Herero people

Herero

Three Herero women.
Total population
240,000
Regions with significant populations
Namibia  Botswana  Angola
Languages
Herero
Religion
Traditional faith, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Bantu

The Herero are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. The majority reside in Namibia, with the remainder found in Botswana and Angola. About 240,000 members are alive today.

General

Unlike most Bantus, who are overwhelmingly subsistence farmers, the Herero are traditionally pastoralists and make a living tending livestock. As cattle terminology in use amongst the few modern Bantu pastoralist groups testifies, Bantu herders originally acquired cattle from Cushitic pastoralists inhabiting Eastern Africa prior to the Bantu expansion from West Africa. Linguistic evidence also indicates that Bantus likely borrowed the custom of milking cattle directly from Cushitic peoples in the area.^[1] Later interactions between Bantu and Cushitic peoples resulted in Bantu groups with significant Cushitic admixture and culturo-linguistic influences, such as the Herero herdsmen of southern Africa.^[2][3] The notably lighter skin color, finer facial features, greater stature and warrior ethos found amongst some Herero members relative to other Bantu peoples are believed to be physical and cultural traits inherited from these exchanges.^[4]

The Herero claim to comprise several subgroups, including the Himba, the Tjimba (Cimba), the Mbanderu and the Kwandu. Groups in Angola include the Kuvale, Zemba, Hakawona, Tjavikwa, Tjimba and Himba, who regularly cross the Namibia/Angola border when migrating with their herds. However, the Tjimba, though they speak Herero, are physically distinct indigenous hunter-gatherers; it may be in the Herero's interest to portray indigenous peoples as impoverished (cattleless) Herero.^[5]

History

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Herero migrated to what is today Namibia from the east and established themselves as herdsmen. In the beginning of the 19th century, the Nama from South Africa, who already possessed some firearms, entered the land and were followed, in turn, by white merchants and German missionaries. At first, the Nama began displacing the Herero, leading to bitter warfare between the two groups which lasted the greater part of the 19th century. Later the two peoples entered into a period of cultural exchange.

During the late 19th century, the first Europeans began entering to permanently settle the land. Primarily in Damaraland, German settlers acquired land from the Herero in order to establish farms. In 1883, the merchant Franz Adolf Eduard Lüderitz entered into a contract with the native elders. The exchange later became the basis of German colonial rule. The territory became a German colony under the name of German South-West Africa.

Soon after, conflicts between the German colonists and the Herero herdsmen began. Controversies frequently arose because of disputes about access to land and water, but also the legal discrimination against the native population by the white immigrants.^{[citation needed]}

Genocide

Main article: Herero and Namaqua Genocide

In the late 19th and early 20th century, imperialism and colonialism in Africa peaked. European power houses were hungry for railways and trade routes, as well as more colonies to call their own. Germany officially claimed their stake in a South African colony in 1884, calling it, German South-West Africa until it was taken over in 1915. The first German colonists arrived in 1892, and conflict with the indigenous Herero and Nama people began. As in many cases of colonization, the indigenous people were not treated fairly. They were assumed to be savages and in a time where Social Darwinism and racism ruled, they were considered as subhuman.^[6]

Between 1893 and 1903, the Herero and Nama peoples land as well as their cattle were progressively making their way into the hands of the German colonists. The Herero and Nama resisted expropriation over the years, but they were unorganized and the Germans defeated them with ease. In 1903, the Herero people learnt that they were to be placed in reservations, leaving more room for colonists to own land and prosper. In 1904, the Herero and Nama began a great rebellion that lasted until 1907, ending with the utter destruction of the Herero people. “The war against the Herero and Nama was the first in which German imperialism resorted to methods of genocide…”^[6] It has been determined by experts that roughly 80,000 Herero lived in German South-West Africa at the beginning of Germany’s colonial rule over the area, while after their revolt was defeated, they numbered approximately 15,000. In a period of four years approximately 65,000 Herero people perished.

Samuel Maharero, the Supreme Chief of the Herero, led his people in a great uprising on January 12, 1904 against the Germans.^[7] The Herero, surprising the Germans with their uprising, had initial success.

German General von Trotha took over as leader in May 1904.^[8] In August 1904, he devised a plan to annihilate the Herero nation. The plan was to surround the area where the Herero were, leaving but one route for them to escape, into the desert. The Herero battled the Germans, and the losses were minor. It was when they had escaped through the only passage made available by the Germans, and had been chased away from the last watering hole into complete desertion, that casualties grew to insufferable amounts. It was then that the Herero uprising changed from war, to genocide.

