Culture in Namibia is a blend of many different people and its culture and customs have absorbed both African and European elements and fused them into a blend of the two. Although the country is urbanising rapidly, a majority of Namibians still live in rural areas and lead largely impoverished lives. It is among these people, however, that cultural tradition survive most strongly.
One of the
sparsest populated countries in the world, Namibia's different cultures span an impressively diverse population, from the
Bantu-speaking
The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a large family of languages spoken by the Bantu people of Central, Southern, Eastern africa and Southeast Africa. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages.
The tot ...
Ovambo and Herero tribes (the latter of which are admired for their colorful Victorian dress) to the Damara minorities and nomadic
San Bushmen
The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are members of various Khoe languages, Khoe, Tuu languages, Tuu, or Kxʼa languages, Kxʼa-speaking indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures that are the Indigenous peoples of Africa, first cultures of Sout ...
. German colonisation left its own imprint on Namibia, with German being a widely spoken language today and German architecture and cuisine featuring prominently. Namibia's diverse and, at times, harsh climate has contributed to its colourful history.
Population
Namibia has the second-
lowest population density of any sovereign country, after
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
.
In 2017 there were on average 3.08 people per km
2.
The current population of Namibia is 2,599,944 based on projections of the latest United Nations data.
Ethnic Groups
Namibia has many ethnic groups. The 9 main ethnic groups are:
*
Coloured / Baster
*
Herero
Herero may refer to:
* Herero people, a people belonging to the Bantu group, with about 240,000 members alive today
* Herero language, a language of the Bantu family (Niger-Congo group)
* Herero and Namaqua Genocide
* Herero chat, a species of b ...
*
Kavango people The Kavango people, also known as the vaKavango or haKavango, are a Bantu ethnic group that resides on the Namibian side of the Namibian–Angolan border along the Kavango River. They are mainly riverine living people, but about 20% reside in the dr ...
*
Khoisan
Khoisan , or (), according to the contemporary Khoekhoegowab orthography, is a catch-all term for those indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who do not speak one of the Bantu languages, combining the (formerly "Khoikhoi") and the or ( in t ...
*
Nama / Damara
*
Ovambo people
The Ovambo people (), also called Aawambo, Ambo, Aawambo (Ndonga, Nghandjera, Kwambi, Kwaluudhi, Kolonghadhi, Mbalantu), or Ovawambo (Kwanyama) the biggest of the Aawambo sub-tribes are a Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, primarily mo ...
*
Tswana people
The Tswana ( tn, Batswana, singular ''Motswana'') are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Tswana language is a principal member of the Sotho-Tswana language group. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the popu ...
*
White Namibians
White Namibians (german: Weiße Namibier or Europäer Namibier) are people of European descent settled in Namibia. The majority of White Namibians are Afrikaners (locally born or of White South Africans descent), with many of the White minority ...
*
Zambezi people
These groups can be further broken down into smaller tribes with each having a slightly different dialect from the other.
Language
During the
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
regime in Namibia, the three languages of English, German, and Afrikaans were designated as the official
languages of Namibia
Namibia, despite its scant population, is home to a wide diversity of languages, from multiple language families: Germanic, Bantu, and the various Khoisan families. When Namibia was administered by South Africa, Afrikaans, German, and English enjo ...
. After
Namibia gained independence from
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
in 1990, the new government adopted English as the official language, enshrined in the
constitution of the country. English is now used in government, and it is the medium of instruction in schools and universities. However, the schools of Namibia are facing a shortage of teachers proficient in the English language, and a report reveals that 98% of the country's teachers lack sufficient training in the language.
The most widely spoken languages used in households are
Oshiwambo
The Ovambo () language is a dialect cluster spoken by the Ovambo people in southern Angola and northern Namibia, of which the written standards are Kwanyama and Ndonga.
