Himba EpochsAuthor(s): Gordon D. GibsonReviewed work(s):Source: History in Africa, Vol. 4 (1977), pp. 67-121Published by: African Studies AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3171580 .Accessed: 23/05/2012 09:46

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HIMBA EPOCHS*

Gordon D. Gibson Smithsonian Institution

Introduction

In contrast to most other nonliterate African peoples, the Himba and Herero -- pastoral Bantu peoples of southwestern Africa -- have developed quasiannual chronologies based upon important episodes and occasional conditions of the region in which they live.' For example, to establish the time of a personal or family event, a Himba may refer to the epoch of the disarming or the epoch of the locust invasion as readily as we refer to 1917 or 1923. Such a chronological system is natur- ally of interest to the student of African history, for it is a key to the events that are considered important by the Himba themselves. But beyond this, a system of ordered epochs is also of value for demographic and other sociological studies in which the ages of individuals are important for, while the Himba, like most non-literate peoples, do not enumerate the years of their lives or the years that have passed since crucial events, many are able to provide the names of the epochs of their birth, marriage, childrens' births, and so forth. It remains, then, for the investigator merely to correlate the epochal names with our numbered years in order to determine, with a fair degree of approximation, individuals' current ages and their ages at their life crises -- data which are important for certain kinds of detailed sociological research. In essence this procedure is simple enough, but establishing a sufficiently accurate correlation between the Himba epochs and the numbered years has proved to be a difficult task and one requiring a variety of approaches. The nature of the Himba epochal chronology and the method employed for correlating it with the years of the Christian calendar are the subjects of this paper.

The Herero of Namibia, a people closely related to the Himba linguistically (their languages are mutually intelligible) and culturally, use a similar annual chronology of events. The existence of the Herero system of time reckoning was noted at least as early as 1857 (Hahn, 1857, p. 141), and Vedder made

HISTORY IN AFRICA, Vol. 4(1977)

68 GORDON D. GIBSON

use of it in his reconstruction of the history of the Herero before the time of first European contact (Vedder, 1934 and 1938), though the list of epoch names he published extends back only a quarter century before the coming of the missionaries. Several lists of Herero epochs from 1820 (and covering contin- uously the period from 1842 to 1947) have been published (see Brincker, 1886, pp. 209-210; von Frangois, 1896, pp. 185-187; Irle, 1906, pp. 222-224; Vedder, 1934, pp. 150-157; Vedder, 1938, pp. 149-151; and van Warmelo, 1951, pp. 22-25). Some of the later lists, it seems, are copied from those published earlier. I have also collected some sequences of epoch names (as yet unpublished) from the Herero and Mbanderu of Botswana.

In 1960, when I first began ethnographic work among the Himba in Namibia, I was able to confirm that they too have a system of naming the years, and at that time and also more recently, in working among the northern segments of that people who live in southwestern Angola, I collected several sequences of epoch names. I investigated the chronologies more thoroughly during recent field work, as I hoped they could be used as the basis for age determinations in a demographic study. The idea of employing chronologies of local events as an aid in demo- graphic studies was suggested more than 20 years ago (Rowe, 1955). However, it has not been widely utilized, and I know of only a few researchers who have developed ad hoc epochal chron- ologies as an aid in estimating the ages of individuals and the times of cultural change. I am not aware of studies that deal in detail with the problems of correlating epochal chronologies with our own numbered years or develop method for solving them.

In the sections that follow, the nature of Himba epochs is first discussed, then the methods employed for correlating them, and finally the epoch names that I have been able with some degree of certainty to fix in time are listed along with the evidence that serves to document them and to establish their proper order.

I. The Nature of Himba Epochs

Age Groups and Epochs. The recurrent periods of the day and seasons of the year are

recognized and named by most if not by all African peoples, but the days, the moons, and the years are not enumerated in the indigenous cultures of black Africa (excluding, of course, those that have come under Christian or Muslim influence), and the passing of years is reckoned by naming them in a more or less regular manner in only a few. In some African societies, to be sure, where boys or girls undergo initiation in discrete groups, the names of those initiation classes that came into existence within the memory of persons still living form a chronological

HIMBA EPOCHS 69

sequence which, even when irregularly spaced, has some histor- ical utility (cf. Evans-Pritchard, 1939). Also, among peoples who have hereditary chiefs or kings, the names of the more recent rulers are remembered, and a list of these arranged in proper order forms a chronological series to which other events can be related. But the intervals between the accessions of rulers vary greatly, and as the lengths of reigns generally are not reckoned one can only, in the absence of written records, assume some sort of average period for them in an attempt to relate the reigns and the associated historical events to our own numbered years.

While kings or chiefs with established courts do not occur among the Himba, age classes do, both males and females being initiated into age groups which come into existence at irregu- lar intervals. Indeed, it may well be that the Himba epochal chronology, which is the subject of this paper, has developed, in part at least, on the model of the series of age-group names. Whatever its origin, the epoch name and age-group name systems that today exist among the Himba are largely distinct, and while there is some correspondence between them, the names of age groups, male and female, are only rarely used as epoch names. Though all three of the series of noncyclical chronolog- ical names are known to most Himbas, only one of them is regu- larly used for locating events in time, and this one consists of epochal names which are usually associated with the pluvial year. In fact, the units -- years -- in this series are some- times called ombura (pl. ozombura), "rain."2

The other two series, whose names are sometimes based upon fortuitous events but sometimes not, pertain to the male and the female age groups called otchiwondo (pl. oviwondo). Himba age classes are normally open to new members only during dis- crete intervals of time; the length of time between the forma- tion of new age groups varies and is always more than a single year. Men's otchiwondo names are acquired as a consequence of their circumcision ceremonies -- all boys initiated within a certain period belong to the same otchiwondo and have certain duties and privileges in relations with their omakura (sg. ekura), "age mates" or co-members. Women's otchiwondo groups do not require a formal initiation ceremony but rather the pay- ment of a fee; they are considered by the Himba to be formed chiefly for singing and other kinds of play. Girls generally enter an otchiwondo group voluntarily and individually and can even withdraw from the group to which they would normally be- long by virtue of their age and join another. The members of a women's otchiwondo also have duties and privileges in relations with their omakura or co-members. Most Himba men and women know the names of several oviwondo, "age classes," that are senior and all that are junior to their own and are able to arrange them in order of seniority.

70 GORDON D. GIBSON

Though the ozombura, "pluvial years," also are commonly known and used by the Himba for the purpose of dating other events, not all Himbas are able to recite long lists of epoch names in order, and relatively few Himbas have names for the most recent years, i.e., those of the last decade or so. Thus the epoch names are used primarily in the discussion of events in the more distant past.

Both regional and tribal differences occur among the several epochal chronologies I have collected from Herero, Himba, and Tchimba peoples. In the Himba lists some ombura names are restricted to certain regions while others are quite widespread -- this of course depending upon the significance attached to the events recollected in the year names. A parti- cular year may thus have different names in different areas and even in the same area, it may be known by two or more names. Otchiwondo or initiation class names, by contrast, are consis- tent over wider areas and even across some tribal lines. Some otchiwondo names in the women's series are identical with some ombura or year names, for these oviwondo also are sometimes named for important events, and at least one of the men's otchiwondo names is used as a year name.

Some conjectures concerning the origin of the annual chronology.

There is lexical evidence to support the view that the annual epochal chronology of the Herero developed out of the procession of age-class names. The Himba word otchiwondo meaning "age class" is used to designate both the men's and women's age groups. The cognatic Herero term otchiondo (p. oviondd)'was defined by Brincker (1886, p. 209) as "the time period in which something unusual happened, after which the Herero name their children and measure their age." Irle (1917, p. 195) equated otchiondo with "year of birth." Thus it would appear that the general Herero term for "epoch" may well have derived directly from a term for "age class." Contributing to the merging of the circumcision class or age group names and year names among the Herero is the fact that Herero boys are generally circum- cised during their first year of life, or if away from home during this period, then upon returning to their father's home (Dannert, 1906, pp. 22-23). Thus circumcision can take place in any year and is not delayed until a general year of circum- cision is proclaimed for the whole region, as occurs among the Himba who appear to come under the authority or influence of the Ngambwe (a Nyaneka people) for this and certain other ritual purposes.

In distinguishing age class and epoch names, the Himba con- trast with the Herero. I have already noted that there is but little correspondence between the sequences of Himba age class and epoch names. This, in fact, may be due in part to the

HIMBA EPOCHS 71

taboo which prevents a Himba woman from mentioning the name of her husband's age group and requires her to use a circumlocu- tion. It may be the circumlocution, then, which becomes established as the name of the epoch when a particular age class was formed, rather than the proper name of the group.

If, as the evidence suggests, the succession of age classes provides the model for the epochal system, it must nevertheless be the natural alternation of dry and rainy seasons, and especially the long-awaited rains that are so tantalizingly promised by the clouds rising almost daily in the east during the normally rainy season, that give it its annual character. Those who live in the area are fully aware of the progression of the seasons and look forward expectantly to the coming of the rains. It is true that years of scanty rainfall are common, and it is also true that two or three very wet or very dry years may fall together; but it is invariable that every year will have a dry season and that in every year there is a period marked by cloudy skies, lightning storms, and vegetational changes, whether or not the rains actually come.

In normal years in southwestern Africa there is a dry period lasting from about May to September and rainy period from about October to April. The dry season is almost never broken by rain, but the wet season is sometimes marked by weeks or months of drought. Obviously it is the annual periodicity of the seasons underlying the Himba system of epochs, as it does our own system of numbered years, that makes it possible to corre- late the two sequences.

The rains in the Himba region, which is classified by meteorologists as semi-arid, not only vary greatly in amount from year to year but are also irregular in areal distribution. Though in the course of a rainy season the rainfall in various stations tends toward a regional average, individual rain storms often are quite localized, and in some rainy seasons certain places may receive adequate precipitation while neighboring areas are severely underwatered.

It is puzzling that while most of the neighboring Bantu peoples name only certain memorable years, the Himba and Herero employ a chronological system in which every, or nearly every, year is named. This development may well be related to the nature of the adjustments that these pastoral people have had to make to the climatic irregularities of their habitat. The more settled Nyaneka, Nkumbi, and Ambo are farming-herding peoples situated to the north and east of the Himba in lands that are better watered, though they are by no means immune to drought and famine. The Zimba people, who are more closely related linguistically to the Himba and Herero, also lack an annual epochal calendar; they practice a mixed farming-herding economy in lands just north of those occupied by the Himba,

72 GORDON D. GIBSON

though nowadays some are also found settled in the arable parts of Himbaland. Thus the development of the quasi-annual calendar has taken place among pastoral people in a region subject to more extreme fluctuations of climate than that occupied by the major neighboring Bantu-speaking tribes. (I do not know whether a similar epochal calendar is in use among the minor Bantu-speaking neighbors of the Himba -- the Ndongona, Hinga, Tchavikwa, and Hakawona.) But even as employed by the Himba and Herero, the epochal calendar is not fully standardized -- the development is not yet perfected, one might say.

Among the events memorialized in the Himba epoch names, none are more frequent than droughts and famines. One of the words by which the Himba designate the epochs is the term for hunger and famine, ondjara, which is employed in a general sense even for years of plenty. This suggests that the Himba also may have formerly named chiefly the famine years. While the Himba may lose a good many cattle in years of drought, the group as a whole somehow manages to survive, though doubtless not without the loss of some individuals whose poor health may be aggravated by long periods of undernourishment. The Himba have a saying, "Hunger does not kill, it is sickness that kills," which, though patently untrue, nevertheless reflects a philosophical adjustment to recurrent periods of want.

The Himba and those other peoples of their region who depend wholly or in part upon herding customarily keep their domestic stock at temporary cattle posts (ohambo, pl. ozohambo) during the dry season. In years of drought the animals often must be driven many miles away from the more-or-less permanent homestead in the search for water, herbage, and browse. The more settled peoples of the region, who depend to a greater extent upon cultivation, are also severely effected by droughts, though most of them live in areas where the average precipita- tion is somewhat greater. The average annual rainfall at Oncocua in the Himba area is 370 mm. (14.5 in.), with a ten- year range of from 190 mm. (under 5 in.) to 1077 mm. (27.5 in.); the rainfall is only about 50% greater at Humbe and Chibemba, administrative centers located in the lands of the Nkumbi and Nyaneka peoples respectively. It is not surprising, then, that severe droughts are remembered by all the peoples of south- western Angola and that the names of droughts form a rough chronological system to which other events are related. The Nyaneka peoples, for example, name years of famine as well as newly formed circumcision classes and certain other important events (Silva 1953).

Years do not acquire their names by any regular, organized, or prearranged procedure. It seems to me that it is only after the conclusion of a year, and sometimes apparently long after, when it is desired to impart information about personal or

HIMBA EPOCHS 73

family events to someone outside the family or local group, that an event that is more widely known is recalled and used as a name for the year. Through common use this becomes accepted in the area where the event selected as a name was known. Pre- sumably the reasons for which people find it necessary to refer to particular past years bear some relationship to the develop- ment of the year-naming system, but I have not yet discovered what those reasons are. One might say that the Herero-speaking peoples have a more highly developed historical sense than other sub-Saharan peoples, but why should this be so? I have been tempted above to speculate on the utility of an annual chronology to pastoralists who have to contend with frequent droughts, but one of the longest year name lists I recorded was given me by a Tchimba man with but few cattle who is a member of a sub-group that lives more by hunting than by animal husbandry. Is hunting then the key? Other hunting peoples in southwestern Africa get along quite satisfactorily without a system of annual epoch names.

