Faith Nyasuguta
The Himba people are unique, interesting and welcoming. A moment with them will surely be one to remember.
In the Himba tradition, “When a visitor comes knocking, a man shows his approval and pleasure of seeing his guest by giving him the Okujepisa Omukazendu treatment, which is that the wife is given to his guest to spend the night with, while the husband sleeps in another room. In a case where there is no available room, her husband will sleep outside.” This, apparently, reduces jealousy and fosters relationships.
Another tradition that has stood the test of time is the “bathing is forbidden” rule. Rather than take their baths, the women take a smoke bath and apply aromatic resins on their skin. They are also guided by the belief that the colour red signifies “Earth and blood”.
Their red skin is one of the things that make them extremely unique. The red ochre cream that the Himba are famous for is made by pounding the ochre stone into small pieces. After that, the fragments are mixed with butter, slightly heated using smoke and applied on the skin, and its function is to protect their skin from the harsh desert sun and insect bites.
