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Otjize
Otjize is a mixture of butterfat and ochre pigment used by the Himba people of Namibia to protect themselves from the harsh desert climate. The paste is often perfumed with the aromatic resin of '' Commiphora multijuga'' (''omuzumba''). The Himba apply otjize to their skin and hair, which is long and plaited into intricate designs. Himba women start designing their hair from puberty using the red clay as well as adding on the hair of goats for stylistic purposes. Other documented uses of otjize include initiation ceremonies, the burial of human corpses, and as a mosquito repellent. The use of otjize by both men and women has been documented, with the decline in use by men beginning in the 1960s and attributed to "the presence of the South African Defence Force in the region and the subsequent employment of many men as trackers and soldiers". Otjize is also used for hygienic purposes due to water scarcity. Over time, otjize flakes off, removing dirt and dead skin. Wood ash is used to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Himba People
The Himba (singular: OmuHimba, plural: OvaHimba) are an indigenous people with an estimated population of about 50,000 people living in northern Namibia, in the Kunene Region (formerly Kaokoland) and on the other side of the Kunene River in southern Angola. There are also a few groups left of the OvaTwa, who are also OvaHimba, but are hunter-gatherers. Culturally distinguishable from the Herero people, the OvaHimba are a semi-nomadic, pastoralist people and speak OtjiHimba, a variety of Herero, which belongs to the Bantu family within Niger–Congo. The OvaHimba are semi-nomadic as they have base homesteads where crops are cultivated, but may have to move within the year depending on rainfall and where there is access to water. The OvaHimba are considered the last (semi-) nomadic people of Namibia. Culture Subsistence economy The OvaHimba are predominantly livestock farmers who breed fat-tailed sheep and goats, but count their wealth in the number of their cattle. They al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Binti (novella)
''Binti'' is an Africanfuturist science fiction horror novella written by Nnedi Okorafor. The novella was published in 2015 by Tor.com. ''Binti'' is the first novella in Okorafor's ''Binti'' novella series. ''Binti'' won multiple prominent literary awards, including the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Novella and the 2016 Nebula Award for the same category. A television adaptation is reportedly under development at Hulu. Plot A young woman named Binti is the first member of the Himba people from Earth to be accepted into the prestigious intergalactic university Oomza Uni. Upon being notified of her acceptance, Binti runs away from home and boards a transport ship to Oomza Uni. While in transit, the ship is hijacked by the Meduse, a jellyfish-like alien species that was previously at war with the Khoush, another human ethnic group. After the Meduse murder all other inhabitants of the ship, Binti retreats into her private living quarters. She subsequently discovers that a piece of anci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Namibie Himba 0717a
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Although it does not border Zimbabwe, less than 200 metres (660 feet) of the Botswanan right bank of the Zambezi River separates the two countries. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the Commonwealth of Nations. The driest country in sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia has been inhabited since pre-historic times by the San, Damara and Nama people. Around the 14th century, immigrating Bantu peoples arrived as part of the Bantu expansion. Since then, the Bantu groups, the largest being the Ovambo, ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wood Ash
Wood ash is the powdery residue remaining after the combustion of wood, such as burning wood in a fireplace, bonfire, or an industrial power plant. It is largely composed of calcium compounds along with other non-combustible trace elements present in the wood. It has been used for many purposes throughout history. Composition Variability in assessment A comprehensive set of analyses of wood ash composition from many tree species has been carried out by Emil Wolff, among others. Several factors have a major impact on the composition: #Fine ash: Some studies include the solids escaping via the flue during combustion, while others do not. #Temperature of combustion. Ash content yield decreases with increasing combustion temperature which produces two direct effects: #*Dissociation: Conversion of carbonates, sulfides, etc., to oxides results in no carbon, sulfur, carbonates, or sulfides. Some metallic oxides (e.g. mercuric oxide) even dissociate to their elemental state and/or vapori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Health In Namibia
The health status of Namibia has increased steadily since independence, and the government does have focus on health in the country and seeks to make health service upgrades. As a guidance to achieve this goal, The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and World Health Organization (WHO) published the report ''"Namibia: State of the Nation's Health: Findings from the Global Burden of Disease.'' The report backs the fact that Namibia has made steady progress in the last decades when it comes to general health and communicable diseases, but despite this progress, HIV/AIDS still is the major reason for low life expectancy in the country. Namibia is an upper-middle-income country. It has a dual system of public (serving 83% of the population) and private (17%) health care providers. In the financial year 2013/2014 Government and private health expenditure combined accounted for 8.9% of the country's Gross Domestic Product, compared to the world average of 9.9% of GDP in 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skin Cancer
Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BCC), squamous-cell skin cancer (SCC) and melanoma. The first two, along with a number of less common skin cancers, are known as nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC). Basal-cell cancer grows slowly and can damage the tissue around it but is unlikely to spread to distant areas or result in death. It often appears as a painless raised area of skin that may be shiny with small blood vessels running over it or may present as a raised area with an ulcer. Squamous-cell skin cancer is more likely to spread. It usually presents as a hard lump with a scaly top but may also form an ulcer. Melanomas are the most aggressive. Signs include a mole that has changed in size, shape, color, has irregular edges, has more than one color, is itchy or bleeds. More than ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around 1 millimeter (300 GHz) to the nominal red edge of the visible spectrum, around 700 nanometers (430 THz). Longer IR wavelengths (30 μm-100 μm) are sometimes included as part of the terahertz radiation range. Almost all black-body radiation from objects near room temperature is at infrared wavelengths. As a form of electromagnetic radiation, IR propagates energy and momentum, exerts radiation pressure, and has properties corresponding to both those of a wave and of a particle, the photon. It was long known that fires emit invisible heat; in 1681 the pioneering experimenter Edme Mariotte showed that glass, though transparent to sunlight, obstructed radiant heat. In 1800 the astronomer Sir William Herschel discovered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight, and constitutes about 10% of the total electromagnetic radiation output from the Sun. It is also produced by electric arcs and specialized lights, such as mercury-vapor lamps, tanning lamps, and black lights. Although long-wavelength ultraviolet is not considered an ionizing radiation because its photons lack the energy to ionization, ionize atoms, it can cause chemical reactions and causes many substances to glow or fluorescence, fluoresce. Consequently, the chemical and biological effects of UV are greater than simple heating effects, and many practical applications of UV radiation derive from its interactions with organic molecules. Short-wave ultraviolet light damages DNA and sterilizes surf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugo Award
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier award in science fiction. The award is administered by the World Science Fiction Society. It is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine ''Amazing Stories''. Hugos were first given in 1953, at the 11th World Science Fiction Convention, and have been awarded every year since 1955. The awards were originally given in seven categories. These categories have changed over the years, and the award is currently conferred in seventeen categories of written and dramatic works. The winners receive a trophy consisting of a stylized rocket ship on a base; the design of the trophy changes each year, though the rocket itself has been standardized since 1984. The Hugo Awards are considered "the premier award in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nnedi Okorafor
Nnedimma Nkemdili "Nnedi" Okorafor (formerly Okorafor-Mbachu; born April 8, 1974) is a Nigerian-American writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. She is best known for her ''Binti Series'' and her novels ''Who Fears Death'', '' Zahrah the Windseeker'', ''Akata Witch'', ''Akata Warrior'', ''Lagoon'' and ''Remote Control.'' She has also written for comics and film. Her writing is Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism, which is heavily influenced by her dual Nigerian and American heritage. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, Eisner Award and World Fantasy Award. She is considered to be among the third generation of Nigerian writers. Background and personal life Nnedimma Nkemdili Okorafor was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1974 to Igbo Nigerian parents who travelled to America in 1969 to attend school but purportedly could not return to Nigeria due to the Nigerian Civil War. Okorafor is the third child in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Force was officially succeeded by the SADF, which was established by the Defence Act (No. 44) of 1957. The SADF, in turn, was superseded by the South African National Defence Force in 1994. Mission and structure The SADF was organised to perform a dual mission: to counter possible insurgency in all forms, and to maintain a conventional military arm which could defend the republic's borders, making retaliatory strikes as necessary. As the military expanded during the 1970s, the SADF general staff was organised into six sections—finance, intelligence, logistics, operations, personnel, and planning; uniquely, the South African Medical Service (SAMS) was made co-equal with the South African Army, the South African Navy and the South African ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Scarcity
Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water Water resources, resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity is where there is not enough water to meet all demands, including that needed for ecosystems to function effectively. Desert climate, Arid areas for example Central and West Asia, and North Africa often suffer from physical water scarcity. On the other hand, economic water scarcity is caused by a lack of investment in infrastructure or technology to draw water from rivers, aquifers, or other water sources, or insufficient human capacity to satisfy the demand for water. Much of Sub-Saharan Africa has economic water scarcity. The essence of global water scarcity is the geographic and temporal mismatch between fresh water demand and availability. At the global level and on an annual basis, enough freshwater is available to meet such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
