Bathing helps us to stay clean and fresh. It also helps us remain presentable to others. However, there is an particular African tribe that does not care if their bodies grow a stench.
These are the people of the Himba tribe where North-West Namibia is located in Kunen province of Africa. You must be surprised to know that here women take bath only once in their entire life.
Namibia is a beautiful country that sits in the southern part of Africa. The country has a breathtaking landscape that is dotted with glorious mountains, the Fish River Canyon, gold-grass plains of the Kalahari and wildlife. All of these make Namibia an interesting tourist destination.
However, the peculiar custom of the Himba tribe in Namibia has brought her to the international spotlight, especially in recent times. What makes them popular involves not just their interesting custom, but also their way of life, clothing and economy.
The Himba people, also regarded as the Omuhimba or Ovahimba people, live in northern part of Namibia, especially in the Kunene region.
They are said to offer sed for free and adorn newborns with beaded necklaces. Although the Himba people engage cooperatively with neighbouring tribes, they live in seclusion and are wary of external contacts.
This is their way of resisting contamination to their beliefs and culture. Himba is one of the warmest tribes in Africa and they are courteous to strangers and visitors alike. They, however, frown at anything that will threaten their cultural values and traditions.
The Himba people are predominantly farmers. They raise different breeds of livestock especially goats, cattle, sheep, etc. The women collect firewood, search for potable water, cook and serve meals, and skillfully make things by hand.
Some members of the tribe are religious and socially inclined, worshipping the gods of their ancestors. They can be polygamous, marrying many of their girls off at an early age.
One peculiar thing about this tribe is that they do not take baths with water. This is mostly because of their harsh climatic conditions. The Himba people live in one of the most extreme environments on earth with the harsh desert climate and the unavailability of potable water.
These women bath in life once when they get married. Along with bath she can not wash clothes too. Without even taking baths, these women also keep themselves fresh and fresh.
Women of this tribe are different and even their color is red. Tell you that, these women use special herbs for bathing. They boil it in water and keep their body fresh with its smoke so that they do not get stained.
With its fragrance, their body seems fresh even after bathing. Not only this, these women also shield their bodies from intense sunlight and use a special lotion for them. This lotion is made from animal fat and Hematite (a mineral element like iron) and due to this, their color is also red.
These lotions protect them from insects, and with this red colour they also look different from the men, so they keep themselves red. They are also called Red Man.