The native name for the language is ''Oshiwambo'' (also written ''Oshiv ...
dialects, by 49% of the population,
Khoekhoegowab
The Khoekhoe language (), also known by the ethnic terms Nama (''Namagowab'') , Damara (''ǂNūkhoegowab''), or Nama/Damara and formerly as Hottentot, is the most widespread of the non-Bantu languages of Southern Africa that make heavy use o ...
by 11%,
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
by 10%,
RuKwangali
Kwangali, or RuKwangali, is a Bantu language spoken by 85,000 people along the Kavango River in Namibia, where it is a national language, and in Angola. It is one of several Bantu languages of the Kavango which have click consonants; these are t ...
by 9%, and
Otjiherero
Herero (, ''Otjiherero'') is a Bantu language spoken by the Herero and Mbanderu peoples in Namibia and Botswana, as well as by small communities of people in southwestern Angola. There were 211,700 speakers in 2014.
Distribution
Its linguist ...
by 9%. Other native languages include the Bantu languages Setswana, Gciriku, Fwe,
Chikuhane, Mbukushu, Yeyi; and the
Khoisan
Khoisan , or (), according to the contemporary Khoekhoegowab orthography, is a catch-all term for those indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who do not speak one of the Bantu languages, combining the (formerly "Khoikhoi") and the or ( in t ...
Naro, ǃXóõ, Kung-Ekoka, ǂKxʼauǁʼein and Kxoe. English, the
official language
An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...
, is spoken by 3% of people as their native language. Portuguese was spoken by 4–5% of the total population, i.e. 100,000 people, made up mostly of the Angolan community in 2014. The number of Angolans in Namibia declined from 2014 to 2015. The economic crisis in the neighboring country affected the numbers. Among the white population, 60% speak Afrikaans, 32% German, 7% English, and 1% Portuguese.
Religion
Namibian religion is dominated by various branches of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, with more than 90% of Namibian citizens identifying themselves as Christian. According to the United States
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs (DRL) is a bureau within the United States Department of State. The bureau is under the purview of the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights.
DRL's resp ...
, in 2007 up to 75% were Protestant, including as much as 50% Lutheran.
According to the Namibia Demographic and Health Surveys (2013), the proportions are:
* 65.1% Protestant (43.7% Lutheran, 4.4% Seventh-day Adventist, 17.0% Anglican or other Protestant denomination)
* 22.8% Roman Catholic
* 10.5% a non-Christian religion (primarily African traditional religions, Sunni Islam, Buddhism)
* 1.5% unaffiliated or irreligious
Foreign missionary groups operate in the country. The
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
provides for freedom of religion, and the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
generally respects this right in practice.
Islam in Namibia
Namibia is a predominantly Christian country and is home to a small Muslim community.
Islam is a minority religion in Namibia, with a small but longstanding presence in the country. Islam first took root during the late 1800s in Namibia in the ...
is subscribed to by about 9,000 people, many of them Nama. Namibia is home to a small Jewish community of about 100 people.
Norms and lifestyle
Dress
Women in different areas of Namibia dress differently from each other. Some women wear traditional clothing while others wear Victorian-styled clothing because of the influence of the missionaries in the area. Herero women wear traditional style clothing and dress with traditional jewellery. The hairstyle indicates their rank and social status. Himba people still wear traditional attire and apply ''otjize'' to their skin, a cosmetic mixture of butterfat and ochre pigment. It gives Himba people's skin and hair plaits a distinctive texture, style, and orange or red tinge, and is often perfumed with aromatic resin.
Greetings
Greeting
Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship (usually cordial) or social status (formal or informal) between indivi ...
s are especially important to Namibians. Namibians tend to be indirect communicators. Conversations almost always begin with a hello and how are you doing. It is generally considered impolite to just rush into trying to obtain the specific information you need. Extended greetings and handshakes are very important in most Namibian cultures. When food and drink are offered, it is polite to accept. There is a general emphasis on emotional restraint in public, and public displays of affection between spouses or lovers are frowned upon, especially in rural areas.