Epochs and years. The extent to which the named periods employed by the Himba

and Herero for fixing events in time can be called "years" is a question requiring some attention. Hahn, in the first pub- lished dictionary of Otchiherero (1857), at the entry for the term otchiondo (he spells it okiondo), gave the following definition: "time-event, epoch. The natives properly speak- ing do not reckon by years but by epochs." It is not clear whether Hahn meant that the period referred to as otchiondo is of indefinite length, or merely that years are named rather than numbered. Later dictionaries also defined the word in about the same way. As noted above, several lists of the Herero "epochs" have been published, and in all these (except for some epochs in van Warmelo's list for the Herero of the Kaokoveld) the authors indicated exact correspondence between each epoch and a numbered year in the Christian calendar. Some of these lists began with epochs dated several years before the establishment of the first mission (1844) among the Herero, and so it seems unlikely that the nature of the epoch changed because of mission influence. Upon examination of the events recorded in the epochal names, it will be observed that most of these, other than those that pertain to droughts and famines, are themselves of short duration, usually much shorter than a year. Clearly, in referring births and other personal or family events to the episodic names, a certain degree of approximation is admitted by those who use the system. Thus the epochal names are intended to apply to periods of time longer than just the duration of the event that lends its name. In fact, it appears that the epochal names have become attached to the pluvial year

74 GORDON D. GIBSON

so that they progress almost precisely in annual steps. There are, however, some exceptions, namely in droughts that endured for two or more years. Fortunately, these have not been very common; one clear example is the drought of 1914-1916. The conclusion that the epochal names employed by the Himba gener- ally refer to the pluvial year is reinforced by two facts: 1) they use the term ombura "rain" (as well as the term ondjara, "famine"), as a general term for the year, and 2) in reciting a long series of ombura names in order, a Himba informant may indicate that a particular ombura lacks a name, or that he has forgotten it.

While one may, therefore, use the word "year" to refer to the period of time represented by one of the names in the chronological series of epochs, this requires still a further caveat. The beginning, end, and length of a Himba year are not definitely related to celestial phenomena, as in our calendric system. Rather, the year is conceived of as beginning with the rains, or at about the time when the rains should begin even if no rain falls. In Himba country the span from October to the following March is the period when most rains fall, so if a pluvial year is "normal," it may be considered as beginning approximately in our October and running to the following September. Though some Himbas do name the moons and conceive of the year as beginning with the first moon of the rainy season, those I questioned did not agree completely with res- pect to the moon or month names, and some Himbas said they did not know them at all. It would introduce a false degree of accuracy, therefore, to take the first moon of October as an invariable date for the start of the new year. Since an important event forms a subject of conversation over the follow- ing months, it is not surprising to find some lag between the time of its occurrence and the period known by the epoch name that refers to it. As an example, it is a matter of record that the Herero and Himba leaders in the Kaokoveld were dis- armed by Major Manning on 24 August 1917, but the several epoch names that refer to this event seem firmly fixed in the pluvial year 1917-1918 rather than 1916-1917.

I must also qualify the impression I may have given that every year invariably has a name among the Himba. In reciting chronological lists, some men indicate that the year following a certain named year has no name, or that they have forgotten the names of certain years in the series. Usually, when this occurs, the informant is able to indicate the number of "un- named" or "forgotten" years. Indeed, some years in which there was neither a severe drought nor abundant rainfall nor any other outstanding event may well go completely unnamed, at least in some areas. While I cannot show that every year is named in all parts of the Himba area, or even that every year is named in any

HIMBA EPOCHS 75

particular region, it does seem to be true that every year has a name at least somewhere within the Himba area, and also that about nine-tenths of the years are named everywhere. However, most people know many of the epoch names that are used in areas other than their own, so that it is possible to use a combined chronology in investigating historical facts even in areas where the year in question may not have a local name. And most people, when questioned closely, are able to place an unnamed year in relation to others which are named, either as preceding or following a named year.

Universality of the chronologies.

Knowledge of the year names is not equally present among all members of the Himba tribe, and it seems reasonable to conclude that some Himbas are more historically oriented than others. Only a few people were able to give me long lists of year names in sequence. Most of my informants were men, but one list that I acquired from a woman has turned out to be one of the best I collected. Occasionally I found a Himba who could recite the year names from the year of his birth (the usual starting place) down to the last year before the present. Most, however, of those who said they knew the year names, terminated their recitation at a point some ten or more years in the past and concluded with a remark such as "none of the following years have names," or "all the later years have been years of little droughts." Only once or twice did I find a Himba who had become acculturated enough to substitute European year numbers for some recent year names.

It seems that lists of ancient year names are not passed on from parent to child, for none of those I questioned was able to give me sequences of year names from times much before his own birth. It is remarkable, however, that many people know the names of the years that occurred during their infancy, and in reciting the year names known to them begin with the years of their own births, or even a year or two earlier, and continue on without much hesitation through the years of their infancy and childhood. However, on comparison some of these epochal lists appear to be more inaccurate for the initial periods than for their middle years.

The names given certain years, being derived from local events, are known only to people of a particular locality. The result is, therefore, that each locality has its own distinctive chronological list. Indeed, one can divide the Himba area into the epoch-name regions. But these are not mutually exclusive, for some year names are very widespread, deriving from events which were known throughout the area. Other names are found to be known and used in a major part of the area, but not in the remainder, and so forth. To complicate the matter, we must

76 GORDON D. GIBSON

remember that the Himba, though not nomadic in the bedouin sense, are quite mobile, and some have moved their principal place of residence several times during their lifetimes. The epoch names known to such a person reflects his movements and thus may pertain to one region during his youth, to another during the period of young manhood, and perhaps to still an- other after he moved to the home of a deceased relative from whom he inherited cattle. From an examination of the year names used by Himbas in Angola it is apparent that a consider- able number of them spent some of their lives in Kaokoveld and migrated to Angola in more recent years.

The nature of the Himba epochs. As already mentioned, two words with the meaning "epoch" or

"year" are in general use among the Himba, yet each of these words has another meaning which is apparently older. They are ombura, the primary meaning of which is "rain," and ondjara, the primary meaning of which is "hunger" or "famine." In naming the epochs, both terms are used as the first element of a phrase which designates the year, the second element being the prepositional prefix ye- or yo-, "of" (the e is assimilated with o- when the latter is the initial sound of the following form) joined to the word which is the name of the year. Thus ombura yekasungona and ondjara yekasungona are alternative ways of referring to "the year of kasungona." A third form, oyekasungona, without the first element ombura or ondjara but with a pre-prefix o- joined to the preposition, may be trans- lated "that of kasungona." Two other terms found as the first word of some epoch names are ongoha, "washing," and ourumbu, "drought" (sometimes okaurwnbu, "little drought"). Thus the year ongoha yekate, "washing of kate" means the year of good rains that washed away the drought of kate, "dying," and ourumba yekatchaeta is the "drought of plenty," i.e., the drought that followed the year oyetchaeta, "plenty." However, the use of the expression "ongoha" is found chiefly in one area and seems to be restricted to the period from 1935 to 1945. For the sake of brevity, in presenting the list of combined epochal names and in discussing them here, I have omitted the initial elements ombura ye-/yo- and ondjara ye-/yo-.

Some of the events which lend their names to the years were obviously crucial and must have affected the lives of many or all the people living in the area, while others seem trivial. Even devastating famines have come to be known by peculiar incidents of the time. For example, the drought of 1890 is known as kapatambarise, "deny your lover!" and that of 1941 is called kate uri, "just go die!" Both these names refer to times when the traditional attitudes regarding the sharing of food had to be set aside, for the first example food which would have been shared with a sweetheart was withheld, and in

HIMBA EPOCHS 77

the second those who came begging for food were told that death was their only remedy. Some other names for drought years refer to the peculiar foods to which people turned in order to sur- vive. Thus we find, for example: ourwumbu youtwitchi (1910-11), "drought of omutati seeds"; karia ombande (1915-16), "eating skin clothing"; karasa k'oruviu (1935), "licking the knife" to recover the blood after cutting meat with it; and karia kakambe (1946), "eating horse."

Both droughts and deluges in the Himba region appear to be accompanied by typical activities which are reflected in the year names. To alleviate famine the Himba turn to unusual foods, as just noted, and to induce the rains to come they turn to magic. Thus in the combined Himba chronology we find ondakava, "spirit vessel" (1932-33), referring to the equipment of a rain-maker, and also the names of several rain-makers:

Mbumwnba (1932-33), Kapupa (1944-45), Tchisunga (1949-50), Mun- yemba (1964-65). Some of these are credited with years of good rainfall, and some failed. To water their livestock in dry years the Himba drive them to places where water is found, and this practice is also reflected in the specific place names that occur in the combined chronology: Kauronda (1907-08), Kambur- ungu (1929-30), Oruindjo (1948-49), Omasitu (1952-53), and Epanda (1969-70). Efforts to alleviate famine with introduced foods, some sold and some given to them, are reflected in several years named omakutu and ozosaku, "sacks (of grain);" and in omekunu (1923-33), "grain for planting;" and simora (1940-41), "alms," i.e., grain given out by the government without charge. Insect plagues and epidemics of animal diseases as well as good grazing and abundant harvests often follow years of heavy rainfall, as the combined sequence of year names indicates.

Not only droughts and seasons of plentiful rain but many other kinds of events, good, bad, and indifferent, are recalled in the epoch names. In descending order of frequency, the fol- lowing sorts of occurrences are found in the combined chron- ology: droughts and drought-related events, abundant rains, pestilences (animal rather than human), plagues of insects of vermin, wars, difficult relations with the authorities, the advent of certain magicians, problems (other than wars) con- cerning relations with other tribes, acculturative changes (e.g., red shirts given to Himba auxiliaries in the Angolan wars, and windmills introduced into the Kaokoveld), deaths of important people, and the abundance of certain wild fruits.

Some events that brought neither bad nor good to the Himba but were merely remarkable are also found as names of years, for example: an airplane disaster in the region, a rainy sea- son with many lightning storms, an abundance of red velvet mites, and the occasion when the chief of the Ngambwe asked the Himba to kill a rhinocerous so that he could have sandals made

78 GORDON D. GIBSON

of rhino hide. In the Herero chronologies certain astronomical phenomena -- solar and lunar eclipses and Halley's comet -- are

included, but no celestial events are to be found in the chron- ologies I have recorded among the Himba.

In the course of my investigations I have collected sixteen long lists of epoch names from six distinct areas of Himba concentration, two or three from each area. Yet there are cer- tain epoch names that cut across all six areas and are found in most of the lists. The commonest epochal name of all is that of a year of very heavy rains, considered to be the wettest year in the history of South-West Africa. This pluvial year, called otchizize, "flowing," which is the rainy season of 1933 to 1934, occurs in 15 of the 16 lists. Some others that occur widely are ozombahu, "locusts" (10 lists); enda ya Tchongora, "Tchongora's [inoculation] drive" (10 lists); ozondjembo, "guns" -- the year when guns were confiscated, 1917-18 -- (10 lists); kakoverwa, "surrounding" -- 1934, when Himba crossing the Cunene River which forms the border between Angola and South-West Africa were interned in a stockaded enclosure by the authorities of the latter country -- (9 lists); and Tchisunga, "Tyifunga" -- the year cattle were sent to Tyifunga, the Ngambwe chief at Chibemba, to pay for his making rain, and there was a subsequent heavy rainfall -- (9 lists).

II. Combining and Correlating the Epochal Lists

The problem. If one compares the several lists of Herero epochs already

published, one finds discrepancies as great as four years in the Christian year numbers assigned to them, and there are also disagreements with respect to the order in which certain of the years fall. Though the authors of the published lists of Herero epochs may have been aware of the problems involved in deter- mining a correctly ordered series and in correlating it with our numbered years, they have not dealt with these problems in print. It is possible that they were not aware of the dis- crepancies and that these become apparent only when chronolog- ical lists obtained from various informants are compared. Indeed, the discrepancies seem to multiply rather than diminish as the number of sources increases. If the epochal chronologies are to be employed in studies where optimum accuracy is desired, as in demographic studies, the problem of adjusting the dis- crepancies cannot be ignored.

The difficulty of determining a chronologically ordered list of the epoch names employed by the Himba and of correlating it with the European numbered years is, if anything, greater than that entailed in working with the Herero epochs. The problem begins with the collection of the data. Only a few of my informants were able to provide lengthy lists of year names.

HIMBA EPOCHS 79

However, all adult Himbas seem to know the names of some years and most know the names of years which were important in their lives, namely the years of their own births, initiations, marriages, births of children, and deaths of family members. Also, most know the names of years when they moved from one locale to another, or established a cattle post in a particular area. Thus, although but few persons are able to provide lists in the abstract, so to speak, many are able to provide series of epoch names relating to specific events in their lives in proper sequential order. These shorter lists are of some value in establishing the position of year names that are rarely encountered or that occur in few or none of the long continuous sequences. There is, however, a problem in col- lecting information relating to deceased individuals, for there is a taboo that is rather strictly observed by the Himba against mentioning the names of deceased persons, and this proscription is imposed particularly upon an individual speaking the name of his deceased child, spouse, or parent. In such cases I have resorted to anonyms.

Some people do not know their own birth years, and for these it is possible to make use of the system of age mates to deter- mine the approximate birth year. Indeed, the Himba recognize two kinds of omakura, "age mates" -- those that are members of the same initiation or age class, and those that were born in the same year. Most Himbas know the names of several omakura of the latter variety, and if the birth year of one or more of these age mates is known, the subject's own birth year can be inferred.

Having collected a number of sequences of epochal names allegedly in correct chronological order, some reputed to be continuous and some not, the researcher wishing to combine these into a correctly ordered master list and to correlate it with the European years is faced with a number of problems:

1) Year names differ from place to place, some having widespread usage while others are very localized.

2) Some years have more than one name, even in the same area. Two sorts of synonyms (or "synchronyms" as they might be termed) are encountered: (e.g. onguru and ondjuo [1925- 26], or otupaapaa and otutcheno [1929-30]) and those in which they refer to different events which fell in the same year (e.g. ozondera and Mwindwnbei [1943-44] -- see the table in section III for the meanings of these year names). Synonyms may also occur among lists; indeed, I have recorded more than 300 epochal names for the 90 year period from about 1882 to 1972, so there must be a great many synonyms among them. In addition to true synonyms -- that is, dif- ferent names for the same year -- I have a number of cases of what might be termed "identonyms" which are variant pro- nunciations of the same year name or singular and plural

80 GORDON D. GIBSON

forms of the same year name. Thorough investigation of meanings is often necessary to distinguish between true identonyms and spurious identonyms, i.e. words which, though morphologically similar, have different meanings and are not at all synonymous.

