Kaokoland
Encyclopedia
Kaokoland is an area in Northern Namibia
, in the Kunene Region
. It is one of the wildest and less populated areas in Namibia, with a population density of one person every 2 km², that is 1/4 of the national average. The most represented ethnic group
is the Himba
people, that accounts for about 5,000 of the overall 16,000 inhabitants of Kaokoland. The main settlement in Kaokoland is the city of Opuwo
.
Kaokoland used to be a bantustan
of South West Africa
during the apartheid era. While it was intended to be a self-governing Himba homeland, an actual government was never established. Like other homelands in South West Africa, the Kaokoland bantustan was abolished in may 1989, at the beginning of the transition of Namibia towards independence. "Kaokoland" remained as an informal name for the geographic area.
). It is largely mountainous, with the northern Baynes Mountains reaching the maximum elevation at 2039 m. Other notable mountain ranges of Kaokoland include the Otjihipa Mountains (to the north) and the Hartmann Mountains (to the east). The land is generally dry and rocky, especially to the south, where it borders on the Namib Desert
; nevertheless, it has several rivers as well as falls. The most notable falls in Kaokoland are the Ruacana Falls
(120 m high, 700 m wide) and the Epupa Falls
, both formed by the Kunene river. The northern part of Kaokoland is greener, with vegetation thriving valleys such as the Marienfluss and Hartmann Valley.
, Kaokoland was mostly inhabited by the Ovambo
, Nama
, and Herero people. In the second half of the 19th century, a group of Herero crossed the Kunene River, migrating north to what is now Angola, joining with the Bushmen
in Southern Angola; the modern day Himba people originated from this Angolan Herero group. In 1884, Kaokoland became part of German South-West Africa
, and Namibian Herero changed much of their habits and costumes as a consequence of Germanian rule. After World War I
, South Africa
received the mandate from the League of Nations
to administer the territory of Namibia, which became, for all practical purposes, a province of South Africa. South Africa also applied to Namibia the principles of apartheid, including the creation of distinct bantustan
s (homelands) for different African ethnic groups. Kaokoland was thus established as a bantustan for the Himba people, that in the 1920s had come back from Angola into Namibia. Despite its scarce population, Kaokoland was greatly affected by the struggle for independence of Namibia, and most specifically by the so-called "bush war
" that was fought across the border with Angola (i.e., in Kaokoland).
ic and pastoral habits. In recent times, contacts between Himbas and Western tourists are becoming more and more common, especially in the most easily accessible regions of Kaokoland (e.g., the surroundings of Opuwo). While this has partially affected the Himba culture, Himbas have essentially remained faithful to their tradition.
of African elephants because of their shorter legs and specific, desert-adapted behavior (the only other place in Africa where elephants have adapted to a desert environment is Mali
, on the border of the Sahara
desert). Its shorter legs, bigger feet, and incredible ability to withstand periods of drought all gave valid reasons to think so. Today, however, it is not considered a different species, rather regarded as only ‘desert adapted.’ The herds in this area remain separate from other elephant herds in Namibia and only appear to have longer legs and bigger feet because they eat less than elephants living in more food abundant areas such as Etosha National Park, the Caprivi, and Chobe region in Botswana.
The desert elephant are truly incredible survivalists, claiming a three-thousand square kilometer range and regularly traveling up to two hundred kilometers in search of water. They only drink every three or four days, compared with elephant in Etosha drinking one-hundred to two-hundred liters of water a day. They also seem to be more environmentally conscience than other elephants. Unlike other elephants, the desert adapted elephant rarely knock over trees, break branches, or tear away bark, as if knowing if they do so their food will be less than what it was before.
They are commonly roaming the dry riverbeds of the westward flowing Huab, Hoanib, Hoarusib, and Khumib rivers. It is along these riverbeds the animals find the occasional spring fed waterhole and most of their nutrient rich foods: mopane bark, tamarisk, reeds, and the pods, bark, and leaves of the ana tree. On a typical day, desert elephants travel up to sixty kilometers over rocky, difficult terrain between feeding areas and waterholes. When water is truly scarce, as in times of drought, they dig holes, commonly known as gorras, in the dry riverbeds. Water seeps up from below the surface creating a much needed water source for themselves, and other animals in the area ; unlike other elephants, which drink daily, desert elephants have been known to survive without water for up to four days.