Along with a curtsy, another traditional show of respect is for the greeter to shake with his or her right hand while at the same time touching their right elbow with their left hand. The curtsy and the elbow touch performed together are very common in the northern regions, especially the rural areas. It is considered common courtesy to greet people in. It is considered disrespectful to not greet people. When entering a room for a meeting, you should greet everyone with a
handshake
A handshake is a globally widespread, brief greeting or parting tradition in which two people grasp one of each other's like hands, in most cases accompanied by a brief up-and-down movement of the grasped hands. Customs surrounding handshakes a ...
if possible, before sitting down. When asking someone in a public establishment for help (i.e. directions, prices, etc.), always greet first and ask how they are before proceeding to business. Often after shaking someone's hand, Namibians will continue to hold on to each other's hand while conversing, especially if the two people are friends with one another.
When shaking someone's hand especially when its an elder, males are required to nod their heads while females are required to bend their knees a little bit as a form of respect.
Family structure
In Namibian, Most households are not nuclear families but contain other kin as well. The head of the household manages domestic finances, makes important decisions, and organizes productive activities. Parents receive substantial help with child-rearing from other family members. It is not unusual for children to live with other relatives if the parents have work obligations, the child needs to be closer to school, or a relative needs a child's help. Most boys and girls attend primary school, although sometimes they stay at home to help with the livestock or crops.
Corporate kin groups are formed by ties traced through women (
matrilineal
Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's Lineage (anthropology), lineage – and which can in ...
), men (
patrilineal
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...
), or both (bilateral), depending on ethnicity. These kin groups provide a support network for their members and control joint property, especially livestock; in the past, they also played significant roles in political and religious affairs. There has been a general shift from matrilineal to patrilineal. For example, wives and children in matrilineal communities can now assert rights to the property of deceased husbands and fathers, which has been traditionally inherited by the man's matrilineal relatives (his siblings and sisters' children).
In a
Namibian culture
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 ea ...
, the wealth of a family is measured by how much cattle it has, and families live a semi-nomadic life, following grazing and water sources for their livestock. In the rural communal areas, men and boys generally care for livestock, build and maintain homesteads, plow fields, and contribute some agricultural labor, while women and girls do most of the agricultural labor, food preparation, childcare, and household work.
Marriage
Wedding
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...
s are extremely important social events in Namibia, bringing family and friends together to sing, dance, and feast. Most weddings combine old and new elements. Many Owambo couples, for example, say their vows in a church ceremony accompanied by identically dressed bridesmaids and groomsmen, then exit to a crowd of guests shouting praises, dancing, and waving horsetail whisks.
Marriage Act
Marriage Act may refer to a number of pieces of legislation:
Australia
* Marriage Act 1961, Australia's law that governs legal marriage.
* Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017
Canada
* ''Civil Marriage Act'' passed in ...
25 of 1961 (SA) came into force in Namibia on 1 February 1972 when the amendments made by Act 51 of 1970, including the insertion of section 39A were brought into force. And according to
Marriage Act
Marriage Act may refer to a number of pieces of legislation:
Australia
* Marriage Act 1961, Australia's law that governs legal marriage.
* Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017
Canada
* ''Civil Marriage Act'' passed in ...
25 of 1961 (SA), Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, color, ethnic origin, nationality, religion, creed, or social or economic status shall have the right to marry and to be found a family. They shall be entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during the marriage, and at its dissolution. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State. According to the Basic Analysis with Highlights, July 2003 reflect the incidence of customary and common law marriages in Namibia indicates that About 56% of the Namibian population is never married, with about 19% being married at common law. And about 9% is married traditionally while 7% is married consensually. Some 3% is divorced persons while about 4% are widowed. The highest incidence of married persons are found m the Caprivi (54%), Kunene (48%) and Kavango (61%) regions.
