This is a Short tale of the Kwanyama tribe. Kwanyama people are a northern tribe in Namibia (Africa). They are awesome people with fascinating personalities.

1. KWANYAMAS
Author VR Kanyiki
reviwed by T. Kefas
THE NORTHERN PEOPLE
A tale that tells the story of the most talkative people
probably on the planet

2. The Far Reaching
Northern
Homeland

3. For
Godwin Zaza
Meke Mikasa
Inga Barbosa
Zuke Vienna
Prophet Tennesse
Diamond SchoolBoy and
Sakaria Kabananga
who are first in line. For Ouhongo village, a land of
humanity and family.
‘‘This I consider my best letter to the
citizens of the World’’

4. The land of no hills stretching behind the Namibian-Angola borders, home to
the native Kwanyama tribe which setttled further occupying the North-west and
reaching far North-east. Surrounded by two distant great rivers, the Kunene River in
the Northwest which pumps flood water into their plains and the distant Kavango
River in the Northeast. The North of Namibia is a place of tradition, vegetations,
farming and living together.
The tribe’s ancestry grounds started in Angola before droughts, tribal wars and
famine push them south to better grasslands. The tribe was and still divided by
the Namibia-Angola border during years of colonial hardship. As by culture, the
tribe is ruled by an elected member of the royal family, elected leaders and village
headmans. Among many foretold stories about the Kwanyamas, it is believed that
talking in general (including trashing) is a curses for the Kwanyamas. They just can
not stop talking. This article will introduce you to the Kwanyamas lives in a year
period. A short description.
We are the People
we also talk in our sleeps

5. With a seasonal rainfall in November to April, the environment is rain-dependent
with grass and shrubs covering the dry gray loamy ground, big trees putting on
green and fruits are produced. The rain season transforms everything, the animals
will start to fatten again, lakes and swamps will be filled with water, and the grass
colours the ground with colorful flowers decorating the fields.
The trees will start making fruits, among them is the Marula fruits and the Jackal
berry fruits (eembe). The people will start to lavish the fruits of nature. Fish and
frogs in swamps, natural spinach (Ombidi), Marula wines, wild fruits and milk
from fatten cattle. Water that is flooded in the roads and open lands are children’s
responsibilities, in a cloud-covered sky mornings, children’s voice can be heard
echoing in the open lands and water plains which are traditional called Oshana.
Bypassing January, its
a rain season

6. Catching frogs, taming toads, wet ground sliding, building castles, swimming,
climbing fruit trees and looking for fish are among children activities that start in
the morning throughout the day.
The elders will wake up to go measure the amount of rain that poured throughout
the night, examine the wetness of the ground and looking in the sky for the clouds
capacity. As the sun emerges behind the clouds bringing a little warmness, the
women will start preparing the frogs caught by the peers in the night, the men
while listening to an echoing radio, will make fire to warm their hands before
heading to cuca shops.
At the cuca shops, the stories of last night brings laughter to everybody, a ‘Jug’ of
cold and well brewed traditional beverages brings out the heat and poker games
lightens the day. In the lunch hour, every one will head home, children will be
called as the smell of hot-fresh prepared Mahangu porridge makes everyone walk
a little faster.
In a round-crafted bowl is a curry hot-chili soup of frogs with a meaty steaming
smoke that tempt the neighbors. While in the opposite plate with a brown color,
is a smoking hot Mahangu porridge that covers the whole plate. Separately, men
with their food seated on wood logs and women at the kitchen side seating on
netted mats. After this great feast, a bucket with a thick high-energy beverage
(Oshikundu) is brought for the final lunch toast, and with such full stomachs,
minutes later everyone will be knocked out to a deep sleep.

7. A cold settled wind and a golden atmosphere is what everybody wakes up to. Men
heads to the cucas, women starts to prepare dinner, and children will go look for
the animals. Rain will stop, excusing people to celebrate Christmas and New year.
The city people will start leaving avoiding what they know is the time of bending
and cracking. January comes and rain starts again, the time of cultivation and
hardworking begins.
Rain is different every year, sometimes too heavy that it destroys houses, people
are evacuated to dry lands, while sometimes as little as a nickel, animals suffer
the drought, and people frequently shaking their heads, looks up the sky. But on
lucky years, the rain is moderate, enough and fat, everybody is happy and looking
forward to a great harvest.

