Uukwambi is a traditional kingdom of the
Ovambo people in what is today northern
Namibia
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 ...
. Its capital is
Elim.
The last king of Uukwambi was
Iipumbu yaTshirongo, who was toppled by the South African authorities in 1932. Nowadays the highest traditional authority in Uukwambi is referred to as ‘head chief’ (‘elenga enene’).
Using the prefix uu- (Bantu noun class 14) to refer to the land belonging to the tribe sets the Kwambis apart from their neighbours the Ndongas and the Ngandjeras, who use the noun class 9 prefix instead (Ondonga and Ongandjera, respectively). This practice is however by no means unique to the Kwambis but is also found in some other parts of Bantu-speaking Africa. Compare for example ‘Uganda’, which signifies the land of the
Ganda
Ganda may refer to:
Places
* Ganda, Angola
* Ganda, Tibet, China
* Ganda, the ancient Latin name of Ghent, a city in Belgium
Other uses
* Baganda or Ganda, a people of Uganda
** Luganda or Ganda language, a language of Uganda
* ''Ganda'' and "Ga ...
people, in the same way that ‘Uukwambi’ signifies the land of the Kwambi people.
The most important town of northern Namibia,
Oshakati
Oshakati is a town in northern Namibia. It is the regional capital of the Oshana Region and one of Namibia's largest places.
Oshakati was founded in July 1966 and proclaimed a town in 1992. The town was used as a base of operations by the S ...
(
Kwambi: Otshakati), is located within the traditional borders of Uukwambi.
Sam Nujoma
Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, (; born 12 May 1929) is a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first President of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and the first ...
, the first president of independent Namibia, is the son of Kwambi princess
Helvi Mpingana Kondombolo.
References
World Statesmen.org
History of Namibia
Ovambo
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