In the north of Namibia, in remote areas of the Kaokoland plateau, a unique people lives - the Himba. Himba women wear only loincloths and cover their bodies with dark ocher paint. It is prepared from a stone mined on a mountain, past which the only road to the Himba country goes. Himba have always led a semi-nomadic lifestyle and even today are not too willing to make contact with whites. Therefore, neither the Christian missionaries nor the colonial administration succeeded in changing their way of life. The main difference between the Himba and other peoples of Namibia is that they still retain the entire load of their traditions and beliefs. Christianity had no effect on the life of this people. Himba life, their customs have not changed much. To date, there are no more than 10 thousand.

Like any nation, the Himba has a myth about its origin. An old tradition, common among some Himba, says that the ancestor of the Mukuru people and his wife, along with cattle, came out of sacred tree Omumborombongo. In other legends, Mukuru is identified with the creator god, the creator of all things, who endowed the souls of dead ancestors supernatural abilities. From the skins of antelopes, gazelles, but more often from the skins of domestic animals - goats and cows - Himba make men's and women's legguards. Probably the correct name for this item. national costume. A gaiter for men is a rectangular piece of dressed skin, fastened to the body with a belt.

Approximately the same wear their leggings and women. Body paint is also prepared by women. They grind soft stones mined on sacred mountain, into powder and mixed with animal fat. You have to stock up on a lot of paint. Every self-respecting himba begins the morning by covering the whole body with it. Firstly, it is beautiful, secondly, it saves the skin from the rays of the scorching sun, and thirdly, it is hygienic. Paint replaces Aboriginal soap. When it is scraped off the body, the dirt comes off with it. I think very useful invention under constant water shortages.

Warrior dance.

They have their own language, they don’t speak any other language, but as translators you can use people from this tribe who live in civilization - they already speak excellent English ...

The Himba has such an order - if a husband kills his wife, this happens in family life, then he pays compensation to his wife's family in the amount of 45 cows. If a wife kills her husband, this also happens, then nothing falls to the husband's family. The authorities do not punish the perpetrators of the incidents, they do not put them in jail. They believe that this is an internal affair of the Himba, and do not interfere. Even when a man and a woman are married, they are not required to be faithful. The Himba still has a custom to change wives during the holidays. This freedom of morals worries the government. After achieving independence, the Namibian authorities launched an offensive against the Himba customs. Officials are urging people to abandon ancient traditions because of the threat of AIDS. Himba, on the other hand, believe that the ancestors were distinguished by enviable health, because they sacredly observed traditions. And it is not worthwhile to abandon traditions, although each time has its own decrees.

Bride Himbi. You can tell a boy from a girl by their hairstyle. Girls wear two pigtails hanging over their eyes. Boys - one, behind, or do without it at all. A girl who has reached the age of 14 is considered a bride. As a sign of this, many braids are braided to her, so that they almost completely cover her face. Married women have the same hairstyle, but the face is open. The hair is supported by an intricate headdress made of leather.

In fact, this way of life contemporary Africa almost impossible to find: a completely primitive way of life remained natural for these people, not at all ostentatious. This is not the East African Maasai, who for many decades have practically lived on extortions from passing tourists as their main trade, and are headlong running to change into "primitive" clothes, barely seeing the sweet dust from under the wheels of a tourist bus on the horizon. And the Himba are really like that: they lead a semi-sedentary, semi-nomadic tribal existence in zones of an almost completely lifeless desert, in conditions of a severe shortage of water. Not because they "failed to break through to civilization", but because even today they prefer to live this way and do not need almost anything that they do not have and never had. Himba live by cattle breeding. In fact, the only thing they have is skinny, but very unpretentious and tenacious cows of a special breed, ready, almost like camels, to do without water for weeks. Selling in rare and special occasions this livestock, the himba get some money. Well, frequent guests still sometimes buy some simple souvenirs and crafts. And that's when they come to the city - for cornmeal, sugar, some treats for children. They don't need clothes, except that plastic slippers will come in handy in this rocky desert. Dishes - except for gourd vessels, sometimes replaced by large plastic bottles of drinking water - they do not use. And in general, it seems that they do not suffer at all from the absence of all these attributes of civilization. The new Naomi Campbell of the Himba girls could be made by the dozens. And where do modeling agencies look? ..

Himba Madonna

This is a typical landscape of the Himba tribe.

