Popular travel show explores Himba life and food

“FAR from any city, deep in Namibia’s semi-arid Kunene you’ll find a way of life dating back thousands of years that’s still going strong today.”

So says ‘Best Ever Food Review Show’s’ Sonny Side who follows his exploration of Windhoek’s open markets with a lesson in OvaHimba life and food.

Alighting in a small village at Kamanjab alongside his guide Uno who acts as a translator between Sonny and the OvaHimba villagers, the YouTube show takes it slow amidst a tribe known for their skin coloured distinctly with red ochre, intricate hair styles and enduring way of life.

While the Namibian capital bustles and tends towards increasingly modern ways of life, Sonny finds the OvaHimba living simply. Greetings are exchanged, fair arm hair is stroked and a headman reads a sheep’s entrails predicting the death of a prime minister before grinning mischievously and ensuring everyone that all will be well.

In contrast to the variety of dishes Sonny presented in his previous episode featuring Wernhil and Tukondjeni market, vendors in Otjomuise and at the Single Quarters, the OvaHimba’s staple fare is humble. Porridge, mopane worms and sheep for special occasions such as a tribeswoman’s first period, weddings and celebrations.

The meat freshly slaughtered and read by the headman is cooked with just water and salt and, to the villagers, it is a relatively rare feast. Livestock is valuable and when Sonny cheekily asks what an OvaHimba woman looks for in a husband, the provision of sheep and goats are at top of the list.

When not educating food and travel show hosts blown in on the wind, the OvaHimba busy themselves with their daily work. Everyone has a duty. The women gather water, collect firewood, cook and tend to the children while men look after and slaughter the livestock.

Offering a glimpse into marital traditions, OvaHimba perfume and entertainment, the second episode in Sonny Side’s Namibia series has already reached over one million views.

Describing the OvaHimba way of life as “a key to our human past” and “a culture shaped by geography, climate and necessity”, Sonny sits shoulder to shoulder with the tribe’s people and seems to appreciate the appeal of such a remote and insular way of life.

“When you strip away modern excess, what do you really need? Clean water, good food, strong shelters, protective clothing but we also need friendship, family, a sense of community and purpose. All that is here.”

Watch ‘Best Ever Food Review Show’s’ Rare Tribal Food of Namibia – Himba Life and Food’ on YouTube.

– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter,

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