HIMBAS Lifestyle

Himba

Once they reach puberty or are married Himba women use various materials (from hair to straw) to sculpt the dreadlocks before covering them with Otchize.

Feeding time

Himba houses

The houses are made of mud and cow dung. These materials stay cool during the hot days and maintain their heat during the cold nights. The weather is extreme in northern Namibia. In summer, temperatures reach 45 degrees, while in winter, they drop to what feels like freezing point!

Feeding time

Feeding time

Milking the goats

Every morning young children milk the goats. According to a local proverb, “A Himba is nothing without his cattle.” The Himba almost exclusively derive their sustenance from cows and goats, which provide meat and milk.

Himba houses

The houses are made of mud and cow dung. These materials stay cool during the hot days and maintain their heat during the cold nights. The weather is extreme in northern Namibia. In summer, temperatures reach 45 degrees, while in winter, they drop to what feels like freezing point!

Feeding time

Woman tasks

In Himba society, women tend to have the most difficult daily tasks such as gardening, milking the livestock, caring for the cattle, constructing houses, and carrying water and wood. The men on the other hand handle political administration and legal trials.

Preparing otjize

Himba women are remarkably famous for covering themselves with otjize paste, a cosmetic mixture of butterfat and ochre pigment, to cleanse the skin over long periods due to water scarcity and protect themselves from the extremely hot and dry climate of the Kaokoland as well as against mosquito insect bites. The cosmetic mixture, often perfumed with the aromatic resin of the omuzumba shrub, gives their skin and hair plaits a distinctive orange or red-tinge characteristic, as well as texture and style. Otjize is considered foremost a highly desirable aesthetic beauty cosmetic, symbolizing earth's rich red color and blood the essence of life, and is consistent with the OvaHimba ideal of beauty.

Porridge mixed with milk

Porridge mixed with milk is the staple of the Himba diet. Meat is eaten on occasion, usually at a ceremony when they slaughter cattle. Married men eat meat reserved especially for them.

Feeding time

Having a rest

This is the end of the day. Women, along with their children, are grouped under a mopane. They discuss, prepare jewellery. A very peacefull moment.

Having a rest

This is the end of the day. Women, along with their children, are grouped under a mopane. They discuss, prepare jewellery. A very peacefull moment.

Preparing jewellery

The young chief of the village and children

Having a rest

This is the end of the day. Women, along with their children, are grouped under a mopane. They discuss, prepare jewellery. A very peacefull moment.

Porridge mixed with milk

Porridge mixed with milk is the staple of the Himba diet. Meat is eaten on occasion, usually at a ceremony when they slaughter cattle. Married men eat meat reserved especially for them.

The village

The Himba live in small villages that usually accommodate one large family. Enclosures for the cattle (“krall”) are situated in the center of camp, encircled by huts. A fence made of Mopane wood, a strong and very durable material, surrounds the village.

The "Okowuro"

Each Himba village has a “Okoruwo”, a holy fire kept constantly burning that represents the ancestors. It is located between the entrance of the krall and the west-facing door to the chief’s home (the “Ondjuwo Onene”). It’s taboo to cross this invisible line between the two.

The village

The Himba live in small villages that usually accommodate one large family. Enclosures for the cattle (“krall”) are situated in the center of camp, encircled by huts. A fence made of Mopane wood, a strong and very durable material, surrounds the village.

Porridge mixed with milk

Porridge mixed with milk is the staple of the Himba diet. Meat is eaten on occasion, usually at a ceremony when they slaughter cattle. Married men eat meat reserved especially for them.

Porridge mixed with milk

Porridge mixed with milk is the staple of the Himba diet. Meat is eaten on occasion, usually at a ceremony when they slaughter cattle. Married men eat meat reserved especially for them.

Porridge mixed with milk

Porridge mixed with milk is the staple of the Himba diet. Meat is eaten on occasion, usually at a ceremony when they slaughter cattle. Married men eat meat reserved especially for them.