The most terrible misfortune of the Himba: AIDS. In Namibia, almost 20 percent of the population is infected with AIDS, and the Himba are purely philosophical about the danger of getting infected: God gave, God took. Of course, they are not talking about any kind of prevention. But if you are lucky, and you won’t get AIDS in childhood or in your youth, the himba live for quite a long time: often longer than 70 years, and sometimes they live up to 100.

Himba live in small clans or even families apart from each other, because. they are pastoralists and livestock need a lot of space to graze in conditions of the most severe shortage of water and, as a result, grass. About 150 people gathered here, because. my colleagues and I brought them a bull, which they ate, and two tons of flour, which we distributed to everyone. It took almost 7 months to organize this action...

Thanks for the great photos and interesting story by artamonoff2009

An amazing tribe lives in the north of Namibia, which few people knew about. Its inhabitants, who had no contact with white people, for a long time they did not allow journalists to see them, and after several reports, interest in them increased incredibly. There were many who wanted to visit the tribe and tell the world about nomads living by their own laws.

Tribe of pastoralists

The Himba tribe, whose population does not exceed 50 thousand people, has lived in scattered settlements since the 16th century and leads a semi-sedentary, semi-nomadic existence in the desert, where there is no water. Now it is engaged in cattle breeding: residents breed cows of a special breed, unpretentious and ready to do without water for a long time. Pets are the main wealth and heritage that is not considered as food.

People not familiar with the benefits of civilization

By selling animals, they help out some money, and frequent guests buy souvenirs and crafts. Himba spends her earnings on buying sugar, cornmeal, treats for kids. The inhabitants do not need clothes, they make them from animal skins and fasten them to the body with a belt. All they need are slippers to walk through the desert that burns their feet. None of them uses technology, almost does not know writing, the dishes for members of the tribe are replaced by vessels hollowed out in a pumpkin, but they do not suffer at all from the lack of attributes of civilization.

The Himba tribe, whose photos are often printed in various publications, observes ancient customs, worships souls of the dead and the god Mukuru, breeds cattle and does not shed other people's blood. They drive peaceful existence in a lifeless desert, in conditions of severe water shortage.

Attention to appearance

For members of the tribe appearance plays important role V traditional culture. It indicates the position in society and certain phases of life. For example, married women they wear on their heads a kind of crown, which is made from goat skins, and married men- turban.

girls braid long hair in braids above the forehead, with age they make hairstyles that consist of a huge number of braids, and the boys pull their hair into a ponytail tied in a bun.

Women voted the most beautiful

Himba representatives do not miss a single detail and carefully monitor their appearance, caring for their skin and hair. They compensate for the lack of clothing with numerous jewelry made of copper, shells and pearls. This is an important part of the centuries-old traditions, and the women of the Himba tribe are recognized as the most beautiful. Their delicate features and almond-shaped eyes are admired by travelers who claim that every girl could work as a model on the catwalk.

These are tall and slender women who stand out from the rest. They deftly carry containers of precious water on their heads, thanks to which they have formed an excellent posture. Jewelry that the fair sex wears on their necks, legs, arms, serve not only for beauty - in this way local girls protect themselves from snake bites.

A magical blend for face & body

Each drop of water is worth its weight in gold, and what can be obtained is drunk, so the members of the tribe do not wash themselves, and a special mixture of red-orange color helps them to survive, to which the Himba owes a special skin tone. Women grind stones of volcanic rock into powder and mix it with butter, ash, vegetable elixirs whipped from cows' milk. Every morning begins with the fact that the natives apply ocher paint, which maintains the necessary level of hygiene and protects against insect bites and scorching sunlight, on the whole body and face.

Incredible soft skin For women, it looks great and smells good of aromatic resin, which is often added to the mixture, which also serves as the basis for the complex hairstyles that distinguish the Himba tribe.

Each inhabitant has a second, "European" name. Children receive it when they study in mobile schools. Each child can count and knows a few phrases in English language, but after the first classes of training, few people continue it.

The Himba tribe in Namibia build cone-shaped huts from young trees and palm leaves, which are intertwined with leather straps, and later covered with dung and silt. Inside such a dwelling there are no amenities, except for a mattress on the floor.

The tribe lives in a clan led by an elder - grandfather, who is responsible for housing, religious aspects, observance of laws and traditions, economic issues, property management. His powers are confirmed by a special bracelet on the erenge hand. The headman enters into marriages, conducts various ceremonies and rituals at the sacred fire, attracting the spirits of ancestors to solve pressing issues.

Marriages are arranged in such a way that wealth is distributed equally. After the wedding, the wife moves in with her husband and accepts the rules of the new clan.

