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Living on a Traditional Owambo Homestead…
Just as is every
house in America, each homestead in Northern Namibia (Owamboland) is
very different and unique. Families have very different methods of
maintaining the home, caring for their land and animals, and even the
way they prepare, eat, and store food, will vary from home to home. The
way one family honors or welcomes guests or how much a family uses the
modern conveniences of our closest shopping town also depends on the
family. So here’s the deal with how my homestead runs…
My homestead is
very traditional. The family lives completely off the land. During the
rainy season we grow Mahangu, ground nuts, spinach, cabbage, beans,
maize, and tomatoes. Through out the year we raise livestock such as
cattle, goats, and chickens. We also have donkeys but they are used only
for labor (like plowing the fields and carting a wagon to fetch water).
Other families also eat frogs, rats, small birds, and bats; all are
available at different times through out the year in the village. The
home consists of numerous straw huts and also concrete structures. The
huts are surrounded by a cement wall in some areas and a straw all in
other areas. The family cooks in a traditional kitchen over an open
fire. Meals are taken in the traditional sitting room. Women sit on the
sand while men and honored guests sit in chairs. Meals are served out of
communal clay bowls. A typical meal includes pieces of meat in a soup
and some mahangu porridge. The whole family remains at home each and
every day. Everyone has their specific chores that they must attend to.
These include: letting out live stock to graze, cultivating, fetching
water, cooking, repairing huts in the home, and other maintenance
projects.
Life here is
simple, but it is difficult not to appreciate it to the fullest. You
never miss a beautiful sunset, you always find time to visit with family
and visiting neighbors, and life is just overall extremely peaceful.
While some families go to town more often, my family hardly ever does. I
have lived here for over a year now and have yet to find my host father
(tate) travel the 12 km to town. My host mother (meme) has traveled to
town once, and even Beatha and Simon have only made the venture a
handful of times. It just isn’t necessary. What we, as Americans, see as
‘needs’ (you know, internet, fresh produce, coffee, cheese), they see as
extravagant ‘wants.’ It’s a nice wake-up call, a reminder if you will,
to all we really do need in life.
I find living
here to be continuously refreshing and surprisingly entertaining. What
my family sees as just another cow slaughter or birth is truly exciting
for me to witness. Repairs to a grass hut may seem every day and mundane
to them, but to me it is baffling how they manage to make those things!
I don’t think my
family here will ever understand the opportunity they have given me by
inviting me into their home, and welcoming me as part of their family.
Having the chance to live in this culture and with this owambo family is
something that I will always cherish. I learn something about myself and
about the world every day while I’m here. I can only hope that I keep my
eyes open as wide when I return to America, sort of as and outsider.
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