The Himba (OvaHimba) are a Bantu-speaking pastoralist people who inhabit the Kunene Region of north-western Namibia and adjacent areas of southern Angola. Their population is estimated at 20,000 to 50,000; estimates vary because the semi-nomadic character of the culture makes census-taking difficult. What is not in doubt is that the Himba represent one of the most intact traditional cultures in Africa, a people who have maintained their language, social structure, spiritual practices, and material culture in substantially unchanged form despite the surrounding modernisation of Namibia.
History
The Himba are descended from the Herero-speaking people who migrated into north-western Namibia from the east, probably in the 16th century. They share a language and broad cultural origin with the Herero people of central Namibia but diverged from them in the late 18th or early 19th century, partly in response to the difficulties of the Kaokoland environment and partly through the disruptions of the colonial period.
During the Namibian drought of 1981 to 1982 (the “Ovitoto” disaster), the Himba population suffered catastrophic losses of cattle; up to 90% of the herds were lost. The recovery since then has been significant, but the period is within living memory of elders and forms part of the cultural narrative of resilience.
The Otjize
The most immediately visible aspect of Himba culture is the otjize: a mixture of butterfat and ochre that women and girls apply to their skin and hair, producing the characteristic red-brown colour that makes Himba women some of the most recognisable people in Africa. Otjize serves multiple practical functions: sun protection, insect repellent, cleansing of the skin in a region with limited water, and the maintenance of the characteristic hairstyles that indicate social status. The specific hairstyle of a Himba woman indicates whether she is unmarried, married, post-menopausal, or in mourning.
Social Structure
The Himba have a double descent system: each person belongs simultaneously to a patrilineal clan (oruzo) that determines spiritual inheritance and a matrilineal clan (eanda) that determines property inheritance, including cattle. This dual structure is relatively unusual in African societies and produces a specific and complex social dynamic.
The omuhimba (homestead) is the basic social unit. A homestead consists of one or more related families, their cattle kraal, and the sacred ancestral fire (okuruuo) that is kept burning continuously and represents the connection between the living and the ancestors.
The Role of Cattle
Cattle are not simply an economic resource for the Himba; they are the primary expression of social status, the medium through which relationships are formalised, and a spiritual connection to the ancestors. The number of cattle a man owns determines his social standing; cattle are given in bride price negotiations; cattle are slaughtered at ceremonies. A Himba family without cattle is, by cultural definition, in crisis.
This importance of cattle drives the semi-nomadic character of Himba life: families move their herds seasonally to follow the rains and the grass, maintaining permanent homesteads at lower elevations and moving to higher pastures in the rains.