4) The same name may be used for different years. Some homonymous year names -- names which occur two or more times in the chronologies I recorded -- are the following: ourumbu, "yellowness," referring to the dried vegetation in a year of drought; omakutu, "sacks," i.e., sacks of grain, sold in years of famine; ozondjembo, "guns"; ondjou, "the elephant"; ovita, "war'"; omea mengi, "much water"; and ondjira, "the road." Unless accompanied by other words to make the reference specific, it may be impossible to deter- mine which drought, sacks, guns, elephant, war, abundance of water, or road is meant. Homonyms may also occur between lists. For example, a cattle plague may occur in one locale in a certain year and in another locale in another year and be given the same name in both places (e.g. ondiura, "black quarter disease"). There are also false homonyms -- a phenomenon which occurs when an informant gives a particular (same) year name twice while reciting a chronological series -- once incorrectly and once correctly located. If this is not detected at once and the informant queried, it can cause trouble later. Also spurious homonyms may occur when dis- tinguishing modifiers are omitted. Many cases of ourumwnbu, "yellowness" or "drought," can be made more specific by eliciting qualifying terms.

4) The etymology attributed by native informants to older year names often varies, sometimes introducing doubts as to whether a single year is involved or two different years with the same name but with different meanings. Fre- quently, I believe, the names of years long past are remem- bered only as names, and the events giving rise to them are known imperfectly or not at all. Thus, when asked the meaning of an older year name, one informant may offer what seems to him to be a reasonable explanation although he has no actual knowledge of the event, while another will repeat an explanation that he has heard from older people, perhaps in his youth. Consider, for example, the year Tchitoma: according to one informant, Tchitoma was a Kuvale man who predicted war in the year that bears his name; according to another informant he was an "Ovambo" man who claimed he could cure men's impotence, and when it was found that he couldn't, he was caught and punished (by whom I was not told). In general one is inclined to accept the more de- tailed explanation as more likely correct, but of course one cannot be sure on this basis alone. And in the case cited both meanings may be correct, for the Himba apply the

HIMBA EPOCHS 81

term "Ovambo" to all the neighboring tribes who do not re- strict the milk of certain cows to patrilineal kinsmen, and in this sense the Kuvale are also "Ovambo."3

5) Most aged informants are able to recall the names of epochs or years of their childhood, but few are able to order all of them correctly. In fact, persons even from the same area who claim to be able to recite the names of the years in continuous order generally do not agree completely, either in the order they give them or in the names of years in- cluded.

When an informant recites a chronology, supposedly giving the year or epoch names in the correct order, he may make mistakes, and it is useful to consider the nature of the mistakes that are liable to occur. An informant may occasionally insert a wrong name here or there in a listing that is otherwise correct, but more often he will err by inverting the order of two or more epochs or by inserting a block of epoch names which, though in correct order intern- ally, are out of place with respect to those that precede and follow. This comes about when he recalls a name that has been passed over, follows it with its correct sequence, and then returns to the original series -- all without indicating that he has made a correction. In comparing chronologies, therefore, one must be on the watch for re- versals and misplaced blocks of year names.

Bases for the ordering of epoch names:

To aid in the establishing a correctly ordered chronology, four kinds of information are available:

1) Lists of epoch or year names given by informants who say they have ordered them correctly and that they are con- tinuous.

2) Lists of the names of the years of birth of children of a certain woman together with statements or estimates of the number of years between the births. It is important to note that lists of children born to individual mothers are free from synonym problems (assuming that cases of twins are identified), and in this respect they are better than long lists recited in sequence which may well include synonyms. But they have the disadvantage usually, of not being con- tinuous sequences of contiguous years.

3) Information about synonymous year names and the positions of particular years in relation to others, ob- tained in discussion with informants.

4) Correlations with the European numbered years, pos- sible when the events named were also of significance to Europeans and have become a matter of written record or are remembered by literate informants. Some such events are disease epidemics, meteorological occurrences (when

82 GORDON D. GIBSON

distinctive enough), wars, deaths of chiefs, and local ad- ministrative activities. Correlations with the European years provide anchor points between which the rest of the chronology may float with some degree of uncertainty.

Since these various kinds of data do not always pro- vide the basis for a completely determinate ordering, the problem sometimes becomes one of deciding upon the most likely sequence and estimating the degree of indeEiniteness or error that may remain.

Determining the most likely order of epochs To facilitate the comparison of the relative order of sever-

al epoch or year names and to make it possible to adjust the order of the names with greatest convenience, I have devised a particular method of recording the listings.4 This entails preparation of a separate file card for each epoch name. In addition to the name, each epoch card in my file carries a literal translation of the name, a statement of the event or events which are said to have given rise to it, a historical information providing correlation with the European calender if available, and a reference to each continuous chronological sequence and each birth order record that includes the name. Along one edge of the card I enter a code symbol for each series in which the name occurs together with the number of its order in the series. If the Christian year number is known, that also is entered. These code symbols and serial numbers are recorded in specific locations along the left hand edge of the card so that all references to a particular listing fall in the same place on the edges of the cards. Then the cards are arranged in sequence according to a consensus of the data avail- able by laying them out in a row, overlapping so that only the edges with the code numbers are exposed. With the cards dis- posed thus, it is easy to shift any card to the position where it seems to fit best, i.e., where it falls in the correct order according to the greatest number of the sequences in which the epoch name it bears has been recorded. Adjustment in the order of the cards is continued until the number of serial numbers out of sequence is reduced to a minimum. An example is shown in Figure I.

At this point it is useful to consider the principles which appear to govern the adjustment and interpretation of the order of the epoch cards:

A) When two eptch names occupy adjacent positions in most of the continuous lists and are always in the same order, they probably represent two successive epochs (and usually, two successive years). The strength of this pro- bability is related to the number and proportion of the lists in which the contiguous succession occurs.

HIMBA EPOCHS 83

Figure I

Epoch name cards

Kandukemwe, "one milking."

CR Ondakava, "spirit vessel."

CT CA Mbumba, name of a Ngambwe curer. CV CR HA CT CA HA CT CA Tchizize, "flowing." HI 18 CV 25a CR 41 KA 30 HA CT 7 CA 13 KR HI CV 26b CR 40 -ziza: leck sein,. KT KA HA CT 5 austr'pfeln KV KR HI CV 27 (Brincker: 320) MB KT KA HA 14 OC 18 KV KR 8 HI 19 -ziza: flow out, leak, OU MB KT KA 31 etc.; gush, OV 21 OC KV 38 KR 9 trickle down VW OU MB 22 KT 2 (Kolbe: 425) WO OV OC KV 39

VW OU MB 24 WO OV OC 19

VW OU 20 1 WO OV 22

VW 33 2 WO

3 1933-34: heaviest rainfall in S.W.A. history (Rep. Admin. S.W.A. 1934: p. 53 [420])

4

Four epoch name cards ordered according to majority agreement of the data entered on their left hand margins. Disagreements are present in two series (symbolized CR and CT). One series (MB) suggests an additional epoch falling between Mbumba and Tchizize, but this is not supported by the majority. The small letters, a and b, in the CV series indicate that the informant equated Ondakava and Mbumba as synonyms ("same list synonyms"). Since the recordings for Kandukemwe and Mbuwnba are mutually exclusive, they also are taken to be synonymous ("different list synonyms").

84 GORDON D. GIBSON

B) When two epoch names occupy contiguous positions in most of the continuous lists in which they occur but the order is ambiguous, they probably are synonyms for a single epoch. (These are "same list synonyms.") Thus some synonyms become apparent only in the process of correlating the lists. It also happens that two epoch names recorded as different, though the differences are slight, are revealed to be identonyms when they fall in the same position rela- tive to the names that precede and follow them.

C) Two epoch names that occur in about the same position in the combined sequences and are mutually exclusive with respect to the lists in which they occur are probably syno- nyms. (These are "different list synonyms.")

D) Homonyms can be segregated into two or more positions by the fact that some serial numbers for the name in ques- tion fit well into the combined sequence at one place, and others fit well at another place or other places. A dupli- cate card with the appropriate edge entries needs to be prepared for each suspected homonymous position. (There is no difference in the handling of "same list homonyms" and "different list homonyms.") Thus it is that some homonyms become apparent only in the process of correlating the lists.

E) The number of year name positions that fall between any two of the names drawn from a continuous list probably represents a span of years of that duration; here again, the strength of this conclusion depends upon the number and proportion of lists in which spans of the same length occur between the selected pair of names. In applying this prin- ciple, one must consider whether any of the intervening names are same-list synonyms.

F) The ordering must make historical sense. For example, if epoch Y depends upon the prior occurrence of epoch X, then Y cannot be assigned to a year prior to that assigned to X. The two epochs may, however, be assigned to the same year without violating their sequential nature.

G) Some chronological lists will turn out to be con- sistently "better" than others, or better in certain sec- tions than others. More weight should be given to chron- ologies that generally agree with the others and less weight to those that generally disagree. Naturally, care needs to be exercised to avoid imposing preconceived biases on the data in this evaluative process. In the application of these rules and the procedure outlined

above to the analysis of the Himba year lists, I believe that the errors remaining in the assignment of year numbers rarely is greater than one year and almost never more than two years. I have been fortunate, however, to have been able to document a good many of the epoch names that I collected, so that the

HIMBA EPOCHS 85

"tie points" to the Christian year count occur at relatively close intervals.

Computerization. In handling the data pertaining to more than 300 epochal

names, I found myself dealing with 262 chronological lists. These consisted of 16 long continuous chronological series (of from 19 to 72 epoch names each with most in the range of 40 to 50 names), some 227 short discontinuous lists derived from family census data, mostly children's birth year names arranged in chronological order but not necessarily contiguous, and another 19 short sequences from miscellaneous sources in my notes. In addition, I had documented certain epochs from ar- chival and other sources. While I was still in the field and actively engaged in collecting the chronologies, I attempted to establish a tentative sequence so that I would be able to make a quick check on ages to see whether the data I was get- ting for the demographic study seemed approximately correct, and it was after rewriting the combined epoch list several times, each time taking into account more of the data that had accumulated, that I devised the method described above in which I prepared a card for each year name and entered the serial information in standard order along one edge. But the cards were too small to accommodate all the data, and I had to re- strict myself to entering only the data from the long lists -- which, after all, were supposed to be lists of contiguous years in proper sequential order -- on the edges of the cards, and making notes about the occurrence of the year name in other short lists or in my notes on the body of the card. This method worked and needed only to be carried out systematically to give a solution.

Upon returning to Washington with all its advanced technol- ogy, I thought the procedure might be simplified by computeri- zation, so I turned the problem over to a systems analyst. This expert decided the data should be reduced to a set of dyads -- pairs of year names -- and the simple information that year A was either older than or more recent than year B. Working on this principle (which would require a hugh matrix of more than 100,000 possible pairs of year names if data from all the lists were fed into it), the analyst was able to work out a small model problem in which the computer, having been fed some syn- thetic information, printed out the year name sequence that best accommodated the data. But when he wished to introduce synonyms into the model, he was unable in the time available to develop an algorithm that could cope with this complication, and he did not even attempt to deal with homonyms. It will be recognized that in reducing the data to dyads the analyst had chosen to ignore some of the valuable information such as the

86 GORDON D. GIBSON

apparent number of year names between any two items in a con- tinuous chronological series.

After a few weeks of frustration the decision was made that, since my problem was a one-time affair, it would not be worth while to spend more time (and money) in the attempt to develop a computerized solution. But the computer could help me with the first step in the method already devised, that is, with the preparation of the lists of series numbers For each of the year names. The data were prepared, cards punched and fed into a computer, and with a rather simple program the com- puter then printed out the serial order numbers for each epoch name from all the continuous sequences of such names, in an established order. I mounted the computer print-out sheets on large cards, cut the cards into strips, and made my preliminary ordering of the year names by arranging and rearranging these strips. The only advantage obtained from computerization was the neat and orderly manner in which the data were prepared for shuffling. But only the long, continuous lists were mounted in this manner, and I had to write in the data from the short lists, for mounting the large number of short, discontinuous lists on cards to be cut into strips was completely impractical.

Documenting the epochs. A surprisingly large number of the epochs cited by the Himba

for chronological purposes are events which also have entered the written record, published and unpublished, that pertain to the area. If I had been able to spend more time in the offi- cial archives of Angola and Namibia, and if I had been allowed to search the more recent archival materials in the latter country, I have no doubt that even more documentary data could have been found to fix absolutely the dates of a number of epochs that I have had to leave "floating" between rather broad limits, or have had to omit altogether due to lack of documentation and inadequate evidence for relative dating. Also, if I had been able to spend more time questioning old European settlers in both areas, I expect I would also have been able to fix certain of the undocumented events in time within rather narrower limits. However, I have been limited largely to the use of published documents, official and non- official, as listed in the bibliography.

In addition to written documents I have made use of some information of rather dubious value obtained by questioning settlers and local government officials in Angola. The latter were usually poor sources of historical information for they normally served only a short tour of duty of from 2 to 4 years at a post before being transferred elsewhere.

Some of the Himba epochs can be dated with absolute cer- tainty from reliable documents, some can be placed within a

HIMBA EPOCHS 87

narrow range of years, and for some two or more dates seem possible. In the latter case, when the relative position of an epoch has been rather well established by the procedures des- cribed in the preceding section, the choice bewteen the alter- native dates permitted by the documents is often narrowed down to one alone. Thus the relative ordering of years and the documentary evidence sometimes must be used in conjunction -- neither alone is sufficient.

In examining the table of Himba epochs it will be noted that there are several gaps in the early part of the list. This may be due to loss of memory on the part of the older informants, or it may be that not every year was named during that period. However, I have but few epoch lists that extend back to the period prior to 1910, and I judge that further research, if it could be carried out soon, might well reveal the names of the missing years and the associated history.

Meteorological records have been of particular importance in documenting the Himba epochs because so many of them pertain to droughts and deluges and because the annual variations in rainfall are relatively large. Unfortunately, long continuous records of rainfall for stations within the Himba area do not exist prior to 1940, the year of the first published records from Ohopoho in the Kaokoveld. Rainfall measurements in the Angolan part of Himbaland were begun in 1948 at Otchinjau and Chitado and in 1950 at Oncocua. But at none of these stations are the records continuous and complete for every year since their inception, and at the Angolan stations they ceased about 1968. Therefore, it has been necessary to use some rainfall records from stations outside the Himba area, and fortunately there are records from mission stations in Ovamboland (Okukanda, 1885-1894; Ondangwa, 1902-1913; Omupanda, 1906-1913) and from Ngiva (Pereira de Ega) 1938. For other years I have had to rely on records from stations even more distant from Himbaland or upon averages for all of northern South West Africa. Be- cause there is fairly high correlation between years of good rainfall and years of drought in Himbaland and Ovamboland in the years for which the records are available, it seems justi- fied to depend upon the averages from Ovamboland, or even from more distant stations when necessary. However, there may be occasional errors in using this method, for the correlations are not perfect.

