Angola’s tribal groups

The Himba

This ethnic group has a large territory across southern Africa. In Angola, the Himba live in the culturally rich region around Oncocua. In common with lots of Angola’s tribes, it is the women who maintain traditional dress to a greater degree than men. They wear skirts made from animal skins, with long chains and beads hanging down, and treat their hair and bodies with a mix of butter fat and ochre, giving them a rich red tone and protecting their skin from the dry climate and from insect bites. Hairstyles denote a woman’s age and whether she’s married or not, and tend to feature thick dreadlocks coated in fat and ochre, ending in a pompom of hair. When girls reach puberty they are given a Himba crown, the erembe, made of cow or goat leather.

The Mutua

Another tribal group living in the remote lands near Oncocua, the Mutua live in small settlements and rather than owning livestock, rely on honey and fruit gathering. They are considered lower caste by other neighbouring tribes and, while resembling the Himba, generally have less elaborate hairstyles and dress.

When visiting remote tribal groups like those in Angola, a huge amount of sensitivity is required. The delicate balancing act that any travel here must strike is between learning about these isolated and unusual cultures, but in a way that is fair and non-exploitative. Many of the tribespeople here have had little contact with western travellers – or indeed anyone much beyond their tribe or neighbouring tribes. Responsible tourism is crucial.

Southern Angola is so far off the tourist trail that only a handful of operators lead trips here. They will have built up relationships with the local tribespeople, so that both they and the visiting travellers get something from the encounter. Guides are local to the south of Angola but not to the tribal groups visited. Usually, someone in the tribes can speak a little Portuguese and act as a translator between the languages. Tour operators also operate strict guidelines for travel, in an effort to respect local people and life; the very thing travellers come to see. Responsibility lies with the traveller, too. While the cost and effort of visiting Angola and its remoteness naturally filters out the flippant visitor, some people will be motivated to come simply to photograph tribal groups and run the risk of objectifying them. Of course, on a 10 day visit, you don’t have time to engage deeply with local people, but you do have a duty to behave responsibly and should be here because you’re genuinely interested in the lifestyles and deep traditions of these people, and not because you simply want to bag some impressive photos.

Tourism plays an uneasy role in tribal culture – it is an outside influence, but one that often rewards tribes financially for staying as they are. In more visited parts of the world, tourism has led to tribes ‘playing up’ parts of their culture for tourism, in ways that may not always be beneficial to the community as a whole. It is important that tourism money gives tribes options and agency rather than indebting them to systems and ways of living that don’t work for their communities.