8. Ploughs, Hoes, Seeds
and Little Beans
The watered ground is fully covered in long pollinating grasses, the Marula fruits are
half-way ripe, the Hoes are collected and the plough is setted. Cultivation is starting
in the morning. The Oshana plains are full of water, flood might be expected this
year. Days can go around without sunlight while a light-showering rain keep pouring.
With half-sleeping red eyes, everyone is carrying their hoe heading in the field, Boys
are rounding up oxes to plough, elders arranging the peers to their positions and the
cultivation season begins. The grass itches the legs, the back cracks and hoes dig
deep into the ground to the grass root. Removed grass is gathered away as the sun
begins to rise its first rays.
The cattle ploughing will have covered enough, the hand cultivating team also raise
and look at their covered area, everybody smiles and finally the elders allow the
peers to engage in stories. The young girls brings the sowing seeds of Mahangu,
Beans, Sorghum, Maizes, Nuts and Water melons. Girls will start sowing and boys
gather hoes. Later on everyone will head home for a bucket of night fermented
Oshikundu Beverage.

9. The peers will soon start herding the animals as the mahangu leaves become
visible. School starts, teenagers board to hostel schools, young ones foot to primary
schools and elders are left to work in the field.
After school, the peer girls joins the elders in the Marula extraction, boys will go
look after the animals and cuca shops finally open their doors. Friday comes and
the cuca shop are packed with parties and loud music, the smell of beef on coal
drives everyone out of their houses. It is also a good time to come estimate the
harvest.
Saturdays are working days, from early morning when the peers are not going to
school, they remove weeds in the field and take care of the mahangu leaves. In
the afternoon, the girls go collect the jackal berries (Eembe) to dry them for spring.
Boys at the Oshana plain are swimming, making mud toys and loaded with fishing
rods trying to catch flood fish in the now draining water.

10. Marula wine, burnt fish
and a tipsy homeboy
The Marula season is finally here, cuca shops are barely open as everybody is
home enjoying the Fruitful gift of nature. Because of the vitamins, the peers are
also allowed to pour themselves a drink under parent supervision that is, (not
always) and walk around with smiley faces. In the sky, the rain has stopped while
on the ground, everything is drying fast. Mahangu plants are growing seeded heads
and the birds are about to become the enemy. Most of the land has been grazed
completely by the cattle but the smell of wet soil is still sticky. A Marula festival
is called up at the Queen’s palace, a feast which is hardly forgotten by many. The
fest that leaves everybody feeling themselves, tipsy, full and happy.

11. It is the most unsafe happy time of the year, every men for himself pouring as
many cup as he happily wishes. Now is the time for people to spoil themselves,
the field work has stopped and everyone is looking forward to harvesting, it is the
best and only way to say goodbye to the rain.
Drums after drums filled with the best Marula wine are brought into the circle
of men and women seated while laughing loud to stories. On fire, the catfish are
roasted under hot chili and shared by the group. Tomorrow is another day, today
people are having fun and celebrating the gift of life and the Lord for bringing the
rain.
People are starting to eat the ripen planted foods such as beans, ground nuts,
sugar canes, water melons and maizes. Lunch is changing from porridge to maize,
beans and other vegetables. Later in the day, people set the sun eating water
melons and sweet potatoes. Women will start trading off melons and maizes
around cuca shops just to join the men.
The season is slightly starting to change, a strong wind carrying buds is changing
from misty to dry, the sun is becoming hotter, grass is drying up in the ground
and releasing their flowers which are carried by the whirl winds. The increase
of birds in the region is an indication of dried mahangu seeds that are ready for
harvesting. The mahangu leaves are also starting to dry and fall off, there is no
more water in the ground or in Oshana and swamp plains.
The Harvesting season is finally here.

12. The ‘‘shocking’’
Harvesting season
Field work is back again, early morning everyone is heading into the field to go
cut and collect the dry Mahangu seeded heads. The seeded head are taken to the
place were men will stamp them, crash their buds and mahangu seeds are released
(extracted) and gathered. The women will separate the seeds from stalk pieces by
holding them high and letting them fall into the strong dry wind.
The crashed mahangu heads release a dusty invisible small grains that are carried
by the wind onto clothes and skin. This pollen like grains is known to cause skin
irritations and cause allergies including swollen eyes, itch throat and skin rashes.
Its amazingly used by kids to tease each other before they go to swim it off.