III. The Combined Himba Chronology The combined chronology presented in the table that follows,

covering about a 90-year period, is derived in major part from the numerous series of epoch names that I obtained in the course of fieldwork carried out in 1960-61 in the Kaokoveld, the northwestern-most part of Namibia, and in 1972-73 in south-

88 GORDON D. GIBSON

western Angola. I have also utilized some of the information that van Warmelo obtained among the Herero of the Kaokoveld in 1947-48 (see van Warmelo, 1951: pp. 22-25). Only those epochs that I have been able to fix in time with some assurance are included.

The epoch name regions. In order to indicate the region of Himbaland in which each

epoch name was recorded, their area is divided into five parts, and a sixth region has been added for the neighboring Herero of the southern Kaokoveld whose chronologies correspond to a degree with those of the Himba. Chronologies collected within each region show a high degree of correspondence. However, due to the semi-migratory nature of the Himba, one cannot assume that all the names recorded in each of these regions necessarily originated there. The epoch-name regions are as follows (see also the accompanying map -- Figure I).

a. Otchinjau - Muholo - Canhimei b. Chitado - Tapera - Hangumbi c. Oncocua - Ndambo - Erora d. Iona - Cambeno e. N. Kaokoveld f. S. Kaokoveld

In the fourth region (lona-Cambeno) I was able to collect only some rather short series and these have proved to be less satisfactory than the chronologies recorded elsewhere. Appar- ently this is due to the fact that the inhabitants of that remote region, being composed of Tchimba, Twa, and other peoples with few or no Himba among them, are a more mixed population than is found elsewhere in this area. The series recorded in the S. Kaokoveld are from Herero informants rather than from Himbas, and the epoch names in these lists that are not found also in the Himba lists have been omitted from this study (and on this basis also, many of the names in van Warmelo's chronol- ogy have been excluded).

Evaluation of the attribution of years to the epochs. Inasmuch as the attribution of pluvial year dates to the

epochs depends upon various kinds of evidence with different degrees of certainty, it is important to indicate the basis and reliability of each attribution. Two major kinds of evidence are employed: documentary reference to the event in question, and the relative position of the event in sequential lists of epochs obtained from native informants. For some epochs both kinds of evidence are available and for some only the one or the other. Where both kinds of evidence are available, one may be poor and the other good, and in such cases the higher reli- ability of the better evidence is accepted as overriding. In some cases the two kinds of evidence used in conjunction make

HIMBA EPOCHS 89

for a higher degree of reliability than would be attained if either were used alone. For example, the epoch name in ques- tion may be that of a kind of event that, though documentable, recurs from time to time, such as a meteorological phenomenon, and the position of the epoch in question in sequential lists obtained from informants may restrict the possibilities to a single one of the years permitted by the documentation.

In the right hand column of the accompanying table of the combined Himba epochs, the bases for the pluvial year assign- ments are presented. The symbols given first pertain to the documentary evidence, and those that follow indicate the number of sequences in which the name occurs and the degree of agree- ment among them with respect to the placement of the epoch in question.

The quality of the documentation available for pluvial year attribution is rated in five degrees in descending order as follows:

A - Documentary information precisely and uniquely esta- blishes the date of the event in question.

B - Documentary evidence indicates an uncertain date or two or more possible dates for the event in question. The pluvial year which appears to be the most likely is given in the first column, but this is tentative.

C - Though it has not been possible to establish unequivo- cally the date of the event in question, there is evidence that it must fall between, or be bounded on one side, by a definite limit or limits. The year assigned in the first column is tentative.

D - The date given was attributed by a literate resident of the area, but was based purely on memory.

E - No documentation found. The pluvial date assigned is based solely on the position of the epoch name in sequences obtained from native informants.

When the quality of the documentation is rated "B" or "C," a degree of indeterminancy remains, and the maximum range in years of this uncertainty ("V") from the year assigned is indi- cated by plus and minus figures.

In the last column information is provided also concerning the number of sequential lists that include the epoch in ques- tion and the degree of agreement among them with respect to its position. The following symbols are employed:

N - The number of continuous sequences of ten or more epoch names that include the epoch in question.

n - The number of discontinuous sequences or short lists of epoch names that include the epoch in question. Most of these are derived from individuals' personal his- tories.

90 GORDON D. GIBSON

Q - The proportion of the continuous sequence ("N") that support the sequential position of the epoch in ques- tion given in the combined chronology. Q is computed only when N is two or more.

Y - The range of indeterminancy remaining in instances where the sequences of epoch names do not make pos- sible the unequivocal ascription of the epoch to a particular position. This range is given in years.

In determining the coefficient of agreement, Q, it is sometimes difficult to decide which items are out of order. Suppose, for example, that a series of epoch names is found on the bulk of the evidence to be A, B, C, D, E, F, and that in a particular list the sequence is given as A, C, D, E, B, F -- here it is clear that B alone has been misplaced. But suppose that in another list the sequence is given as A, C, B, D, E, F -- here both B and C are out of order, but to count two errors in this case and only one in the former seems incorrect. In evaluating such cases I have taken into account the strength of the evi- dence for establishing the position of each epoch name in the sequence deemed to be correct, and then have scored the error against the item that is in disagreement with the strongest evidence.

It will be observed in the table that follows that a range of indeterminancy in the assignment of an epoch name to a numbered year may exist (i.e., Y has a value other than zero) even if Q is 1.00; and it will also be seen that in some cases when Q is less than 1.00, Y may be zero. These instances, in which the values of Q and Y may at first seem to be inconsistent or con- tradictory, arise for the following reasons: The range of indeterminancy, Y, is the range within which Q retains the same maximum value -- that is to say, if the epoch in question were assigned to a numbered year earlier or later than those indi- cated by the range Y, the value of Q would suffer a reduction. Even though all the series of names that contain it may agree as to the relative position of a particular epoch name, in which case Q = 1.00, there will still be a degree of indeter- minancy in assigning it to a numbered year if none of the series in which the epoch name in question occurs include epoch names that are assigned to adjacent years. On the other hand, though the apparent agreement among several series as to the position of an epoch name may not be unanimous, in which case Q will be less than 1.00, still the indeterminancy (Y) may be zero if the value of Q would be reduced by assigning the epoch in question to any other numbered year.

Table of Himba epochs. The following table presents the Himba epoch names for which

I have been able to establish dates with some degree of con- fidence. Where an epoch is included on the basis of short lists

HIMBA EPOCHS 91

only (N=O), these contain information concerning the location of the epoch in relation to others that immediately precede or follow it.

I will welcome corrections or further documentation in the assignment of years to the epoch names presented here.

NOTES

*The author is grateful to the Instituto de Investigagao Cientifica de Angola for sponsorship and for material aid of his fieldwork in Angola. Other support for fieldwork in both Angola and South West Africa was provided by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Institutes of Health of Washington, D.C. The writer also appreciates the hospitality and assis- tance offered by many friends of all colors in both countries, and especially the privilege of making his bases at the Missio Cat61ica do Chiulo. While accepting full responsibility for any shortcomings of this paper, the author wishes to thank William C. Sturtevant and Joseph C. Miller for their critical reading of an earlier draft.

1. I use the shortened form "Himba" as the name for the people whose full proper name is Ovahima (sg. Omuhimba). The names of other Bantu-speaking peoples mentioned in this work are also given in their shortened form, without prefixes. The Himba are often referred to in Portuguese writings as "Shimba" or "Ximba" which correspond to the Portuguese pronunciation of the name. The Himba are to be distinguished from the Tchimba, a closely related people who have few or no cattle and who affect minor differences in dress and other customs. (The Portuguese names "Shimba" and "Ximba" do not distinguish between Himba and Tchimba.)

2. In order to represent certain sounds of Otchihimba (the Himba language), the following orthography has been adopted:

tch voiceless alveolar to palatal affricate (sometimes written ch, tx, tsh, ts, tf, ty, tj, c, or c)

ndj voiced alveolar to palatal affricate with homorganic nasal (sometimes written ndz, ndp, ndy, nj, or nj)

v voiced bilabial fricative (sometimes writ- ten V or B)

s voiceless dental fricative (sometimes writ- ten 0)

z voiced dental fricative (sometimes written D or dh)

ng voiced velar stop with homorganic velar nasal (sometimes written ig)

92 GORDON D. GIBSON

Other symbols used for the transcription of words in Otchihimba have the usual values as defined by the Inter- national Phonetic Association.

3. Indeed, this may be the origin of the term Ovambo, for whites first learned of it from the Herero. The peoples of the ethnic group to which the name "Ovambo" has been attached do not refer to themselves by this name, but rather call themselves Ovakwanyama, Aakwambi, etc. Several other conjectures concerning the etymology of the name "Ovambo" have been proposed; see Schinz, 1891: pp. 271-272; Brincker, 1894; and Lang and Tastevin, 1938: p. 6n.

4. The method here described is somewhat similar to one em- ployed by archeologists and known as "seriation." In applying the technique, prehistoric deposits from several sites are classified, counted, and reduced to percentages. Then a kind of horizontal bar graph is prepared on paper strips, one strip for each site, with the percentage of each type of artifact in each site represented by a bar of appropriate length. The paper strips are then put in pro- bable chronological order by rearranging them until, in- sofar as possible, the graphical bars form a smoothly graduated series. For a detailed explanation of the method, see Ford, 1962.

REFERENCES

Albuquerque Felner, Alfredo de 1940. Angola: Apontamentos s8bre a Colonizagao dos

Planaltos e Litoral do Sul de Angola. 3 vols. Lisbon.

Almeida, Joao de 1912. Sul d'Angola. Lisbon.

Angola 1845+ Boletim Oficial do Governo da Provincia de Angola.

Luanda. Angola. Servigo Meteorol6gico.

1945+ Observag'es Meteorol6gicas de Superficie em Angola. Luanda.

Antunes, Fr. F. 1883. Cartas do superior da missao portugueza de Huilla,

P.F. Antunes a Fernando de Almeida Pedroso. Boletim da Sociedade de Geographia de Lisboa. Vol. 4(10): pp. 470-476.

Anonymous 1911. Jahresberichte iber das meteorologische Beobach-

tungswesen im sidwestafrikanischen Schutzgebiet vom Juli 1908 bis Juni 1910. Mitteilungen aus den Deutschen Schutzgebieten. Vol. 24: pp. 113-126.

HIMBA EPOCHS 93

1912. Jahresbericht iiber das meteorologische Beobachtung- swesen im sidwestafrikaneschen Schutzgebiet fur die Zeit vom 1. Juli 1910 bis 30. Juni 1911. Mittei-

lungen aus den Deutschen Schutzgebieten. Vol. 25: pp. 56-71.

Belo de Almeida, Ant6nio JUlio 1935. Campanha do Humbe de 1891. Boletim da Sociedade de

Geographia de Lisboa. Ser. 53(11 and 12): pp. 407-432.

1936. Campanha do Humbe em 1897-1898. Boletim da Socie- dad de Geographia de Lisboa. Ser. 54(11 and 12): pp. 527-588.

1937. Meio Seculo de Lutas no Ultramar. Lisbon. Bonnefoux, Benedicto M.

1940. Dicioncrio Oluynaneka-Portugues. Huila, Angola. Brincker, H.

1886. WOrterbuch und Kurzgefasste Grammatik des Otji- Herero. Leipzig.

1894. Zur etymologischen Deutung des Namens 'Ov-Ambo'. Globus, Vol. 66: pp. 207-208.

Casimiro, Augusto 1922. Naulila. Lisbon.

Dannert, Eduard. 1906. Zum Rechte der Herero, inbesondere iber ihr

Familien-und Erbrecht. Berlin. Dorst, Jean, and Pierre Dandelot

1970. A Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Africa. London.

Estermann, Carlos. 1960-61. Etnografia do Sudoeste de Angola. Vol. I: Os

Povos Nao-Bantos e o Grypo Etnico dos Amb6s. (2nd. ed.). Vol. II: Grupo Etnico Nhaneca-Humbe. (2nd. ed.). Vol. III: 0 Grupo Etnico Herero. (Mem6rias, Junta de Investigagoes do Ultramar.) Lisbon.

1976. The Ethnography of Southwestern Angola. (ed. Gordon D. Gibson). Vol. I: The Non-Bantu Peoples; The Ambo Ethnic Group. New York.

Evans-Pritchard, E.E. 1939. Nuer Time-Reckoning. Africa, Vol. 13: pp. 189-216.

Fernandes de Oliveira, Mario Ant6nio (Comp.) 1968. Angolana: Documentaqgo sabre Angola. Luanda. 2

vols. Ford, James A.

1962. A Quantitative Method for Deriving Cultural Chron- olgy. Washington.

Frangois, H. von 1896. Nama und Damara. Magdeburg.

94 GORDON D. GIBSON

Guerreiro, Manuel Viegas 1958. Boers de Angola. Garcia de Orta. Vol. 4(1): pp.

11-31. Hahn, Carl Hugo

1857. Grundzige einer Gcramatik des Herer6 nebst einem WOrterbuche. Berlin.

Heidke, P. 1919. Die Niederschlagsverhaltnisse von Deutsch-

Siidwestafrika. Mitteilungen aus den Deutschen Schutzgebieten. Vol. 32: pp. 36-186.

Irle, J. 1906. Die Herero. GStersloh.

Lang. A., and C. Tastevin. 1938. La tribu des Va-Nyaneka. (Mission Rohan-Chabot,

Angola et Rhodesia, 1912-1914. Vol. V.) Corbeil. Lecomte, E.

1898. A peste bovina em Angola. Portugal em Africa. Vol. 6: pp. 41-44.

Lenssen, H.E. 1966. Chronik von Deutsch-Siidwestafrika. Windhoek.

Luna de Carvalho, Joaquim Maria 1893. Expedigao ao Humbe. Boletim da Sociedade de

Geographia de Lisboa. Ser. 12(2): pp. 121-138. Machado de Faria e Maia, Carlos Roma

1941. Na Fronteira Sul de Angola. Lisbon. Mayo, The Earl of

1883. A journey from Mossamedes to the River Cunene, S.W. Africa. Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, n.s., Vol. 5(8): pp. 458-473.

