The fascinating and one of a kind group of the Himba clan motivated the person ‘Binti’ in Nnedi Okorafor’s novella set of three ‘Binti’.
Down in the Kunene and Omusati districts of Northern Namibia, are the semi-traveling individuals of Ovahimba and Ovazimba clans.
It is standard, as far as they might be concerned, for the ladies to participate in day to day exercises of draining cows, dealing with the kids while the men go hunting, now and again leaving for extensive stretches of time.
With a populace of north of 50,000, the Himba are a polygamous group where Himba young ladies are offered to male accomplices chose by their dads once they achieve pubescence.
A large portion of their societies have been maintained notwithstanding western impact and disturbance.
Among these is the “Man starts things out” custom. The lady has practically no assessment in the direction. Accommodation to her significant other’s requests start things out.
As per the Guardian, “When a guest comes thumping, a man shows his endorsement and joy of seeing his visitor by giving him the Okujepisa Omukazendu treatment — the spouse is given to his visitor to go through the night while the husband rests in another room. For a situation where there is no accessible room, her better half will rest outside.”
This, evidently, decreases envy and encourages connections.
Another custom that has endured for the long haul is the “washing is prohibited” rule. As opposed to wash up, the ladies clean up and apply sweet-smelling gums on their skin. They are likewise directed by the conviction that red means “Earth and blood”. Their red skin is something that make them incredibly one of a kind. The red tone is from the otjize glue (a mix of butterfat, omuzumba scour and ochre) and its capability is to shield their skin from the cruel desert sun and bug nibbles.
Himba Influence in African Literature
The Himba public haven’t been addressed a great deal in Literature. Notwithstanding, in Nnedi Okorafor Binti, the lead character ‘Binti’ is of the Himba poeple. Okorafor depicts the clan as a “clan in Namibia who use ‘wonderful smelling otjize’, a combination of ochre and butterfat over their skin, folding it into their hair as security against the desert sun”. In the novella, the Himba don’t travel, which straightforwardly differentiates the genuine Himba individuals who are wanderers.
Source: Operanews
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