30 Jul 2018

Community leaders in Ngamiland have commended the Herero and Ovambanderu youth for showing a sense of appreciation for their culture, especially the dress.

The Herero dress is regaining its popularity and becoming fashionable amongst the youth proving that gone are the days when it was just an ordinary dress only worn by married and older women.

Community leaders in Ngamiland had argued that the youth seemed to have forgotten about the attire’s significance for a longtime, but it appears now the young people were coming around to the realisation of how important the dress is not only among the Herero community but across all tribes in Botswana.

Speaking in an interview with BOPA recently, Kgosi Mannuel Nguvauva of Ovambanderu said as community leaders of the Ovambanderu and Herero communities, they are proud of the youth who are now promoting the dress culture.

Kgosi Nguvauva said it is admirable and heart-warming to see young Herero women donning the dress and its head scarf, which resembles cattle horns, symbolising the relationship between the tribe and cattle.

He noted that cattle farming is central to Herero wealth and economy.

Touching on the origins of the Herero dress, Kgosi Nguvauva said the dress was inspired during the Victorian era when German missionaries encouraged women to wear long dresses as according to fashion trends in Europe.

“Our ancestors then added the head scarf to symbolize our relationship with cattle,” he said.

Kgosi Nguvauva commended government for encouraging the youth to learn and appreciate their cultures, adding that such proclamations by government are responsible for motivating young people in appreciating, accepting and loving their cultures.

“We do not have any problem with people from other tribes who prefer to wear the dress, but they should adhere to some regulations of the dress,” he said

Kgosi Nguvauva explained that in Herero and Mbanderu culture, women who wear the dress should always be calm, should not dance, walk fast or laugh out loud as a way of showing respect and appreciating the importance of the attire.

“There are also some places that women are not allowed to visit when wearing the dress. Places like bars and clubs should not be visited because they are said to lead to behaviours that are unacceptable,” he said.

He further noted that it is eye catching to see a Herero woman wearing her traditional regalia, performing her daily chores, walking slowly and calm; and this should be motivation enough for young women to live life through culture.

He advised the youth to venture into business by using the dress to create documentaries that would capture the Herero and Mbanderu culture so as to attract tourists.

Another community elder, Mr Matito Kamaraka commended the youth, saying they are impressed by the fact that the young women of today are attending different cultural events in their traditional attires.

For her part, Ms Agnes Munamava from Kareng village said they are proud of their culture and also grateful to government for encouraging different tribes in Botswana to preserve their culture.

She explained that what also inspired her and other young women to start wearing the dress was that most of the Herero youth in Namibia wore the dress to their annual Herero cultural celebration.

Ms Munamava explained that since she now understands that the attire is not only for married and old women, it has become her daily attire.

“We pride ourselves with our culture especially during weddings and special cultural occasions like otjingirine (for Ovambanderu/green flag) and otjiserandu (for Ovaherero/red flag). Other tribes in Botswana appreciate their cultures and we should do the same,” she concluded. ENDS