. Northwest Namibia. Outside of Purros, aka the middle of nowhere in this vast, sparsely populated country. Approximately 12,000 Himba people live in Namibia. Twenty years ago, 11,000 of those 12,000 lived traditionally — a nomadic, pre-written-history existence. Today, only 1,000 live this way.

When we first arrive at the village, the big differences are obvious — dark, bare-chested women wearing skirts of calf skin strips, long braids covered in a red paste, large jewelry adornments and skin a distinct red hue from the ochre mixed with butter fat which they massage into their skin. We later learn that they are trying to achieve their image of beauty — cattle — which is the foundation of wealth in their culture. The shape of their hair braids is dictated by whether they have reached puberty, and they wear anklets which indicate how many children they have. And their bottom four incisors have been removed by the chief before age 3, because that identifies them as Himba.

The only men in the village are a guest and our interpreter; the rest are miles away with grazing cattle and goats. We tour the one room huts of sticks and cow dung, lit by fire and fumigated daily by perfumed commiphora smoke. We avoid the sacred fire pit where the Himba worship their ancestors who have lived successfully before them. We marvel at the 5-gallon (35 pound) water jugs that we watched two women carry one kilometer on their heads. We shake our heads in disbelief when learning that they never bathe (other than after childbirth) and relieve themselves in the sand outside the fence. We learn all of this while trying to avoid the goat dung, which is everywhere.

By then, we start to soak in the humanity and the sources of their happiness: adorable babies strapped to the backs of all available females to keep them close and contented. Chores shared collectively. Grandmothers watching toddlers. Lots of smiles and laughter. And a love of singing and dancing — a gift they share with Emma for her birthday. Clapping. Stomping. Twirling. Ribbing each other. Laughing. Especially the three grandmothers. Greg and I even join in, which they find hilarious (video below). Our kids return the favor by singing “Supercali” for them.

Identical Twins

We feel SO lucky to glimpse this rapidly disappearing culture in two different villages — here and outside of Serra Cafema (beyond the middle of nowhere to the absolute edge of nowhere). In Serra Cafema, we actually meet a rare set of Himba identical twins — 15-year old (approximately) girls Karime and Jeken. (The Himba donít keep track of birthdays, but rather know the context of when they were born, e.g. “during the time of the last drought when the oryx all died.”)

Two valuable lessons: Look past people’s differences to their humanity. And you can live quite happily in sand and goat dung if you have your family. Oku Heba (thank you)!