| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 Namibia | 12,594 (2023 census) [1] |
| Languages | |
| Otjiherero | |
| Religion | |
| African Traditional Religion, Christianity, Oupwee | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Ovahimba, Ovaherero | |
The Mbanderu (singular: Omumbanderu, plural: Ovambanderu) are a population inhabiting eastern parts of Namibia and western parts of Botswana. They speak Otjiherero, a Bantu language.
While earlier theories of the meaning of the word mbanderu stated "People of the reed" (mbandu: people and oruu: reed), [2] the explanation common today is that mbanderu literally means 'fighters of old'. [3]
Results from investigations about similarities in their music point to East Africa as the origin of all Bantu tribes that today inhabit Namibia. The Ovambo people left this area first and settled in the north of today's Namibia, the Herero people left after that, and the Ovambanderu migrated last. [2] In the 19th century the Ovambanderu had reached Angola and moved from there into Kaokoland and Ovamboland but got into fights with already resident Herero tribes and subsequently settled in the eastern part of South-West Africa. [3] After reaching the area around Okakarara the Ovambanderu spread out to find suitable pasture for their cattle. [2]
Around 1904, after a devastating clash with German colonial forces in Namibia, many of the Mbanderu people settled along the Boteti River around Tsienyane. The area was already settled by other peoples; thus they requested to be allocated their own land where they could practice their own culture without any hindrance.
Two important cultural notions among the Herero-Mbanderu speaking groups are ejanda and oruzo. These are generally synonymous with matrilineage and patrilineage, respectively. The recognition of lineal ancestry through both mothers and through fathers is generally known as double descent. "Ejanda" identity is important in determining who one should marry; two people in exactly the same 'ejanda' should not marry each other. In the past, marriage partners may have been determined at the birth of a girl by her parents. In many cases, the groom was much older than the girl. [4] "Oruzo" is associated with traditional religious practice and with political leadership. It is symbolized in part by prohibitions about raising and eating particular kinds of animals.
Cattle are central in the economic and spiritual life of Ovambanderu. Not only are cattle a central source of meat, sour milk omaere , and fat (ongondivi), they have also played a symbolic role in the relation of people to their ancestors. In the past, the male head of a residential group conducted rituals at the holy fire ('okuruwo'), for instance, tasting the milk, on behalf of those residing there. Choosing a cow to be used during these rituals was at the discretion of the owner of the cattle. The milk from this cow used could not be drunk by uncircumcised Mbanderu or outsiders.
Using dogs and traps are the traditional methods of hunting. [5] Since the 19th century, horses and guns have also been used.
Mbanderu people are active in annual remembrance ceremonies held in Namibia and Botswana at the graves of important cultural leaders. [6] They are particularly associated with the "Green Flag" (Otjingirine).
Notable people of Mbanderu descent are:
The Himba are an ethnic group with an estimated population of about 50,000 people living in northern Namibia, in the Kunene Region and on the other side of the Kunene River in southern Angola. There are also a few groups left of the OvaTwa, who the OvaHimba consider to be part of their tribe, but are hunter-gatherers. Culturally distinguishable from the Herero people, the OvaHimba are a semi-nomadic, pastoralist people and speak OtjiHimba, a variety of Herero, which belongs to the Bantu family within Niger–Congo. The OvaHimba are semi-nomadic as they have base homesteads where crops are cultivated, but may have to move within the year depending on rainfall and where there is access to water.
Khoekhoe are the traditionally nomadic pastoralist indigenous population of South Africa. They are often grouped with the hunter-gatherer San peoples. The designation "Khoekhoe" is actually a kare or praise address, not an ethnic endonym, but it has been used in the literature as an ethnic term for Khoe-speaking peoples of Southern Africa, particularly pastoralist groups, such as the Griqua, Gona, Nama, Khoemana and Damara nations. The Khoekhoe were once known as Hottentots, a term now considered offensive.
The culture of Angola is influenced by the Portuguese. Portugal occupied the coastal enclave Luanda, and later also Benguela, since the 16th/17th centuries, and expanded into the territory of what is now Angola in the 19th/20th centuries, ruling it until 1975. Both countries share prevailing cultural aspects: the Portuguese language and Roman Catholicism. However, present-day Angolan culture is mostly native Bantu, which was mixed with Portuguese culture. The diverse ethnic communities with their own cultural traits, traditions and native languages or dialects include the Ovimbundu, Ambundu, Bakongo, Chokwe, Avambo and other peoples.
The Abagusii are a Bantu ethnic group and nation indigenous to Kisii and Nyamira counties of former Nyanza, as well as parts of Kericho and Bomet counties of the former Rift Valley province of Kenya.
