Gciriku is a traditional Kavango kingdom in what is today Namibia. Its people speak the Gciriku language.
The Gciriku (Rugciriku: vaGciriku) are one of the many ethnic groups in Namibia with an estimated population of 20 000. The Gciriku mainly live in Ndiyona Constituency, Kavango East. A small number of Gciriku live in the southern part of Angola. Their language, Rumanyo (previously known under the name Rugciriku), [1] is also a Bantu language, spoken in the Ndiyona constituency and in Rundu.
The Gciriku are part of the Kavango migration group that originated in the parts of central Africa and the Great Lakes. In the early 1900s, the Gciriku became the first tribal group in the Kavango area to accept European missionaries. The Missionaries were given land and settled in an area now known as Nyangana (Kangweru) - Mamono.
Hompa Nyangana (1874-1924) was a fierce critic of all European influence, and particularly that of missionaries. Six Catholic mission journeys into the Kavango ended unsuccessful during his reign. Only after the seventh journey did missionary and later Archbishop Joseph Gotthardt manage to establish a mission station at Nyangana in 1910 and at Andara in 1913, using the severely weakened position of the King after the VaGciriku-Lishora Massacre of 1894. [2]
The VaGciriku speak a language called Rugciriku. The language is also part of the school curriculum and the subject is called Rumanyo. Most people refer to the language as Rugciriku rwaMuduva (Muduva's Rugciriku). The language has a few clicking but it is not similar to the San language.
The Kavango people, also known as the vaKavango or haKavango, are a Bantu ethnic group that resides on the Namibian side of the Namibian–Angolan border along the Kavango River. They are mainly riverine living people, but about 20% reside in the dry inland. Their livelihood is based on fishery, livestock-keeping and cropping. The Kavango Region of Namibia is named after the people.
Kavango was one of the thirteen regions of Namibia until it was split into the Kavango East and Kavango West Regions in 2013. Its capital was Rundu.
Rundu is the capital and largest city of the Kavango-East Region in northern Namibia. It lies on the border with Angola on the banks of the Kavango River about 1,000 metres above sea level. Rundu's population is growing rapidly. The 2001 census counted 36,964 inhabitants; and for the 2011 census it has climbed to 63,430.
Nkurenkuru is a town on the south-western banks of the Kavango River. It is the capital of the Kavango West Region of northern Namibia, located 140 kilometres (87 mi) west of Rundu. It is also a former mission station of the Finnish Missionary Society.
Oshikuku is a town in Omusati Region in the north of Namibia. It is the district capital of Oshikuku Constituency.
Nyemba is what the Kavango people of northern Namibia call Namibian|immigrants]] who fled from Angola during the Angolan Civil War.
Rupara is a settlement and a former mission station of the Finnish Missionary Society in the Kahenge Constituency in the Kavango West Region in Northern Namibia. It is located 76 km west of Rundu, and 57 km south-east of Nkurenkuru.
Andara is a village in Mukwe Constituency in the Kavango East region of north-eastern Namibia. Located 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Rundu, it is inhabited primarily by the Hambukushu people.
Rundu Urban is an electoral constituency in the Kavango East region of Namibia. It covers the urban area of Rundu, the region's capital and one of Namibia's largest cities. The constituency also covers parts of the Sauyemwa, Safari, Tutungeni, Katutura, Donkerhoek and Kehemu neighborhoods. It had a population of 20,953 in 2011, up from 19,173 in 2001. As of 2020 the constituency had 35,740 registered voters.
Leonardville is a village in Omaheke Region in eastern Namibia. It belongs to the Aminuis electoral constituency. The place normally receives an annual average rainfall of 236 millimetres (9.3 in), although in the 2010/2011 rainy season 530 millimetres (21 in) were measured.
Sebastian Kamwanga was a Hompa (king) of the Gciriku, one of five kingdoms of the Kavango people in northern Namibia, from 1985 to 1999. His royal seat was situated at Mamono. He sat in the Legislative Council and the Executive Council of Kavangoland from 1973 until Namibian independence in 1990 when Bantustans were abolished along with the South African apartheid occupation of South-West Africa.
Joseph Gotthardt was a Catholic missionary and later Bishop and Archbishop in South-West Africa. He was the first to set up missions in the Kavango Region and in Ovamboland, became the first Vicar Apostolic of Windhoek.
Nyangana is a village in the Ndiyona Constituency in Kavango East Region of north-eastern Namibia, situated 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of Rundu. The Roman Catholic mission of Nyangana is located in the village.
Ambrosius Hamutenya Haingura was a Namibian activist and politician. A member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), he was an internal activist during the Namibian War of Independence. Following independence, he served as Regional Councillor for Rundu Urban constituency from 1992 until his death. From 1993 to 1995, he served as the first Regional Governor of the Kavango Region, and from 1996 to his death he represented the Kavango Region in the National Council of Namibia.
Odibo is a village in the north of Namibia close to the Angolan border known for its Anglican mission St Mary. It belongs to the Oshikango electoral constituency in the Ohangwena Region. Odibo is also an Archdeaconry in the Diocese of Namibia.
Tondoro is a settlement in the Kavango West region of northern Namibia, and the administrative centre of the Tondoro Constituency. It is located 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south-east of Nkurenkuru, and it is inhabited primarily by the Uukwangali people.
Shambyu is a Catholic mission and a village in the Shambyu kingdom in Kavango East, Namibia. It is located 34 km east of Rundu.
Culture in Namibia is a blend of many different people and its culture and customs have absorbed both African and European elements and fused them into a blend of the two. Although the country is urbanising rapidly, a majority of Namibians still live in rural areas and lead largely impoverished lives. It is among these people, however, that cultural tradition survive most strongly.