Culture
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The Damara are divided into tribes each governed by a chief but the tribe has only one King, King Justus Garoeb that rules over them. The names of the richest/most powerful chiefs were Prince ǀHai-hab, Chief Xamseb, ǁGuruseb just to name some. They practiced circumcision until to date. Their traditional colours are green, white and blue. The green and blue identifies the different sub groups, some women may wear white and blue some white and green, the white representing the peace and unity among all Damara-speaking people.
Some Damara women share a similar style of traditional dress to the OvaHerero, with the long, flowing dresses that look almost Victorian in style. However, the traditional hats that the Herero wear have longer 'horns' to resemble cattle.
The women do household chores like cooking, cleaning and gardening. Their Primary objective is milking the cows in the morning and nurturing the young. Men traditionally hunt and herd the cattle, leaving the village as early as the sunrise, patrolling their area to protect their cattle and grazing ground as tradition dictates. Men can be very aggressive towards intruders if not notified of any other male presence in his grazing area.
Though many Damara people own and live on rural farms, the majority live in the small towns scattered across the Erongo region or in Namibia's capital city of Windhoek. Those that still live on farms tend to stay with extended family so that as many as one hundred stay together, creating a small village of family members.
The Damara are very rich in cattle and sheep. Some chiefs possessing up to 8000 head of horned cattle.
Read more about this topic: Damara People
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