The following snippets from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons were presented in February 2021 to a group of Ovahimba elders from Kunene Region. I present Wikipedia's voice, and the elders' comments, together with a verdict whether the image should be used in an article on the Ovahimba ("accepted") or not ("rejected").
Wikipedia's voice (from Himba people):A traditional regional Leader or Headman of the OvaHimba - Chief Kapuka Thom († 2009) of the Vita (Thom) Royal House with his grandson
Elders' comments: Could, or could not, be Kapuka Thom. I don't recognise him on this picture.
Wikipedia's voice (from Himba people): Himba woman and some of her family standing in her father's homestead in Otutati, Kunene Region, Namibia.
Elders' comments: The woman wears no crown (headpiece) and no shell. Those are major ornaments. The boy to the woman's right wears his loincloth the wrong way. The hut should be covered with dung, not reed.
Wikipedia's voice (from Himba people): Temporary Himba homestead near Uis in Namibia (2014)
Elders' comments: Not typical. Building material cannot be tents. If they have cows it will be cow dung, if they don't they'll take leaves. Questionable if there even are Avahimba so far south of Kaokoland.
The OvaHimba are polygamous, with the average Himba man being husband to two wives at the same time. They also practice early arranged marriages. Young Himba girls are married to male partners chosen by their fathers. This happens from the onset of puberty,[1] which may mean that girls aged 10 or below are married off. This practice is illegal in Namibia, and even some OvaHimba contest it, but it is nevertheless widespread.[2]
Groups of the last remaining hunters and gatherers Ovatwa are held in secured camps in the northern part of Namibia's Kunene region, despite complaints by the traditional Himba chiefs that the Ovatwa are held there without their consent and against their wishes.[3]
Elders' comments: An explanation is missing: The Ovatwa don't have a structure of chieftaincy, that's why the Ovahimba chiefs took charge of the situation.
On October 14, 2013, Himba chief Kapika, on behalf of his region Epupa and the community which was featured in German RTL reality TV show Wild Girls condemned the misuse of Himba people, individuals and villagers in the show, and demanded the halt of broadcasting any further episodes as they would mock the culture and way of being of the Himba people.[4]
The OvaHimba are a monotheistic people who worship the god Mukuru, as well as their clan's ancestors (ancestor reverence). Mukuru only blesses, while the ancestors can bless and curse.[5] Each family has its own sacred ancestral fire, which is kept by the fire-keeper. The fire-keeper approaches the sacred ancestral fire every seven to eight days in order to communicate with Mukuru and the ancestors on behalf of his family.[6] Often, because Mukuru is busy in a distant realm, the ancestors act as Mukuru's representatives.[6]
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