Padrel, Lourengo Justiniano 1892. Expedipgo ao Humbe. Boletim da Sociedade de

Geographia de Lisboa. Ser. 11(12): pp. 811-847. Pereira do Nascimento, Jose

1898. Exploragoes geographica e mineral6gica no Districto de Mossamedes em 1894-1895. Portugal em Africa. Vol. 5: supplement.

Portugal. Ministerio das Col6nias. 1910/14+ Anais Meteorol6gicos das Col'nias.

Ribeiro Cabral, Ramiro C. 1948. 0 soba Chifunga, senhor das chuvas. Menscrio

Administrativo, No. 6, Feb. 1948: pp. 29-30.

Rogadas, Jos' Augusto Alves 1910. Relat6rio de Campanha dos Cuamatos no SuZ de Angola

em 1907. Lisbon. 1919. Relat6rio sobre as Operaqbes no SuZ de Angola em

1914. Lisbon.

HIMBA EPOCHS 95

Rosenthal, Eric. 1934. Os Boers de Angola e o seu destino. Boletim da

Sociedade de Geographia de Lisboa. Ser. 52(1 and 2): pp. 3-14.

Rowe, John H. 1955. Time perspective in ethnography. Kroeber Anthro-

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1891. Deutsch-Sidwest-Afrika. Oldenburg und Leipzig. Silva, Ant6nio J. da

1953. Chronologia nhaneca. Portugal em Africa. 2d Ser., 10(57): pp. 154-166.

Sousa Dias, Gastao (editor) 1938. Artur de Paiva. 2 vols. Lisbon. 1957. A Cidade de S6 da Bandeira. Sa da Bandeira. (As

cited in: Portugal, Missgo de Inqueritos Agricolas de Angola. Recenseamento Agricola de Angola, II: Terras Atlas de Huila. Luanda, 1964. P. 32.)

South Africa. 1919-1940. Report presented by the Government of the Union

of South Africa to the Council of the League of Nations Concerning the Administration of South West Africa. (Annual.) Pretoria.

South Africa. Weather Bureau. 1941+ Annual Report for South West Africa. Pretoria. 1949. Report of the Drought Investigation Commission of

South West Africa, June 1924. Pretoria. 1963. Average Monthly Rainfall South West Africa. (Cli-

mate of South Africa, Part 7.) Pretoria. South West Africa.

1915+ Offical Gazette. Windhoek. Valles, Edgar.

1963. A organizacgo internacional da luta contra o acrideo vermelho; 15a. reuniao. Gazeta Agricola de Angola, Vol. 7(11): pp. 681-683.

Van der Merwe, P.J. 1951. Ons Halfeeu in Angola (1880-1928). Johannesburg.

Vedder, H. 1934. Das AZlte Siodwestafrika. Berlin. 1938. South West Africa in Early Times. London.

van Warmelo, N.J. 1951. Notes on the Kaokoveld and its People. (South

Africa, Department of Native Affairs, Ethnological Publications No. 26.) Pretoria.

HIMBA CHRONOLOGY

EPOCH NAMES IN MOST PROBABLE ORDER

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documentation from European Basis and explanation region language sources confidence

Ongoro, "Hottentot."'(l) A year in 1882-83 In 1882 Swartbooi Hottentots carried out extensive raids against the B; V=-2,+10 which the Hottentots killed many a Tchavikwa and other indigenous peoples living west of Humbe.(2) N=O, n=l people.

Katambarise, "deny your lover." 1889-91 Severe droughts occurred in S.W.A. in 1889-91.(3) No rainfall records A Year of a famine so severe that men a,b found for southwestern Angola. In Ovamboland the 1889-90 rainfall was N=I, n=5 refused to give food to their sweet- near normal; records for'1890-91 are incomplete.(4) hearts.

Ovita ya Ngumbi, "Nkumbi war." 1890-91 The Portuguese engaged in numerous military actions from 1859 to 1898 B; V=-5,+7 a to subdue the Nkumbi. In the campaign of 1891 Himbas were employed N=1, n=O

as auxiliaries and some died in battle.(5)

Paiva, "Artur de Paiva." 1891-92 In July-October, 189~, Paiva explored the lower Cunene River which A a bisects Himbaland.(6' N=I, n=O

Ovakwena, "Hottnots."(7) The 1892-93 In 1892 a Hottentot band stole cattle belonging to the Boers, killed A Boers of Chibia fought the a,b two Boer men and wounded others. A posse of Boers from Humpata N=O, n=2 Hottentot raiders, killing the pursued the Hottentots to(he banks of the Cunene River, killed more chief and some men and mutilating a than 30 and wounded many. few who were allowed to return to Kaokoveld to serve as a lesson to others.

Ovita ya Harunga,(10) "Oorlog's 1892-93 In 1893 Oorlog (Harunga) and a band of Bushmen and "Muximbas" raided A war." The Ngambwe, Kuvale, and a for cattle in Gambos region, and the government put a premium on his N=O, n= Zimba, who had suffered from head.(ll, 25) Harunga's raids for cattle, joined a campaign against him.

Ondjara ya Ngumbi, "Humbe famine." 1894-96 There was drought and famine in S.W.A. in 1894-1895 and 1895-1896: B;V=-,+O Many Himba went to Humbe to buy a,b 1893-1894 also had been a year of scant rainfall.( 2) No records found N=2,n=0 grain, of rainfall in southwestern Angola for this period. Q=.50

Y=-?.+2

Ozoninga, "sour plums." Fruits 1894-96 B;V=-I,+O of Ximenia americana were collected a,b,d N=lI,n=3 and taken to Humbe to trade for grain.(13)

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documentation from European Basis and explanation region language sources confidence

Otukutuku seandu, "red shirt." Natives 1897-98 Cafu was the scene of military activity in 1898 and in 1909, the latter B;V=-O,+I recruited by the Portuguese to assist a being in an action against Evale. No mention found of red shirts.(14) N=3,n=3 in a war against the Nkumbi were given Q=1.00 red shirts. This was in the campaign Y=-2,+1 at Cafu.

Otchita tchozongombe, "death of cattle." 1897-98 Rinderpest, a highly contagious viral disease affecting hoofed animals, A Nearly all the cattle died of a sickness. a,c,e entered Angola from the south in late 1897 and caused great loss of N=2, n=3

cattle in southern Angola in 1898.(15) Q=1.00 Y=-6,+?

Tchongorora (Tyongolola).(16) Name 1899-1900 E of a Ngambwe chief who this year b N=O, n=2 ordered formation of a circumcision class for Tyifunga (his nephew?), heir to the chieftainship.

Ombara, "chief's village." Refers 1899-1900 E to the village of Tyongolola. b N=I, n=O

Omiru, "hills." Some Himba went 1900-01 E to Ngambwe country to steal cattle b N=I, n=O and hid them in the hills.

Ewuyu, "mourning." The Portuguese 1905-06 The Ngandjera and Kwambi were allied with the Kwamatwi. Himba B;V=-2,+0 asked the Himba to help them in a a,b,c,e auxiliaries assisted the Portuguese in campaigns to subjugate the N=3,n=lO war against the Ngandjera and Kwamatwi in 1904, 1905, 1906, and 1907, and many were lost in 1904 Q=I.O0 Kwambi,(17) and many Himbas died and 1906.(18) Y=-5,+l in the battle.

Kaurondu (Caurondo), name of a place. 1907-08 Rainfal ~1 Ovamboland in the pluvial year 1907-1908 was about 65% of B;V=-5,+3 In a dry year there was water in the b normal. N=I, n=O Caurondo River and many people went there to make cattle camps.

Omea mengi (I), "much water." 1908-09 Rainfall in28Yamboland in the pluvial year 1908-1909 was about 177% (21) A a,b,c,e,f of normal. There were also heavy rains in southwestern Angola. N=6,n=10

Q=I .00

Mbuta, "Short;" nickname of a Boer 1908-09 Some of the Angolan Boers, becoming discontent with the increasing B;V=-I,+I (Jan Harm Robertse) who left Angola a,c restrictions on hunting and tree cutting, conflicts with Portuguese N=l,n=2 for S.W.A. colonists, and the loss of transport buisness, left Angola for S.W.A.

in 1908-10.(22)

%-

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documentation from European Basis and explanation region language sources confidence

Makwatchipumbu (Maquatchipumbu), a 1909-10 In June 1910 Joao de Almeida led a military force including Himba A hill near Pocolo (see map) where a,f auxiliaries to Pocolo to punish rebellious natives and to establish N=2,n=0 there was a war. a fort. On 26 J the force attacked a native stronghold on Q=I.00

Maquatch i pumbu.

Ourumbu youtwitchi, "drought of 1910-11 Rainfall in Ovamboland in the pluvial year 191G-1911 was about 44% A omutati seed." A year in which people a,b,c,e of normal.(24) N=5,n= I ate outwitchi, the seeds of the omutati Q=.80 tree (Colophospermum mopani).

Omangowi, fruit of a vine (not identified) 1910-11 See above. A that grows in black clay areas; eaten in a,b,c,d,e N=7,n=3 this year of drought. Q=.86

Komburira, "at Omburira," a place 1911-12 E where Oorlog raided for cattle.(10) e N=l,n=O

Ondjembo ya Suse, "gun of Jos6." 1912-13 Jose Lopes Vidigal, a Chicusse trader, participated in many campaigns C;V=-?,+I Year of Lopes and Oorlog. Lopes led a,b,c,d, to subjugate the southern tribes; he died in 1918.(26) Oorlog had N=7,n=15 a posse of whites and Africans e,f served Lopes as a foreman in seizing cattle from resistant natives.(27) Q=.72 against Oorlog who had been raiding Oorlog was living south of the Cunene "in German territory" in December for cattle in "Gambos." 25) The 1914.728) fight went against Oorlog and he fled with his men to Kaokoveld.

Musambe, "Mossamedes." Himba were 1913-14 Recruiting for laborers to work on plantation in Sgo Tom6 and Prrncipe B;V=-0,+? recruited for labor in Mossamedes but a,b was authorized for Huila district by order of the Governor General in N=2,n=2 after arriving there were sent on to Council on 13 March 1913.(29) Q=I.00 Sio Tome.

Ongangona. Name of a place near 1913-14 In 1914 Oorlog had been raiding in Kuvale country. Oorlog moved C;V=-?,+2 Umpupa where Oorlog, after having a from Angola to Kaokoveld about 1916.(31) N=l,n=2 moved to Kaokoveld, returned to raid for cattle.

Ovita ya Naurira, "war of Naulila." 1914-15 After some border incidents, a German force on 18 December 1914 attacked A a the fort at Naulila, compelling the Portuguese defenders under Col. Rogadas N=l,n=O

to withdraw.(32)

Katur'ombanda, "beating clothing," 1914-16 The extreme drought of 1914-15 is mentioned by both the Portuguese and A i.e., skins, to make them edible. b,c,d the German commanders in the battle at Naulila.(33) In northern S.W.A. N=4,n=5 A time of famine when Himba were the 1914-15 rainfall was 81% of normal and that of 1915-16 was 51% of Q=.75 reduced to eating their skin clothing. normal.(34)

00

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documentation from European Basis and explanation region language sources confidence

Kari'ombanda, "eating clothing." 1914-16 See above. A a,b,d,e N=5,n=2 Q=I .00

Ehururu, "bitterness." The name by 191-4-16 "Ehululu, year of the famine (1915)."(35) A which the famine of 1914-16 is known a,b N=2,n=I to the Ngambwe. Q=1.00

Ehozu, "grass." 1916-17 Rainfall in 1916-17 in northern S.W.A. was 139% of normal.(36) A a,b,c,d,e N=6,n=3

Q=I .00

Ozombuku, "rats." 1916-17 E a,b,c,d N=2,n=4

Q=I .00

Ongambi, "a multitude." People 1916-17 In August 1917 Maj. Manning was sent to Kaokoveld to settle a dispute A grouped for war with Oorlog. a,d,e between Himba under Katiti and Herero under Oorlog.(37) N=6,n=0

Q=.83

Ovahona (I), "chiefs." Oorlog and 1916-17 See ongambi. A Katiti prepared to fight one another, a,b,c N=3,n=6 but the Europeans came and disarmed Q=.67 them.

Otchituha, "confiscation" of guns. 1917-18 On 24 August 1917 Maj. Manning took away the guns of Himba and Herero A a,c,d,e who had gathered for a battle.(38) N=5,n=7

Q=I .00

Otchikongorora, "seeking and trying 1917-18 See otchituha. A out" guns. The disarming. e N= I,n=O

Ozondjembo (I), "guns." 1917-18 See otchituha. A a,b,c,e,f N=7,n=3

Q=I .00

Ozondjembo za Mayora Maninga, "guns of 1917-18 See otchituha. A Major Manning." The disarming. e N= I,n=O

Tukutuku, "Very Dark," nickname of a 1918-19 E European who moved from Angola to e N=2,n=0 Kaokoveld with Oorlog. Q=1.00

Ozonde, "flies that bit the cattle" 1919-20 E (tsetse?). a,b,c,e N=8,n=8

Q=I .00

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documentation from European Basis and

explanation region language sources confidence

Ozomwe, "mosquitos." 1920-21 E a,b,f N=3,n2

Q=.67

Omatoto, "skin-eating moths." 1920-21 E a,c,e N=5,n=4

Q=I .00

Katcheuru, "Little Nose," nickname 1921-22 E of a white man who crossed from a,b,c,e N=8,n=10 Kaokoveld into Angola with cattle Q=.88 to sell in Nova Lisboa.

Mayora Maninga, "Major Manning" 1922-23 In January 1923 the Secretary for S.W.A. asked Major Manning to B,V=-6,+O (Resident Commissioner in Ovamboland). a,b,c,e investigate rumors that Kaokoveld natives were planning a revolt N=6,n=4

with rifles obtained in Angola.(39) Q=I.00

Ozombahu ozondenga, "first locusts." 1922-23 A severe invasion of locusts followed the heavy rains that fell A a,b,c, early in 1923.(40) N=l,n 15 e,f Q=.91

Ozombahu ozetchevari, "second locusts." 1923-24 Locusts were reported from many quarters of S.W.A. in 1924.(41) A a,b,c,e N=8,n

I Q=.88

Otchizuma, "buzzing?" 1924-25 E b N=0,nO 2

Onguru ya Tchimuhaka, "Building of 1925-26 Early in 1926 a police post was established at Hondoto, 26 km. S.W. of A Tshimhaka"; Ondjuo ya Tchimuhaka, a,b,c,e,f Swartbooi's Drift; and later that ear it was moved to Tshimhaka on the N=7,n=4 "house of Tschimhaka." south bank of the Cunene River.(42) Q=.86

Ondjira (I), "road." 1925-26 In December 1925 the Administrator for S.W.A. toured Kaokoveld, taking A e gifts for chiefs Oorlog and Katiti who had made wagon roads in the N=3,n=l

N. Kaokoveld to assist travelers.(43) Q= I.00

Kamapya, "Little Gum," from omapaya, 1926-27 Kamapya (Con le Cogill) arrested a Himba for making trouble E the sweet gum of a tree; nickname of e,f with Oorlog. N=4,n=0 the police officer stationed at Q=I.00 Tshimhaka.

