The True Namibian Story – Sharing your Wife with guests

Really ! The people of Ovahimba and Ovazimba tribes in Northern Namibia have a culture that has defied western understanding and assimilation.

 They have a population of over 50,000 and their women engage in the daily activity of milking their cows, taking care of the children and other extensive duties while the men go hunting ,sometimes for a long period of time in the bush/forest. Their wealth is thus determined by the number of cattle one has. A polygamous people, their girls are married off to male partners selected by their fathers once they attain puberty.

 You cannot ignore the red skin they have. The red colour seen on their skin is called, the otjize paste ( a combination of butterfat, omuzumba scrub and ochre) and its function is to protect their skin from the sun and insect bites. They are also guided by the belief that the colour red signifies “Earth and blood”. Rather than take their baths, the women take a smoke bath and apply aromatic resins on their skin.

They are so liberal in their heart and soul to a dangerous extent. Shockingly,When a visitor comes knocking, a man shows his approval and pleasure to his guest by giving him the “Okujepisa Omukazendu” treatment.

This literally means that his wife is given to his guest to spend the night while the husband sleeps in another room. Where there is no available room, her husband will sleep outside the hut/house for that night and with his ears widely open to the mourning of his wife with another man (What an occurrence).  This tradition has its “benefits” in the community as said by many: it reduces jealousy and fosters relationships between the people of the nuclear community.

The woman also has little or no opinion in the decision making with regards to her body and its use. Submission to her husband’s demands come first. She has an option of refusing to sleep with him but has to sleep in the same room as the guest though scarce. She is also entitled to give her friends to her husband when they visit though this scarcely happens.