It was with a bit of trepidation that we first met the traditional Himba people of Namibia – an indigenous people of about 50,000 living in Northern Namibia and Angola. We were on our way back from Etosha and our guide had warned us the Himba were aggressive business people, wouldn’t like being photographed too often and would most likely cover our arms in bracelets and try to get us to buy everything! While the latter was true (and I did end up buying a few bracelets after they covered my arms in them), I found the Himba despite their serious business demeanour to be warm, friendly and[…]
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Why the Samburu of Northern Kenya are called Butterfly People
The local people that live in Samburu National Park are called ‘ Butterflies’ because of the beautiful colourful clothes they wear. They are a proud race of semi-nomadic people who still maintain their warrior culture. Samburu also have a special and deep relationship with elephants. They believe that God created man and elephants as brothers and that elephants have special powers. Whenever they come across an elephant carcass, they’ll place pieces of grass or greenery on the skull of the animal as a sign of respect. According to legend, the first elephant who lived with Samburu as their brother was working with a[…]