At the 100th anniversary of the massacre, German Minister for Economic Development and Cooperation Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul commemorated the dead on site and apologized for the crimes on behalf of all Germans. Some Africans demand financial reparations, however in 2004 there was only minor media attention in Germany on this matter.^[9]

Herero culture and language

Despite sharing a language and pastoral traditions, the Herero are not a homogeneous people. The main Herero group in central Namibia (sometimes called Herero proper) was heavily influenced by Western culture during the colonial period, creating a whole new identity. The Herero proper and their southern counterparts the Mbanderu, for instance, wear garments similar to those worn by colonial Europeans (see photo at top of article). Traditional leather garments are worn by northwestern groups, such as the Himba, Kuvale, and Tjimba, who are also more conservative in other aspects. The Kaokoland Herero and those in Angola have remained isolated and are still pastoral nomads, practicing limited horticulture.^{[citation needed]}

The Herero language (Otjiherero) is the main unifying link amongst the Herero peoples. It is a Bantu language, part of the Niger–Congo family.^[10] Within the Otjiherero umbrella, there are many dialects, including Oluthimba or Otjizemba- which is the most common dialect in Angola-, Otjihimba, and Otjikuvale. These differ mainly in phonology, and are largely mutually intelligible, though Kuvale, Zemba, and Hakaona have been classified as separate languages. Standard Herero is used in the Namibian media and is taught in schools throughout the country.^{[citation needed]}

The Herero are traditionally cattle-herding pastoralists who rate status on the number of cattle owned. Cattle raids occurred between Herero groups, but Herero land (Ehi Rovaherero) belongs to the community and has no fixed boundaries.^{[citation needed]}

The Herero have a bilateral descent system. A person traces their heritage through both their father's lineage, or oruzo (plural: otuzo), and their mother's lineage, or eanda (plural: omaanda).^[11] In the 1920s, Kurt Falk recorded in the Archiv für Menschenkunde that the Ovahimba retained a "medicine-man" or "wizard" status for homosexual men. He wrote, "When I asked him if he was married, he winked at me slyly and the other natives laughed heartily and declared to me subsequently that he does not love women, but only men. He nonetheless enjoyed no low status in his tribe."^[12]

The Holy Fire (OtjikaTjamuaha) of the Herero is located at Okahandja. From 1923 to 2011 it was situated at the Red Flag Commando. On Herero Day 2011, a group around Paramount Chief Kuaima Riruako claimed that this fire was facing eastwards for the past 88 years, while it should be facing towards the sunset. They removed it and placed it at an undisclosed location, a move that has stirred controversy.^[13]

Herero in fiction

A group of Herero living in Germany who were inducted into the German military during the Second World War play a major part in Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow. The genocide under von Trotha plays a major role in another novel by the same author, V..

German author Uwe Timm's novel Morenga, set in German South-West Africa, also includes several Herero characters.

See also

• History of Namibia
• Herero Wars
• Herero massacre
• Herero language
• Herero Day

Publications

• Rachel Anderson, Redressing Colonial Genocide Under International Law: The Hereros' Cause of Action Against Germany, 93 California Law Review 1155 (2005).
• Hans Schinz, Deutsch Südwest-Afrika, (Oldenburg and Leipzig, 1891)
• S. Passarge, Südafrika, (Oldenburg and Leipzig, 1908)

External links

The following links were last verified 24 June 2007.

• A neo-nazi spin on atrocities committed on the Herero people during the suppression of their uprising in German South West Africa 1904-1907

References

1. ^ J. D. Fage, A history of Africa, Routledge, 2002, p.29
2. ^ Was there an interchange between Cushitic pastoralists and Khoisan speakers in the prehistory of Southern Africa and how can this be detected?
3. ^ Robert Gayre, Ethnological elements of Africa, (The Armorial, 1966), p.45
4. ^ Robert Gayre, Ethnological elements of Africa, (The Armorial, 1966), pp.35 & 45
5. ^ Roger Blench, Are the African Pygmies an Ethnographic Fiction?
6. ^ ^{a b} Chalk, Frank, and Jonassohn, Kurt. The History and Sociology of Genocide: Analyses and Case Studies. “Published in cooperation with the Montreal Institute for Genocide Studies”. (Yale University Press: New Haven & London, 1990)
7. ^ The New York Times (New York). 18 Aug, 1904
8. ^ The Times (London). 7 May 1904
9. ^ Krabbe, Alexander. "Remembering Germany's African Genocide". OhmyNews International. http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?menu=c10400&no=180988&rel_no=1. Retrieved 2004-08-06. 
10. ^ Herero language at Ethnologue
11. ^ 1 How Societies Are Born by Jan Vansina: “Of Water, Cattle, and Kings”
12. ^ Boy-Wives and Female Husbands edited by Stephen Murray & Will Roscoe. Published by Saint Martin's Press in 1998. p. 190
13. ^ Nunuhe, Margreth (31 August 2011). "Holy fire relocation triggers storm". New Era. http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=40378. 

Photographs

• Africa on the Matrix: Herero People of Namibia — Photographs and information.