An Ancient Community

One cool thing about the trip to Epupa Falls was that we hired a local guy to drive us. Since it’s about a 3 hour drive each way, we got to spend a lot of time talking with him in the car. He was very friendly and interested in sharing his knowledge of local cultures with us. We learned some really interesting things about the traditional cultures, especially the Himba, and Mariah got into a great conversation that I’d like to share.

Himba women are empowered. Once married, they are recognized as the head of household – they control the buying and selling, they have a significant say in what the children do and who they marry, and they can basically send their husbands around to chase after stray goats, cattle, etc.

In other ways, Himba women are treated as property. Himba communities are not monogamous. Even if a woman marries a man. For instance, if a man hosts a male visitor, the husband will sleep outside for the night so that his friend can sleep with his wife. If the woman becomes pregnant, the child still becomes the “property” of the original husband-wife pair. Modern women sometimes refuse to sleep with some men, but traditionally they have not been allowed to do so.

On the one hand (here comes Tevye, watch out), this trading of husbands and wives is pretty … crazy. To us. Although our driver said that jealousy is not common in these communities, it is hard to imagine! How would you feel if your wife up and slept with someone else, and maybe ended up with his child? (And conversely, how would you feel if your husband abandoned you to his friend, regardless of your own feelings?)

On the other hand, maybe this sort of society avoids a lot of common problems. If you are not worried about cheating between husband and wife, then perhaps jealousy can be curbed. From an evolutionary standpoint, the Himba are a fairly small group of people and different Himba villages can be separated by hundreds of kilometers. Perhaps allowing visitors from far to mix their DNA into the gene pool is a way of providing “hybrid vigor,” as my dad would call it! Mixing genes creates stronger offspring, and maybe this ensured the longevity of the Himba tribe by minimizing inbreeding.

On the OTHER hand, what about STIs? HIV? Allowing sex between anyone and everyone seems like a brilliant way to spread disease and create problems for everyone…

Then again, how do you think traditional Himba would feel when comparing this sort of traditional lifestyle with “modern” values that are exhibited if they travel in to town? Apparently jealousy has increased among Himbas, and it is now common to see “traditional” Himbas in town drinking with “modern” men in bars… and following them home for the night. Totally an insane/interesting/unique situation that I have never encountered before!!!