Arts
The
National Theatre of Namibia serves as a venue for both Namibian and foreign musicians and stage actors, in addition to assisting community-based drama groups. School and church groups create and stage less formal productions. Traditional dance troupes representing the various ethnic groups of Namibia perform at local and national festivals and holiday celebrations and also participate in competitions. Many craftspeople produce objects for local use and the tourist trade; wood carvings (containers, furniture, animals) from the Kavango and basketry from Owambo are the best-known examples. Some craftspeople have formed organizations to assist each other with production and marketing.
Namibia has large numbers of rock art sites scattered across the country, especially rock engraving sites. The best-known rock art areas are the Brandberg Massif in
Damaraland
Damaraland was a name given to the north-central part of what later became Namibia, inhabited by the Damara (people), Damaras. It was bounded roughly by Ovamboland in the north, the Namib Desert in the west, the Kalahari Desert in the east, a ...
(2697m – mainly painting sites), and
Twyfelfontein
Twyfelfontein (Afrikaans: ''uncertain spring''), officially known as ǀUi-ǁAis ( Damara/Nama: ''jumping waterhole''), is a site of ancient rock engravings in the Kunene Region of north-western Namibia. It consists of a spring in a valley flanked ...
, a UNESCO World Heritage rock art site, also in Damaraland. Both of these sites are in the
Erongo region
Erongo is one of the 14 regions of Namibia. The capital is Swakopmund. It is named after Mount Erongo, a well-known landmark in Namibia and in this area. Erongo contains the municipalities of Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Henties Bay and Omaruru, as ...
in northwestern Namibia. Another important painting area is the Erongo Mountains southeast of the Brandberg.
One of the richest rock painting areas/sites in the subcontinent, the Brandberg has large numbers of sites scattered across its 750 km
2 which are mostly the work of ancestral Bushman/San hunter-gatherers and may be up to 2,000 years old or more in some cases. Meanwhile, Twyfelfontein is one of the most important rock engraving sites in southern Africa. The most celebrated rock painting is
The White Lady rock painting, located on a panel, also depicting other artwork, on a small rock overhang, deep within Brandberg Mountain. The giant granite monolith located in Damaraland and called 'The Brandberg' is Namibia's highest mountain. The painting's German name is Weiße Dame
Music
Popular styles of music in Namibia include
hip hop,
R&B,
Soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
,
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
,
afro-pop
African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop or Afro pop), like Music of Africa, African traditional music, is vast and varied. Most contemporary genres of African popular music build on cross-pollination with western popular music. M ...
,
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
, and
kwaito
Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, during the 1990s. It is a variant of house music that features the use of African sounds and samples. Kwaito songs occur at a slower tempo range than other styles of h ...
. Upon Namibia's independence, Jackson Kaujeua and
Ras Sheehama had been the most outstanding Namibian performers. Kaujeua had been performing since the 1970s, he performed a mix of Namibia's traditional genres with afro-pop/gospel sounds. Other early Namibian musicians include a Setswana band called People's Choice, that was popular between 1996 and 1998 for their hit single "Don't Look Back (Siwelewele)", a kwaito trio called Matongo Family, Boli Mootseng, X-Plode with members (Jaicee James, Lizell Swarts & Christi Nomath Warner Warner Christi), Oshiwambo indigenous rapper Shikololo and R&B turn-producer Big Ben. Big Ben has eventually become the most respected artist through his Afro-pop and Fusion with his live shows. In fact, he is one of the very few that performs all his shows with a live band while many still perform with backtracks. Namibian stars such as Stefan Ludik, The Dogg, Gazza, EES, Lady May, Sunny Boy, Sally Boss Madam, and Big Ben have become continental celebrities as well as Placa Gang a group of hard-working dream chasers.
