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Herero People of Namibia: Photographed by Jim Naughten

The Herero people are a Bantu ethnic group found in Southern Africa. The majority of them reside in Namibia while the remainder live in Botswana and Angola. Their language is Otjiherero which is a Bantu language and forms part of the Niger-Congo family.

The Herero people are pastoral cattle breeding nation. They are believed to have immigrated from east Africa about 350 years ago. There can be divided into several subgroups which include the Tjimba, Ndamuranda, Mahereo, Zeraua, and Mbandero who are found in Namibia. The Mucubal Kuvale, Zemba, Hakawona, Tjavikwa, and Himba are found mainly in Angola. 

 In 1903, the Herero in Namibia learned that they were to be put in reservations to make room for more German colonisers to prosper. Their culture and freedom was already being heavily restricted. This led to them joining with the Nama in a rebellion that began in 1904 and ended in 1907. The rebellion led to a devastating genocide in which between 75% and 80% of the Herero population was exterminated. German troops used tactics such as driving men, women, and children into the desert to perish as well as poisoning watering holes. In a period of four years, approximately 65,000 Herero people perished. 

The Herero people today are famous for their traditional dress. The women’s dress derives from Victorian women’s fashion and includes crinolines worn over petticoats as well as a horn shaped hat which is said to represent the horn of the bull. Their traditional festival is held in Okahandja on Maherero day, which falls on the last weekend in August. This includes paramilitary groups parading for their chiefs while the women line the streets in their dresses.