Jessica Andrus and Greg Thompson, Anthropology
Introduction
The Himba of Namibia have only recently been introduced to formal education within the past 20 years. Previously, formal education was not as readily available to them. This has led to a major cultural shift among the Himba. Traditionally, the Himba do not count, read, or speak English, but formal education is changing that. Through an ethnographic study in Otutati, Namibia, I found that the reasons the Himba are more positive towards education is because they have found ways to reconcile the traditional culture and formal education, enjoying the benefits of both lifestyles.
Methodology
For my research among the Himba, I conducted a four-week long ethnographic field study among the Himba in north-western Namibia. This consisted of me living with the Himba, participating in their daily life, and interacting with them on a regular basis. I observed classrooms at two different schools, and I interviewed Himba teachers, parents, students, and other Himba community members on their views of formal education. When I came back to BYU after having conducted my fieldwork, I did extensive data analysis. This included transcriptions of interviews, coding my field notes and other data, and writing extensive memos on the themes that appeared in my data. I used a data analysis software entitled MAXQDA. I then used my findings to write my undergraduate thesis and presented papers based on my findings at three different research conferences.
Results & Discussion
From my research among the Himba, I found that Himba attitudes towards formal education were generally more positive than what Hailombe (2011) reported three years previously. They liked their children going to school and wanted them to go to school, even though they recognized that there were a lot of changes that would take place from their child attending formal school. Many of the Himba recognized that if a child is to attend school they will not be able to fully participate in the traditional culture. When I would ask them if this bothers them they would often respond by saying they just have to “accept it.” They would often mention that it is a “new life” or a “new world” that their children are participating in. It appeared that although the Himba did not want their children to necessarily veer away from the traditional way of life, they felt that formal education was very important and they would just have to accept the consequences that came with it.
The reasons the Himba felt formal education was important was varying, but there were three themes that seemed to come up a lot. Formal education was viewed as important because they viewed it as a way for their children to “learn everything,” knowing English was viewed as one of the most valuable skills in the community, and they could get a wage-earning job if they were educated. The Himba did often appear to view school as the place where the Himba could learn about the world and essentially “learn everything.” They wanted their children to have this knowledge and they viewed education as valuable based on the knowledge gained alone. Most of my informants wanted their children to learn everything, but English was by far the most popular subject. Knowing English is a very valuable skill in Otutati. If one knows English, they can communicate with the tourists, which is seen as very valuable as the tourists will often give them money or food. English is also valuable when going to the hospital in the nearby city. None of the doctors speak Otjiherero, the Himba native language, and this makes going to the hospital a very difficult experience for the Himba. If one knew English, they were viewed as an asset to the Himba community. Gaining a wage-earning job was also one of the most popular reasons the Himba would give as to why school was important. The Himba value the material things that come from the modern world that they know can only be bought with money. Many of them expressed desires to go to school so that they could have money for phones and cars, and I witnessed many Himba crowd around the trucks that came selling various material things on the day the Himba received their regular pension money from the government. The Himba parents also want their children to get wage-earning jobs so that their child could come back and provide for the monetary wants of the family.
I have discussed several reasons as to why it appears Himba have been more accepting and positive about formal education, even though they recognize that there are changes that come with this education. Although they have been more accepting of these changes and put high value on the things that formal education can provide them, I want to make it clear that this does not mean that Himba do not want their traditional lifestyle and culture to continue onto the next generation. They want the traditional culture to continue, but they also want to be able to have these benefits that come from formal education. Therefore, the Himba have found ways to have the benefits from both worlds. Almost all of the families I talked with would not send all of their children to school, but they would have at least one or two children in school. This way, they could have some of their children learning about the world in school and receiving all of the benefits that come from formal education, and they could have their other children helping their parents take care of the animals at home and continue the traditional way of life and culture.
Conclusion
Although this was different from what has been previously reported, I have been able to document fairly positive attitudes towards formal education among Himba. The Himba have started to recognize the changes that occur when their children go to school, but they seem to be more accepting of this “new world.” Formal education brings more knowledge about the world, better communication with English speakers, and wage-earning opportunities to the Himba that would not be possible otherwise. Even though they desire these benefits from formal education, the Himba still desire their traditional culture and lifestyle to continue on in the next generation, and they have found a way to accomplish this by keeping some children at home caring for the animals. Although it is unclear what will happen in the future, I predict that the Himba will continue to develop more positive views of formal education, as well as develop more ways to have the benefits of formal education and living the traditional lifestyle.
References Cited
- Hailombe, Onesmus. Education Equity and Quality in Namibia: A Case Study of Mobile Schools in the Kuene Region. Pretoria: University of Pretoria, November 2011.