Women get up very early, at dawn, milk the cows, which the men take to pasture. As soon as the land becomes scarce, the Himba tribe is removed from their place and moves to another place. Husbands wander with herds, leaving their wives and children in the village.

From modern things, the tribe has taken root plastic bottles in which jewelry is stored.

It is best to go to the village with a guide who will tell you in detail about the life of the tribe and will be able to agree with the leader about visiting the dwelling.

The amazing Himba tribe are hospitable and smiling people who do not seek benefits from frequent travelers. An original people, existing in isolation from the outside world, is indifferent to the benefits of civilization, and every case of preservation traditional ways is of great interest to scientists and tourists.

Himba has almost no water at all: every drop that can be obtained will be carefully preserved and drunk. To also wash with water - this is impossible to imagine here.

Himba have survived since time immemorial by a magical ointment to which they owe their now famous red skin tone: a mixture of butter churned from the milk of their skinny cows, various vegetable elixirs, and also crushed into the finest powder of bright red volcanic pumice "okra". With this composition, Himba women smear the whole body and hair several times a day.

The ointment helps maintain the necessary level of hygiene, protects against sunburn and insect bites.

Surprisingly, the skin of Himba women is absolutely perfect. And they smell quite nice - except that it gives a little melted butter ...

The same supercream serves as the basis for a traditional hairstyle. Long "dreadlocks", however, are approximately doubled in length with someone else's hair: usually male, most often reverently received from the father of the family.

By the way, each inhabitant of the Himba village has, in addition to the one received at birth, also a "European" name.

His children get it when they study in mobile free schools organized by the state: almost everyone goes to study, so almost everyone can count, can write their name, say a few English words and phrases (first of all, useful English numerals- especially when it comes time to bargain).

After the first two or three classes, very few continue to study. Sending a child to the city, to a "big" school, can only afford rich family: teaching, housing, clothing, food in the city cost an average of seven cows a year. But sometimes it happens.

From there, from the city, comes the most terrible misfortune of Himba: AIDS. In Namibia, almost 20 percent of the population is infected with AIDS, and the Himba are purely philosophical about the danger of getting infected: God gave, God took.

Of course, they are not talking about any kind of prevention. But if you're lucky, and you won't get infected with AIDS in childhood or in your youth, the himba live for quite a long time: often longer than 70 years, and sometimes they live up to 100. However, old people are not visible in the village: either on distant pastures, with cattle, or in huts where tourists are not allowed.

The ideal starting point for a trip to the Himba settlements is the town of Opuwo. Already here, by the way, you can meet representatives of the himba. Don't be surprised if you see one of these gorgeous ladies in the supermarket.

It is better to go directly to the Himba village with a local guide. He will be able to negotiate with the leader of the tribe about visiting the "kraal" ( traditional dwelling himba) and he will tell about the life and culture of the himba.

In southwest Africa, deep into the desert from the Atlantic coast, which because of the frequent shipwrecks called the "skeleton coast", in northern Namibia extends the territory where time has stopped. People live here, they are called himba tribe. A century ago, almost nothing was known about him. But thanks to tourists and journalists, photos got on the Internet and now this tribe is considered the most beautiful in Africa.

Himba - semi-nomadic African people living in the northern part of Namibia near the border with Angola, in the Kunene region, in remote areas of the Kaokoland plateau. The number of its representatives is 20,000-50,000 people. They speak the Ojihimba language and trace their origins to the Herero people. Several hundred years ago, the Herero, including the ancestors of the Himba, migrated to Namibia from East Africa. Approximately 150 years ago, the rest of the Herero, having separated, left these lands and went further south.

Well-known about the little-known himba

IN mid-nineteenth century, the tribe was attacked by the Nama tribe, and many of them, along with the leader, moved to Angola. After World War I, the Himba returned to Namibia. In 1904, they were subjected to genocide by the German colonialists.

In 1980, a terrible drought broke out on the lands of the tribe, as a result of which the tribe almost ceased to exist. The remaining Himba took refuge in the city of Opuwo. Only in the 1990s did the revival of the tribe begin on the ancestral lands.

The tribe, thanks to its isolation from the outside world, maintains its traditional way of life. social structure represents a tribal system based on bilateral inheritance (each member of the tribe belongs to two clans - a patriklan and a matriklan). The main occupation of the Himba is cattle breeding: they breed cows, as well as goats and sheep.

This people keeps their traditional beliefs. They consider Mukuru the only god, the creator of everything, and perform rituals associated with the sacred fire - okoruvo.

