Ovambo people

“ As a proof of their honesty, I may mention that, when we left the Ovambo country, the servants forgot some trifles, and such was the integrity of the people that messengers actually came after us a very considerable distance to restore the articles left behind. In Damara and Namaqua-land, on the contrary, a traveler is in constant danger of being robbed, and, when stopping at a place, it is always necessary to keep the strictest watch on the movements of the inhabitants. ”

“ That they have some notions of religion is evident enough, though they degrade it into mere superstition. Charms of various kinds they value exceedingly, though they seem to be regarded more as safeguards against injury from man or beast than as possessing any sanctity of their own. Still, the constitutional reticence of the Ovambo tribe on such subjects may cause them to deny such sanctity to others, though they acknowledge it among themselves.
As is the case with many of the South African tribes, the Ovambos make great use of a kind of coarse porridge. ”

“ The Ovambos were never conquered. As recently as July of 1914, the Luderitzbucht newspaper, the Lüderitzbuchter Zeitung, stated: “If you were to tell an Ovambo despot in the far north that he was under German protection, he would laugh himself to death.” The mailed fist is a poor coloniser. ”

“ The persons of the women are also profusely besmeared with grease and red ochre.
Besides ear-rings of beads or shells, the men display but few ornaments. With regard to clothing, both sexes are far more scantily attired than the Damaras. When grown up, they chip the middle tooth in the under jaw.
The Ovambo, so far as came under my own observation, were strictly honest. Indeed, they appeared to entertain great horror of theft, and said that a man detected in pilfering would be brought to the king's residence and there speared to death. ”

“ The worship of the dead among the Ovambo. The religion of the Ovambo, another Bantu tribe of German South-West Africa, is similar. They also recognize a great being named Kalunga, who created the world and man, but they neither fear nor worship him. A far greater part is played in the religion of the Ovambo by their belief in spirits, and amongst the worshipful spirits a conspicuous place is assigned to the souls of the dead. Every man leaves behind him at death a spirit, which continues to exist on earth and can influence the living ”

“ At the close of the war the man who has slain such a foe is called before the chief and [pg 149] gets from the doctor a medicine which he chews with his food. The third day after this he must wash his body in running water, and at the expiry of ten days he may return to his wives and children.444 So an Ovambo warrior in battle will tear out the heart of his slain foe in the belief that by eating it he can acquire the bravery of the dead man.445 A similar belief and practice prevail among some of the tribes of British Central Africa, notably among the Angoni. ”

“ The Ovambo territory is shared between about a dozen tribes, who dwell chiefly along the streams branching off from the Cunene towards Lake Etosha, and who are all separated from each other by intervening border tracts of uninhabited woodhuuls. Nearly always at war, these peoples, who within their respective communities recognise the rights of property, are constantly raiding on the cattle of their neighbours. The young men, creeping by night stealthily through the intervening forests, try to seize the enemy's herds by surprise. ”

“ Bushmen and poor Ovaheros are scattered over this region, which with the tribes have already been described. There are no mission stations, but the people are friendly, honest, and hospitable, and travelling through the country in the rainy season is not so difficult. In the dry season there are many parts which cannot be visited. The produce of Ovampoland is brought down by traders to Walfish Bay. Some few Portuguese travel through it from the Portuguese settlement, their merchandise and themselves being carried by slaves. Along the Ovampo river there are many extensive vleis ”

“ Ovampoland. South Central Africa. This extensive region is situated to the north of Damaraland, its eastern boundary is the Kalahara desert, already described, and on the north-west the Cunene river and the Portuguese settlement forms its boundary. The high table-land extends over the whole of this region, and is exceedingly healthy, the highest altitude being 5300 feet, as far as I have been able to take them.
The Ovampos have large herds of cattle and goats, and cultivate corn extensively. The people are very black, finely proportioned for strength, and are hardworking and industrious ”

“ The features of the Ovambo women, though coarse, are not unpleasing. When young they possess very good figures. As they grow older, however, the symmetry gradually disappears, and they become exceedingly stout and ungainly. ”

“ It is far better that we abide the white man's promise and see what comes. He is a man of deeds, not words. Did he not put the Amazons to flight with a magic mouse that lives in his pocket? Let us side with the white man and the venerable Nyam-Nyam, who has ruled us with kindness for so long. Obombo would but lead us into war, and bring us to greater poverty still."
Soon hisses and groans broke out among the crowd and, picking up pebbles and mud, they began pelting Obombo so he could not go on with his speech. Finally he had to run for the jungle himself to escape the fury of the people. ”

“ Although generally very rich in cattle, and fond of animal diet, their beasts would seem to be kept rather for show than for food. When an ox is killed, the greater portion of the animal is disposed of by the owner to the neighbors, who give the produce of their ground in exchange.
The morality of the Ovambo is very low, and polygamy is practiced to a great extent. A man may have as many wives as he can afford to keep; but, as with the Damaras, there is always one who is the favorite and the highest in rank. Woman is looked upon as a mere commodity—an article of commerce. ”

“ Some of them promised to conduct us to their great chief Tjopopa, who resided at a place called Okamabuti, which was on our way to the Ovambo.
In the course of our journey to Tjopopa I learned the history of the father of one of our visitors, who, it would appear, had been a thorough rogue. He professed great friendship toward the Ovambo, whom he allowed freely and peaceably to pass through his territory; but when, on one occasion, they were returning home with a numerous herd of cattle obtained by barter, he fell suddenly upon them, and deprived them of all their hard-earned gains. ”

“ When the gun was fired off and Obim was declared to be ’Nyambi’s wife, Chief Oga was very vexed, and, although he wanted to speak to Obim, he dared not do so openly, as he thought the people might laugh at him if they saw him going after a woman who had only just been married, seeing that he had so many wives already himself. So, when it was dark, he went to Obim and told her that if she came to him he would make her very happy, as he had plenty of slaves who would do all the hard work and she would not have to toil in the sun. ”

