User:Waandja A.S

OWAMBO CULTURE
During colonial times, Ovamboland extended from Etosha Pan Flood Plain area in the south and from Kaokoland and Kunene river coveringg areas in the present day northern Namibia andd sorthern Angola.

The seven communities of Ovamboland
Owambo communities are:


 * 1) Uukwanyama
 * 2) Ondonga
 * 3) Uukwambi
 * 4) Ongandjara
 * 5) Uukwambi
 * 6) Ombalantu
 * 7) Uukolinkadi

AT the end of nineteenth century all the ovambo communities in present day Namibia are ruled by ohamba in oshikwanyama and omukwaniilwa in oshindonga, a term simply mean the King.

Owambo culture kin and family
Basically, the owambo culture has two foundations of it's social system. They are clans which based on kinship and the family. Children are considared as members of their mother's clan and not for their fathers. The role of the matriclans was most evident in the inheritance of personal properties such as cattle and grain. The personal belongings of the married man is divided among his eldest living brothers and the sons of his eldest sisters. The widow and children were left with nothing but resently the Namibian Constitution protects the widow and children from such inheritance mistreatments.

The owambo culture economic system and their way of surviving
It is based on agriculture and cattle rising as well as crop producion like millet(omahangu)and sorghum(iilya vala). On the contrary beans and pumpkins are also grown. However most vambo fruits such as eembe(will barries),eenyandi and eendunga are naturally available. On the other hand, freshwater fishing is also practiced in years of good rain.

Seasonal festivals in Owamboland
The owambo seasonal festivals makes it very interesting in the intere wambo communities. They are Omaongo ceremony which is the harvesting of new marula. The vambo men and women gather and enjoy their omahongo ceremony. The ovawambo tribes also celeburate the Oshipeshomahangu. It is the harvest ceremony of omahangu and it done when they are starting eating the new harvested omahangu on that particular season. They normally sing cattle praising songs during the celeburation. There is a proverb in oshiwambo that says "sha nakulya, osha nakulonga" meaning whoever doesn't work should not eat.

Owambo culture musical instruments
The main intrument is the drum(ongoma) which has unique sound and is mostly played in oshiwambo wedding ceremonies. In some instances it is used for amnouncements and passing on of information. Other musical instruments are, whistle "oshiva" mostly used when dacing in traditional wedding ceremonies. Okambulumbumbwa as well as okayaya are all part of the string instruments. One of the famous expert on this kind of instruments is Naimbudu Shilengifa from Eenhana in Ohangwena region. Apart from those instruments there is also what we call Okaxumba which is also a musical instrument.

The ovawambo people are cosidered to hard workers from nature and they are paying the big role as far as the Namibian economic development is cocerned.