Himba Way Of Life

Himba are Namibian people and like most African nations they have got a legend about their origin. It says the progenitor Mukuru with his wife and livestock came out of the sacred tree Omumborombongo. In some other legends Mukuru is identified as the Creator, who endowed the souls of the dead with supernatural powers.

A goat in a yard.

Coming up to a Himba settlement one can come across local beggars who benefit from tourists.

Women wear so many adornments that one stops to notice their nudity. Himba men and women wear loincloths of antelope, gazelle or livestock skins which get decorated with seashells or copper jewelry. They cover the skin with the mixture of ochre, grease and ashes which protects skin from the sun and such paint is considered to make people more beautiful.

Judging from the haircut one can define whether a woman is married. Left to right: girl to 14 years, married woman and a boy.

After some time the Himba lost interest to the tourists, and only this boy continued posing to cameras.

Real model!

From the wedding day a man lives where he had lived before but his social status changed a lot - he is given the right to run the household with his father or can establish his own. Apart of this he receives the right to communicate with forefathers which are a link between a man and gods.

via dmitry-yurlagin