Black rhinos
were extinguished in the area in 1983, but they have been reintroduced. Other species found in Kaokoland include oryx
es, kudu
s, springbok
s, ostrich
s, giraffe
s and mountain zebra
s.
(to the south), the unspoiled nature (with several spots suitable for activities such as rafting
and trekking), and the opportunity to visit traditional Himba villages. Notable landmarks in the area include the Epupa Falls
, Sesfontein
, Himba villages, and the Ondurusa Rapids.
Kaokoland is one of the wildest regions of Southern Africa, with very few roads and structures. The only road that is accessible to non-4WD vehicles is that connecting Sesfontein and Opuwo
. Many roads in Kaokoland are often in very bad conditions and may be challenging for 4WDs as well, especially during the rainy season. Most services such as shops, hospital, garage, and so on are only found in Opuwo.
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, in the Kunene Region
Kunene Region
Kunene is one of the thirteen regions of Namibia and home to the Himba ethnic group. Compared to the rest of Namibia, it is relatively underdeveloped...
. It is one of the wildest and less populated areas in Namibia, with a population density of one person every 2 km², that is 1/4 of the national average. The most represented ethnic group
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
is the Himba
Himba
The Himba are an ethnic group of about 20,000 to 50,000 people living in northern Namibia, in the Kunene region . Recently they have built two villages in Kamanjab which have become tourist destinations...
people, that accounts for about 5,000 of the overall 16,000 inhabitants of Kaokoland. The main settlement in Kaokoland is the city of Opuwo
Opuwo
Opuwo is the capital of the Kunene Region in north-western Namibia. The town is situated about 720 km north-northwest from the capital Windhoek, and has a population of 5,100...
.
Kaokoland used to be a bantustan
Bantustan
A bantustan was a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa , as part of the policy of apartheid...
of South West Africa
South West Africa
South-West Africa was the name that was used for the modern day Republic of Namibia during the earlier eras when the territory was controlled by the German Empire and later by South Africa....
during the apartheid era. While it was intended to be a self-governing Himba homeland, an actual government was never established. Like other homelands in South West Africa, the Kaokoland bantustan was abolished in may 1989, at the beginning of the transition of Namibia towards independence. "Kaokoland" remained as an informal name for the geographic area.
Geography
The Kaokoland area extends south-north from the Hoanib river to the Kunene river (that also marks the border between Namibia and AngolaAngola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
). It is largely mountainous, with the northern Baynes Mountains reaching the maximum elevation at 2039 m. Other notable mountain ranges of Kaokoland include the Otjihipa Mountains (to the north) and the Hartmann Mountains (to the east). The land is generally dry and rocky, especially to the south, where it borders on the Namib Desert
Namib Desert
The Namib Desert is a desert in Namibia and southwest Angola that forms part of the Namib-Naukluft National Park, the largest game reserve in Africa. The name "Namib" is of Nama origin and means "vast place"...
; nevertheless, it has several rivers as well as falls. The most notable falls in Kaokoland are the Ruacana Falls
Ruacana Falls
Ruacana Falls are waterfalls located at on the Kunene River in Northern Namibia near Ruacana. The waterfall is high and wide in full flood....
(120 m high, 700 m wide) and the Epupa Falls
Epupa Falls
The Epupa Falls are created by the Kunene River on the border of Angola and Namibia, in the Kaokoland area of the Kunene Region. The river is 0.5 km wide and drops in a series of waterfalls spread over 1.5 km, with the greatest single drop being 37 m...
, both formed by the Kunene river. The northern part of Kaokoland is greener, with vegetation thriving valleys such as the Marienfluss and Hartmann Valley.
