The Living Culture Foundation Namibia is a German-Namibian organisation which helps communities to establish Living Museums and simlar cultural and traditional projects.
The aim of a second project meeting in March 2016 at the newly emerging Living Museums was to get an impression of progress of this project so far and to further motivate the Ovahimba project group to tackle challenges and to continue establishing their Living Museum.
Project report from Sebastian Dürrschmidt
After a long road to Opuwo to the developing Living Museum of the Ovahimba we met with John, the project manager and owner of the campsite 40 km north of Opuwo, in the evening.
John mainly spoke about the challenges of his project. Currently there are eight women and their children involved in the Living Museum, who also live there. There is, unsurprisingly and common in Kaokoveld, very little effort and motivation from the men. Nonetheless all project members are full of positive expectations.
Our project meeting was important as a number of new community members were now involved with the building of the new Living Museum, who had not yet met any of us LCFN members and to whom we wanted to explain the concept in detail. John mentioned to us that the not everyone was yet convinced of the concept of the Living Museum, of its principal of participation and fair distribution, authenticity, etc. The Ovahimba don’t necessarily distrust us, but they are still sceptical and thus are not yet able to grasp the success of the concept.
Another challenge that John pointed out are the activities that are supposed to take place in the future museum. A lot of things that the Ovahimba use, for example everything made of metal, a lot of the jewellery they are wearing and some tools, etc. are not forged by the Ovahimba anymore as they have the main focus on their cattle. Most of these things are being made by the Ovatwa, a small sub group of the Ovahimba that traditionally lived as hunter-gatherers and that have preserved these skills until today. Due to traditional restriction they are not allowed to work in the Ovahimba Museum, John explained. Thus the Ovahimba will have to relearn the skills of producing the tools needed within the Living Museum themselves again.
At the end of the evening we tried our language skills by learning a few greeting phrases in Otjiherero in order to prepare ourselves for the next day.
At six in the morning I got up and drove to three villages in the close vicinity to pick up some Ovahimba men for the project meeting. I returned to camp for breakfast and finally at 10 am after the Ovahimba women were done with their traditional dress and make-up we started with the project meeting directly at the museum village under some shady trees.
Fifteen women, an uncountable number of children, two old and three young men attended the meeting. Later the number increased with interested newcomers. As I had caught a nasty cold which left me literally speechless Kathrin took over the introduction into the concept and John translated everything.
After presenting the general aims and principals we focused on the Living Museum being place of work and not an actual living space. After all, our concept is to grant people their privacy and to build an external place as institution to preserve the culture. Especially north of Opuwo this is rather complicated, as our concept is unheard of and the Ovahimba ladies are already staying at the Living Museum.
The first impression of the museum village with garbage, plastics, modern clothes and radios lying around, demonstrated that the theoretical combination of living and working in a Living Museum is extremely difficult.
The question of how to solve this problem was asked frequently as the women were not able to walk 5 km every day to reach the Living Museum. The proposed solution of building a second village a bit closer was happily accepted even though this would mean a much bigger workload.
In this context Kathrin concentrated on explaining some essential characteristics of a Living Museum which differentiates it from other traditional villages.
The importance of authenticity, i.e. the exclusive use of natural materials that were already in use during pre-colonial times repeatedly raised questions. Whereas nearly all women were dressed traditionally, the garment of the men didn’t even come close. We were however assured that the reconstruction of the traditional male dress was not a big challenge.
Kathrin continued with the program by explaining the financial concept, the importance of the craft shop and the rules within the Living Museum before elaborating on the possible traditional activities in the Living Museum. This point also raised a few questions and some additions were suggested. The proposal of a work shop in which the men would learn more about the production of different tools, etc. was received very positively.
During the lunch break the project group worked out the next steps to be taken to actually realise this ambitious project.
In the early afternoon we were treated with traditional Ovahimba dances in the cave close to the campsite.
Afterwards we again visited the Living Museum to take some pictures in the favourable light of the setting sun. Especially in this soft light the museum appeared very beautiful. The museum village is full of life; a lot of huts have been built already including the large hut for the main wife. A large herd of goats has its place in the kraal, the Ovahimba women and children fill the village with life.
