University of Namibia

In Oshiwambo, the elephant is likened to the most challenging situation that people can face. If an elephant appears in the morning, all planned activities are put on hold and the villagers join forces to deal with it. For Tshiwa Trudie Amulungu, the elephant showed up on many mornings and she had no choice but to tame it.

Growing up in a traditional household in northern Namibia, during the period of South African rule, Amulungu's life started within a very ordered framework. Then one night she crossed the border into Angola with her schoolmates and joined the liberation movement. Four months later she was studying at the UN Institute for Namibia in Lusaka Zambia. She went on to study in France before returning after 12 years to take part in the elections that led to Independence.

Amulungu recounts the cultural shocks and huge discoveries she made, both in exile and after Independence, with honesty, emotion and humour. She draws the reader into her experiences, reflecting on the socio-historical-cultural context, and portraying life, friends, and community in the different places she lived.

This is a compelling story of survival, longing for home, fear of the return and overcoming adversity in strange environments. It is also a love story that brought two families and cultures together.

The author reflects on the vast differences in life experiences over three generations in her family. There is no comparison between her childhood and that of her children, let alone between their youthful experiences and those of her parents.

'A remarkable and important book, which should be widely read in Namibia and by other general and academic readers interested in Namibia'
Heike Becker, Professor of Anthropology, University of the Western Cape

In this insightful ethnography of the changing politics of the public sphere in urban Namibia, Mattia Fumanti focuses on the border town of Rundu.

The author highlights the fundamental contribution elites make to the public space through their much-praised concept of civility and their promotion of nation-building at the local level.

He focuses on how generational relations between elites in Rundu have shaped, and been shaped by, the transitions from colonial rule and the war of liberation, to Independence and post-Independence. He opens a window on relations between the hinterland and the capital, and illuminates post-apartheid issues in Namibia and elsewhere in Southern Africa, as they have come to be reflected in public debates about education, youth aspirations, the state, citizenship, good governance and the role of ethnic and settler minorities.

‘This book is a vibrant antidote to Afro-pessimism and views that emphasize the spectacle of disaster, kleptomania and corruption of the weak state. By examining the rhetoric of public morality Fumanti challenges this but is, nevertheless, also critical of the ruling elite. This is a sophisticated and nuanced analysis of how small-town elites emerge and how they see the world, a group of people who are potentially vital players in the evolving shape of African cultures and moralities, who have not received the scholarly attention they deserve.’
Robert Gordon, University of Vermont and University of the Free State

Mattia Fumanti is Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews in the United Kingdom. He has conducted anthropological research in Namibia, Ghana and the UK.

Otuzo twOvaherero provides valuable information on Ovaherero patriclans and records folklore and praise poems in Otjiherero. Previously, these did not exist in written form. The book attempts to preserve these oral traditions before they disappear. It aims to restore pride to the Ovaherero, particularly in patrilineages that were displaced by the Ovaherero-German war of 1904-1907.

Otuzo twOvaherero is structured around the Ovaherero patrilineal descent system (otuzo) which is the basis of the Ovaherero religion Oupwee. The surnames and homesteads that belong to the same patrilineage are grouped together under each patriclan to help the reader to easily trace the homesteads that belong to one patriclan (and thus have a common ancestry). The distinct features of each patriclan are specified in terms of totems, taboos, patriclans which collaborate, and praise poems of homesteads.

All the patriclans and praise poems in this book were collected from Ovaherero communities living in Namibia. The author uses the term ‘Ovaherero’ to include the various groups which speak the common language Otjiherero and which include the Ovahimba, Ovaherero, Ovatjimba and Ovambanderu.

These are the final two volumes of the Customary Law Ascertained series facilitated by the University of Namibia's Human Rights and Documentation Centre, in which recognised Namibian traditional authorities have self-stated their customary laws.

"The ascertainment of customary law helps us understand and appreciate our cultural diversity in the process of forging a common Namibian identity and heritage. It also helps us understand the rationale for the existence of the various customary laws, as well as how communities decide what laws they will keep and which to discard in view of the Namibian Constitution and other laws...We cannot adopt an uncritical approach to customary laws, therefore; but need to start the process of engagement and dialogue – which these volumes will help us to achieve." Former African Union Commissioner, Advocate Bience Gawanas

Customary Law Ascertained Volume 1. The customary law of the Owambo, Kavango and Caprivi Communities of Namibia was published by Kuiseb Publishers/Namibia Scientific Society in 2010.

Writing Namibia: Literature in Transition is a cornucopia of extraordinary and fascinating material which will be a rich resource for students, teachers and readers interested in Namibia. The text is wide ranging, defining literature in its broadest terms. In its multifaceted approach, the book covers many genres traditionally outside academic literary discourse and debate. The 22 chapters cover literature of all categories in Namibia since independence: written and performance poetry, praise poetry, Oshiwambo orature, drama, novels, autobiography, women’s writing, subaltern studies, literature in German, Ju|’hoansi and Otjiherero, children’s literature, Afrikaans fiction, story-telling through film, publishing, and the interface between literature and society. The inclusive approach is the book’s strength as it allows a wide range of subjects to be addressed, including those around gender, race and orature which have been conventionally silenced.