Kavango

Originating from central East Africa, the Kavango first settled at Mashi on the Kwando river before moving further west between 1750 and 1800. numbering about 140 00, they are divided into five tribal groupings speaking four different languages ( RuKwangari, ShiShambyu, RuGciriku and ThiMbukshu ). Some clans trace their descent from a remote ancestries and many take their names from nature and wildlife.

Especially in rural areas, the Kavango are a river people subsisting off agriculture, pastoralism, fishing and licensed hunting. They are famed for their uniquely expressive and finely made wood carvings, many of which now sits in international galleries. As hunters the are ingenious too.

To catch a crocodile a baited hook and line are attached to a heavy plank or branch. Having swallowed the bait the crocodile must carry the large, floating object around. It tires him out soon enough and brings him to the surface more and more for oxygen, where he is now vulnerable to the hunter's spears. With strict conservation laws this is no longer common practice.

The Kavango have a rich and complex belief system and mythology. Karunga or Nyambi ( Mbukushu tribe ) is the Supreme Being. The sun and moon help Him to guide and protect people. Stars, ntungwedhi, are Nyambi's fireflies, the tutemwesi, which gather in groups ( Milky Way ) to give more light on moonless bights. Shooting stars are just fireflies changing their regular place in the sky. Nyambi is never directly petitioned and He is trusted to send enough rain. He usually obliges with about 560mm annually in the region. Possibly due to this, only enough food is produced for one year. It is thus a society based on need, not greed. It is also a society still largely believing in magic, witchcraft, ancestor worship and the evil powers of Shadipinyi, the wicked servant of Nyambi. No prayer or offering is made to the evil one since this will only expose a person's weaknesses.

As with many so-called traditional cultures, the advent of modern medicine, education and missionaries has changed the old way of life.

Lodges and Camps in Namibia: Beach Lodge - Casa Piccolo - Mahangu Safari Lodge - Mazambala - Oase Guest House - Phantom Farmhouse - The Desert Homestead

Botswana Destinations: Chobe National Park

Zimbabwe Destinations: Victoria Falls

Tribes of Namibia: Herero - Himba - Kavango - Ovambo - San - Topnaars