Historic battle of Okandjira re-enacted

DOZENS of Herero warriors wearing khaki uniforms with red flags race down the battlefield on horse backs screaming as their women ululate to the ‘Ondoro’ war cry to rouse the fighters for battle.

A few kilometres away, German soldiers wait on a hilltop. They fire their cannons and reload them and fire again.Then, Lieutenant Otto von Estorff of the German imperial army appears with his cocked rifle: “Stopp ihr Schweine, ich werde euch dreckigen Affen alle toeten” (Stop there you pigs, I am going to kill all you dirty baboons) – all in vain as the Germans are surrounded, overwhelmed and clubbed to death, including von Estorff himself.Close to 100 spectators, including Herero Paramount Chief Kuaima Riruako and German Ambassador to Namibia Wolfgang Massing, burst into applause.Friday’s commemorative ceremony at Okandjira in the Otjozondjupa Region was one of the most colourful combat re-enactments, though it memorised a brutal and bloody battle between the Hereros and Germans in 1904.Men dressed as German soldiers and Herero warriors re-enacted the Battle of Okandjira that left hundreds dead before the Hereros retreated to the Waterberg where they were ultimately defeated.About two-thirds of their population perished and remnants of the tribe were forced into the depths of the Kalahari Desert.Before laying wreaths at the graves of fallen fighters from both sides, Chief Riruako and Ambassador Massing lamented the brutal past and stressed the need for Germans and Hereros to forge a good relationship.A handful of tourists, notably from Germany, attended the ceremony at Okandjira.Locals hope the battlefield and the re-enactment will become an annual event and atttract more tourism to their area.”We appeal to the German government to assist us in erecting a monument at this historic site,” Chief Vipuira Kapuuo of Ovitoto said in his welcoming remarks.The re-enactment of the Battle of Okandjira, which was also attended by Ovaherero from Botswana, was part of year-long activities planned to commemorate this year’s 100th anniversary of the 1904-07 German-Herero war.They fire their cannons and reload them and fire again.Then, Lieutenant Otto von Estorff of the German imperial army appears with his cocked rifle: “Stopp ihr Schweine, ich werde euch dreckigen Affen alle toeten” (Stop there you pigs, I am going to kill all you dirty baboons) – all in vain as the Germans are surrounded, overwhelmed and clubbed to death, including von Estorff himself.Close to 100 spectators, including Herero Paramount Chief Kuaima Riruako and German Ambassador to Namibia Wolfgang Massing, burst into applause.Friday’s commemorative ceremony at Okandjira in the Otjozondjupa Region was one of the most colourful combat re-enactments, though it memorised a brutal and bloody battle between the Hereros and Germans in 1904.Men dressed as German soldiers and Herero warriors re-enacted the Battle of Okandjira that left hundreds dead before the Hereros retreated to the Waterberg where they were ultimately defeated.About two-thirds of their population perished and remnants of the tribe were forced into the depths of the Kalahari Desert.Before laying wreaths at the graves of fallen fighters from both sides, Chief Riruako and Ambassador Massing lamented the brutal past and stressed the need for Germans and Hereros to forge a good relationship.A handful of tourists, notably from Germany, attended the ceremony at Okandjira.Locals hope the battlefield and the re-enactment will become an annual event and atttract more tourism to their area.”We appeal to the German government to assist us in erecting a monument at this historic site,” Chief Vipuira Kapuuo of Ovitoto said in his welcoming remarks.The re-enactment of the Battle of Okandjira, which was also attended by Ovaherero from Botswana, was part of year-long activities planned to commemorate this year’s 100th anniversary of the 1904-07 German-Herero war.