These people know absolutely nothing about civilisation and one gets the impression that their development ended centuries ago. But then how do they survive? Have they not developed certain health problems by now? Strangely, none of them want to leave the place where they were born and where their relatives live, even though such living conditions are clearly not the best in the world.
They are called ‘Himba’ and most people think that most of the girls in this tribe are literally the most beautiful in the territory of Africa, as if they came off the covers of magazines. The most interesting thing is that some photographers even try to contact them to take some pictures which then end up on the covers of some magazines, and also their faces can be found in most publications because we admire their beauty.
But where is their settlement?
This question bothers many people who are trying to figure out where they live, as well as those who are interested in geography. When geographers investigated this question, it turned out that the Himba tribe lived in the north-west of Namibia. You may know that in this wonderful country called Namibia, there are many diamond deposits, which is why many companies come there to extract the necessary minerals for their business. As it later became clear, this country is home to many different peoples and tribes to whom civilisation is a stranger!
It is strange that in one country people can speak different languages that even people from the civilised world do not know about. But many people are very interested in learning about the different traditions and customs of these tribes. No wonder that their life is very difficult, as they literally have to survive in harsh conditions, because they live literally in the desert, where there is a constant drought and lack of water. Most people think that these people move from one place to another to improve their quality of life, but I would like to refute this information, because most of the time they live in one place, even if it causes certain problems.
Most of the time these people raise livestock and then eat it, so it would seem that they do not have any nutritional problems. However, at certain times of the year they do have to move from one place to another, as they cannot stay in one place during the dry season. At the moment, the population of the Himba people is only a few thousand, which seems too small a number, because perhaps in the near future they will be extinct. It turns out that they mostly have to live in small settlements, but only one settlement per family, so their tribes can be considered quite remote.
What does the dwelling of these people look like?
The houses of these inhabitants are incredibly simple, because people do not have to make much effort to have a roof over their heads. They gather thin tree trunks, after which they make a cone-shaped hut. Surprisingly, at the final stage, they have to smear their house with mud to make it stronger and sturdier, because mud in this region tends to dry out. It is clear that one can not even think about furniture in such a house, because the only thing they have in their own house is a sleeping place.
Most of the buildings of these peoples are round, because it seems to them that it is much more convenient to live in such houses. The most interesting thing is that each settlement places a fire in the centre of its settlement, where they gather as a whole tribe every evening, and to the great surprise, pensioners are engaged in maintaining this fire. It seems to these people that as long as there is a fire in their village they will live peacefully and without any problems, so they have to spend too much effort to keep it going and make sure that it does not start to die out in any way. Moreover, with the dawn of a new day, the Himba people come to the fire to address the souls of people who are no longer alive.
The families of this people
Even before boys have to reach puberty, they are deliberately circumcised and no one in the tribe has ever been able to avoid this rite. The most interesting thing is that boys have to start families at an early age, so after they get married they are considered adult men.
Girls in such tribes look like this, but they are not considered women until they have their first child, because there is no way to have a family without it. It seems strange, but men can have two wives at once, which means that they are the head of two families at the same time. This rule does not apply to men alone, because girls are also allowed to build families with several men at the same time, if they find it necessary.
Moreover, nobody discourages them from divorcing the first spouse, because in their people it is a norm when a girl easily leaves the man with whom she originally built a family. It is suspicious that the spouses consider it completely normal to cheat on each other and they do not even have to hide it, so quarrels in the family on this ground have never practically arisen. Based on such information, one might think that people in such tribes simply have no sense of jealousy and there is nothing wrong with that.
Girls from such tribes are considered the most beautiful in Africa and these words cannot even be disputed, because even for us they look excellent. Moreover, in these tribes there were some researches, which say that many men can conceive their children even before they get married without being responsible for their offspring. Moreover, there is another strange fact, which states that girls and guys are very strange distribution of responsibilities between themselves, because in marriage women have to look after the household, take care of children and basically do the most difficult work. It is also surprising that it is girls who are in charge of the construction of housing, as men are not responsible for this. They have to find all the equipment to cook food themselves.
It is strange that the husbands of such strong women do not have to do anything and it seems as if they are lazy all their lives. The only thing men do is look after the animals they raise to eat later. That’s why we get the impression that they are herders.
What kind of food the tribes eat and what kind of clothes they have to wear
The Himba people have never gone hungry, because they are able to find a way out of even the most difficult situation, for which they can definitely be respected. With many cows, goats and chickens, they eat well all the time. Also, as soon as the tribes find a suitable land for farming, they start growing everything they can and cannot grow there. Moreover, they also like to steal birds’ eggs. They are ready to eat everything they see on their way, so there is no threat of their extinction at the moment.
But they can eat meat only in small quantities and only on important days, because they cannot slaughter all their cattle in one day, and they do not see any sense in it. They want to raise more and more animals, not to eat them all at once. Moreover, they always think about their offspring.
An interesting fact is also that they practically do not wear clothes, because it is enough for men that they have a loincloth, and the girl has a skirt made of leather. Girls also like to wear a lot of jewellery on themselves, because this way they consider themselves more attractive. They have various pendants, for the manufacture of which they use shells with beads. Moreover, they always have a lot of bracelets and beads on their hands. Due to the leather belt, one can realise that the Himba girls have a beautiful waist.
It is surprising that from such bulky jewellery their weight increases several times. It seems that they are far away from civilisation, but all these tribes do not even aspire to it, because they are completely satisfied with this way of life and are happy with the way they live, so there is nothing to judge them for. Only lately men have taken an interest in making sandals, and children of these tribes begin to wear modern clothes, which they buy when they come to the city. It would also be worth paying attention to the hairstyles of these peoples, because thanks to it you can understand what age a person is. If you look at the braided braids of girls, you can conclude whether she has a spouse or not. At what age she is now, as well as the number of her children.
How do the Himba take care of themselves?
This is a question that concerns many people from the civilised world. Women have long wanted to take a bath to freshen up even a little, but they simply do not have the opportunity to do so. The most expensive thing for their tribes is water, which is almost impossible to get because of their region of residence. But only people who at least once in their lives have been in contact with women of this people, say that the girls smell very pleasant, although they have not washed since childhood. There is nothing wrong with that. It would seem that they must stink incredibly, except that there has never been an unpleasant odour from them. How do they take care of their hygiene then? Maybe they have some secret method?
It is very easy, because in such a difficult situation it is much easier for women to take mud baths, so girls from such tribes are often covered with mud, and in this way they wash not only their bodies, but also their heads, not at all squeamish. They have been living in such conditions since birth and have managed to find a rather simple solution. Moreover, thanks to their mud baths, they can protect themselves from the sun so that they don’t burn during the day.
Moreover, as darkness falls, the girls can safely scrub off all the dirt from their bodies, after which they take a dip in the ‘smoke bath’. You didn’t hear that – it’s really true! In their area grow such trees, which are called ‘commiphora’. You may have heard of it at some point, because here it is used for perfumes and also in medicine. That is why the women of this people always throw many branches and leaves from these trees into the fire, and after the fragrant smoke appears, they bow down in front of it and cover themselves with any cloth so that this fragrance is absorbed into their body. After this they sweat incredibly profusely and are cleansed. Our women would never have thought of this, but the Himba girls deserve credit for finding a way to use this tree.
In the end, women have to rub a brown-coloured ointment into their skin, after which they start to smell nice. It is also important to know that after all these manipulations, the girls’ skin becomes very soft and smooth, and also starts to age later. They can not be considered dirty, because they really spend a lot of time on self-care, which is why they are considered very attractive.