13. Men as strong as oxes lifts the heavy mahangu to the storage areas, women will
now start attending to sorghum after the mahangu is successful stored away.
The peers are given the simple task of cutting the mahangu stalks which are
traditionally used to make thatched roofs of hut rooms. Broken and spoiled ones
are stored away as feeds for animals in the dry season. Sooner, the village visibility
will return, the neighbours can now see each other from their houses as the thick
mahangu stalks are cut down.
After all works are done, the animals are finally allowed to roam freely through
the fields feeding on the left over stalks and bean leaves. Everybody is free again,
sleeping throughout the morning and resting throughout the afternoon before
heading to Cucas late into the twilight. It is here, the new fresh golden magnificent
Mahangu, nobody tested it before and nobody knows its cooked smell. Absolutely
no one knows what is going to come out of that pot. Yet the elders stare at it and
the young ones admires it, that Mahangu has to be eaten sooner.
A feast is prepared for the new harvest. A goat is slaughtered, the neighbours are
invited. A traditional beverage is brewed, chickens are baked, girls are dancing
to harmonical choruses and everybody else is hungry. Throughout the morning,
the girls prepare this tasty feast. And finally in the lunch hour, everyone gathers.
A prayer to the Lord is made and the astonishing feast begins, it is again another
time to become tipsy, full and happy. Until late in the night into the hour when
everybody start dancing, the elders gather into their own corners while the youth
holding hands whispering love disappears into the night.

14. A cloud of dust filling up the sky and the smell of dried cow dugs are the symbols
of a new season. It is in the middle of the year and the season has changed
completely, windy-sunny days followed by hot nights.
The trees are blown empty, almost dead-like. The dusty ground is covered with
leaves and prints of coldblooded reptiles finally crawling the warm ground. Oshana
plains are covered in hard mud and cracked into pothole, only lakes and wells are
holding water. The sun high up in the sky is brighter and burning sensationally,
it’s golden sunset is blocked off by the dust raided high in the sky by the cattle
and donkeys as they walk toward their kraals.
A cold wind blowing from the west cools the day but still, you are lucky if it
passes through your house, the village appears empty, the people hardly move
around during the day. The cuca shops are also empty most of the time, women
spend time home knitting and fermenting fruit whiskeys, men who works at local
towns are gone to work while other do handcrafted household materials.
Children after school are in distant trees playing, boys making wired toy-cars
while girls dancing or making dolls. It is the most isolated time of the year.

15. The palm fruits are about to ripen, eenyandi berries and fig fruits (eenghwiyu)
are ripe. These vitamin-rich fruits are the one that keeps the kids shiny, healthy
and nurtured through the spring, elders love them too. They are the last seasonal
fruits of the year and because of their quantity, they last for months. Dried or
fresh, the sugary-sweet taste of these fruits are unbeatable. The feeling of endless
satisfaction followed by a sensational moment of happiness that takes away all
emotions, just you and the fruit. But when you had enough, do not push further.
These fruits do not share a room with greediness, they explode into indigestions.
The year is in August approaching September by now, dryness has taken over all
land. The animals are starting to walk distance to go feed. Pigs, chicken, goats
all in the field scavenging for the last miraculous foods. The lives of the people
are also changed, from happy funny fat faces, to dry worry-some bored faces,
everyone just not enjoying everything they use to. Their place of laughters (the
cuca shops) are hot and filled with flies.
The wind burns the nose, the mouth dries and lips crack. The eyes drip, the
ears picks up the hot whirl sound, it is a hot windy day in the North. For starter,
it is going to be like this for the next months and so. The days are yet to get
hotter, longer and windy. It is the time people starts to rest in trees and sleep
outside at night, shirtless-belly laying into the heartiness of an unsafe night. The
night, so unpredictable, sometimes fearfully dark and haunting while sometimes
brighter and peaceful. The dogs bark restless reporting danger and protecting the
vulnerable, tipsy sleeping owner. Every culture has its own monsters.

16. The hot wind dies off as the sun set behind the big trees, cuca shops are now
much busier than before. Everyone walking in the cool sunset weather moving to
entertaining places, where well-off cuca shop owners host parties on Fridays.
Elders, youth and peers all crowding the cuca centers, looking for some sort of
entertainment. Music are played loud to attract the mass, fat-rich beef are burned
on fire to create the spicy scent that hypnotize the people.
Saturday are sport days, different village will come compete for good cash, winner
takes all. Best fit and talented team dominates the games, riding their opponents
like Barcelona and taking the cash with them (such spoilers). People gather and
cheer around the field, women selling kapana, cars playing music and hot-dressed
town girls attracts the crowd. The crowd goes wild to the goals, spinning BMW
takes over halftimes and the hot town girls still the center of attention.
Sunday after a blessed church time, the mass gathers again to witness the final,
sweaty strong mans battle for hours looking for a winning goal.
With the sun set time, magnitude of people walking in groups make their ways
back to their houses or getting close to ‘close to home’ cuca shops. By the law,
the cucas are allowed to close before 22H00 or owners face consequences with
the local police. Yes, the law which is meant ‘‘not’’ to be broken, is not necessary
unbreakable. Like the time we have to make a getaway drunk run after partying
until 00H00 before someone gave us up to the law, my cousin twisted his ankle, I
broke my nose and our friend got way with a bleeding foot. We did it not to repeat
it again.

