Wanderlust Travel Magazine (UK)
Six places to learn about traditional culture in Namibia
1 Windhoek
Most visitors to Namibia breeze through capital Windhoek at speed, heading out on safari almost as soon as they arrive. However, it’s well worth making time to visit the
Independence Memorial Museum, which opened in 2014 and chronicles the nation’s liberation struggles. Next, to broaden your understanding of
Namibia’s cultural diversity, dip into the dusty but dignified ethnographic exhibits at the National Museum of
Namibia, which include Himba metalbead ornaments, a Dama hut made from woven grass, and images of the remarkable San rock art found in the
Huns Mountains and at Twyfelfontein and Brandberg. museums.com.na
2 Erongo & Kunene Regions
The multicultural township of north-eastern Mondesa, on fringes, Swakopmund’s is home to Owambo, Damara and Herero families. Mondesa Township Tours (mondesatownshiptours.com) show guests around by vehicle, bike or on foot, offering a chance to sample township cooking, visit a shebeen (local bar) and learn the origins of the cattlehorn-shaped headwear worn by Herero women.
Further north, the Living Museum of the Damara (lcfn.info), near
Twyfelfontein, stages cultural performances based on lost huntergatherer and herder culture, while the Living Museum of the Ovahimba, between Opuwo and Epupa Falls, offers a chance to meet Namibia’s
Himba people on their own terms.
3 Oshikoto Region Launched in 2021, Namibia’s
new Museum of Namibian Music (museums.com.na) has a suitably playful feel, with guitars made from metal jerry cans displayed alongside thumb pianos and tribal drums. The curators have taken care to document instruments specific to ethnic minorities, such as a Ju/’hoansi-san guashi (bow lute), an Oshindonga ondhila made from an enormous kudu horn, and a mighty Lozi silimba, a xylophone with wooden keys and gourd resonators. There are recordings to watch, and it’s hoped that live events will be held here too.
4 Otjiwarongo, Otjozondjupa Region
Namibia’s newest cultural centre, the (namibianfashion.com), open of collaboration Windhoek, Museum in Otjiwarongo, of in with Namibian 2022. the 250km Conceived Ethnologisches is Fashion due north to in
Museum important Berlin, collection which of holds Namibian an artefacts, it is reactivating local knowledge of tribal clothing and ornamentation. By celebrating both traditional and modern dress as an expression of cultural identity, it hopes to help address the trauma of the colonial experience while hosting talks, workshops and projects to support Namibia’s creative industries.
5 Tsumkwe, Otjozondjupa Region
Namibia’s original Living Museum (lcfn.info) remote town in Grashoek, of Tsumkwe, west and of its the sister museum in Xa oba, further north, are dedicated to the traditions of the Ju/’hoansi, a subgroup of the long-marginalised San Bushmen.
At Xa oba, an area where the San are still officially allowed to conduct traditional hunts, you can learn how they track or trap spring hares, porcupines and guinea fowl. Tucsin
Tsumkwe Lodge (tsumkwe-lodge. com) makes a convenient base; the staff here can arrange Ju/’hoansiguided bushwalks in Nyae Nyae
Conservancy – a chance to see the wilderness through their eyes.
6 Kavango & Zambezi (Caprivi) Regions
The Zambezi Museum (museums. com.na), in on biodiversity-rich environmental Katima local communities a Mulilo new issues centre in north-east 2021, they in that Namibia’s focuses face. launched and the
This Living region Museums is also (lcfn.info). home to three In the village Mafwe of guides Singalamwe, demonstrate near how Kongola, they weave fishing nets and prepare meals, while at Sikondo, beside
Samsitu Lake, you can learn about
Mbunza blacksmithing and pottery.
The newest Living Museum, near
Divindu, is run by Khwe San and offers bushwalks and artisan experiences.