Kunene

I stood in the shade of the FNB bank in the pedestrianised Post Office Mall, central Windhoek, watching as Cameron and his cousin bargained for the best price on a model bent wire and bead giraffe, a present young Paul wanted to take home for his pal. Cameron was an old hand at this now, the proud owner of a menagerie of carved wooden and wire n' bead animals, he was sure to get a good price.

The Mall was busy, a direct route to the popular Fernhill shopping centre, and those walking past were an interesting mix of tourists and locals from the various Namibian tribal groups. One man caught my eye, dressed in blue workman's overalls he walked directly towards me, diagonally across the pedestrian flow. He grinned broadly, a smile which appeared just a little too wide and his bright white teeth just a little too big.  Approaching he held out his hand and grasped my own as if meeting an old friend. "Hello Taté" he said enthusiastically "how are you?" "I am well thank you" I replied in the standard Namibian greeting "And how are you?" "I am very happy" he said "a lady in Katatura is taking in mental people. I have my own bed and we are fed and there is water." "This sounds very good" I replied. "Yes, I am very happy. Look at my hands". He showed me the palms of his hands, then turned them over and waggled his fingers, the way a child does when pretending to play the piano. "Look" he said still smiling "They are clean. When I lived under the bridge they were always dirty, it was very hard to wash, but now I have water and I am clean." He hesitated briefly "There is no cost but I saw my brother give the lady some money, 120 dollars, he said it was for water". The man looked doubtful. "Perhaps it was" I replied "It is good your brother can pay." He smiled again. "Yes it
is good. I am very happy, very happy". I returned his broad smile with my own and the man rejoined the pedestrian flow. Meanwhile Paul and Cameron had bought the giraffe, 30 dollars, a good price indeed.

There is a large region of Namibia called Kunene, about the size of Scotland it is home to just 70,000 people and famous for desert elephants, black rhino and the Himba people, many of whom continue to live a traditional nomadic lifestyle. Often one see's pictures of the Himba, particularly Himba ladies on promotional tourist literature. This is not surprising as they give a striking impression, dressed in animal skin skirts and heavily ornamented, their bodies and tressled hair covered in a mixture of ochre, ash and butter fat, which apart from providing some protection against the harsh sun gives a deep red hue. The ladies look magnificent.

Driving from Opuwo, the capital of Kunene, we headed to Epupa Falls on the Kunene River which marks the boundary between Namibia and Angola. The scenery was stunning and although a high clearance four by four was recommended the gravel road was good. There were few cars so the Himba folk we occasionally saw hitching a lift, did so with much enthusiasm. The first lady we stopped for, carefully spread a cotton sheet on the seat, to protect the upholstery from the ochre - not that we really minded. The second was less careful and passed her baby to Eilidh to hold, red ochre quickly covering most of her 'California' top and skinny jeans.  Next there was a Himba gentlemen, also traditionally dressed and his young son squeezed in tightly, Cameron having now to sit on his mum's knee in the front seat, as the car was filling to bursting point. The man carefully placed his panga (machete) under the passenger seat and held his three dead chickens on a
stick above his head. Everybody smiled and although we only knew how to say moro (hello) and peri wee (how are you) and our passengers spoke no English, everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. Dropping off our first hitch hikers, apparently in the middle of nowhere, we quickly picked up another two Himba ladies, each with their babies, never crying, but wide eyed at these curious white people. The ladies laughed and rubbed Eilidh's hair between their fingers touched her pale white skin. 

Epupa Falls are just beautiful and the contrast between the broad fast flowing river, lined with palm trees, the greatest concentration of palm rees in Africa apparently, and the parched landscape around couldn't be
greater. Since this area was of little agricultural value and hence of little interest to the colonisers, the Himba were generally left to get on with their own affairs, their rich culture continuing, and whilst independence has brought schools, including mobile schools, and some development, many Himba continue their traditional ways.

During the liberation struggle the SWAPO fighters felt that the support from the Himba was limited and it has been suggested that there is an animosity between the SWAPO Government and the Himba people. This was brought to a head with proposals for a hydro electric plant on the Kunene River. The Kunene is very important to the Himba, not just for the water it brings, but spiritually, and many of the ancestors graves, with whom the Himbas converse through the holy fire, are buried along its banks. The Government, keen to bring development to the country wanted to tap the mighty Kunene at Epupa and potentially this could have met much of Namibia's electricity demand, but would have flooded a vast area. The project would be high profile, the huge dam symbolic of the newly independent Namibia. The Himba people objected, a tribal leader famously saying that they could no more flood the graves of their ancestors than drown their own children. There was a prolonged court battle, the Himba claiming the development was unconstitutional, the Government claiming over-riding national interest. The Himba won, there is no dam at Epupa.

Some years later Kunene was struck by three continuous years of drought. The Himba people losing most of their livestock, many having no choice but to move from the remoter areas to Opuwo and the other small towns.  A traditional way of life was seriously under threat, potentially, it was suggested, to be lost forever. What was to be done? Would traditional animosities cloud the SWAPO Government's judgement? Would resentment at the high profile defeat in the High Court limit action? No. The young democracy proved its mettle, every Himba household was compensated for the loss of each animal, new cattle were brought in, and all Himba were assisted in relocation to their traditional areas. The Himba way of life that has existed for thousands of years continues, and Kunene remains the only region of Namibia where SWAPO is not the ruling party.

Having pitched the tents on the banks of the river, under the shade of the makalani palms and just yards from the falls, and with Cameron content with a newly purchased wooden warthog and Eilidh having de-himbered, washing the ochre from her clothes, we reflected on the day's journey. Fleetingly it struck me that four topless women in my car within a twenty four hour period was something of a record, beating, in fact, my own previous personal best by about errhm..............four.

Alan