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Owambo Culture

The bulk of what has been written about the owambo culture has been written by outsiders. The problem with many of these descriptions is that they give a rather biased view of the Ovambo society, emphasizing its negative aspects.

Pre-colonial times, ovamboland stretched from the Etosha Pan flood plain area in the south and from Kokoland and the Kunene river covering areas in the present day Northern Namibia and Southern Angola.

The Ovambo group is divided into seven communities namely the Uukwanyama, Ondonga, Uukwambi, Ongandjera, Uukwaluudhi, Ombalantu and Uukolonkadhi.

At the end of the nineteenth century all the Ovambo communities in present day Namibia are ruled by ohamba in Oshikwanyama and Omukwaniilwa in Oshindonga, a term meaning king.

Owambo Culture Kin and Family

The two foundations of the Ovambo social system are clans –based kinship and the family. Membership of a clan are determined matrilineally.

The children became members of their mother’s clan but not that of their father. This system makes the Ovambo the southern most people of the central African ‘matrilineal belt.’

In the owambo culture, the role of the matriclans was most evident in the inheritance of personal property such as cattle and grain. When a married man died, this was not inherited by his wife or children, who were not his relatives but was divided among his eldest living brothers and the sons of his elderest sister.

Such a clan based system of inheritance could in some cases lead to situations in which the economic security of a widow and her children was seriously threatened after her husband’s death.

The shortcomings of the system were realised by the people themselves. By the beginning of the twentieth century had developed a practice for partially circumventing these. If a wanted to leave some of his property to his wife or children, he could sell it to them for a nominal price.

After he had informed his maternal kin of the transaction, they could no longer claim that particular part of the husband’s property after his death. Today, the Namibian constitution protects the window and the children from such inheritance mistreatments. When a woman died, her property was inherited by her children, mother or other more distant matrilineal relatives.

The owambo culture economic system

The economic system of the ovambo culture is based on agriculture and cattle rising. Due to short rainy seasons, the crop production is mostly limited to millet (Omahangu) and sorghum (iilya vala). In addition beans and pumpkins are grown. Most fruits such as eembe (wild berries), eenyandi and eendunga are collected from nature. Freshwater fishing is still practiced, especially in years of good rains.

In the past, the political governance was centralised under the king (ohamba) who is a member of the royal clan. The king is monarch who controls the whole social system such as the land ownership issues, judicial cases and exercise spiritual authority. In the owambo culture, the King administrates with the assistance of his/her counsellors (omalenga) who head the districts (omikunda) into which the kingdom is divided.

Traditionally, owambo religious beliefs and cosmology of owambo culture lies in a significance of the notions of God (Kalunga), who is also known as Pamba, Namhongo, Omushiti, Pambaelishita. He/she is the origin of all, the creator without whom nothing exists.

Seasonal festivals in Owamboland

What make the Owambo culture interesting are the many seasonal festivals. Such as the Omaongo ceremony that is dedicated to the new marula harvest. Music is an integral part of the festivals. The omaongo (marula fruit drink) that is soft when just prepared and turned alcoholic after sometimes was prepared. Children and women usually drink the softer drink. The stronger drink is, yes you guessed right, for the men although not all men prefer the strong omaongo. Efifino leengongo form part of the festivity where anyone can suck out the marula juice from a marula fruit. Special praise songs for omaongo are sung throughout the celebrations.

The Oshipe shomahangu, the harvest ceremony that celebrating and thanking the creator for the food blessing bestowed upon his people. The ceremony takes place at the royal residence. Cattle praising songs are sung in the celebration of oshipe. This happens while the host of the feast draw cattle into the pen and smeared the entrance of the post with butter while the guests were offered milk to drink.

These festivities have the centrality of God; he/she controlled the time and provides a new year and new harvest. It also serves to strengthen the principal of community (uukumwe). The seasonal festivals are commanded by the king, and conducted jointly with the community, signifying the important of work. One of the most important and commonly used proverbs in oshiwambo is “sha nakulya, osha nakulonga” meaning whoever does not work should not eat.

Owambo Culture Musical instruments

At virtually all celebrations, the drum or ongoma with its carrying sound is the main instrument. To a certain extent, drumming is used for announcements and passing on of information. The character of the ‘carrying’ sound of the drum enables people to hear it from a distance. In oshiwambo culture, ululating, oku kuwilila in oshikwanya and okuligola in oshindonga is done by women only.

Other musical instruments are a whistle or oshiva or ohiya mostly used during dancing at wedding ceremonies. Both okambulumbumbwa and okayaya are string instruments belonging to the group of monochords, single string instruments. Naimbudu Shilengifa, originally from Eenhana in Ohangwena region is one of the expert with this instruments.

Okaxumba is an instrument which is constructed of a boat shaped hallow resonator. It was originally made from the omunghete tree and the strings made from the hair of the elephant tail.

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