Namaqua

Nama (in older sources also called Namaqua) are an African ethnic group of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. They speak the Nama language of the Khoe-Kwadi (Central Khoisan) language family. The Nama are the largest group of the Khoikhoi people, most of whom have largely disappeared as a group, except for the Namas. Many live in Namaqualand.

History

For thousands of years, the Khoisan peoples of South Africa and southern Namibia maintained a nomadic pastoral way of life, tending their flocks of goats and sheep, gathering firewood, and collecting wild honey.

From 1904 to 1907, the Nama, along with the Herero took up arms against the Germans, who had colonized present-day Namibia. In 10,000 Nama, 50% of the total Nama population, perished.

Following the discovery of diamonds at the mouth of the Orange River in the 1920s, however, prospectors began moving into the region, establishing towns at Alexander Bay and Port Nolloth, a process that accelerated the appropriation of traditional lands that had begun early in the colonial period. Under apartheid, remaining pastoralists were encouraged to abandon their traditional lifestyle in favor of village life.

The Nama people originally lived around the Orange River in southern Namibia and northern South Africa. The early colonialists referred to them as Hottentots.

Culture

In general the Nama practice a policy of communal land ownership. Music, poetry and story telling are very important in Nama culture and many stories have been passed down orally through the generations.The Nama have a culture that is rich in the musical and literary abilities of its people. Traditional music, folk tales, proverbs, and praise poetry have been handed down for generations and form the base for much of their culture. They are known for crafts which include leatherwork, skin karosses and mats, musical instruments (such as reed flutes), jewellery, clay pots, and tortoiseshell powder containers. Nama women still dress in Victorian traditional fashion. This style of dress was introduced by missionaries in the 1800s and their influence is still a part of the Nama culture today.

Today, the Richtersveld National Park is one of the few places where old ways survive. Here, the Nama still move with the seasons and speak their language. The traditional Nama dwelling - the |haru oms, or portable rush-mat covered domed hut - is a reflection of a nomadic way of life, offering a cool haven against the blistering heat of the sun, yet easy to pack and move if grazing lands become scarce. In 1991, a portion of Namaqualand, home of the Nama and one of the last true wilderness areas of South Africa, became the Richtersveld National Park. In December 2002, ancestral lands, including the park, were returned to community ownership and the governments of South Africa, Namibia, and Angola embarked on the development of a transfrontier park along the west coast of southern Africa, absorbing the Richtersveld National Park.

Recently, many Nama in Namibia have begun converting to Islam and make up one of the largest group among Namibia's Muslim community. [ [http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2006-06/01/02.shtml IslamOnline.net- News ] ]

References

Authorities

*Hoernl‚, A. W. 1925. The Social Organization of the Nama Hottentots. American Anthropologist, n.s., 27: 1-24. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/661495 JSTOR]
*Hoernl‚, A. W. 1918. Certain Rites of Transition and the Conception of !Nau among the Hottentots. Harvard African Studies 2:65-82. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/660280 JSTOR]
*Schultze, L. 1907. Aus Namaland und Kalahari. Jena.

ee also

*Hendrik Witbooi (Namaqua chief)
*Hottentot Venus
*Herero and Namaqua Genocide

External links

* [http://www.sanparks.org/parks/richtersveld/ South African National Parks website]
* [http://www.razsar.com/Attractions/NP%20Richtersveld.htm Some fantastic photographs from the Richtersveld National Park at www.razsar.com]
* [http://www.flyingthefish.com/imagegallery.htm Aerial Richtersveld Images] Taken during the filming of "flying the fish"