We invited John to dinner once more and talked about the meeting. We all had a very positive impression. John gave us a short introduction into the history of the Ovahimba, the pre-colonial splitting up of the actual Herero into Ovahimba, Ovatjimba, Ovatwa, Ovazemba and the Herero who move further inland. More about the history in the near future maybe.
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Do you have a question about the Mafwe Living Museum?
Have you read our FAQ already? Most of your questions will be answered there. If your question couldn't be answered you are welcome to write us an email to contact@lcfn.info
Kind regards, Elizabeth,
Manager of the Mafwe Living Museum
Do you have a question about the Mbunza Living Museum?
Have you read our FAQ already? Most of your questions will be answered there. If your question couldn't be answered you are welcome to write us an email to contact@lcfn.info
Kind regards, Sebron
Manager of the Mbunza Living Museum
Do you have a question about the Ovahimba Living Museum?
Have you read our FAQ already? Most of your questions will be answered there. If your question couldn't be answered you are welcome to write us an email to tjipuruaj@yahoo.com
Kind regards, John
Manager of the Ovahimba Living Museum
Do you have a question about the Damara Living Museum?
Have you read our FAQ already? Most of your questions will be answered there. If your question couldn't be answered you are welcome to write us an email to contact@lcfn.info
Kind regards, Hans-Bernhard
Manager of the Damara Living Museum
Do you have a question about the Ju/'Hoansi-San Living Museum?
Have you read our FAQ already? Most of your questions will be answered there. If your question couldn't be answered you are welcome to write us an email to contact@lcfn.info
Kind regards, Apollo
Manager of the Ju/'Hoansi-San Living Museum
Do you have a question about the Living Hunter's Museum?
Have you read our FAQ already? Most of your questions will be answered there. If your question couldn't be answered you are welcome to write us an email to contact@lcfn.info
Kind regards, Tsamkxao
Manager of the Living Hunter's Museum
Haben Sie eine Frage über das Mafwe Lebende Museum?
Sollte die Antwort auf ihre Frage nicht in unserem FAQ (meistgestellte Fragen) zu finden sein, so können Sie uns gerne eine Email schreiben: contact@lcfn.info
Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Elizabeth,
Manager des Mafwe Living Museums
Haben Sie eine Frage über das Mbunza Lebende Museum?
Sollte die Antwort auf ihre Frage nicht in unserem FAQ (meistgestellte Fragen) zu finden sein, so können Sie uns gerne eine Email schreiben: contact@lcfn.info
Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Sebron
Manager des Mbunza Living Museums
Haben Sie eine Frage über das Ovahimba Lebende Museum?
Sollte die Antwort auf ihre Frage nicht in unserem FAQ (meistgestellte Fragen) zu finden sein, so können Sie uns gerne eine Email (In Englisch) schreiben: tjipuruaj@yahoo.com
Mit freundlichen Grüßen, John
Manager des Ovahimba Living Museum
Haben Sie eine Frage über das Damara Lebende Museum?
Sollte die Antwort auf ihre Frage nicht in unserem FAQ (meistgestellte Fragen) zu finden sein, so können Sie uns gerne eine Email schreiben: contact@lcfn.info
Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Hans-Bernhard
Manager des Damara Living Museum
Haben Sie eine Frage über das Ju/'Hoansi Lebende Museum?
Sollte die Antwort auf ihre Frage nicht in unserem FAQ (meistgestellte Fragen) zu finden sein, so können Sie uns gerne eine Email schreiben: contact@lcfn.info
Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Apollo
Manager des Ju/'Hoansi-San Living Museum
Haben Sie eine Frage über das Hunter's Lebende Museum?
Sollte die Antwort auf ihre Frage nicht in unserem FAQ (meistgestellte Fragen) zu finden sein, so können Sie uns gerne eine Email schreiben: contact@lcfn.info
Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Tsamkxao
Manager des Living Hunter's Museum
"... Our Living Museums has 76 actors at the moment. All actors are very happy with the work they are doing. The aim of our Living Museum is to develop the Grashoek community. Its is also a school where the elders teach the young people about culture..."
