Damaras celebrate annual Gaob festival

DESPITE ongoing contentions over leadership within the !Oë ≠Gân Traditional Authority, Damara folk came from all over Namibia to attend the 35th #Nu-Khoe (Damara) Annual Cultural Festival held in Okombahe recently.
Unlike last year, this year’s ceremony was a show of unity, which was overseen by Damara King, Justus //Garoeb.

More people filled the stadium and more people were in Okombahe this time around. The festive mood was tangible and the honour toward the king was without question.For the past year, the !Oë ≠Gân clan and the Damara nation have been tested with several political and traditional challenges that have even ended up in the High Court.Last Friday, on the first day of the three day festival, ‘former’ and ‘current’ !Oë ≠Gân leaders met at the court contending for the rightful leadership over the community. This followed after an unprecedented traditional election of new leaders to replace the long-serving Chief of the !Oë ≠Gan, Immanuel /Gâseb and his leaders.This election, according to /Gâseb, was outside national and customary laws. Abed Ganaseb and 12 senior leaders were supposed to be crowned in early October, but an interdict from /Gâseb to declare the election as null and void led to the postponement of the crowing and the start of a court case which was also postponed to December 2.This dispute however did not seem to dampen the festivities at Okombahe. The festival marks the anniversary of the burial of former Damara king, Gaob Dawid Goreseb, who died in 1976 and was buried at Okombahe on November 6 the same year.The festival site was built at the grave of Goreseb, where a monument was erected in memory of him and all the former kings.As per tradition, a wreath is laid by the current king at the grave of Goreseb. Justus //Garoeb is traditionally considered by many Damaras as their king, appointed personally by Goreseb.The festival has become a customary practice to meet annually to celebrate the Damara tradition, art and values expressed through music, clothing, dance, craft, language, film, cuisine and other cultural forms.This was also the time where //Garoeb explained the history of the kings to a packed stadium.According to him, the Damara kingship has been recorded as far back as the 12th century.’Next to the San, the Damaras were the first inhabitants of Namibia,’ he said.For the purpose of this festival though, he referred to the ‘modern kings’, which started in the 19th century; how the kingship was influenced by the German colonial rule; and how //Garoeb eventually became king.’The reason why I gave the people this background is to show them that I strictly did not want to become king,’ //Garoeb told The Namibian.But, he was persuaded to take over from Goreseb because, according to him, when Goreseb was on his sick bed, he cried for //Garoeb to take his.’In our tradition, we cannot make an old man cry, That is why I had to take the kingship from him,’ according to //Garoeb.

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