17. The year is late in September reaching for October, it is the dubbed time of
‘hallucinations, belly walking and black outs’. The women have finally done
distilling the Ombike whiskey, a high-alcoholic drink made from palm fruits
fermented for time (3 weeks top) before going through a distilling process and
finally obtaining a crystal clear whisky. The smell of this traditional whisky alone
can cause falling, it is stored away strictly from the children and even to the young
youth. The old fermented fruit residues which contain alcoholic volumes are fed
to the poor pigs, sometimes even as far as goats and chickens.
By now, the last leaf must have fallen, the heat is reaching maximum that even
the healthiest eye can not look up unto the sun. Mornings and nights are warm
but afternoons are deadly hot. Man in the morning go around with rifles shooting
anything that moves, they are looking for birds and squirrels to go roast in the
afternoon as they drink their favourite whisky. Gun shots after another, it is like
a mini war in the village. Women who do not have husbands see this as an
opportunity to invite over their want-to-be husbands and offer them a treat they
will never forget. One man once said ‘‘best be the whisky, the high quality the
woman is’’. Well, it is not entirely true.
The birds are prepared and roasted in hot chili, dried in the sun and stored away
for afternoon Ombike drinking. Men in the afternoon will gather again and pour
themselves this fascinating alcoholic drink, a small glass (tot) is used to give all
men a shot once in every round of drinking. For hours men will drink and eat
the hot spiced birds until late in the sun set hour, and that is the time the belly
walking starts, hallucinations take over and people fall onto their faces. This is far
as one can go disclosing such forbidden tribal information. Let us just agree that
every culture has its own haunting secrets.
Ombike whiskey, two men
with rifles and a drunken pig

18. Days to days, weeks goes by men enjoying this priceless drink together with the
chili-roast of their barbaric rifles. But gracefully, the drink is only made from natural
fruits and water thus completely harmless. Moving houses to houses, the feast
does not end, more is fermented and waiting for distillation.
Back onto nature, the ground is bare with no trace of grass. Strong cattle have
crossed the border into Angola grassland. There is so much difference between
the land then and now. Everything brought by the rain is gone, the water, the
vegetations, fruits. The daring dry season is now. Cattle who can not walk distances
dies of hunger, it becomes a slaughterhouse all over. Pots full of spoiled corrupt
meat are cooked everyday to show respect and sympathy to the dead cattle.

19. October is a dry month, a lot also happens in this year time. Water in lakes and
swamps turns to mud, cattle are dying and people are stressed hoping rain will
come. The drought affects everybody, the people, the animals. Villages with no
access to clean water faces health risks, no more nutritional foods but there is
hope. No matter the consequences, people have faith that God will carry them,
that rain will be better next year, that fish will be plenty and the harvest will be
more than today.
Some cattle dies in the bushes before they are found, their meat will be spoiled
by then. Dogs take care of the carcases, pulling them close to houses spoiling
the fresh air. Those that died close to houses are shared between those that
showed up. The meat is plenty but poses healthy risk, many ignores it while
others hardly keep their eyes off it. In one blessed village, a story is told that
once a man who was economical starved finished a whole carcase in just a
week. The story is forbidden in some villages.
Dust rises with the feet as you step, the ground is so dry it has turned to dust.
Women have started removing and digging out mahangu roots, gather them
and burn them in the field. Life is the same from days to days, those that
goes to work walking in the morning and returning at sunset, women in trees
hemming making traditional baskets, children walk to school in the morning
and returning in the afternoon.
But on month end, everybody has something in their pockets, the cucashop
owners are inviting about their parties, music of Jomolizo and Tate Buti are
played on repeats. After work, everyone goes home, take a shower and put their
best outfit because tonight is going to be rocking. It has been a long month of
dying animals, dogs carrying terrifying bones, goats going in circles and nonstop
heavy works in a hot weather, everybody wants to forget that.
No bloody water, You
sold me rotten meat