![Black_Vulcanite_group_(2014)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Black_Vulcanite_group_%282014%29.jpg)
The Sanlam-NBC Music Awards and the Namibian Music Awards are two separate institutions that give out annual awards respectively. The Namibia Society of Composers and Authors of Music (NASCAM) has helped promote Namibian music within and outside the country. NAMAS ceremony is run by
MTC Namibia
Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) is a mobile telecommunications company and internet service provider in Namibia. It is the largest mobile carrier in Namibia with over two million active subscribers. MTC was established in 1995 and was th ...
and the
Namibian Broadcasting Corporation
The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) ( af, Namibiese Uitsaai-Korporasie, ''NUK'') is the public broadcaster of Namibia. It was established in 1979, under the name South West African Broadcasting Corporation (SWABC).
History
Radio was orig ...
. The awards were introduced to replace the Sanlam-NBC Music Awards, which were run by
Sanlam
Sanlam is a South African financial services group headquartered in Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa. Sanlam is the largest insurance company in Africa. It is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Namibian Stock Exchange and the ...
Namibia and the Namibian Broadcasting Corporations.
Traditional Music in Namibia is extremely diverse, partly due to the diversity of language groups and the artificial ethnic separation of the past (apartheid), which discouraged people from freely mixing. Namibian musical practices can probably be generalized following three broad (yet culturally mixed) bands across the region. Cultural sharing, migrations, political history, and even agricultural practices are all inscribed upon bodies and revealed in dance and music. Much of the music is sung in groups, mostly with dance and sometimes drums. Most solo songs are either with bows, lamellophones, or unaccompanied. Traditional Namibian dances occur at events such as weddings and at traditional festivals such as the Caprivi Arts Festival.
Folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
accompanies storytelling or dancing. The Nama people use various strings, flutes, and drums while the Bantu use xylophones, gourds, and horn trumpets.
Film
Before independence, American anthropologist
John Marshall
John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
made ethnographic films of the Ju/'hoansi for over four decades from 1950 onwards, resulting in documentary films such as The Hunters (1957) and Nǃai, the Story of a ǃKung Woman (1980).
After independence, Namibian filmmakers have started to assert their own identity. Pioneers included
Bridget Pickering
Bridget Pickering (born 1966) is a film maker and producer from Namibia. Among other projects, she was an executive producer on the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda.Arevalo, Rica (13 March 2010)Producer notes great strides of women in cinema ''Philippine Da ...
,
Richard Pakleppa, and
Cecil Moller. They have been joined by a younger generation including
Joel Haikali,
Oshosheni Hiveluah
Oshosheni Hiveluah (22 October 1981 – 10 October 2019) was a Namibian writer, producer, and director. She is best known for the films ''Tjitji the Himba Girl'' and ''100 Bucks.''
Early life and education
Oshosheni was born in Luanda, Angola o ...
,
Perivi Katjavivi,
Tim Huebschle
Tim Huebschle is a Namibian film director and screenwriter.
After completing his high school in Windhoek, Tim Huebschle relocated to Cape Town and completed a Bachelor of Arts in English & German Literature at the University of Cape Town. During ...
, and
Krischka Stoffels. In 2000, the Namibian government passed the Namibian Film Commission Act to promote filmmaking in the country.
Literature
Namibian literature before independence was really more an extension of the South African or German literary scene. After independence, at least initially, there was a movement to publish "Namibian" books and create a true "Namibian literature". That impetus has since eased off a bit. Most literature in the indigenous languages consists of traditional tales, short stories, and novels written for schoolchildren. Published fiction, poetry, and autobiographical writings appear in both the English and Afrikaans languages. Author, Malcolm Lukuta Munyaza, published Zambezi Names And Definitions which is a book where he explained the meanings of Zamezi people's names and their origins.
Cuisine
In the precolonial period,
indigenous cuisine Indigenous cuisine is a type of cuisine that is based on the preparation of cooking recipes with products obtained from native species of a specific area.
Indigenous cuisine is prepared using indigenous ingredients of vegetable or animal origin i ...
was characterized by the use of a very wide range of
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
s, nuts, bulbs, leaves, and other products gathered from wild plants and by the hunting of
wild game
Game or quarry is any wild animal hunted for animal products (primarily meat), for recreation (" sporting"), or for trophies. The species of animals hunted as game varies in different parts of the world and by different local jurisdictions, thou ...
