Namibia
Okavango

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Travelers at this place
    • Day 63

      The San People Living Museum

      July 8, 2023 in Namibia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

      We were freezing cold overnight!! I was up and down like a yo-yo, adding layers each time. There was also a lot of noise from guinea fowl outside our tent. By 6am, I couldn’t stand it any longer, and got up, despite the fact that we didn’t have to be at breakfast until 8am! Like yesterday, I just couldn’t get warm!! At least we didn’t have to take our tents down this morning, which was a blessing. We found an electric kettle and boiled it so we could have a coffee. We even got a fire going from last night’s embers! Gradually, people got up and joined us. Everyone had been cold during the night – except the few who had upgraded, who complained they had been too warm!!

      We had scrambled egg for breakfast and then set off to drive the 75 kilometres to a living history village occupied the San people. These people have lost their traditional way of life in recent years, and some of them are working to preserve it. In 1990, they were moved off their land when diamonds were found. The Namibian government rehoused them some distance away in purpose-built concrete units rather than their straw homes. They forbade them from hunting for food as they had done since time immemorial. As a result of the move, the San population decreased from over 100,000 to between just two and three thousand today. Our guide said he preferred the traditional way of life, but it’s hard to see how it can survive now that the younger generation have mobile homes and are educated in Groofontein many miles away.

      At the village, we were taught some of the San language and shown how they used to make fire and fashion bows and arrows out of locally-sourced wood. We watched as women made beads out of seeds and ostrich egg shell, and then made them into jewellery and bags. As hunter gatherers, the men hunted while the women foraged for food and looked after the children. Our guide and some villagers took us on a walk through the forest and explained to us how certain plants were used to treat different conditions. They also showed us how they set traps to catch rabbits.
      Read more

    • Day 63

      The end of our visit to the San people

      July 8, 2023 in Namibia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      Back in the village, the women sang and danced for us. They did a dance of welcome and were then joined by a couple of men. Together, they demonstrated a ritualistic dance of healing. They finished with a farewell dance. It was all fascinating. We were left wondering how long they and their traditional ways can survive in the modern world!

      We ended our visit with a browse through their open-air craft shop. Of course, I bought some things – a bracelet to go with the others I have bought on this trip and a necklace. I think almost everyone bought something to support the village.
      Read more

    • Day 5

      Grashoek, Dorf der Buschleute

      October 2, 2012 in Namibia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      Über einen tiefsandigen Weg erreichen wir das Dorf Grashoek in dem ausschließlich Menschen vom Stamm der Buschleute leben. Wir sind die einzigen Touristen hier fernab jeder sonstigen Siedlung. Für ein Handgeld dient sich einer der Dorfbewohner als Führer durch das weitläufige Dorf im Buschland der Kalahari an. Stolz zeigt man die Errungenschaften, wie eine neue, dieselbetriebene Wasserpumpe und zwei TV im Schulgebäude, dem einzigen Steinbau. Solche Anschaffungen wurden durch die Tourismuseinnahmen finanziert. Die Einheimischen haben einen riesen Spaß, als ich mich mit den Klicklauten der Buschmann-Sprache abmühe.Read more

    • Day 11

      Living Museum of the Honsai/San

      September 27, 2018 in Namibia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

      Living Museum of the Honsai/San

      Obwohl wir an diesem Tag eine große Strecke vor uns hatten, sind wir noch 80 km zu dem Museum gefahren (diese mussten wir auch wieder zurück). :( Dort haben wir uns ein Buschstamm angeguckt und konnten erfahren, wie diese traditionell Leben und ein Stück der Kultur kennenlernen.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Okavango, Kavango

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android