“ Chipanga, heiress of Ondonga.
We read of nations who are supposed to be destitute of any religious principles whatever. If we had placed reliance on what the natives themselves told us, we should have set down the Ovambo as one of such benighted races. But can there be so deplorable a condition of the human mind? Does [199] not all nature forbid it? Do not the sun, the moon, the stars, the solemn night, and cheerful dawn, announce a Creator even to the children of the wilderness? Is it not proclaimed in the awful voice of thunder, and written on the sky by ”

“ The agricultural Ovambos and the nomadic Hereros and Ovambandierus belong to the Bantu race, the Namaquas and Bushmen to the yellow Hottentot stock, while the tribe called the mountain Damaras are a black people of doubtful origin. But although these peoples differ variously in their manners and customs, yet the general circumstances of their life are such that they exhibit only a few differences in their technical accomplishments and trade usages. ”

“ Many Bushmen resided near Otjikoto, and, as every where else in these regions, they lived on excellent terms with the Ovambo, to whom they brought copper ore for sale, which they obtained from the neighboring hills. Indeed, as our acquaintance with the Ovambo increased, we were more and more favorably impressed with their character. They treated all men equally well, and even the so much despised Hottentots ate out of the same dish and smoked out of the same pipe as themselves. ”

“ The Ovakumbi, a tribe in the south of Angola, think that the carnal intercourse of young people under the age of puberty would cause the king to die within the year, if it were not severely punished. The punishment for such a treasonable offence used to be death.108.3 Similarly, in the kingdom of Congo, when the sacred pontiff, called the Chitomé, was going his rounds throughout the country, all his subjects had to live strictly chaste, and any person found guilty of incontinence at such times was put to death without mercy. ”

“ A traveller who finds himself among the Damaras, Namaquas, or Bechuanas, must keep a watchful eye on every article which he possesses, and, if he leaves any object exposed for a moment, it will probably vanish in some mysterious manner, and never be seen again. Yet Mr. Anderssen, to whom we owe our chief knowledge of the Ovambo tribe, mentions that they were so thoroughly honest that they would not even touch any of his property without permission, much less steal it ”

“ They seem to enjoy this process thoroughly, and cannot understand why their white guests should object to a ceremony which is so pleasing to themselves. Perhaps this custom may have some analogy with their mode of treating the Damaras at meal-times. The Ovambos still retain a ceremony which is precisely similar to one which prevails through the greater part of the East. If a subject should come into the presence of his king, if a common man should appear before his chief, he takes off his sandals before presuming to make his obeisance. ”

“ The corn and grain, on which they chiefly live, are planted round the houses, which are surrounded with a strong and high enclosure. The natives are obliged to live in this manner on account of the conduct of some neighboring tribes, which made periodical raids upon them, and inflicted great damage upon their cottages. And, as the Ovambos are a singularly peaceable tribe, and found that retaliation was not successful, they hit upon this expedient, and formed each homestead into a separate fort. ”

“ As I walked on through the jungle, my mind kept dwelling on the strange Obongos. "If you want one of them to take away with you," said my Ashango guide, "we will capture one for you, if you will give us beads and copper rings." "No, no," said I, "the Spirit does not want to capture people; he wants only to see people."
Now I must tell you what I think of these Obongos. I think that they are the very same people of whom Herodotus and Homer had heard; that they are closely allied to the Bushmen of South Africa, for the hair on their heads grows in the same way ”

“ I suppose they think that sometimes the Ovengua is in a man; hence they kill him and burn his body.
Of course the Commi people, like all other negroes, are firm believers in witchcraft.
Not very far from Aniambia, there is a place in the forest which is supposed to be haunted by the spirit of a crazy woman, who, some hundreds of years ago, left her home. They believe that she cultivates her plantation in some hidden recess in the forest, and that she often lies in wait for travellers, whom she beats and kills out of pure malice. ”

“ This extraordinary ceremony was invented by the king Nangoro when he was a young man. Among their other superstitions, the Ovambos have an idea that a man is peculiarly susceptible to witchcraft at meal-times, and that it is possible for a wizard to charm away the life of any one with whom he may happen to eat. Consequently, all kinds of counter-charms are employed, and, as the one in question was invented by the king, it was soon adopted by his loyal subjects, and became fashionable throughout the land. ”

“ The Ovambos are ruled by a king, and entertain great contempt for all the tribes who do not enjoy that privilege. They acknowledge petty chiefs, each head of a family taking rank as such, but prefer monarchy to any other form of government. As is the case with many other tribes, the king becomes enormously fat, and is generally the only obese man in the country. Nangoro, who was king some few years ago, was especially remarkable for his enormous dimensions, wherein he even exceeded Panda, the Kaffir monarch. ”

“ The village of Obindji was small, and was beautifully situated at the foot of a high hill, just on the banks of the Ovenga. The Ovenga river belonged to Quengueza, and, except at its head waters, it had been inhabited by the Bakalai only since the time of Quengueza's eldest brother, whom he had succeeded. These Bakalai are very warlike; they are much dreaded by the other tribes.
The region of the Ovenga is a grand and wild country. It consists of hills and mountains, covered with impenetrable forests, which teem with all kinds of insects. ”

“ The first engraving on page 329 represents the architecture of the Ovambos. The houses, with their flat, conical roofs, are so low that a man cannot stand upright in them. But the Ovambos never want to stand upright in their houses, thinking them to be merely sleeping-places into which they can crawl, and in which they can be sheltered during the night. Two grain-stores are also seen, each consisting of a huge jar, standing on supports, and covered with a thatch of reeds. ”