. The domestication of cattle in the region about two thousand years ago by Khoisan groups enabled the use of milk products and the availability of meat. However, during the colonial period, the seizure of communal land in Namibia helped to discourage traditional agriculture and reduced the extent of land available to indigenous people.
For agriculturalists, the staple foods are maize, millet and sorghum; for pastoralists, dairy products. Beans and greens are eaten with millet in the north, but otherwise few vegetables are grown or consumed. Hunting and gathering, more important in the past, still provides a dietary supplement for some. Meat is highly desired and eaten. Important occasions are marked by the slaughter of cattle or goats, and the consumption of meat, home-brewed beer, purchased beverages, and other foods. In some cultures, leftover meat is sent home with the guests.
Food in Namibian Cultures:
*
Mielie meal
*
Oshikundu drink
*
Tripe
Tripe is a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle, pigs and sheep.
Types of tripe
Beef tripe
Beef tripe is made from the muscle wall (the interior mucosal lining is removed) of a cow's st ...
(Also known as Afval, a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals)
*
Zambezi bream fish
* Omalodu (Traditional Beer)
* Ombidi (Spinach)
*
Roselle / Mutete
*
Pearl millet porridge (Oshifima)
Sport
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
is highly popular in Namibia. Most children grow up playing the game.
Track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
is also a popular sport in the country. Many Namibians run daily chores that demand great physical efforts. Children in rural areas walk or run for long distances daily to reach school. The principal sports in Namibia are
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
,
Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
,
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
,
Boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
,
Track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
. The home stadium for all national teams is the
Independence Stadium Independence Stadium may also refer to:
* Independence Stadium (Bakau) in Gambia
* Independence Stadium (Namibia) in Windhoek
* Independence Stadium (South Africa) in Mthatha, a football stadium in South Africa
* Independence Stadium (Tanzania) ...
in Windhoek, while
Sam Nujoma Stadium
Sam Nujoma Stadium (also called the Sam Nujoma Soccer Stadium or SNSS) is a football (soccer) stadium in Katutura, Windhoek, Namibia. The stadium holds 10,300 and was finished in 2005. It is named after the former Namibian president Sam Nujoma.htt ...
in
Katutura
Katutura (Otjiherero for ''The place where people do not want to live'') is a township of Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia. Katutura was created in 1961 following the forced removal of Windhoek's black population from the Old Location, which af ...
is also occasionally used.
Education
Namibia has a controversial education history. During the time when the apartheid system was still in effect, it was designed to profit the territory's resident
Whites
White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view.
Description of populations as " ...
. When Namibia was able to attain its independence, that was the only time that the government started to provide funding for the natives themselves. There was much improvement in the educational sector when independence was ratified. It was made by the government to be law. It was made compulsory for children between the ages of 6 to 16 to attend school in Namibian. The education that they have is provided for by the Namibian government however, the student's parents are to the front for the expenses of the uniforms, textbooks, and miscellaneous fees of the school. The government also has made provisions to extend education not only to men but also to women.
The
Namibian constitution
The Constitution of Namibia is the supreme law of the Republic of Namibia. Adopted on 9 February 1990, a month prior to Namibia's independence from apartheid South Africa, it was written by an elected constituent assembly.
Preamble
"Whereas ...
and Education Act (2001) frame the education system as the following: "compulsory school attendance exists for the seven years of
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
, respectively for children between the age of six ( 6 ) and sixteen (16). School fees are not allowed for primary education." These were six levels of education in Namibia: pre-primary, lower primary (grades 1–4), upper primary (grades 5–7), junior secondary (grades 8–10),
senior secondary
The senior secondary years are the years of later adolescence corresponding to the later part of secondary education. Although definitions vary, the senior secondary years are sometimes defined as being from approximately age 15 to age 18. The ...
(grades 11 & 12), and tertiary (university) but the curriculum was revised in 2014 and implemented from 2015 .