20. A small brown leave with no chlorophyll germinate on high branches is a sign
of season change, it is November and the cool wind has returned again. Clouds
are starting to form in small amounts up in the atmosphere. Hope and faith has
answered, people are cheering on the forming of clouds.
Trees have now gone green but no sign of water yet. Strong winds sweeps the ground
preparing it for a good rainfall. Lighting and thunders from dark clouds building up
in the sky makes everybody pee their pants of excitement. Yes! Its finally raining,
pouring heavily in the middle of the night and dying off in the mornings. People
put buckets in the rain to collect clean water. The dry ground will take more than a
week of rain to fill up before water start flooding in swamps and lakes.
A week or two of rain will pass before the clouds completely disappears bringing
the hot sun back. Little green leaves are seen all over the ground germinating as
they bring hope to the animals. At such time, the rain is a graceful rescue.
The grass is plenty but pose danger to the frighten and starved animals. The cattle
consume the grass like they are competing for some eating prizes, greedily that
what actually supposed to rescue them becomes their downfall. Their stomach can
not handle the consumption therefore converts everything to diarrhoea. Eventually
these last hope cattle also joins the queue to the slaughterhouse. But on the bright
side, it is a green environment again, the children are rejoicing into the dirty mud
and the elders are forcing a smile onto their faces.

21. There is a wedding, You
showed up uninvited
It is December, the month of weddings, new faces, parties, new cuca shops,
sweets and salad foods. Many people whom only shows up once in a year
are among us, the cuca shops are crowded, the atmosphere is just fabulous.
Everyone wants to look good to fit in with the city people, they are buying and
spending taking all the girls. The feeling is just hard on the local boys, but they
know they have weddings to attend and Christmas to eat. Parties after parties
at the cuca shops, there are new people in the village who party until late in the
night.
Everyday a new person arrives with bags and buckets, children enjoy the sweets.
Some city people are fascinating, their skin looks good, fresh and shiny with
white teethes, they have good phones and chew bubblegums. Some are exactly
the opposite of the city, makes one wonder where they were, they have no
money, they look pale, more dark and extremely skinny. The village people tease
them asking them why did they even left in the first place.
Low-budget weddings happen first to avoid magnitude of people showing up (no
offence), followed by enough-budget weddings to fat-budget weddings.

22. The rain thus come twice or once in December but not strong enough to convince
anybody to think of cultivations. It is the time of the year for people to enjoy
themselves and nothing matters more than that. The only responsibility is of
making sure you eat, drink and eat and drink again. Cuca shops are bashing all
night, a celebration of a wonderful year and the return of the city people.
The influence of the city people on the local is just astonishing, they have these
mindful influences of making the local people do things they don’t usually do.
Like brushing their teeth in the morning, drinking coffee, listening to the English
news, drinking beer from glasses, tucking in shirts, eating with spoons, throwing
away bones without crushing and sucking them.
The Christmas Eve comes with shoppings, house cleaning, invitations and
preparation of tree brunches hang onto roofs and gates as a holy symbol to
represent a Christianity belief. The night of Christmas eve is treated special,
people behave far ordinarily, this includes not eating their actual dinners, rather
substitute them with other foods such as bread or a cakes. But later in the night,
the wild-dope youth braai meat, dance and make fire, such a wonderful time of
the year.
Christmas morning comes and everybody is footing in their best outfits heading
to church, which does not last long allowing people to go back to their houses
early and prepare their meals. People eat and eat, drink and drink, laugh and
laugh, this time does not come twice in a year. The village is the best place
to enjoy Christmas holiday, so many people around, free foods, new smashing
cucashops and new house music to shake off all the year-long toxins.

23. The New Year celebration is now the day in check, five days to go and this cheerful
year is history. But before that, people are going to celebrate the last five days in
style. A goat will be slaughtered, music will be loud, a big fire will be made and
young people will sit in a circle gazing and laughing. Of coarse this is done by
those that have put it on their budget and have paid to have this happen (the city
people obviously). Us the ordinary people with no budget will be looking forward
to 31 December with the $50 that we have put aside long time ago. For now, we
spend nights at cucas drinking cheaper deadly beverages.
All night, all hours, time is flying and days are short. The long awaited five days
are finally over and only 14 hours left to the new year. Town is full during the day,
people buying their foods, meat tenderizes, Marshmallows, drinks and fireworks.
And the Hour comes, the sparkling hour of frames, screams, drum beats, bright
skies and singing. It is a new hour, a new day, a new month and a “new YEAR! “
Shouts a tipsy homeboy with a Braai steak in one hand.
God be with us in this New Year, May He prosper us and guide us. A fresh beginning
has again arrived in our lives, a chance to rebuild, to start afresh and to adjust
toward prosperity. A step to kick start our dreams and contribute of greatness to
humanity. A dynamic time to shoot off our great careers and gain the life that we,
human beings, deserve. An era to push further and reach heights, take control. Let
us leave small to arrive bigger.

24. Your dreams will change the world, you got to live them or
somebody else will get that prosperity.
With great care
Royal