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AFRICAN CEREMONY
from AFRICAN WHISTLE
THE UNIQUE DISPLAY OF TRADITIONAL DRESSES & WEDDING OUTFITS OF THE HERERO PEOPLE
are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. There were an estimated 250,000 Herero people in Namibia in 2013.
The HERERO
The main Herero group in central Namibia was heavily influenced by Western culture during the colonial period, creating a whole new identity.
The shape of the traditional headdress Ekori, symbolizes the horns of cows (the main source of wealth of the people)
The dress of the Herero is a reflection of the styles of clothing worn by their German colonizers. Though the attire was initially forced upon the Herero, but has now become a new tradition and a point of pride.
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 meters of fabric. The long sleeves display sculptural volume: puffed from the shoulders or frilled at the wrists. Coordinating neckerchiefs are knotted around the neck. Wearing this dresses is customary.
Article by Adamu Ali
