Namibian Women

I read the WhatsInPort page about Walvis Bay, but nothing in it prepared me for the variety of women we would encounter in Namibia.

For starters, the sight of topless women vending goods in the sidewalk markets was a real “National Geographic” moment for me.

Right beside them were women in long dresses with unique headdresses.

After spending most of my souvenir money on Michael’s cab fare, I still had a whopping $4 on me. I used it to tip the women in exchange for taking photos.

Watching over it all, were a couple of female cops. When I asked to take their photo, they found it amusing, but said yes. (And luckily they did not charge, since I was out of money at that point.)

I took the opportunity to ask the cops about the other women, since our cab driver didn’t speak much English.

They told us the women were from two different tribes in in the north north of Namibia. (I don’t know how to spell the tribes names, so I’ll wait until i can look them up.)

I also asked the cops what language they spoke at home. Once again, I don’t know how to spell it, so I’ll look for that info later.

The cops told us that the topless women wear the exact same clothing no matter how hot or cold it is.

“They never even wear a sweater,” one explained. “They are completely adapted to the weather.”

As for their unique hairstyle, the red color is from clay. It takes three days to get their hair fixed like this and the style lasts for three months until it ends to be maintained.Read more