Gobabis is a town in eastern Namibia. It is the regional capital of the Omaheke Region, and the district capital of the Gobabis electoral constituency. Gobabis is situated 200 km (120 mi) down the B6 motorway from Windhoek to Botswana. The town is 113 km (70 mi) from the Buitepos border post with Botswana, and serves as an important link to South Africa on the tarred Trans-Kalahari Highway. Gobabis is in the heart of the cattle farming area. In fact Gobabis is so proud of its cattle farming that a statue of a large Brahman bull with the inscription "Cattle Country" greets visitors to the town. Gobabis also has its own local airport.
The Herero are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. 178,987 Namibians identified as Ovaherero in the 2023 census. They speak Otjiherero, a Bantu language. Though the Herero primarily reside in Namibia, there are also significant populations in Botswana and Angola, and a small number in South Africa. The Hereros in Botswana and South Africa are there because of displacement during the 1904 - 1908 genocide committed by the German Empire.
The Ovambo people, also called Aawambo, Ambo, Aawambo, or Ovawambo (Kwanyama), are a Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, primarily modern Namibia. They are the single largest ethnic group in Namibia, accounting for about half of the population. Despite concerted efforts from Christian missionaries to wipe out what were believed to be 'pagan practices', they have retained many aspects of their cultural practices. They are also found in the southern Angolan province of Cunene, where they are more commonly referred to as "Ambo". The Ovambo consist of a number of kindred Bantu ethnic tribes who inhabit what was formerly called Ovamboland. In Angola, they are a minority, accounting for about two percent of the total Angolan population.
Herero (Otjiherero) is a Bantu language spoken by the Herero and Mbanderu peoples in Namibia and Botswana, as well as by small communities of people in southwestern Angola. There were 250,000 speakers in these countries between 2015 and 2018.
Nama are an African ethnic group of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. They traditionally speak the Nama language of the Khoe-Kwadi language family, although many Nama also speak Afrikaans. The Nama People are the largest group of the Khoikhoi people, most of whom have disappeared as a group, except for the Namas. Many of the Nama clans live in Central Namibia and the other smaller groups live in Namaqualand, which today straddles the Namibian border with South Africa.
African cuisine is an integral part of the continent's diverse cultures reflecting its long and complex history. The evolution of African cuisine is closely entwined with the lives of the native people. Influenced by their religious practices, climate and local agriculture. Early African societies were largely composed of hunter-gatherers who relied on foraging for wild fruits, vegetables, nuts, and hunting animals for sustenance. As agriculture developed across the continent there was a gradual shift to a more settled lifestyle with the cultivation of crops such as millet, sorghum, and later maize. Agriculture also brought about a change in diet leading to the development of a variety of culinary traditions vary by religion. Many African traditional dishes are based on plant- and seed-based diets.
Namibian cuisine is the cuisine of Namibia. It is influenced by two primary cultural strands:
Munjuku Nguvauva II was a Namibian traditional paramount chief and leader of the Ovambanderu people, a subtribe of the Herero. Nguvauva was also deputy chief of Namibia's Traditional Leaders Council.
Racism in Africa has been a recurring part of the history of Africa.
The people of the country called Botswana are all referred to as Batswana(pl)/ Motswana(s) in reference to the country name or the land they all hail from, that is regardless of ethnicity, language, skin colour or heritage.
Kahimemua Nguvauva was chief of the Ovambanderu, a Herero clan in Namibia.
Keharanjo II Xavier Komavau Nguvauva was the youngest Chief of the Ovambanderu, a Herero clan in Namibia. Keharanjo was born to the Ovambanderu family to the then Chief Munjuku Nguvauva II and his wife Aletta Karikondua Nguvauva. He was reported dead on the evening of Friday 8 April 2011 in the residential area of Khomasdal, Windhoek where he committed suicide using an electric wire.
The Khaua-Mbandjeru rebellion was an uprising of Africans in German South West Africa which took place in 1896. The rebellion preceded the Herero and Namaqua Genocide, which began around 1904.
Nguvauva is the surname of a clan of the Ovambanderu, a sister tribe to the Herero people of Namibia, Botswana, Angola and South Africa.:
Epukiro is a cluster of small settlements in the remote eastern part of the Omaheke Region of Namibia, situated about 120 kilometres (75 mi) northeast of the regional capital Gobabis. The centre of the populated area is the Catholic mission station. Epukiro had about 3,200 inhabitants in 1997, predominantly ethnic Tswana.
Aminuis is a cluster of small settlements in the remote eastern part of the Omaheke Region of Namibia, located about 500 km east of Windhoek. It is the district capital of the Aminuis electoral constituency.
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