The Bushmen (San)
There are approximately 35 000 Bushmen in Namibia. Also referred to as the San. These hunter-gatherers are the earliest known inhabitants of Namibia. The Bushmen occupy only remote areas in eastern Namibia and the Kalahari Desert in Botswana. The wealth of Bushmen rock paintings and engravings found in mountains and hills throughout Namibia are proof of their former habitation of
many parts of the country. The oldest engravings date back 28 000 years. Examples are the famous "White Lady" painting of the Brandberg and the rich galery of rock paintings at Twyfelfontein.
The Caprivians
Approximately 86 000 people live in the Caprivi (known as Caprivians), on the northeastern extension of Namibia, which borders on Angola, Zambia and Botswana. Most Caprivians are subsistence farmers who make their living on the banks of the Zambezi, Kwando, Linyanti and Chobe rivers. In addition to fishing and hunting, they keep cattle and cultivate the land. When the Zambezi and Chobe rivers come down in flood, more than half of Eastern Caprivi may be flooded. During this period the Caprivians use their makoro (dugout canoes) to traverse the routes, normally utilised by trucks and pedestrians.
The Coloureds
Like the Basters, Namibia's Coloured community has its origins in the Cape Province of South Africa, although a large percentage are descendants from local intermixing. The Coloureds are genetically very similar to the Basters and they also speak Afrikaans as a home language. While a small group of Coloureds practice stock farming in the south of the country, most of them live in towns such as Windhoek, Keetmanshoop, Lüderitz, Kalkveld and Karasburg. A fairly large community lives in Walvis Bay, where they are fishermen. The Coloureds are relatively well educated and are found in a wide range of professions, such as the civil service, education and the building trade.
The Damara
While there are only about 117 000 Damara in Namibia, they belong to one of the oldest cultural groups in the country. Today many Damara work on farms, in mines and in urban centres as teachers, clerks and officials. Some of Namibia's most eloquent politicians are Damara. In 1973 an area of approximately 4.7 million hectares was proclaimed as Damaraland, with Khorixas as the administrative capital. Today only a quarter of the total Damara population lives within the boundaries of this region, which became part of the Erongo Region after independence.
The Herero
The Herero are a pastoral cattle-breeding people who migrated to Namibia several centuries ago. After inhabiting Kaokoland for some 200 years, a large number of Herero migrated further south and then eastwards, eventually establishing themselves in the northern-central areas of the country. Today the Herero number over 130 000. Despite the suppression of their traditional culture, confiscation of tribal lands and the restrictions of labour laws, the remaining Herero have managed to keep their bonds of family life, tribal solidarity and national consciousness alive. The annual Herero Festival demonstrates this on Maharero Day, in August when various units of paramilitary organisations parade before their leaders, in full dress through the streets of Okahandja.
The Himba
An ancient tribe of semi-nomadic pastorals, many of whom still live and dress according to ancient traditions, the Himba live in scattered settlements throughout the Kunene Region. They are tall, slender and statuesque people, characterised especially by their proud yet friendly bearing. The homes of the Himba are palm leaves and plastered with mud and dung.
The Kavango
Forming the border between Namibia and Angola for more than 400 km, is the Okavango River, lifeline of the Kavango people. An estimated 183 000 Kavangos make a living from fishing, tending their cattle and cultivating sorghum, millet and maize. Closely related to the Owambo, the Kavango also originate from the large lakes of East Africa. The traditional economy in Kavango is based on a combination of horticulture and animal husbandry. Today thousands of young Kavangos work as migratory labourers on farms, in mines and in urban centres.
The Nama
The only true descendants of the Khoikhoi in Namibia are the Nama, whose ancestors originally lived north and south of the Orange River. The Nama have much in common with the Bushmen, sharing their linguistic roots and to some extent their features. Numbering approximately 117 000, the Nama consist of thirteen Nama tribes or groups. Nama's have a natural talent for music, poetry and prose. Nama women are highly skilled in sewing. Kaross floor rugs or blankets of sewn skins of domestic animals or antelopes are a specialty.
The Owambo
Owambo is a collective name for a number of tribes living in central northern Namibia and southern Angola. Four of the tribes live in the Kunene Province in southern Angola and eight in northern Namibia. The latter form the largest language group in the country. Numbering approximately 913 000, they represent just under 51% of Namibia's population. The Owambo practice a mixed economy of agriculture and animal husbandry and today’s workforces in the mining and fishing industries consist primarily of Owambo. The Owambo have always played an active role in politics and Namibia's ruling party. SWAPO which is led by President Sam Nujoma, the first president of independent Namibia.
The Rehoboth Basters
The Rehoboth Basters originate from the first European settlers to the Cape, who came into contact with the indigenous Khoisan people and bore children with mixed blood origins called "coloureds" or "bastards". In 1868 a group of some 90 Baster families moved to Namibia from the Cape, eventually settling at the hot-water springs called Rehoboth. Today the Baster community consists of approximately 72 000 people. Their home language is Afrikaans and at their own request they are registered as Rehoboth Basters. While they are traditionally stock and crop farmers, today many of them are involved in other sectors of the community, especially, the building trade.
The Topnaars
Described by anthropologists as the modern descendants of the oldest population group in Namibia, the Topnaars are a hardy group of Nama people who have lived on the banks of the Kuiseb River for many years. Belonging to the Khoikhoi people, they speak the Nama language with its guttural clicks and high musical pitch.
The Tswanas
Numbering approximately 7 800, the Tswana are the smallest cultural group in Namibia. They are related to the Tswana of Botswana and the northern Cape Province. Namibia's Tswana live in a triangle, with a line between Epukiro and Aminuis in the east as its base and extending to Walvis Bay, its vertex, in the west. Most Tswana, however, live in the Gobabis district, where they are involved in farming, many of them having bought farms north and south of the town.
The Whites
About 98 000 Namibians of European descent currently live in Namibia, of whom approximately two-thirds speak Afrikaans, one quarter German and the rest mostly English and, to a lesser extent, Portuguese. The majority of Whites live in the urban, central and southern parts of the country. English was selected as Namibia's official language and Afrikaans, the common vernacular language, was retired to a secondary position after serving with German as one of three official languages for some 60 years. Most of Namibia's Whites are involved in commerce, manufacturing, farming, professional services and to a diminishing extent, the civil service.