The head of the tribe is the elder, he monitors the observance of the rules and customs.

Himba traditions

Women should be beautiful - they are busy with their beauty, not all the time, of course, but they consider this activity extremely necessary and important. Himba women have unusually beautiful skin, the secret of beauty of which lies in the ointment with which they cover their entire body and hair every day and more than once.

This ointment, prepared from powdered volcanic pumice, cow's oil and various plant extracts, not only gives the skin a beautiful reddish tint, but also maintains its elasticity and firmness on long years, it is also an excellent hygienic agent and a remedy that protects against sunburn.

The Himba people carefully protect their established way of life from strangers and, having a mass unique knowledge about nature and man, replenished from generation to generation, is content with the little that he has and does not need anything that he does not have and never had - that's it

Himba women are considered the standard of beauty on the African continent.

In our age, it's getting harder to find a corner the globe untouched by civilization. Of course, in some places the so-called national color is still the main attraction for tourists. But all this is for the most part exotic feigned, artificial. Take, for example, the formidable Masai - business card Kenya. Hearing the sound of an approaching bus engine, representatives of this tribe hide away TVs, phones and jeans and urgently give themselves primeval view. Himba is a completely different matter - not big tribe in northern Namibia. They have preserved the traditions of the Stone Age in their life, not for the sake of tourists, but because they do not want to live differently, they write with reference to Records and Facts.

The climate of the province of Kunene, where the himba roam, cannot be called mild. During the day, the thermometer inexorably tends to + 60 °, sometimes frost falls at night. The breath of the oldest desert on the planet - Namiba affects.

The Himba migrated to northern Namibia about a few hundred years ago from East Africa. Once it was a large tribe, but in the middle of the XIX century it was divided. Most of it migrated south, to an area richer in water. The people who broke away from the Himba became known as the Herero. They made contact with the Europeans, which ultimately killed them.

A few decades ago in Namibia they realized: there were few indigenous people who had preserved the way of life and beliefs of their ancestors. In general, the Himba decided to leave alone and let them live the way they want. Any laws of Namibia in their territory come into force only after the approval of the tribal leader, who is called the king.

Like hundreds of years ago, the tribe leads a semi-nomadic life. The main occupation is the breeding of cows, goats and sheep. The number of cows determines social status, cows also serve as a means of payment. Himba is practically not interested in money, because they do not use any manufactured goods in everyday life. The exception is plastic canisters for storing and carrying water and various little things that accidentally fall into your hands.

Himba live in kraals with a circular layout. In the middle is a barnyard surrounded by a wicker fence. Around - round or square huts. They are built from poles dug into the ground and fastened with leather straps. The frame is coated with clay, and the roof is covered with straw or reed. The floor in the huts is earthen, there is no furniture. Himba sleep on mattresses stuffed with straw. At the entrance to the hut there is a hearth, which is heated in black.

As the pastures are depleted, they dismantle the huts and migrate. Himba water used to be mined by digging deep holes in the sand, and suitable places for this were found in one way they knew. They never put the kraal close to the source, so that outsiders could not peep where the water comes from. Not so long ago, by order of the government, artesian wells were dug on nomadic routes. But the aborigines do not drink this water, except that they feed herds with it.

In the old-fashioned way, life-giving moisture can be obtained only for one's own use, and even then just barely enough. Washing is out of the question. Helps magic ointment, which Himba owes a red skin tone. This is a mixture of butter whipped from cow's milk, various vegetable elixirs and bright red volcanic pumice ground into the finest powder. It is mined in one single place - on a mountain on the border of the plateau, which is occupied by himba. The mountain, of course, is considered sacred, and they do not disclose the recipe for the ointment to anyone.

With this composition, Himba women smear the whole body and hair several times a day. The ointment protects against sunburn and insect bites. In addition, when the ointment is scraped off in the evening, the dirt comes off with it, which is strange, but effective tool personal hygiene. Surprisingly, the skin of Himba women is perfect. With the help of the same ointment, a traditional hairstyle is made: other people's hair - usually men's, most often from the father of the family - is woven into their own, creating “dreadlocks” on the head.

As a rule, one family occupies one kraal, but there are larger settlements. Almost all Himba can read, count, write their name and know a few phrases in English. This is the merit of mobile schools, which are attended by almost all the children of the tribe. But only a few graduate from more than two or three classes - to continue their education, you need to go to the city.