Apollo, Manager of the Ju/'Hoansi-San Living Museum
"... The Mafwe Living Museum has 38 permanent workers and 12 students at the moment. We realized that we must share our culture and the Living Museum is the right tool to do that because the Mafwe people are happy and proud about their culture! ..."
Elizabeth Madima, Manager of the Mafwe Living Museum
"... The Damara Living Museum has 30 actors and is called "Taotatide" in our language which means "we are proud of our culture". The actors are happy and very proud of their job. In the future we want to start a campsite and further improve our Living Museum..."
Hans-Bernhard, Manager of the Damara Living Museum
"... We have 25 actors in our museum. When the visitors come to see and understand our culture, the guests but also our children learn about the old traditions which is very important for our community. ..."
Tsamkxao, Manager of the Living Hunter's Museum
"... Our Living Museum which has 25 people is a good tool to let people understand the value of our culture, where we come from and where we can go. We are proud of our culture and are happy to learn about people from all over the world who are visiting us. ..."
Sebron Ruben, Manager of the Mbunza Living Museum
"... We have 32 actors in our museum. We were able to discover the old and lost traditional Ovahimba culture. The Living Museum is very succesful and the actors are benefitting from it directly and indirectly thorugh the selling of crafts very much ..."
John, Manager of the Ovahimba Living Museum
"... Unser Lebendes Museum hat 76 Akteure im Moment. Alle Leute sind zufrieden mit der Arbeit im Museum. Das Ziel unseres Museums ist es, die Gemeinschaft in Grashoek zu entwickeln. Daneben ist es eine Schule, wo die Ältesten die Jungen unterrichten..."
Apollo, Manager des Lebenden Museums
"... Das Mafwe Museum hat 38 permanent angestellte Aktuere und 12 Studenten im Moment. Wir haben verstanden, dass wir unsere traditionalle Kultur teilen müssen und das Lebende Museum ist der richtige Ansatz dafür, weil die Mafwe stolz auf ihre Kultur sind!..."
Elizabeth Madima, Manager des Mafwe Living Museum
"... Das Damara Museum hat 30 Akteure. Wir nennen es "Taotatide" in unserer Sprache, was soviel bedeutet wie "Wir sind stolz auf unsere Kultur". Die Akteure sind glücklich und stolz auf ihre Arbeit. Für die Zukunft planen wir einen Campingplatz und weitere Verbesserungen im Museum..."
Hans-Bernhard, Manager des Damara Living Museum
"... Wir haben 25 Akteure in unserem Museum. Wenn die Besucher kommen, um unsere Kultur zu sehen und zu verstehen, lernen die Gäste über unsere alten Traditionen, aber auch unsere Kinder, was sehr wichtig für unsere Gemeinschaft ist. ..."
Tsamkxao, Manager des Living Hunter's Museum
"... Unser Lebendes Museum, bei welchem 25 Leute arbeiten, ist eine gute Möglichkeit, den Besuchern den Wert unserer Kultur zu verdeutlichen, woher die Mbunza kommen und wohin sie gehen. Wir sind stolz auf unsere Kultur und auch glücklich etwas über die Besucher aus aller Welt zu lernen..."
Sebron Ruben, Manager des Mbunza Living Museum
"... Wir haben 32 Akteure in unserem Museum. Wir haben es geschafft, die alte Ovahimbakultur wiederzubeleben. Das Lebende Museum ist sehr erfolgreich und die Akteure profitieren direkt und indirekt, zum Beispiel durch Schmuckverkauf..."
John, Manager des Ovahimba Living Museum
Do you have a question about the Khwe Living Museum?
Have you read our FAQ already? Most of your questions will be answered there. If your question couldn't be answered you are welcome to write us an email to contact@lcfn.info
Kind regards, Taddeus
Manager of the Khwe Living Museum
Haben Sie eine Frage über das Khwe Lebende Museum?
Sollte die Antwort auf ihre Frage nicht in unserem FAQ (meistgestellte Fragen) zu finden sein, so können Sie uns gerne eine Email schreiben: contact@lcfn.info
Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Taddeus,
Manager des Khwe Living Museums