Diving headfirst into Oshiwambo culture at Ongula

People visit Namibia for many different reasons. While some come to experience our majestic free-roaming wildlife and neverending landscapes, others come here in search of authentic culture. Those looking for the latter will find precisely that at Ongula Village & Homestead Lodge, a place where you will dive headfirst into Oshiwambo culture and emerge with newfound knowledge of Namibia’s largest cultural group.

Located in the heart of the Oshana Region in northern Namibia, Ongula is a quick 30 minute drive from the town of Ondangwa. The roadside on the way to the lodge is dotted with those iconic palm trees and oshanas so synonymous with the area. Over there is a gentleman fishing in a nearby pond, and just a kilometre further a family of four is walking barefoot on the beach-like sand, carrying wood back to their homestead. In a flash we pull up at Ongula’s gate and are welcomed by the professional and friendly staff, some of whom are graduates from the onsite hospitality and tourism academy.

Ongula is a grand space, yet instantly feels like home when you walk into the main building which houses the dining area, lounge, bar and reception. From the corner of your eye, everywhere you look, you see a cultural relic from Oshiwambo. Wicker sofas in the lounge area are upholstered in classic ondelela print and a larger-than-life suspended, woven basket (used for storing mahango) welcomes you in the entryway. We are quickly helped to a refreshing rock shandy while browsing the curio selection of jewellery, baskets and placemats, most of which are made on the premises or in surrounding towns.

Each of the four bungalows have a special touch, be it the combination of dark denim and Ondelela in the curtains, or striking displays of decor fashioned from traditional clay pots. Round, burnt orange in colour, with authentic thatch roofs, the chalets sit like polka dots in the soft, white sand that surrounds them. In the family bungalow foyer, adorning the wall behind a comfy sofa, an interior décor piece created from a traditional Oshiwambo pounding stick (omuhi) used to process mahango’s many forms and extract marula oil.

Features like this, thoughtful and authentic to the area, make a stay extra memorable.

What truly sets Ongula apart and makes it a destination well worth a detour, is the unmatched experience of the homestead tour. On the premises is a functional, permanently inhabited Oshiwambo homestead. At its entrance, our guide shouts a greeting to make sure we are permitted to enter. From a distance comes the reply and we tread carefully in the homestead yard. Duck our heads and enter an enclosed hut where three women are processing mahango and marula oil. We are invited to try a hand at pounding the coarse grain into powder for porridge. With pounding sticks the length of a person and mahango in an opening in the floor, two women pound in turns, creating a beautiful rhythm. After pounding, the grain is sifted with a hand-woven basket and a technique perfected over generations.

Our guide takes great care to explain each aspect of the homestead, from the all-important fire, the room with four entrances used as a reception or foyer, to the wives’ sleeping chambers and how Oshiwambo customs have evolved with the incorporation of Christian belief systems. The homestead tour ends on a perfect note – with a tasting of the local booze brewed from makalani palm fruits. Surprisingly balanced, considering they have yet to figure out what percentage proof the liquor is.

The homestead experience doesn’t end when the donkey cart ride does: a group of young women from the area perform a beautiful dance, their Ondelela skirts dancing along to every stomping beat. With hearts and minds full of Oshiwambo hospitality, the only thing to complete the experience is a wholesome meal of marathon chicken, mopane worms, wild spinach, mahango porridge and fried ground nuts, prepared to perfection and served with a genuine smile.

Ongula Village Homestead Lodge is a deep dive into the rich and colourful culture of northern Namibia, not to mention an incredibly comfortable stay and a true testament to the hospitality of the Oshiwambo people.

Charene Labuschagne

Photography: Le Roux van Schalkwyk & Charene Labuschagne