Oviposa, "cases." A dispute between 1926-27 E two men in Kaokoveld. a N=l,n=3

0 0

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documentation from European Basis and explanation region language sources confidence

Ngovaneya, "Governor," (i.e., the 1927-28 The Administrator of S.W.A. toured the Kaokoveld in 1925, 1928, and B;V=-3,+4 Administrator for S.W.A.). He came to e,f 1932.(45) N=3,n=0 Kaokoveld and met with chiefs Katiti Q=.33 and Oorlog. Y=-0,+1

Otututcheno, "lightning;" otupaapaa, 1927-z8 E "bolts of lightning." b,c N=2,n=0

Q=I .00 Y=-0,+2

Ozomburu, "Boers." Many Boers left 1928-29 About 1850 Boers, descendents of the "Dorstlandtrekkers" who had A Angola, passing through Himba country c,e,f migrated to Angola from 1880 on, returned to S.W.A. crossing N=7,n=3 en route to S.W.A. at Swartbooi's Drift from Aug. 1928 to Feb. 1929.(4~ ) Q=1.00

Ovahona (II), "masters," i.e., the 1928-29 A Boers: ovahona ovatenga, "first (year b,c N=0,n=5 of the) Boers."

Omakutu, "sacks," of grain sold in 1929-30 A year of severe drought; Portuguese merchants traded sacks of grain A exchange for cattle. a,b,e,f for cattle at Tshimhaka on the Cunene River.(47) N=3,n=0;Q=1.00

Epunga, "lungsickness of cattle." 1929-30 In June, 1930, veterinary officers inoculated cattle in S. Kaokoveld B;V=-?,+? a,c,e to combat an outbreak of lungsickness.(48) N=2;n=7

Q=I .00

Kamburungu, name of a place near 1929-30 1929-1930 rainfall in Ovamboland was ca. 38% of normal.(49) No rainfall B;V=-I,+O Tchipa. Himbas moved their cattle a,b,c data found for Tchipa area. N=5,n=l 0 there in this drought year, but the Q=.80 water was insufficient and many cattle died.

Ozondjembo ozovaputu, "guns of the 1929-30 E Portuguese." Portuguese officials a,b N=2,n=l confiscated guns that the Boers had Q=I.00 sold to the Himbas as the Boers were not permitted to take guns into S.W.A.

Ndiri, name of a Ndonga policeman 1930-31 E sent to tell people in the Kaokoveld b N=0,n=2 that they must have their cattle inoculated.

Ovahona osenina, "last (trek of the) 1930-31 Some of the Angolan Boers did not return to S.W.A. until 1931.(50) A mdsters (Boers)." a N=l ,n=4

r O r

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documenation from European Basis and explanation region language sources confidence

Katiti wakoka, "Katiti died." 1930-31 Muhona Katiti, a chief of the Himbas in Kaokoveld, died in 1931.(51) B;V-O,+l b N=O,n=

Tchaeta, "it produced." i.e., grass 1930-31 In Kaokoveld "grazing and general conditions have been exceptionally A and planted grain grew. a,b,c good as a result of the last good rainfall."(52) N=3,n=15

Q=I .00

Omea mengi (II), "much water. 1930-31 Same as above. A d,e N=2,n=2

Q=1 .00

Omaroko, "rains." 1930-31 Same as above. A d N=I,n=O

Ombutu, an edible wild tuber. 1930-31 E c,e N=1 ,n=2

Ourumbu wa seravera; ourumbu wa serarwa, 1931-32 1931-1932 rainfall ca. 43% of normal in Ovamboland.(53) A

"drought of the barren fields." a,b,c N=4,n=9 Q=.75

Okaurumbu wa tchaeta, "little drought 1931-32 Same as above. A of (i.e., following) tchaeta." a,b,c N=6,n=2

Q=I .00

Ozosaku, "sacks." 1931-32 Sacks of grain were sold by Portuguese traders at the border for A a cash only.(54) N=2,n=2

Q=.50

Omekunu, "seed." Drought-resistant 1932-33 Following an inspection in October 1932 of the effects of the A maize seed was provided after a drought. e,f drought in the Kaokoveld, the AdministraTor of S.W.A. had grain sent N=3,n=0

in for food and for planting.(55) Q=.35 Y=-5,+1

Kandukemwe, "one milking." 1932-33 "The drought was keenly felt by the natives in the Kaokoveld."(56) B;V=-,+4 e N=4,n-I

Q=I .00

Mbumba, name of a Ngambwe curer, so 1932-33 E

cal led because of the large ombumba a,b,c N=6,n=9 (multi-colored blanket) which he wore. Q=.67 The better rains of the following year are attributed to his rain-making activ- ities.

0

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documentation from European Basis and explanation region language sources confidence

Ondakava, "spirit vessel." Epoch of a 1932-33 E diviner who kept a spirit in a little tin. c N=l,n=3

Otchizize, "flowing." A year of much 1933-34 The pluvial year 1933-1934 brought the heaviest rai fall in S.W.A. A rain. a,b,c,d, history. The Kaokoveld also experienced heavy rainfall.(57) N=15,n=16

e,f Q=.93

Ozombahu osenina, "last locusts." 1933-34 The last great locust plague in Angola reached its peak in 1933-1934.(58) A a,c N=2,n=2

Q=.50

Ovikora, "calabashes." Many calabashes 1933-34 E were harvested this year. b N=O,n=l

Mumbororo, "in single file." Refers to 1934-35 E the rats which ran along together this d,e N=2,n=G year due to the abundance of food in Q=I.00 the fields. Y=-1,+2

Ondiura (I), "blackleg," a disease of 1934-35 Outbreaks of blackleg occurred in S.W.A. in 1934 and 1935.(59) B;V=-I,+O calves and small stock. a,b,c,d N=7,n=llII

Q=.71

Kaperauka (I), "falling down," i.e., 1934-35 Same as above. B;V=-I ,+O dying from blackleg disease. e,f N=3,n=O

Q=I .00 Y=-0,+3

Karasa k'oruviu, "licking the knife." 1934-35 Rainfall in Ovamboland was ca. 65% of normal.(60) No data for Himba B;V=-O,+l A year of little food; people licked a,b,c,d, region. N=9,n=12 the knife after cutting meat. e Q=.55

Y=-O,+l

Kauronda, "climbing in." Oorlog was 1934-34 In February, 1935, nine Hereros were taken from Kaokoveld to Outjo to B;V=-?,+2 arrested and got in a car to be taken b,e,f give evidence in a case concerning elephant shooting.(61) N=4,n=5 away for a trial. Q=.50

Okakambe, "horse." One died at the 1935-36 E home of a Kaokoveld Himba. c N=O,n=2

Kawa k'ovikamba, "beautiful clouds" 1935-36 Very little rain fell in Kaokoveld during the year 1936.(62) B;V=-I,+O that did not brinq rain. b N=1,n=4

Ongoha ya karasa k'oruviu, "washing 1936-37 "Kaokoveld had a good season."(63) A of (the drought of) karasa k'oruviu." a,b,c N=2,n=5

Q= .00

0

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documentation from European Basis and

explanation region language sources confidence

Orukako rwa Tchisunga, "shoes of 1936-37 E

Tyifunga." Tyifunga, a Ngambwe chief, a N=l,n=1 ordered some Himbas to kill a rhino so that he-could walk in shoes of rhino hide.

Omusinya, "cotton." Name of a male 1936-37 Name of a circumcision year among the Nyaneka people.(64) A

age class, inaugurated this year. a,c N=3,n=0 Q=.67

Harunga tcha koka, "Harunga (Oorlog) 1936-37 Oorlog died during 1937.(65) B;V=-O,+I he died." e,f N=3,n=0

Q=I .00

Ozongo, "cries for help." bome Himbas 1936-37 E

shouted for help against cattle raiders, a,b,c,d N=2,n=3 variously reported to have been Ngambwe, Q=1.00 Kuvale, or other Himba.

Omanga ya Tchongora, "Tchongora's 1937-38 Kaokoveld cattle were ordered inoculated against lungsickness in A

(Maj. Hahn's) inoculation needles." a,b,c,e July to September 1938.(66) Police compelled Himbas and Tchimbas N=4,n=14 to comply.(67) Q=1.00

Enda ya Tchongora, "Tchongora's 1937-38 A;N=7,n=

(Maj. Hahn's) inoculation drive." d,e,f N=.86 Also called enda ondenga, "first e inoculation."

Ozonjombo zo komaoko, "well of the 1938-39 A windmill was installed at Ohopoho to raise water for the newly A

arms," i.e., windmill. e,f established administrative post.(68) N=5,n=1 Q=.40;Y=-I,+0

Otchitoporo, "bore hole." 1938-39 Same as above. A

e,f N=4,n=0 Q=.75

Omanga ya komisara, "Commissioner's 1938-39 The inoculation to protect against lungsickness carried out in 1938 A inoculation needles." Refers to an a,b,c, had instead infected the herds, and reinoculation with different N=5,n=9 inoculation directed by Commissioner d,e vaccine was necessary.(69) q=l.UU Barnard at Ohopoho.

Enda ya komisara, "Commissioner's 1938-39 A inoculation drive." e,f N=5,n=0

Q=.80

0

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documentation from European Basis and explanation region language sources confidence

Omandindi, "spiny crickets (Acanthoplus 1938-39 E Hetrodlnae sp.)." A year in which a N=0,n=2 these grain-eating insects were a serious problem.

Ovita ya Kuvale, "war of the Kuvale." 1939-40 Military action was taken by the Portuguese against the Kuvale in A The Kuvale, a people related to the a,b,c 1940.(7) N=5,n=19 Himba and living to their north, were Q=.80 "punished" by the Portuguese.

Ovita ya Kazikwa, "Kazikwa's war." 1939-40 Same as above. A Kazikwa is the nickname of a white a,c N=l,n=2 hunter who lived at Otchinjau; he joined the force sent against the Kuvale.

Otchipemba, a place near the Cunene 1939-40 A cattle-free zone 5 miles deep along the south bank of the Cunene C;V=- I ,+? River where cattle found crossing into e,f River was created by administrative order on 10 June 1938; any N=4,n=l S.W.A. were shot by Tchongora (Maj. Hahn). cattle found in the zone were to be summarily destroyed without Q=.50

compensation. (71)

Kate uri, "just go die!" A famine year 1940-41 Rainfall in Ohopoho in 1940-41 was 59% of normal;(72)1939-40 record B;V=-I,+O in which people who begged for food a,b,c not available. In Pereira de Ega both the 1939-40 and 1940-41 rain N=7,n=9 were turned away with the phrase 'Kate years were less than 80% of normal.(73) All S.W.A. was declared a Q=.86 uri!' drought-stricken area on I July 1941.(74)

Omakutu oruhere, "bags of coarse meal." 1940-41 (See kate uri.) E Maize meal was provided by the S.W.A. d,e,f N=5,n=l government in a drought. Q=.80

Y=-O,+l

Simora, "alms," (from Port. esmola). 1940-41 (See kate uri.) E Food was distributed by the administrator c N=O,n= I at Otchinjau in a year of famine.

Tchitoma, name of an Ovambo man who 1941-42 E claimed the ability to cure men's a,e N=3,n=0 impotence. When his medicine failed Q=.6/ he was punished.

Ongoha yovita ya Kuvale, "washing of 1941-42 Rainfall in Ohopoho in 1941-1942 was about normal.(75) In Ovamboland A (the drought of) the Kuvale war;" c the 1941-1942 rain year was about 115$ of normal.(76) N=O,n=l Ongoha yovita ya Kazikwa, "washing of A (the drought of) Kazikwa's war;" c N=2,n=0 Ongoha ya kate, "washing of (the drought A of) 'Kate uri.'" c N=2,n=l

Q=.oo00

.n

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documentation from European Basis and explanation region language sources confidence

Tchikotona, name of a mountain in 1941-42 E Kaokoveld over which a road, leading b,d,e N=2,n=2 from Ohopoho to Epupa, was built with Q=I.00 Himba labor.

Kakoverwa, "being surrounded." Himbas 1942-43 E found crossing the Cunene River from a,b,c,e N=9,n=15 Angola into S.W.A. were interned and Q=.89 held for 3 years in a camp with their cattle.

Ndivet, "de Wet," name of an official 1942-43 De Wet held a meeting at Etanga on 19-20 Nov. 1942.(77) A who called a meeting of Himba headmen e N=l,n=O at Etagna, Kaokoveld, to settle a dispute.

Ongoha ya kakoverwa, "washing of 1943-44 In 1942-43 at Ohopoho rainfall had been 85% of normal; in 1943-44 it A (the drought of) kakoverwa." a was 138% of normal.(78) N=2,n=O

Q=.50

Mwindumbei, "Muito Bem," nickname 1943-44 The tour of duty at Otchinjau of the official in question was in 1943- B;V=-2,+1 given the chefe de posto at Otchinjau. a,b,c 44.(79) N=4,n=II

Q=.75

Kakoverwa kasenina, "last surrounding." 1943-44 E Himbas crossing the Curiene River with a,b,c N=7,n=3 cattle were again interned. Q=I.00

Ozondera, "birds (airplanes)." 1943-44 Aerial survey planes were stationed at Ohopoho from Aug. to Nov. 1943.(80) A d,e,f N=6,n=l

Q=.83

Muhanda, "man of Handa." A Handa 1944-45 In Ohopoho normal rains fell in 1944-1945, but in 1945-1946 rainfall was B;V=-2,+1 magician was paid with cattle to make c,e 46% of normal.(81) N=3,n=9 rain; when no rain came he was caught Q=I.00 and required to return the cattle. Also called Kapupa, name of the man of Handa. a,b,c

Evare, "palm." People were advised 1944=45 E to wear palm leaf fiber necklaces to e N=l,n=l prevent dog bites.