Only women work in the kraals. They carry water, look after cattle, churn butter, sew and mend simple clothes. In addition, the weaker sex is engaged in gathering, so that the diet of the tribe does not consist only of dairy products. Of course, women also take care of the upbringing of children. By the way, kids are not divided into friends and foes.

Cattle are grazed by old people and teenagers. Himba men do not overwork. Assemble and disassemble the kraal - here, by by and large and all their affairs. Hunting is not among the permanent occupations of the tribe, it is rather a hobby of Himba men. The constant duty of the representatives of the stronger sex is the extraction of the very reddish breed that is used to prepare body paint. However, the composition is also made by women.

The weaker sex is also a kind of engine of progress. If tourists want to buy some souvenir from the tribe, then they have to bargain only with women. IN last years among the people of the tribe, bright plastic bags began to enjoy unprecedented popularity. Himba are ready to give the last for them. Indeed, in these bags it is so convenient to store your poor belongings, jewelry and, of course, scallops. With the help of the latter, it is very convenient to construct fantastic hairstyles that Himba women are famous for. They, among other things, are considered the standard of beauty on the African continent.

By the age of 12-14, each Himba is missing four lower teeth. This is a consequence of the rite of initiation. Teeth are knocked out with a stone. If you want to be an adult, be patient. By the age of 14, Himba are allowed to marry, but weddings do not happen often, since a large ransom must be paid for the bride.

The wedding ceremony is very original. The newlyweds spend the night in the hut of the bride's family. In the morning they are accompanied by girlfriends future wife leave parental home getting out into the street without fail on all fours. Then everyone rises to their feet and, taking each other by the loincloths, head towards the “sacred fire”, where the leader is already waiting for the ceremony for the young. If someone from the procession stumbles, the rite will have to be repeated, but not earlier than in a few weeks.

The participants in the ceremony sit around the fire, and three vessels of milk are brought to the leader - one each from the huts of the groom, the bride and the leader himself. He takes a sample, after which the remaining members of the tribe are applied to the vessels in turn. After that, all those present go to the leader's hut, where the newlyweds will spend three days. In order for the first wedding night to be successful, in front of the hut the bride and groom again fall on all fours and thus go around the house counterclockwise.

Even if a Himba man and woman are married, they are not required to be faithful. Each Himba can have as many wives as he can support. Wives can be changed, and if a man goes to long journey, then he puts his wife to live with someone he knows.

Such freedom of morals worries the local authorities. More than 20% of the Namibian population has AIDS, so the Himba is a kind of risk group. However, in the tribe, medical problems are treated philosophically. The gods give life, they can take it away, say the Himba. In general, they are long-livers: almost all live up to 70 years, and some even up to a hundred.

The Himba justice system is also interesting. If, for example, a husband kills his wife or one of her relatives, he must pay compensation of 45 cows. If a wife or one of her relatives kills her husband, then no ransom is provided. The authorities of Namibia do not punish himba in any way, considering all this to be their internal affair.

Himba believe that their tribe descended from the progenitor Mukuru, who, along with his wife, came out of the sacred tree Omumborombongo. Mukuru created all things and endowed the souls of the dead Himba ancestors with supernatural powers. But then the enemies drove the tribe from its ancestral lands and captured the tree. Someday the Himba will return there. By the way, having no idea of ​​geography, any head of the clan will show with his hand the direction where to look for Omumborombongo.

In the middle of the 19th century, the himba almost disappeared from the face of the earth. They were attacked by the largest and most powerful tribe in Namibia - the Nama. As a result of cruel raids, the Himba lost all their herds and fled to the mountains. There they had to hunt, but such a life was not to their liking, and they went north to Angola.

For some time it was believed that the Himba died out or mixed with other tribes, when they suddenly reappeared in the old place. It happened in 1903, when the Nama rebelled against the German colonialists. European troops quickly defeated the Nama and their allied Herero, after which they staged a real genocide. As a result, both tribes practically ceased to exist. The Germans and Himba did not bypass "attention". Almost all Himba were killed or captured and sent to black camps. Fortunately, after the First World War, the colonies were taken away from Germany. And if the Herero and the Nama did not recover from the blow, then the Himba "rose" like a phoenix bird from the ashes.

The third time they were considered extinct was in the mid-1980s. A terrible multi-year drought destroyed 90% of the livestock, and in 1988 the last hearth in the last Himba kraal went out. The remaining people of the tribe were resettled in the city of Opuwo as refugees. But in the early 1990s, the Himba returned. Now they number just under 50,000, and the population is growing. At the same time, they live exactly the same as their ancestors hundreds of years ago.