Kavango
Originating from central East Africa,
the Kavango first settled at Mashi on the Kwando river before moving
further west between 1750 and 1800. numbering about 140 00, they
are divided into five tribal groupings speaking four different languages
( RuKwangari, ShiShambyu, RuGciriku and ThiMbukshu ). Some clans
trace their descent from a remote ancestries and many take their
names from nature and wildlife.
Especially in rural areas, the Kavango
are a river people subsisting off agriculture, pastoralism, fishing
and licensed hunting. They are famed for their uniquely expressive
and finely made wood carvings, many of which now sits in international
galleries. As hunters the are ingenious too.
To catch a crocodile a baited hook
and line are attached to a heavy plank or branch. Having swallowed
the bait the crocodile must carry the large, floating object around.
It tires him out soon enough and brings him to the surface more
and more for oxygen, where he is now vulnerable to the hunter's
spears. With strict conservation laws this is no longer common practice.
The Kavango have a rich and complex
belief system and mythology. Karunga or Nyambi ( Mbukushu tribe
) is the Supreme Being. The sun and moon help Him to guide and protect
people. Stars, ntungwedhi, are Nyambi's fireflies, the tutemwesi,
which gather in groups ( Milky Way ) to give more light on moonless
bights. Shooting stars are just fireflies changing their regular
place in the sky. Nyambi is never directly petitioned and He is
trusted to send enough rain. He usually obliges with about 560mm
annually in the region. Possibly due to this, only enough food is
produced for one year. It is thus a society based on need, not greed.
It is also a society still largely believing in magic, witchcraft,
ancestor worship and the evil powers of Shadipinyi, the wicked servant
of Nyambi. No prayer or offering is made to the evil one since this
will only expose a person's weaknesses.
As with many so-called traditional
cultures, the advent of modern medicine, education and missionaries
has changed the old way of life.
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