0

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documentation from European Basis and explanation region language sources confidence

Ondjira ya Mwindumbei, "Muito Bem's 1944-45 D road." Himba labored on the road from a N=l,n=O Otchinjau to Chitado under the direction of the cnefe de posto at Otchinjau (cf. Mwindumbei, 1943-1944).

Ondjira za Kazikwa, "Kazikwa's road." 1944-45 D Himbas labored on a road from Otchinjau a,c N=2,n=0 to Palanca under the direction of Kazikwa Q=1.00 (cf. Ovita ya Kazikwa, 1939-40).

Karia kakambe, "eating horse." A horse 1945-46 Rainfall at Ohopoho in 1945-1946 was 47% of normal.(82) A belonging to a Himba headman died; it a,b,c,e N=6,n=10 was eaten as this was a famine year. Q=.67

Omitwaro, "burdens." Because of the 1945-46 E drought there was much moving and carrying d,e N=l,n=l of burdens.

Ongoha M y karia kakambe, "washing of 1946-47 Rainfall at Ohopoho in 1946-1947 was 122% of normal .(83) A (the drought of) karia kakambe." b,c N=3,n=0

Q=I .00

Ondjira ya mbereki, "Blackie's road." 1946-47 D Himbas labored under a man named Black a,c N=4,n=5 on construction of the road from Tchavikwa Q=1.00 to Oncocua.

Okatomba, "red velvet mites." A year in 1946-47 E which these ground-dwelling creatures d,e N=2,n=0 (Dinothrombium tinctorium) emerged in Q=.50 great quantity.

Katana, "Machete," nickname of the 1946-47 D administrador at Otchinjau. a N=l,n=O

Omuriro, "fire". Year of a huge bush 1947-48 E fire in southwestern Angola that killed a, b,c N=5,n=1 wild and domestic animals. Q=.80

Ehozu kasupi, "short grass." 1948-49 E c N=1,n=3

0

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documentation from European Basis and explanation region language sources confidence

Ongandji, "frost." 1948-49 E c,d,e N=3,n=1

Q=.6/

Oruindjo, "rainy season lake." A 1948-49 E great lake formed near Tchipa and many a,b,c N=2,n=6 Himbas moved there with their cattle. Q=1.00

Tchisunga, "Tyifunga," name of the 1949-50 Tyifunga was a renowned rainmaker.(84) Good rains fell in Jan., B;V=-?,+? Ngambwe chief. A Himba man from a,b,c,e,f Feb., and March of 1950 at Oncocua and Chitado.(85) No earlier records N=9,n=14 Kaokoveld paid Tyifunga to perform available. Q=.89 rainmaking rites and it rained heavily.

Kasungona, "little Tyifunga." A second 1950-51 Good rains in Dec. 1950 and Feb., March, and April 1951 at Oncocua and A year of good rain was also attributed to a,b,c, Chitado.(86) N=8,n=19 Tyifunga. e, f Q= .00

Ourumbu mumwakoka Tchisunga, "drought 1951-52 In Onco p)and Chitado in 1951-52 rainfall was 10% to 20% below B;V=-?,+? when Tyifunga died." a,b normal. N=l,n=2

Ourumbu ya kasungona, "drought following 1951-52 (See above) B;V=-?;+? kasungona." b N= ,n=

Ourumbu kovambo, "drought in Ovamboland." 1951-52 In Ovamboland rainfall for 1951-52 was 47% of normal.(88) A c N=I

Ozondjou, "elephants." Some elephants 1951-52 E died due to the drought. e N=l,n=O

Kateeko, "dying." 1951-52 E d,e N=2,n=

Q=.50 Y=-I ,+0

Ondiura oitchavari, "second blackleg." 1951-52 There was an outbreak of blackleg in Kaokoveld in 1952.(89) A a,b,c,e -=5,n=0

Q=I .00

Omasitu, name of a place to which many 1952-53 Rainfall in 1952-53 was 37% of normal at Oncocua and 76$ of normal A Himba moved their cattle camps in this a,b,c at Chitado.(90) N=4,n=19 dry year. Q= .00

Kapotipoti, a nonsense word used as a 1952-53 A substitute for omasitu by members of a c N=0,n=2 family for whom the latter word is taboo.

O

00

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documentation from European Basis and explanation region language sources confidence

Omakutu wozuhenga, "bags of maize," 1952-53 E

provided in a year of drought. c N=3,n=l Q=.67

Ozosaku za Naverika, "sacks of N6brega." 1952-53 D Jos6 N6brega sold full sacks of grain b,c N=2,n3 whereas those sold by some other traders Q=.50 were underweight.

Ndjoni, "Johnny." A man so named built 1952-53 D a store at Mbulo near Chitado. b N=l,n=

Kunana maraka, "pulling tongues;" omaraka 1952-53 In 1953 cattle in Kaokoveld were inspected for foot and mouth disease.(91) A

omatenga, "first tongues." The tongues of b,e N=2,n= cattle were inspected by veterinary Q=.50 officers. Y=-0,+5

Ongoha y'omasitu, "washing of (the drought 1953-54 Rainfall in 1953-54 at Ohopoho was 126% of normal;(92) and 149% of A of) omasitu." Also called omea mengi c normal at Chitado. N=I,n=

(III), "much water." f

Omanga ya Tcbiandjasemo, "needles of 1953-54 E

Otchiandjasemo." Cattle were c N= I,n= inoculated at Otchiandjasemo in N. Kaokovel d.

Enda tchitatu, "third drive" of cattle 1953-54 E for inoculation. e N= I,n=O

Ongongo, the fruit of Sclerocarya 1953-54 E birrea. There was much ongongo fruit b N=O,n=3 this year.

Enda senina, "last drive" of cattle 1954-55 E for inoculation, c,e,f N=2,n=5

Q=I .oo Y=-1,+3

Omanga ya Hakai, "needles of Hakai." 1954-55 E c N=I

Tchondundu, name of a Himba man who 1954-55 E moved from Angola to S.W.A. leaving a,b N=l,n= much unharvested grain in his fields.

0

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documentation from European Basis and explanation region language sources confidence

Musera, name of a place ca. 20 km. S. 1955-56 E of Otchinjau; Ovita ya Musera, "battle a,b,c N=0,n=4 of Musera." At Musera a Himba man struck a white trader; many Himbas were whipped and some jailed in reprisal.

Tchikurure, "Razor," nickname of a 1956-57 E secretario (assistant to the administra- b,c N=l,n= tor) at Oncocua who ordered the Himbas' heads shaved as punishment for infractions.

Otchitanuna, "stretching out (the legs)." 1956=57 A health service officer examined women for venereal diseases.(94) A Women were required by the authorities a,c N=3,n=O to remove their aprons and spread their Q=I.00 legs for inspection.

Omanga ya Outwa, "needles of Outwa 1956-57 E (KaokoveId)." c N=O,n=i

Omaraka (II), "tongues." The tongues 1957-58 In 1958 cattle in Kaokoveld were inspected for foot and mouth A of cattle were again examined. b,c,e disease.(95) N=2,n=7

Q=l .00 Y=-2,+2

Omarombe, "chiefs" (in Olunyaneka). 1957-58 E The year when additional officers a N=l,n=O were stationed at Oncocua.

Omaroko (II), "rains." A year of good 1957-58 Rainfall in 1957-58 was near normal at Oncocua, though below normal in B;V=-?;+? rainfall in Oncocua. c Chitado.(96) N=I

Omakutu wa vansel, "bags of van Zyl." 1958-59 Rainfall in 1958-59 at Ohopoho was 60% of normal.(97) B;V=-?;+? Sacks of maize were distributed in c,e N=2,n=l Kaokoveld by the district officer, Q=.50 B. van Zyl.

Oruaina, "border?"; Oruaina senina, 1958-59 E "last (clearing of the) border." Trees a,b,c N=3,n=0 and brush were cleared along the border Q=1.00 between S.W.A. and Angola. Y=-

-,+

O I-- I--

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documentation from European Basis and explanation region language sources confidence

Ekurapara, "scraping scratcher," i.e., 1958-59 E bulldozer or tractor, used in clearing a c N=0,n=2 strip along the border for a fence to prevent movement of cattle.

Omungaringari, "many lying on the back" 1959-60 Rainfall in 1959-60 was about 45$ of normal at Oncocua and Chitado; the B;V=-2,+0 (Olunyaneka). In a local drought Himba a record at Otchinjau is incomplete.(98) N=l;n=O moved their cattle to Muholo where there was water; some died of thirst en route and others drank too much and also died.

Omawe, "stones." Natives of Oncocua 1959-60 D were required to labor three months c N=2,n=l building a stone causeway and two dams Q=I.00 at Ndambo.

Tchimbundu, "man of Ambundu." A Mbundu 1961-62 Rainfall in Ohopoho in 1961-62 was 73% of normal.(99) B;V=-I,+0 trader went to Otjiandjasemo where he b,c N=3,n=3 died of starvation in a year of drought. Q=I.00

Ondera, "bird (i.e., areoplane)." A 1961-62 The accident occurred on 10 Nov. 1961.(100) A military plane flying low to see game, a,b,c N=3,n=5 crashed near Chitado killing several of Q=.67 the officers aboard.

Elia, name of a trader who opened a 1962-63 D store at Canhimei. a N=l,n=l

Omea mengi (IV), "much water." A year 1962-63 Rainfall in 1962-63 was normal at Oncocua, 207$ at Ohopoho.(101) A of heavy rainfall throughout the Himba a,b,c N=2,n=19 region. Q=1.00

Esindja, "inundation." 1962-63 Same as above. A a,b N=0,n=2

Ozondana, "calves." Many calves were 1963-64 E born. b,c N=3,n=4

Q=i .00

Munyemba or Mundjemba, "man of the Nyemba 1963-64 Rainfall in 1963-64 was 61$ of normal at Chitado.(I102) B;V=-O,+I tribe." He was paid in cattle to make b,c N=3,n=7 rain; rain failed to come but he got Q=.67 away with the animals.

Oviria ovingi, "much food." 1965-66 Rainfall in 1965-66 was 118% of normal at Oncocua and Chitado. (03) A N=l,n=5

r r

Epoch name, meaning, and Year and Documentation from European Basis and explanation region language sources confidence

Okaurumbu katiti, "little drought;" 1966-67 At Oncocua and Chitado little rain fell before Feb. 1967.(104) A Omateura, "full of saliva." A year c N=2,n=0 in which the rains came late. c Q=I.00

Hakongwa, "not sought (i.e., places 1967-68 Good rains fell in Nov.-Dec 1967 and in March, 1968, at Oncocua, A with water)." A year of plentiful rain. a,b,c Otchinjau, and Namaculungo. 05) N=5,n=18

Q=.80

Ourumbu ya hakongwa, "drought of (follow- 1968-69 Rainfall data from the Himba area unavailable; good rains fell in E ing) hakongwa." a,c Ovamboland.(106) N=2,n=0

Q=i.00

Otchiposa tcha Mbariki,"Mbariki's law 1968-69 E suit." A white farmer claimed the a,b N=2,n=0 calves born to a Himba herdsman's cows Q=I.00 because they had been covered by a bull belonging to the former. The suit failed.

Nyakanyaka, name of a policeman at 1969-70 E Otchinjau, sent to Chitado to find and a N=lI,n=O arrest men who lacked identification papers or who had failed to pay taxes.

Epanda, a place near Hangumbi where 1969-70 E many Himba went to make cattle camps. b N=l,n=l

Ofchiposa tcha-M na-T, "law suit of 1970-71 (107) A M and T." M, a merchant, brought suit c N-i,n=O against T, a Himba, for unpaid debts. The debtor claimed falsification of records and was found not liable, but in a retrial he was judged guilty and fined 180 head of cattle.

Okaurumbu yakamena muhuka, "little dry 1971-72 E year with clouds in the morning." A c N= I,n=O year of semi-drought.

Omukwaruanda, "man of Luanda.'" A man 1971-72 (108) A from (or named?) Luanda hid in the a,b,c N=4,n=0 bush to catch women and rape them. Q=1.00

HA N)

HIMBA EPOCHS 113

Abbreviations used in footnotes to table

Admin. Off. Unpublished records on file in an administrative office.

Angola, Bol. Of. Angola. Boletim Oficial.

ASM Angola. Servigo Meteorol6gico. Observaqces Meteorol6gicas de Super- ficie em Angola.

Govt. Arch., Windhoek Unpublished records in the Government Archive, Windhoek.

Portugal, A.M.C. Portugal. Ministerio das Colonias. Anais Meteorol6gicos das Colonias.

Rep. Admin. S.W.A. South Africa. Report . . . Concerning the Administration of South West Africa.

SAWB South Africa. Weather Bureau.

SAWBAR South Africa. Weather Bureau. Annual Report.

S.W.A. South-West Africa (Namibia).

FOOTNOTES TO TABLE

1. Ongoro (1882-1883). This term, meaning "zebra" or "zebra colored," is also applied by neighboring peoples to ini- tiates whose bodies are made white by powdering with ashes; the Kwanyama so use it for girls in a certain stage of the efundula-rite (Estermann, 1976, I: pp. 71-72) and the Nyaneka-Nkumbi peoples apply it to boys undergoing circum- cision rites (Estermann, 1960-61, II: p. 71). Estermann has heard it used by the Kwanyama for whites in the form ovangolo, and he judges that here and as used by the Himba for the Hottentots it refers to the lighter skin color of those people (Estermann, personal communication, 6 IX 74). As employed in this secondary sense by several of the southwestern Bantu peoples, therefore, the term ongoro refers to the light ground color of zebra skin rather than to the stripes. It should be noted that Chapman's zebra, the subspecies of Burchell's zebra that is prevalent in this area, has a "buffy cream" ground color with "less numerous dark stripes, often alternating with 'shadow- stripes' and inclined to become diffuse on hindquarters" (Dorst and Dandelot, 1970: p. 164).

