OVANDU VA NDJAMBI, NOT HERERO

The idea of forming a forum for all the "Herero" speaking people refered to as the OVAHERERO YOUTH LEAGUE is a noble idea which needs nurturing. It needs efforts from all of us especially the sons and daughters of my people. We have to find ways and means which will not repel but attract members from all the tribal groups. We should also be careful, apply our minds to the project, and avoid unnecessary hindrances. One such problem I forsee is the choice of the name.

Over the years, there has been a lot of debate on the origion of the name HERERO as it has come to be noted and accepted by the "majority" of my people and others to refer to my people.
It is debatable as to the fact that this WAS the origional name. And also there are several theories which try to explain why we came to be known by the different names. So to use or try to make the other tribes to become sub-tribes of the Herero is not fare. It is a theory that tries to hide the origion of the other tribes. Which makes one think of the fact that the theory claims that there are Herero proper and Herero sub-groups!

I have come to accept that the right name that embraces all the groups could have been: OVANDU VA NDJAMBI KARUNGA. Or just "OVANDU".

This could be loosely and directly translated as "People of Ndjambi Karunga/Ndjambi Karunga's People".

Ndjambi here refers to God, the creator of all things and the all powerful. The belief is that we as a people came from or we were created by this God, Ndjambi. That is why we are his people.

Ovandu has the same meaning as BANTU or people.

There are several questions to be asked;
When did we start using the other names if we were origionally called by the name Herero?

Who was the first Paramount chief/King of my people before the divisions?

On the Ovambanderu side before Kahimemua, we had the following Kings;
Kandjeke-ua- Handura»
Nguvauva I »
Tjozohongo
Kavari

Kavari ua Tjiponda ngua enda no zongombe tji zaza ko mange ko meva omarandati kokure ke tandero enene kuku rikuriro ozongombe.

Kavari katjikombo tate tjaa tji haumbua ndende uananene ko murungu ua Tjozohongo nu eje uanana ngunda a pehina o central leadership jo muhoko.  In short he was leading a clan just like the Muundjuas and others.

Oral history has it that Tjozohongo lived way before the 1800s. We might also note that some of the leaders noted here might have lived from as early as the earliest noted Herero chiefs.

Kavari ka Tjikombo Tate ndjihaumbua ondende ua ta mo vita vio Vuena mo Ndekeremba... I can't remember the years, but it could have been around the 1600s... This means that Munjuku lived after him.... Oumbanderu started way before we came into central Namibia... King Tjozohongo died in Kaoko, the Mbanderus were there.. In Kaoko today there are oVambanderu families who remained there when most of my people migrated south into central Namibia.

Infact, Kavari lived from the early 1700 or late 1690s. These divisions came about when we moved from central africa like all the bantu people. What is clear is that the early leaders worked together in times of peace and war. The issues comes in when you want to reflect one tribe as the root of the other. There will be hamony if we recognise that coexistance is vital if we reject the the teaching which tries to cover the other side with the other. For me a wayforward should be to recognise that we came from Ndjambi.

We are all oVandu va Ndjambi Karunga, despite our current divisions into different clans. Thats what we should use. We should come up with common goals which will help resolve our challenges as a people.