History
Before colonialismColonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
, Kaokoland was mostly inhabited by the Ovambo
Ovambo
The Ovambo or Ambo people consist of a number of kindred ethnic groups which inhabit Ovamboland in northern Namibia as well as the Southernmost Angolan province Cunene. In Namibia, these are the Ndonga, Kwanyama, Kwambi, Ngandjera, Mbalantu, Mbadja, Kolonkadhi and Kwaluudhi...
, Nama
Nama
Nama may mean:* Nama band, a Greek music group* Nama , a genus of plants in the family Hydrophyllaceae* Holy Name in Indian religions* Nama , a hero in ? folklore who built an ark to save his family from a flood...
, and Herero people. In the second half of the 19th century, a group of Herero crossed the Kunene River, migrating north to what is now Angola, joining with the Bushmen
Bushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
in Southern Angola; the modern day Himba people originated from this Angolan Herero group. In 1884, Kaokoland became part of German South-West Africa
German South-West Africa
German South West Africa was a colony of Germany from 1884 until 1915, when it was taken over by South Africa and administered as South West Africa, finally becoming Namibia in 1990...
, and Namibian Herero changed much of their habits and costumes as a consequence of Germanian rule. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
received the mandate from the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
to administer the territory of Namibia, which became, for all practical purposes, a province of South Africa. South Africa also applied to Namibia the principles of apartheid, including the creation of distinct bantustan
Bantustan
A bantustan was a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa , as part of the policy of apartheid...
s (homelands) for different African ethnic groups. Kaokoland was thus established as a bantustan for the Himba people, that in the 1920s had come back from Angola into Namibia. Despite its scarce population, Kaokoland was greatly affected by the struggle for independence of Namibia, and most specifically by the so-called "bush war
Bush War
The Bush War may refer to:*The Rhodesian Bush War, a conflict in Rhodesia between the white minority government of Ian Smith and the black nationalists of the ZANU and ZAPU movements...
" that was fought across the border with Angola (i.e., in Kaokoland).
The Himba people
The Himba people are the descendants of a Herero group that got isolated from the others in the 19th century. While the Herero people later experienced German rule and drastically changed their lifestyle as well as their costumes, the Himba retained much of their traditional, nomadNomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
ic and pastoral habits. In recent times, contacts between Himbas and Western tourists are becoming more and more common, especially in the most easily accessible regions of Kaokoland (e.g., the surroundings of Opuwo). While this has partially affected the Himba culture, Himbas have essentially remained faithful to their tradition.
Fauna
Fauna in Kaokoland suffered from a severe crippling between 1977 and 1982, as well as from poaching throughout the 1970s, but has been recovering afterwards. It includes several desert-dwelling species, most notably a population of desert elephants that are sometimes classified as a distinct subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of African elephants because of their shorter legs and specific, desert-adapted behavior (the only other place in Africa where elephants have adapted to a desert environment is Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, on the border of the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
desert). Its shorter legs, bigger feet, and incredible ability to withstand periods of drought all gave valid reasons to think so. Today, however, it is not considered a different species, rather regarded as only ‘desert adapted.’ The herds in this area remain separate from other elephant herds in Namibia and only appear to have longer legs and bigger feet because they eat less than elephants living in more food abundant areas such as Etosha National Park, the Caprivi, and Chobe region in Botswana.
The desert elephant are truly incredible survivalists, claiming a three-thousand square kilometer range and regularly traveling up to two hundred kilometers in search of water. They only drink every three or four days, compared with elephant in Etosha drinking one-hundred to two-hundred liters of water a day. They also seem to be more environmentally conscience than other elephants. Unlike other elephants, the desert adapted elephant rarely knock over trees, break branches, or tear away bark, as if knowing if they do so their food will be less than what it was before.
