In the harsh Namibian desert lives a semi-nomadic tribe with ancient, and very strange, customs when it comes to sex.
The Himba people have marital and moral views that are "completely different from the Western culture or the culture of the rest of the world”.
A documentary by African History TV explains: “For the Himba people, the husbands giving their wives to visitors to have sex with is considered the highest form of hospitality”. The unusual custom is said to show a “warm welcome” to strangers and eliminates the kind of sexual jealousy that can affect more conventional marriages.
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Women have a great meany responsibilities among the Himba. They tend to perform more labor-intensive work than men and boys in the tribe, such as looking after livestock and maintaining the traditional red clay houses as well as cooking, cleaning and childcare.
The Himba culture is relatively cut off from the rest of Namibian society. The estimated 50,000 Himba people live a very traditional life and one small group – the OvaHimba – have a hunter-gatherer lifestyle that hasn’t change in tens of thousands of years.
Men in the tribe commonly have two wives, but genetic testing of one sample group show that more than 70% of Himba men bring up at least one child that had been fathered by another man.
Divorce is said to be very easy for Himba women and not at all uncommon. “Births outside of marriages, or extra-marital affairs are not considered a big deal,” the documentary says, and every child has a “social father” to help bring them up.
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It continues: “Among the Himba tribe, wife swapping is a tradition that has existed for centuries …even before civilisation. According to this age-old tradition a man can allow his wife to sleep with any man who wants to spend the night in his home. While the visitor is spending a nice time with the wife, the husband is expected to spend the night in another room.”
But this ancient way of life is under threat. As Western influences spread through Namibia, Himba children feel ashamed of their “backward” ways.
One Himba man, Owen Kataparo, told the BBC: "When I'm in traditional clothes outside the village, I get strange looks.” He says he’s treated more seriously by outsiders if he wears Western-style clothes.
But many young Himba that seek a more modern way of life are disappointed. "A lot of boys leave the village and go down into the town to try to find a job," he adds.
"Some of the boys find a job, some of the boys don't find a job, and then some of them decide to take alcohol. They end up abusing their life."
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