During a birding trip in the arid remote Kunene region of Northern Namibia, I had the opportunity to visit a community of Himba people. While my friends were searching for birds, I spent the afternoon with these fascinating and friendly people.

Our guide, a Himba himself recommended we take goods such as flour, oil and salt as gifts. So our first stop was the general store where we stocked up before our visit.

On arrival, we were welcomed warmly by some woman and children while our guide explained the traditional way of life belonging to these people. We were also invited to tour the community where it was explained to us that the village is designed around a ‘sacred fire’ which is kept burning continuously.

Traditional house of the Himba people

Their homesteads are cone-shaped and made from sapling posts (normally mopane trees), bound together to form the dome and then plastered with mud and dung. They are very small and only used for sleeping with virtually nothing in them other than a little bedding and utensils.

The Himba Women

The Himba women are beautiful – there is no other word to describe them.

The first thing I noticed was their magnificent skin. Every morning they mix a paste of butterfat and red ochre and blend it over their bodies including their faces. This gives them a rich shining burnt red hue. The purpose is twofold. Because they live in an extremely arid area, water is precious and no one has the luxury of bathing. The paste is used to cleanse their skin. The other reason is that it serves as a sunscreen against the harsh Namibian sun. The women wear very few clothes, normally just a skirt made from calf skins, so they need as much protection as possible.

I also believe it is to enhance their beauty.

Himba women also wear the most exotic and ornate headgear. Each style indicates their age and social status.

Married Himba women showing off their hairstyles and ornate jewellery.

After a year of marriage or following the birth of their first child, Himba women wear elaborate animal skin headdresses called Erembe.

Young Himba girl with two plaits parrallel with her eyes

Himba Jewellery

Beautiful jewellery made from leather, iron, copper and shells adorn them, especially the woman. Even babies have beads round their necks and wrists. Beaded anklets are wrapped around their lower legs to protect them against animal and snake bites.

The main necklace has a shell or cone shell, which symbolizes marriage and is strung with iron and ostrich egg beads.

Of course, I was itching to take photos of these interesting and photogenic people and had to keep reminding myself to be respectful and well mannered. They did grant me permission, and all the photos on this post are mine. Once the children warmed themselves to me, we ended up have much fun with the camera, especially when I let them take the photos themselves.

I highly recommend, that if you lucky enough like I was to visit a Himba family, don’t hesitate. Take time to get to know them. Learn about them, their lives, their beliefs, their traditions, hardships, and especially their determination to stick to their simple way of life, rather than succumb to modernization.

My visit to the Himba was one of the highlights of my trip and an enriching experience. One that will stay with me for a very long time.

9 Comments

Rosa on January 11, 2018 at 6:37 am

Beautiful thank you
Patrick weseman on January 13, 2018 at 8:34 pm

So informative and what an amazing trip. Thanks for sharing.
Betty Asphy on January 14, 2018 at 2:08 am

How awesome. It is great to learn about other cultures. I just discovered through DNA search that I am 51% Nigerian. I never knew that.
Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond on January 14, 2018 at 2:41 am

What a fascinating place and the women have such beautiful smiles. Thanks so much for sharing with us at #BloggersPitStop this week.
Wiki on January 14, 2018 at 7:58 pm

Hello ,

I saw your tweet about animals and thought I will check your website. I like it!

I love pets. I have two beautiful thai cats called Tammy(female) and Yommo(male). Yommo is 1 year older than Tommy. He acts like a bigger brother for her. 🙂
I have even created an Instagram account for them ( https://www.instagram.com/tayo_home/ ) and probably soon they will have more followers than me (kinda funny).

I have subscribed to your newsletter. 🙂

Keep up the good work on your blog.

Regards
Wiki
- Cheryl King on January 16, 2018 at 4:22 pm
  
  Hello Wiki. Thank you for visiting and the follow. I checked out your Instagram page, Tammy and Yommo are beautiful. Following them to check out what they get up to. My daughter has a similar page for her two dogs nixon_poppy_schnauzers, they keep me entertained. Luvs,
jared on January 15, 2018 at 9:59 am

Powerful images!
KARIN ADAMS on January 18, 2018 at 10:35 am

So interesting Cheryl! Fascinating to see how other people live. Enjoyed the facts about their jewellery too – using everything natural to beautify themselves. Keep up your wonderful articles – they’ve taught me so much.
Marie Lister on January 28, 2018 at 4:42 am

What amazing pictures Cheryl!