Ovaherero

Godwin Uetuundja Murangi

The Ovaherero belong to the Bantu linguistic group. The population is about 500,000, and they are found in Angola, Botswana, and Namibia. It is believed that the Ovaherero migrated from Central Africa to Angola and from Angola to the present settlement in Namibia at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century. The Ovaherero include subgroups such as Ovahimba, Ovambanderu, Ovazemba, Hakawona, Ovatjavikwa, and Ovakuvare. It is difficult to define the Ovaherero as one homogeneous group because they live in different parts of Namibia and some have adopted practices that are different because of the area in which they live. This explains why the Ovahimba from northern Namibia dress differently from those in central Namibia, who are heavily influenced by Europeans and other foreign cultures. However, there are some aspects that are common to the Ovaherero religion, as discussed in this entry. The Ovaherero are ...

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