Kunene

Kunene is Namibia's thinly peopled north-west, made up of old Kaokoland in the north and the western part of old Damaraland in the south, with the Skeleton Coast along its Atlantic side. Its rock engravings go back thousands of years. German rule here meant a few forts and a land company that never managed to make the area pay, and the Red Line fence the Germans first drew still divides communal land in the north from commercial farms further south.

1. About 6,000 years ago

   Stone Age hunter-gatherers settled the valley at Twyfelfontein and made most of its engravings. Khoekhoe herders arrived 2,000 to 2,500 years ago, called the spring ǀUi-ǁAis (jumping waterhole) and added rock art of their own. source

2. 1860s

   Swartbooi and Topnaar Nama groups raided Kaokoland for cattle, first from Fransfontein and later from Sesfontein, and many Ovahimba and Ovatjimba fled across the Kunene into Angola. The river crossing they used has been called Swartbooisdrift ever since. source

3. 1896 to 1907

   To stop a rinderpest (cattle plague) epidemic, the German colony drew a veterinary line across the north in 1896. In 1907, following a 1905 Reichstag resolution passed during the Herero war, it became a political border, and the northern areas beyond it were left to indirect rule through traditional leaders. The line survives as the Red Line veterinary fence, which today runs north of Palmwag. source

4. 1904 to 1908

   German forces carried out the genocide of the Herero and Nama. Between 40,000 and 80,000 Herero, about 80 percent of them, and some 10,000 Nama died. Around 1,000 Herero escaped north to the Ovambo kingdoms, and survivors were made to work on German farms. source

5. 1925 to 1939

   Under South African rule the first government office for Kaokoland was at Swartbooisdrift on the Kunene, from 1925 to 1939. After that the administration moved to Ohopoho, which became Opuwo, now the regional capital. source

6. 1970s to 1989

   Apartheid planners made Damaraland a Bantustan, an ethnic homeland meant to govern itself, for the Damara people, on the western edge of the area called Damaraland in the 1800s. From 1980 a Representative Authority for the Damara, organised by ethnicity rather than territory, took over its functions, and like the other homelands it was abolished in May 1989 as Namibia moved to independence. source

7. 1980s

   Drought killed about 90 percent of Himba livestock. Many Himba became refugees in Opuwo or joined Koevoet paramilitary units, and during the Border War Himba on the Angolan side were sometimes kidnapped, as hostages or as recruits for the Angolan branch of PLAN, SWAPO's army. source

8. 1915 to 1990

   German rule ended with defeat by South African forces in 1915, and apartheid was later applied to the territory. SWAPO (the South West Africa People's Organisation) began its armed struggle in 1966, which became part of the wider South African Border War, and Namibia became independent on 21 March 1990. source

Language

In the 2023 census Otjiherero was the main home language in 37.7% of households and Khoekhoegowab, the Damara and Nama language, in 27.3%. Next came Otjihimba (8.1%), Oshikwanyama (5.3%), Oludhimba (4.8%) and Afrikaans (2.9%). English, the official language, was spoken at home in 1.7%. source

People

Herero and Himba people in Kaokoland both speak Otjiherero. Younger Herero often speak English and Afrikaans as well, but few traditional Himba do, so a local guide makes a real conversation possible. source

Damara heritage

The Damara are, with the San, among the oldest peoples of Namibia, and their old way of life mixed hunting and gathering with herding cattle, goats and sheep. Much of it was lost under colonial rule, and the Living Museum of the Damara near Twyfelfontein was built by the community to bring it back. source

Himba myrrh

Namibian myrrh (Commiphora wildii) grows in the Kaokoveld and oozes a scented resin without being cut. Himba women collect it and use it for incense and cosmetics. source

Opuwo Trade Fair

The Opuwo Town Council started the Opuwo Trade Fair in 2012. It is held in May and mixes a business show with cultural performances and live entertainment. source