The revised
junior primary curriculum was implemented in January 2015 while the revised curriculum for the senior primary phase (grades 4–7) was implemented in 2016 and implementation of the revised curriculum for the Junior Secondary curriculum was: grade 8 in 2017, grade 9 in 2018. The revised curriculum for the senior secondary Phase for grade 10 was implemented in 2019 and for grade 11 in 2020. In the revised curriculum the
junior primary phase is from Grade 1 to 3 while the senior primary phase is from Grade 4 to 7. The junior secondary phase, which consists of Grade 8 and 9, are required to write junior secondary semi-external examinations at the end of Grade 9 – similar to what the Grade 10 results were.
The
senior secondary
The senior secondary years are the years of later adolescence corresponding to the later part of secondary education. Although definitions vary, the senior secondary years are sometimes defined as being from approximately age 15 to age 18. The ...
phase starts at Grade 10 and the National Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary Level (NSSCO) is a two-year course, covered in Grade 10 and 11. Grade 11 is the first exit point in the senior secondary phase. Learners receive an internationally recognized National Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary. Learners may choose to continue to grade 12, tertiary institutions, vocational education and training institutions, or into the job market. Upon completing grade 12, school leavers have an internationally recognized certificate, National Senior Secondary Certificate Higher Level, which gives them access to higher education institutions, or the job market.
Namibia has 1,848
primary schools
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
, 585
Combined schools, 213 Secondary and 16 are other, and out of them, 155 are private while 1693 are governmental. Most of the country nevertheless experience a shortage of schools, school hostels, and classroom space. There are 29,947 teachers at Namibia's schools who cater to a total of 722,248 pupils. Many Namibian schools are built in a uniform design that was suggested by the Chilean-born (turned Swedish citizen) architect
Gabriel Castro, in the 1990s.
[Immanuel, Shinovene (9 June 2014). "Mass Housing Expert Lifts Lid". The Namibian. Retrieved 21 June 2016.]
Universities and Colleges in Namibia
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University of Namibia
The University of Namibia (UNAM) is a multi-campus public research university in Namibia, as well as the largest university in the country. It was established by an act of Parliament on 31 August 1992.
Background
UNAM comprises the follow ...
(UNAM)
*
Namibia University of Science and Technology
The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), formerly known as Polytechnic of Namibia, is a public university located in the city of Windhoek, Namibia. Andrew Niikondo is its acting vice-chancellor. NUST was headed by the founding ...
(NUST)
*
International University of Management
The International University of Management (IUM) is a private, state-recognized university based in Windhoek, Namibia. It has campuses in Swakopmund, Walvis Bay, Ongwediva and Nkurenkuru.
History
The university was founded by David Namwandi i ...
(IUM)
*
Namibian College of Open Learning (NamCOL)
*
The University Centre for Studies In Namibia The University Centre for Studies In Namibia (TUCSIN) is a tertiary educational institution in Namibia. It is based in the Khomasdal suburb of the capital Windhoek and has campuses in Rehoboth, Rundu and Oshakati.
TUCSIN was co-founded by Beatric ...
(TUCSIN)
Vocational Training centers
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Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology
The Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT) is a technical vocational training institute in Arandis, Namibia, established in 1991. It had 4,000 students and 270 staff , Eckhart Mueller was its executive director until he was murdere ...
(NIMT)
* Rundu Vocational Training Centre, Rundu, Kavango Region
* Valombola Vocational Training Centre, Ongwediva, Oshana Region
* Windhoek Vocational Training Centre, Windhoek, Khomas Region
* Zambezi Vocational Training Centre, Katima Mulilo, Zambezi Region
* Eenhana Vocational Training Centre, Eenhana, Ohangwena Region
* Nakayale Vocational Training Centre, Outapi, Omusati Region
* Okakarara Vocational Training Centre, Okakarara, Otjozondjupa
References
{{Reflist
Society of Namibia