They are commonly roaming the dry riverbeds of the westward flowing Huab, Hoanib, Hoarusib, and Khumib rivers. It is along these riverbeds the animals find the occasional spring fed waterhole and most of their nutrient rich foods: mopane bark, tamarisk, reeds, and the pods, bark, and leaves of the ana tree. On a typical day, desert elephants travel up to sixty kilometers over rocky, difficult terrain between feeding areas and waterholes. When water is truly scarce, as in times of drought, they dig holes, commonly known as gorras, in the dry riverbeds. Water seeps up from below the surface creating a much needed water source for themselves, and other animals in the area ; unlike other elephants, which drink daily, desert elephants have been known to survive without water for up to four days.
Black rhinos
Black Rhinoceros
The Black Rhinoceros or Hook-lipped Rhinoceros , is a species of rhinoceros, native to the eastern and central areas of Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Angola...
were extinguished in the area in 1983, but they have been reintroduced. Other species found in Kaokoland include oryx
Oryx
Oryx is one of four large antelope species of the genus Oryx. Three of the species are native to arid parts of Africa, with a fourth native to the Arabian Peninsula. Their pelage is pale with contrasing dark markings in the face and on the legs, and their long horns are almost straight...
es, kudu
Kudu
The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus Tragelaphus:*Lesser Kudu, Tragelaphus imberbis*Greater Kudu, Tragelaphus strepsiceros- Etymology :...
s, springbok
Springbok
Springbok can have the following meanings:* Springbok , a small antelope inhabiting southern and western Africa.* South Africa national rugby union team, known as the Springboks....
s, ostrich
Ostrich
The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...
s, giraffe
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
s and mountain zebra
Mountain Zebra
The Mountain Zebra, Equus zebra, is a threatened species of equid native to south-western Angola, Namibia and South Africa. It has two subspecies, the Cape Mountain Zebra and Hartmann's Mountain Zebra , though it has been suggested these should be considered separate species.-Taxonomy:In 2004,...
s.
Tourism and transportation
After the end of the bush war, Kaokoland has become a common tourist destination in Namibia, due its proximity to the Etosha National ParkEtosha National Park
Etosha National Park is a national park in the Kunene Region of northwestern Namibia. The park shares boundaries with the regions of Oshana, Oshikoto and Otjozondjupa....
(to the south), the unspoiled nature (with several spots suitable for activities such as rafting
Rafting
Rafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this...
and trekking), and the opportunity to visit traditional Himba villages. Notable landmarks in the area include the Epupa Falls
Epupa Falls
The Epupa Falls are created by the Kunene River on the border of Angola and Namibia, in the Kaokoland area of the Kunene Region. The river is 0.5 km wide and drops in a series of waterfalls spread over 1.5 km, with the greatest single drop being 37 m...
, Sesfontein
Sesfontein
Sesfontein is a settlement in the Kunene Region of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Sesfontein electoral constituency, its population is 7,358. Sesfontein derives its name from the six fountains which have their source in the vicinity....
, Himba villages, and the Ondurusa Rapids.
Kaokoland is one of the wildest regions of Southern Africa, with very few roads and structures. The only road that is accessible to non-4WD vehicles is that connecting Sesfontein and Opuwo
Opuwo
Opuwo is the capital of the Kunene Region in north-western Namibia. The town is situated about 720 km north-northwest from the capital Windhoek, and has a population of 5,100...
. Many roads in Kaokoland are often in very bad conditions and may be challenging for 4WDs as well, especially during the rainy season. Most services such as shops, hospital, garage, and so on are only found in Opuwo.
See also
- OvambolandOvambolandOvamboland was the name given by English-speaking visitors to the land occupied by the Ovambo people in what is now northern Namibia and southern Angola...
- DamaralandDamaralandDamaraland was a name given to the north-central part of what later became Namibia, inhabited by the Damaras. It was bounded roughly by Ovamboland in the north, the Namib Desert in the west, the Kalahari Desert in the east, and Windhoek in the south....
- BantustanBantustanA bantustan was a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa , as part of the policy of apartheid...
- Bush warBush WarThe Bush War may refer to:*The Rhodesian Bush War, a conflict in Rhodesia between the white minority government of Ian Smith and the black nationalists of the ZANU and ZAPU movements...