UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE Department of Anthropology & Sociology Olufuko revisited: Female initiation in contemporary Ombadja, Northern Namibia. A photograph of a young Mbadja woman who went through olufuko in August 2012 at Outapi Presented in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology Erastus T. Kautondokwa Supervisor: Professor Heike Becker 25 November 2014 Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................... i Declaration .............................................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ iii Chapter 1 ................................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Brief historical background of Owambo ....................................................................................... 1 1.2 Olufuko 2013: Ritual and its contestations in the public realm.................................................... 2 1.3 Heritage politics and state-making ............................................................................................... 7 1.4 Performing nationhood: olufuko regional ceremony gets national status ................................. 14 1.5 Researching olufuko: reflections ................................................................................................. 17 1.6 Outlined structure and content of the research ......................................................................... 19 Chapter 2 Calves becoming cows ......................................................................................................... 22 2.1 Crossing the line from girlhood to womanhood ......................................................................... 24 2.2 The rituals of ekotolo/okukotolwa .............................................................................................. 32 2.3 Omanghako ritual ....................................................................................................................... 33 2.4 Earlier ethnographic discussions of olufuko ............................................................................... 34 2.4.1 The festival seasons ............................................................................................................. 34 2.4.2 Food and beverages served to ovafuko during the ceremony ............................................ 37 2.4.3 Involvement of a chief ......................................................................................................... 39 2.5 Social significance of olufuko ...................................................................................................... 40 2.6 Symbolic significance of olufuko rituals ...................................................................................... 43 2.7 Personal and kinship significance ............................................................................................... 46 2.8 Contemporary public performance of olufuko ........................................................................... 48 2.9 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 48 Chapter 3 Heritage and identity discourse in post-colonial Namibia ................................................... 51 3.1 Olufuko Festival at Outapi ........................................................................................................... 52 3.1.1 The exhibition tents .............................................................................................................. 57 3.1.2 The ritual ceremony ............................................................................................................. 58 3.1.3 The official opening program ............................................................................................... 64 3.1.4 Presentation of speeches ..................................................................................................... 66 3.2 Olufuko accorded a national status: analysis of the opening ceremony .................................... 69 3.2.1 Traditional Authorities and Culture groups ......................................................................... 74 3.2.2 The festival actors ................................................................................................................ 75 3.2.3 Musicians ............................................................................................................................. 76 3.3 Cultural heritage and identity discourse in post-colonial Namibia and the reconstruction of olufuko .............................................................................................................................................. 77 3.4 Olufuko as heritage development for tourism ........................................................................... 80 3.5 Religious Representations ........................................................................................................... 85 3.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 86 Chapter 4 Contested notions of olufuko in post-colonial Namibia ....................................................... 87 4.1 A move forward .......................................................................................................................... 89 4.2 ELCIN’s stance on olufuko ........................................................................................................... 91 4.3 The Pastoral letter ....................................................................................................................... 91 4.4 Olufuko is un-Christian: voices of ELCIN church leaders ............................................................. 93 4.5 Conflict between Bishop Shanghala and the Olufuko Preparatory Committee ....................... 102 4.6 Haindongo disappointed by the Okalongo Traditional Authority ............................................. 102 4.7 Heritage discourse and Christianisation ................................................................................... 104 4.8 ‘It is my culture’: the Olufuko Preparatory Committee and ritual leaders ............................... 106 4.9 ‘National identity’ versus ‘heathenism’ earlier controversy over the olufuko ......................... 109 4.10 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 112 Chapter 5 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 115 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................... 120 Abstract This thesis analyses post-independence Namibian Heritage and identity discourse and its contestations through the contemporary public performance of olufuko. Olufuko is the ritual of female initiation that marks the transition of young girls into adulthood. The initiation has been an important aspect of the Aawambo1 women’s identity that live in north-central Namibia and southern Angola as it is believed to legitimise womanhood. I show how Owambo residents embrace regional or ethnic diversity through the performance of olufuko as a way of expressing their belonging. Throughout the thesis, I also reflect on the fact that through national attendance at, participation in, and performing of olufuko by state representatives and individuals, from all the regions of Namibia and beyond, people have expressed their belonging to a nation state. During olufuko ceremonies, both regional and national state representatives advocated the ideas of nation-building through ‘unity in diversity’, which emphasises the diversity of ethnic backgrounds while harmoniously coexisting. Following Becker (2004), and Becker and Lentz (2013), my central argument is that in the contemporary dispensation, national citizenship in Namibia appears to be defined largely through the emphasis on regional or ethnic diversity. In my discussion, I show how the state appropriated and mediated the olufuko ceremony as a national event, though it was performed at the regional level. I show how national identity was visibly represented by national symbols such as the national flag and anthem and how it was audibly live broadcasted by state television and radio during the event. This signified the event as national. The thesis further investigates how national heritage is discussed in post-colonial Namibia by looking into the controversies between the state and ELCIN religious leaders which emanated from the performance of olufuko. The thesis is based on ethnographic research, which was conducted between December 2012, during olufuko ceremonies that took place in villages in Ombadja, and August 2013, when it culminated in participant observation during the public olufuko ceremony at Outapi, Ombalantu. 1 Owambo is an area which lies north of the Etosha Pan in Namibia. It is comprised of nine polities which extend from southern Angola down