2. Antunes, 1883: p. 472; Mayo, 1883: p. 465. 3. Lenssen, 1966: pp. 43-47.

114 GORDON D. GIBSON

4. Heidke, 1919: p. 32. 5. Padrel, 1892; pp. 815, 830-31; Luna de Carvalho, 1893:

p. 135. 6. Sousa Dias, 1938, II: pp. 5-54. 7. Like the Boers (see note 8), the Swartbooi Hottentots

appear to have arrived in southwestern Angola about 1.880. In 1881 they were reported to have raided for cattle among the Kuvale and to have killed some natives (Albuquerque Felner, 1940, Vol. III: pp. 203, 212). In 1882 they raided the Tyavikwa whom they massacred (Mayo, 1883: p. 465; Antunes, 1883: p. 472). In 1884 Artur de Paiva obtained a pledge from certain Hottentot leaders that they would not make war against peoples in the Portuguese do- main (Fernandes de Oliveira, 1968, I: p. 898); Paiva reported their numbers at 400 and said they were accom- panied by a large number of Bushmen whom they controlled (Sousa Dias, 1938: Vol. I: pp. 47-61). Antunes (1883: p. 472) complained that the authorities were unable to protect the region against the Hottentots, but the fact seems to be that the whites permitted the Hottentots to carry out their raids against the natives of southwestern Angola, from which both the former profited. The arrange- ment between the whites and the Hottentots is described by J. Pereira do Nascimento who in 1894 explored the region for a projected railroad between Porto Alexandre and the Huila plateau. He wrote as follows:

For a long time those ferocious bandits in- vaded the hinterland of Mossamedes every year, robbing and killing the natives, farmers, and herders, established in Gambos, especially the Ba-Kuvale, Ova-Himba, and Ova-Ndimba [Zimba]

* . . It is calculated that 2000 head of cattle were robbed annually from these people by the Hottentots, cattle that are taken to Damaraland and there sold to European traders in exchange for perfected arms and cartridges. There are tribes of Hottentots established in the north of Damaraland and in Kaoko who do nothing but rob cattle from this district. They are accustomed to cross the Cunene in the months of August to October, the period in which the waters of that river are low near the mouth of the Rio dos Elefantes where there is a crossing called "Hottentot Ford" ["Vau dos Hottentotes"]. A large number of these brigands ride horses and dress in the Boer style: trousers and jacket of velvet, felt hat with a wide brim with an ostrich feather, shoes of badly tanned hide, cartridge

HIMBA EPOCHS 115

belt; they carry Martini rifles and others of improved type . . . Until 1892 those brigands had not suffered any opposition to their annual rides on the part of the authorities, merchants, and farmers. It even appears that the second and third assisted or encouraged them in their depre- dations, buying from them the stolen cattle in exchange for arms and munitions. Others would go to meet with them to buy cattle in exchange for European provisions. Without lingering on this subject, that it could be well established that for a long time there was a kind of alliance between the whites -- Portuguese and Boers -- and the Hottentots, that they would help one another to rob the poor natives, I will go on to describe the origin of a bloody battle at the close of 1892 which was joined between the old allies, Boers and Hottentots, and with which all the Europeans established in this district are concerned. During the last raid in 1892 one of the Hottentot bands, violating the agree- ment with the whites, stole a herd of cattle belonging to a Boer; the latter with his friends pursued them and a battle ensued in which two Boers were killed and another gravely wounded while the invaders suffered nothing because they were entrenched behind a kimpaka [stone wall] abandoned by the Ba- Kuvale. When this fact became known in Humpata, the region occupied by the Boers, a large number of them went in pursuit of the Hottentots, overtaking them close to the Cunene where they engaged in combat and more than 30 of the brigands were killed and a large number of others were wounded; about 1000 head of cattle robbed from the natives were seized from them and 20 or more horses, guns, etc. (J. Pereira do Nascimento, 1898: pp. 72-73).

This action, though decisive, did not put a final end to Hottentot raids into Angola, for they are reported to have entered the concelhos of Hu'la and Gambos in 1897. Portuguese soldiers and Boer colonists were sent out to repel them and some of the latter were killed in a skirmish (Almeida, 1912: p. 97).

116 GORDON D. GIBSON

8. The Angola Boers were whites of Dutch descent who migrated from the Transvaal, some leaving there as early as 1877 and others following later. They traveled by ox cart and took their herds of cattle with them. Suffering great hardships, they crossed the Kalahari Desert to the Oka- vango River and entered the northern part of Namibia which had not yet been claimed by Germany. They stayed for short periods at various places there, but found none of these to their liking and were encouraged by reports of a high country good for cattle ranching to move north into Angola. The Governor of Angola gave permission for the Boers to settle on the

Hu-la Plateau where, in 1881, some

300 Boers founded the colony of Sgo Januario. The next year the Concelho of Humpata was created and a young alferes (second lieutenant), Artur de Paiva, was made its chefe or administrator. In an effort to encourage the Boers to establish farms and to become Portuguese citizens, the Angolan Government persuaded farmers from Portugal and Madeira also to settle in the Huila plateau, but the de- sired effect was not produced. Eventually dissension developed in the colony and it split apart. Some Boers moved to Chibia (Joao de Almeida) while others, being stock breeders and hunters by preference, established cattle posts in remote areas and spent most of the dry seasons hunting. In general, many led a nomadic existence, some providing transport for other settlers and store- keepers with their "Boer carts" pulled by long teams of oxen. In 1908-1910 some of the Angolan Boers returned to South Africa, complaining of the restrictions on the hunting and the cutting of timber, their loss of the transport business, and the proximity of their neighbors. In 1928-1929 most of the remaining Boers, nearly 2000 in number, left Angola for Namibia where they were given farmlands in the Gobabis region. A few families remained in Angola until 1931 and some still remain. (See: Almeida, 1912; Rep. Admin. S.W.A. 1928; Rep. Adm. S.W.A. 1932; Rosenthal, 1934; Sousa Dias, 1938; Sousa Dias, 1957; Van Der Merwe, 1951; and Guerreiro, 1958.)

9. Pereira do Nascimento, 1898: pp. 72-73; Sousa Dias, 1938, II: pp. 57-85.

10. Harunga, "Not Bad" or "Not Angry," is one of the names by which the notorious native leader Oorlog is known among the Himba. The name Oorlog, by which he is known to most whites, is the translation into Afrikaans of his own proper name, Vita, "War," given to him because he was born in 1863 at Otjimbinque on the day when fighting broke out there between the Herero and Hottentots (van Warmelo, 1951: p. 16). He was also known among the Himba as Munwaminwe, "Son of Minwe."

HIMBA EPOCHS 117

Oorlog, whose father was the leader of some Hereros who had moved into southwestern Angola in the 1880's, became himself the leader of a mixed band of Bushman, Hereros, and Himbas who alternately raided for cattle and hired out their services to the Portuguese military commanders as auxiliaries in the wars to subject the Nkumbi and Ovambo peoples. See also the epochs Komburira (1911-1912), Ondjembo ya Suse (1912-1913), Ongangona (1913-1914), Ongambi (1916-1917), Ovahona (1916-1917), Tukutuku (1918- 1919), Ondjira (1925-1926), Ngovaneya (1927-1928), Kauronda (1934-1935), and Harunga tcha koka (1936-1937).

11. Almeida, 1912: p. 316; Sousa Dias, 1938, II: pp. 64-82. 12. Lenssen, 1966: pp. 62, 78, 81. 13. The seed of Ximenia americana is rich in oil which is much

used by the peoples of southwestern Angola as an ointment for the body and hair.

14. cf. Belo de Almeida, 1936; Almeida, 1912: pp. 152-165. 15. Lecomte, 1898; Sousa Dias, 1938, II: p. 87ff. 16. Personal names are spelled as pronounced in Otchichimba,

but the explanations sometimes require repetition of the name as pronounced in another language with a correspond- ing change in spelling, e.g.: Tchisunga/Tyifunga; Naurira/Naulila. Place names are spelled according to current usage in the country in which they occur.

17. The Ngandjera and Kwambi are Ambo tribes (see map). The Himba were involved as native auxiliaries, usually, if not always, under the leadership of Oorlog, in several of the Portuguese military actions to subdue the Ambo tribes in the period 1904 to 1915. M.A. Alves Rogadas, who com- manded a number of these campaigns, mentioned the "Ganguel- las" (Ngandjera) and "Cuambi" (Kwambi) as allies of the "Cuamatui" (Kwamatwi), the Ambo tribe that gave the most trouble to the Portuguese (Rogadas, 1910: pp. 117, 126, and 150-151). He reported active participation of the Kwambi specifically in 1907. However, Rogadas' report of the 1907 campaign did not note any losses among the native auxiliaries involved, and one must therefore examine the reports of other Portuguese campaigns against the Ovambo to determine which ones might be commemorated in the epoch name oyewuyu. The campaign in question might well be that of 1904, for in the action on 22 September of that year at Pembe Ford (at the confluence of Caculuvar and Cunene Rivers) 168 native auxiliaries were lost out of a total of 920, the auxiliary forces being composed of 420 "Muximbas" (Himba) and 500 "Muhumbes" (Nkumbi) (Belo de Almeida, 1937: pp. 43-44). Though the number of Himba and Tchimba reported employed in the other campaigns was considerably smaller and the losses were fewer, still the date of the next campaign, about two years later, could also possibly

118 GORDON D. GIBSON

be the year ewuyu. Rogadas wrote that in the campaign of 1906 Oorlog took part with his men in a reconnaissance that we had ordered in the interior of the Cuamato region. Some Boer Auxiliaries, some Portuguese, and a troop of Angolan dragoons joined in this reconnaissance. The action was hot, the auxiliaries said. A great number of Cuamatos tried to surround us with a most violent fire. The Muchimbas were quickly severely decimated by the Cuamatos." (Rogadas, 1919: p. 150). The reconnaissance -in the interior of the Cuamato region (no date given - it probably was September or October of 1906) may conceivably have extended across the border to the Kwambi and Hgandjera tribal areas not far to the south, and since 260 "Muximbas" are reported to have been involved in the campaign, the year 1906 also stands high in the list of possibilities as the "Epoch of Mourning" or ewuyu.

18. Rogadas, 1910: pp. 117, 126, 150-151; Belo de Almeida, 1937: pp. 43-55; Rogadas, 1919: p. 150.

19. Anon., 1911: p. 117. 20. Anon., 1911: p. 117. 21. Almeida, 1912: pp. 162-163. 22. Sousa Dias, 1957. 23. Almeida, 1912: pp. 219-232. 24. Anon., 1912: p. 59. 25. The term "Gambos," meaning "the land of the Ngambwe," is

the Portuguese version of a term used by the Himba to refer to a vaguely defined region northeast of that which they themselves occupy.

26. Sousa Dias, 1938, II: pp. 142-143, fn. 27. Machado, 1941: pp. 139-140. 28. Rogadas, 1919: p. 151. 29. Angola, Bol. Of., 22 III 1913. 30. Rogadas, 1919: p. 151. 31. Govt. Arch., Windhoek. 32. Rogadas, 1919. 33. Rogadas, 1919: p. 162; Franke quoted in Casimiro, 1922:

p. 210. 34. SAWB, 1949: Table IV. 35. Bonnefoux, 1940: p. 37. 36. SAWB, 1949: Table IV. 37. Manning Report, 1917, Govt. Arch., Windhoek. 38. Manning Report, 1917, Govt. Arch., Windhoek. 39. Govt. Arch. Windhoek. 40. Rep. Admin., S.W.A. for 1923: p. 7. 41. Rep. Admin., S.W.A. for 1924: p. 29. 42. Rep. Admin., S.W.A. for 1926: p. 33. 43. Govt. Arch. Windhoek. 44. Van Warmelo, 1951: p. 23.

HIMBA EPOCHS 119

45. Govt. Arch., Windhoek. 46. Van Der Merwe, 1951: p. 218ff. 47. Govt. Arch., Windhoek. 48. Govt. Arch., Windhoek. 49. Rep. Admin. S.W.A. for 1930: p. 3. 50. Guerreiro, 1958: p. 15. 51. Rep. Admin. S.W.A. for 1931: p. 50. 52. Rep. Admin. S.W.A. for 1931: p. 53 [337]. 53. Rep. Admin. S.W.A. for 1932: pp. 122-3. 54. Rep. Admin. S.W.A. for 1932: p. 76 [429]. 55. Rep. Admin. S.W.A. for 1932: p. 76 [432]. 56. Rep. Admin. S.W.A. for 1933: p. 44 [258]. 57. Rep. Admin. S.W.A. for 1934: p. 53 [420]. 58. Valles, 1963. 59. Rep. Admin. S.W.A. for 1934: p. 27; ibid for 1935: p. 35. 60. Rep. Admin. S.W.A. for 1935: p. 1. 61. Govt. Arch., Windhoek. 62. Rep. Admin. S.W.A. for 1936: p. 49 [335]. 63. Rep. Admin. S.W.A. for 1937: p. 66 [393]. 64. Silva, 1953: p. 159. 65. Rep. Admin. S.W.A. for 1937: p. 66. 66. Govt. Arch., Windhoek. 67. Rep. Admin. S.W.A. for 1938: p. 56 [411]. 68. Rep. Admin. S.W.A. for 1939: p. 172. 69. Rep. Admin. S.W.A. for 1939: p. 71. 70. Estermann, 1961, Vol. III: p. 34. 71. S.W.A. Official Gazette, 15 June, 1938. 72. SAWBAR 1941-1945 for S.W.A. 73. Portugal, A.M.C. for 1939: pp. 40, 41. 74. S.W.A. Official Gazette, 1 July, 1941. 75. van Warmelo, 1951: par. 31. 76. SAWBAR 1941-45 for S.W.A. 77. Govt. Arch., Windhoek. 78. van Warmelo, 1951: par. 31. 79. Personal communication from a white resident; and Admin.

Off., Oncocua. 80. Govt. Arch., Windhoek. 81. van Warmelo, 1951: par. 31. 82. van Warmelo, 1951: par. 31. 83. van Warmelo, 1951: par. 31. 84. Ribeiro Cabral, 1948: pp. 29-30. 85. ASM. 86. ASM. 87. ASM. 88. SAWBAR. 89. Govt. Arch., Windhoek. 90. ASM. 91. Govt. Arch., Windhoek. 92. Admin. Off., Ohopoho.

120 GORDON D. GIBSON

93. ASM. 94. Admin. Off., Oncocua. 95. Govt. Arch., Windhoek. 96. ASM. 97. SAWBAR. 98. ASM. 99. SAWBAR.

100. Personal communication. 101. SAWBAR. 102. ASM. 103. ASM. 104. ASM. 105. ASM. 106. SAWBAR. 107. Admin. Off'., Oncocua. 108. Admin. Off., Oncocua.

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