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Herero Day Namibia - 23 August
Each year the Herero Chiefs and followers pay homage
at their ancestors graves.
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Okahandja: is one of the traditional 'seats' of the Herero
people and it is here that many of the Tribe's Chiefs are buried.
Herero Day is an important annual event
in Namibia and is day of commemoration for the Herero people that
has deep meaning. It is the day when the Herero visit the graves of
their Chief's and pay homage. It also is a day of Remembrance of the
funeral of Chief Samuel Maharero, his life and times, and of the
great struggle against the forces of Imperial Germany. The Herero
men parade Military Style and the women wear their distinctive and
colourful traditional dress. If your visit to Namibia is at this
time try to plan a visit to Okahandja.
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Chief Samuel Maharero who, following the disaster of the
Battle of Waterberg, sought
refuge from the British authorities in Bechuanland remained in exile
until his death on 14 March 1923.
His body was returned to Okahandja to be placed next to the bodies
of his Grandfather Chief Tjamuaha (died 1859) and his father
Chief Maharero (died 1890).
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Otjozondjupa Region |
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A Brief History: At 10h00 on Thursday
morning the 23rd August 1923 a
steam locomotive carrying a metal coffin containing the body of
Samuel Maharero arrived at
Okahandja station.
Samuel had lived in exile for nearly 20 years, and
during his absence the powers that ruled over Africa had fought
their way through the most violent war in history to that time. A
war that brought with it dramatic changes to societies across most
of the world. In far off Namibia the culture and traditions of the
indigenous peoples had also been subjected to change. For the Herero,
as a people, many of the 'old ways' had suffered from the
devastation that followed the quelling of the 'Herero Uprising' and they
had begun to absorb much of the 'new' culture brought by the
Europeans.
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Chief Samuel Maharero |
Funeral Procession Of Chief Samuel Maharero |
The Herero leadership came to the consideration
that the most dignified ceremony that their 'Warrior Chief' could be
afforded should be that of a military style funeral similar to those
they had witnessed when German Officers who had fallen in battle
against them were being interred.
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A parade of about 150 mounted horsemen along with
some 1,500 Hereros mostly dressed in German military style uniforms and regalia
made its way through the town in solemn procession.
Samuel Maharero's son Friedrich was reported to have been somewhat
displeased regarding the 'German dress code' of many of those
present and it was asked of the governing authorities present if the
British Union Jack could be draped over the coffin, which was
granted. The respected Rhenish missionary Dr. Heinrich Vedder conducted the
funeral service.
Every year since, on the Sunday nearest to the
23rd August the Hereros gather in
Okahandja to parade and then
pay their respects to their deceased Chieftans. The procession
starts at 09h00 and marches firstly to the graves of
Chief Tjamuaha, Chief Maharero and
Chief Samuel Maharero and Chief Kaimbire Tjamuaha that lay in a
grave area just off Heroes Street in
Okahandja. The procession then
makes its way south along the street to pay homage at the graves of
Chief Hosea Kutako, Chief Clemens Kapuuo and Chief David Kukajoria Ndisiro.
This is followed by a church service. The celebrations usually span
a period of 3 days.
The Men's Dress: The men wear military style uniforms along with regalia, some of
which are quite decorative, and some are mounted on horses.
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Parade Dress |
On Parade |
Paying respects at the Graves of the Chief's |
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Original Head-dress
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The Women's Dress:
Dr. H. Vedder, the missionary historian, wrote in the early
twentieth century of the Herero women,
"The dress of the women is more
artistic (than the man's) and ample. They wear a front apron
reaching to the knees and a leather apron pf the same length at the
back. Their head-gear of which they are very proud comprises a
leather cap showing three high points beset with iron beads and
running down the neck to terminate in a covering for the back with
artistic designs worked out in beads on it. The head-gear of the
Tjimba (HImba) are not so high as those of the Herero women. Their
arms and legs are encumbered with brass rings which greatly impeded
their working and walking, consequently it is regarded as shameful
for a real Herero women to be seen not walking slowly and with
measured step. A European woman hurrying about her work is scorned
by the Herero women, for she reveals to them that she is not a born
mistress, else her movements would be more stately."
The 'old traditional' leather wear was greased with goat fat to make
it supple and rubbed over with red ochre dust. |
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The German influence
brought the easy availability and adoption to making and wearing
woven textiles. The 'modern traditional dress' with its voluminous
skirt of many layers causes the wearer to retain the slowness of
walking while the head-gear comprise of 2 wide points. The colourful
and sometimes ornately decorated dresses are worn for general day
purposes, while the above red dresses are normally worn on special
occasions. Note the 'horned hat'. Cattle are an integral part of
Herero lifestyle. The Herero have in the ancient language over 1,000
different words in which to describe the markings etc. of their
cattle.
The
Grave Site: Prominent Hereros paying
their respects at the graves of
Chief Tjamuaha, Chief Maharero and
Chief Samuel Maharero.
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The gathering of the Hereros at
Okahandja has, over recent years, become the platform
from which claims for financial reparations from Germany are made.
This is with regards to the
Genocide of the Hereros who, at the
time of the
Battle of Waterberg in 1904,
fled into the wastelands of the
Omaheke Desert where
the majority perished. Those who survived the ordeal were hunted down and
either slaughtered or taken into slave labour camps where, it is estimated,
that less than one-in-five survived the terrible and brutal conditions.
Acknowledgements and further reading: H7, H22, P2, P1
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