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NAMIBIA – On the road – Herero Dolls

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HERERO DOLLS
National Doll produced to represent a Herero women from Namibia. Dolls are among the most universal toys found throughout the world and through history. Ornamental dolls can also be used to represent aspects of cultural traditions, such as dress (this photo).


HERERO PEOPLE
The Herero (Otjiherero: Ovaherero) are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. There were an estimated 250,000 Herero people in Namibia in 2013. They speak Otjiherero, a Bantu language. Though the Herero primarily reside in Namibia, there are also significant populations in Botswana and Angola.

In Botswana, the Hereros or Ovaherero are mostly found in Maun and some villages surrounding Maun. These villages among others are Sepopa, Toromuja, Karee and Etsha. Some of them are at Mahalapye. In the South eastern part of Botswana they are at Pilane. There are also a few of them in the Kgalagadi South, that is Tsabong, Omawaneni, Draaihoek and Makopong Villages.

Ovaherero are known as bold culture keepers. The big ball gown dress and the headgear are the main wear for women (this photo) while men are mostly seen with leather hats and walking sticks.


OVERVIEW
Unlike most Bantu, who are primarily subsistence farmers, the Herero are traditionally pastoralists. They make a living tending livestock.

Cattle terminology in use among many Bantu pastoralist groups testifies that Bantu herders originally acquired cattle form Cushitic pastoralists inhabiting Eastern Africa. After the Bantu settled in Eastern Africa, some Bantu nations spread south.

Linguistic evidence also suggests that the Bantu borrowed the custom of milking cattle from Cushitic peoples, either through direct contact with them or indirectly via Khoisan intermediaries who had acquired both domesticated animals and pastoral techniques from Cushitic migrants.


DRESS
Despite sharing a language and pastoral traditions, the Herero are not a homogeneous people. Traditional leather garments are worn by northwestern groups, such as the Himba, Kuvale, and Tjimba, who also conserve pre-colonial traditions in other aspects : for example, they do not buy bedding, but rather sleep in bedding made of cow skin. The Kaokoland Herero and those in Angola have remained isolated and are still pastoral nomads, practicing limited horticulture.

However, the main Herero group in central Namibia (sometimes called Herero proper) was heavily influenced by Western culture during the colonial period, creating a whole new identity.

The missionaries considered the shape of the traditional headdress Ekori, which symbolized the horns of cows (the main source of wealth of the people), as a symbol of the devil and rejected it.

The dress of the Herero proper, and their southern counterparts the Mbanderu, incorporates and appropriates the styles of clothing worn by their German colonizers. Though the attire was initially forced upon the Herero, it now operates as a new tradition and a point of pride.

During the 1904-07 war, Herero warriors would steal and wear the uniforms of German soldiers they had killed, believing that this transferred the dead soldiers' power to them. Today, on ceremonial occasions, Herero men wear military-style garb, including peaked caps, berets, epaulettes, aiguillettes and gaiters, "to honour the fallen ancestors and to keep the memories alive."

Herero women adopted the floor-length gowns worn by German missionaries in the late 19th century, but now make them in vivid colors and prints.

Married and older Herero women wear the dresses, locally known as ohorokova, every day, while younger and unmarried women wear them mainly for special occasions.

Ohorokova dresses are high-necked and have voluminous skirts lavishly gathered from a high waist or below the bust, incorporating multiple petticoats and up to ten metres of fabric. The long sleeves display sculptural volume : puffed from the shoulders or frilled at the wrists. Coordinating neckerchiefs are knotted around the neck.

For everyday wear, dresses are ingeniously patchworked together from smaller pieces of fabric, which may be salvaged from older garments. Dresses made from a single material are reserved for special occasions.

The most distinctive feature of Herero women's dress is their horizontal horned headdress, the otjikaiva, which is a symbol of respect, worn to pay homage to the cows that have historically sustained the Herero. The headdresses can be formed from rolled-up newspaper covered in fabric. They are made to match or coordinate with dresses, and decorative brooches and pins attached to the centre front.

This dress style continues to evolve. In urban Windhoek, fashion designers and models are updating Herero dress for modern, younger wearers, including glamorous sheer and embellished fabrics.

"Change is difficult, I understand, but people need to get used to the change," says designer McBright Kavari. "I'm happy to be a part of the change, to be winning souls of people and making people happy when they are wearing the Herero dress." Kavari has won the Best Herero Dress competition three times in a row, but has been criticised for raising the hem of the garment to the knee.
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csarmientoj

You are most welcome NononcenceJohn !! Yes, one can "meet" dolls without borders everywhere...
I am glad to hear you enjoyed this puzzle and appreciated the information provided.
Many thanks for leaving a nice comment. Greetings ,

NononcenceJohn

Great puzzle & history!
As you say Dolls are international with no boarders to meeting them
Thanks for the puzzle
John

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