Encyclopedia of African Religion

they live in different parts of Namibia and some
haveadoptedpracticesthataredifferentbecauseof
the area in which they live. This explains why the
OvahimbafromnorthernNamibiadressdifferently
from those in central Namibia, who are heavily
influencedbyEuropeansandotherforeigncultures.
However, there are some aspects that are common
totheOvahereroreligion,asdiscussedinthisentry.

The Pastoral Lifestyle and Social Order

The Ovaherero are pastoralists who keep a large
numberofherds,mainlycattle.Theirlifecenterson
cattle keeping; without cattle, a Herero person is
regardedasanobody.Everyonemustworktohave
cattle because the cattle represent the coin of the
society.Ovahererokeepdifferentkindsofcattle.
More connected to the religion of the
Ovaherero are the sacred cows (ozongombe
ozondere). These are special cows designated by
the homestead or small village founder as special,
sacred cows. A certain cow is selected by the
founder asondere. The offspring of such a cow
will be known as ondere. Their milk cannot
be consumed by anybody apart from the people
(mostly boys) authorized by the owner of the
cows.Whensuchacowdies,itsmeatmustnotbe
eaten or consumed by the people; it is usually left
for dogs and aliens. Established by the founder of
the small village, or homestead, as ondere, the
cow and all of its descendants become sacred for
thepurposesofthepeople.Thiscreatesorder,har-
mony, discipline, respect, and ceremony around
the founding of the settlement.
TheOvahererocommunityischaracterizedby
its dual system of descent. This means that every
Herero is linked to a series of male ancestors
through his or her father and a series of females
through his or her mother. When someone is
born into a Herero family, he or she belongs
automatically to a certain lineage depending on
who the mother or father is. The matrilineal
descent is calledeanda, whereas the patrilineal
descent is calledoruzo. The matrilineal descent,
although linked to the actual original female
ancestor, is mostly a social organization and has
no value to religion. Unlike some African com-
munities where women serve as priestesses,
among the Herero, women do not take leading
roles in religion.

Theoruzo(patrilinial descent) has a religious

significance. Most (if not all) religious activities

are determined by one’s own oruzo. People of the

same oruzo are believed to be the children of the

same ancestor (father). Hence, they are to follow

the religious instructions and practices that were

handed over to them by their ancestors. In the

caseoffemales,theymustfollowthepathoftheir

own patrilineal ancestors until they marry and

takeonthepatrilinealancestorsoftheirhusbands.

The Concept of God

Ndjambi Karunga is the name of the Supreme

Being,whoisgenerallyregardedastheCreatorof

all things. He is the source of all things, both

curses and blessings. There have been lengthy

debates among some scholars on the names of

the Supreme Being. Ndjambi Karunga refers to

one identity and cannot be separated. The name

Ndjambi means reward, and may refer to the

Supreme Being as the source of all good things.

Ndjambi, however, is not directly worshipped,

and no rituals or sacrifices are directed to Him.

According to the Ovaherero system, the ancestors

are the mediators between Ndjambi (Supreme

Being) and the people. The ancestors are believed

tobedirectlyinvolvedinthelivesofthepeople.It

is believed that they can cause people to be sick,

they can bless or curse people, and they can pun-

ish those who act contrary to the practices of the

oruzo descent.

Mukuru, meaning the Old/Ancient One, is

believed to be the first ancestor. In the Ovaherero

worldview, Mukuru is the closest to Ndjambi and

is the one directly worshiped through rituals

and sacrifices. Because Mukuru is the closest to

Ndjambi, he is also the one who is the mediator

between humans and Ndjambi. People speak to

himsothathecanspeakforthembeforeNdjambi.

In this system of belief, maintenance of harmony

is important. There should be harmony between

humans and the ancestors and Mukuru. In this

way, the people are assured of the blessings from

Ndjambi. Nothing is worse than disharmony,

meanness, chaos, disorder, and disrespect of the

traditionsofthe oruzo.A societythatallowssuch

disaster to exist without repairing the damage to

the traditional order will dissolve into eternal

chaos;therefore,theOvahererodoallwithintheir

512 Ovaherero