137 Namibia
Learning Objective
- Describe the tribal makeup of Namibia
Key Points
- Not much is known about pre-colonial Namibia, but evidence suggests that a number of diverse peoples settled there as a result of ancient, medieval, and modern migrations.
- The San (also called Bushmen) are generally assumed to have been the earliest inhabitants of the region comprising today’s Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa. Until about 2,000 years ago, they were the only inhabitants in Namibia, but around that time the Nama (also known as Namaqua), the Khoikhoi, and the Hottentots settled around the Orange River in the south, on the border between Namibia and South Africa, where they kept herds of sheep and goats.
- In the 9th century, the Damara entered Namibia. The Damara do not relate to the other Khoisan peoples, although they share a similar language. It is believed that they separated themselves early on from their Bantu brothers of Southern and Central Africa and moved to Southwest Africa.
- The Ovambo, and the smaller and closely related group Kavango, lived in northern Namibia and southern Angola. The Kavango also lived in western Zambia. They migrated south from the upper regions of Zambezi around the 14th century. Their economy was based on farming, cattle, and fishing, but they also produced metal goods.
- During the 17th century, the Herero, a pastoral, nomadic people keeping cattle, moved into Namibia. They came from the east African lakes and entered Namibia from the northwest.
- In the 19th century white farmers, mostly Boers, moved farther north, pushing the indigenous Khoisan peoples, who put up a fierce resistance, across the Orange River. Known as Oorlams, these Khoisan adopted Boer customs and spoke a language similar to Afrikaans.
- Europeans first arrived in Namibia in the 15th century, and the territory became one of the first European (German) colonies on the continent.
Terms
the Herero and Namaqua genocide
A campaign of racial extermination and collective punishment that the German Empire undertook in German South-West Africa (modern-day Namibia) against the Herero and Nama people. It is considered one of the first genocides of the 20th century. It took place between 1904 and 1907 during the Herero Wars.
Herero Wars
A series of colonial wars between the German Empire and the Herero people of German South-West Africa (present-day Namibia, c. 1903–1908).
Khoisan peoples
A unifying name for two groups of peoples of Southern Africa who share physical and putative linguistic characteristics distinct from the Bantu majority of the region. Culturally, they are divided into the foraging San, or Bushmen, and the pastoral Khoi, or more specifically Khoikhoi, previously known as Hottentots.
Zambezi
The fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east flowing river in Africa, and the largest river flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The 2,574-kilometer-long river (1,599 miles) rises in Zambia and flows through eastern Angola, along the