Ovambo people
A Southern African ethnic group
The Ovambo people (pronounced [ovambo] (
listen)), also called Aawambo, Ambo, Aawambo (Ndonga, Nghandjera, Kwambi, Mbalantu), or Ovawambo (Kwanyama) are the main ethnic group in Namibia. They are 49% of the population in Namibia.[1]
 Ovambo men in the early 20th century | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| ~2 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Namibia | ~1.3 million (49.5% of Namibia population)[1][2] |
 Angola | 650,000[2] |
| Languages | |
| Ovambo, English, Portuguese | |
| Religion | |
| Lutheranism, Other[2] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Ovimbundu, Herero and other Bantu peoples | |
Ovambo clans
changeThis table has the names, areas, dialect names and the locations of the Ovambo according to T. E. Tirronen's Ndonga-English Dictionary. The table also has information about the of noun class of the Proto-Bantu language for these words.[3]
| Area | Clan | Dialect | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classes 9 (*ny > on-), 11 (uu-/ou-) | Class 2 (*wa-, a-) | Class 7 (*ki > oshi-) | |
| O-ndonga | Aa-ndonga | Oshi-ndonga | Southern Ovamboland |
| Uu-kwambi | Aa-kwambi | Oshi-kwambi | Central Ovamboland Oshakati |
| O-ngadjera | Aa-ngandjera | Oshi-ngandjera | Central Ovamboland |
| Uu-kwaluudhi | Aa-kwaluudhi | Oshi-kwaluudhi | Western Ovamboland |
| O-mbalanhu | Aa-mbalanhu | Oshi-mbalanhu | Western Ovamboland |
| Uu-kolonkadhi | Aa-kolonkadhi | Oshi-kolonkadhi | Western Ovamboland |
| Ou-kwanyama | Ova-kwanyama | Oshi-kwanyama | Northern and Eastern Ovamboland, Southern Angola |
| E-unda | Ova-unda | Oshi-unda | Western Ovamboland, Epalela vicinity |
| O-mbadja | Ova-mbadja | Oshi-mbadja | Southern Angola, Shangalala region |
References
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Namibia: People and Society, CIA Factbook, United States; "about 50% of the population belong to the Ovambo tribe", total population: 2.4 million
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "The Ambo, Ndonga people group are reported in 2 countries". Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ↑ Toivo Emil Tirronen: Ndonga-English Dictionary. Oshinyanyangidho shongeleki ELCIN. Oniipa, 1986.
Bibliography
change- (in German) Karl Angebauer, Ovambo : Fünfzehn Jahre unter Kaffern, Buschleuten und Bezirksamtmännern, A. Scherl, Berlin, 1927, 257 p.
- (in German) P. H. Brincker, Unsere Ovambo-Mission sowie Land, Leute, Religion, Sitten, Gebräuche, Sprache usw. der Ovakuánjama-Ovámbo, nach Mitteilungen unserer Ovambo-Missionare zusammengestellt, Barmen, 1900, 76 p.
- (in German) Wolfgang Liedtke & Heinz Schippling, Bibliographie deutschsprachiger Literatur zur Ethnographie und Geschichte der Ovambo, Nordnamibia, 1840–1915, annotiert, Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden, Dresde, 1986, 261 p.
- Teddy Aarni, The Kalunga concept in Ovambo religion from 1870 onwards, University of Stockholm, Almquist & Wiksell, 1982, 166 p. ISBN 91-7146-301-1.
- Leonard N. Auala, The Ovambo : our problems and hopes, Munger Africana Library, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Cal.), 1973, 32 p.
- Allan D. Cooper, Ovambo politics in the twentieth century, University Press of America, Lanham, Md., 2001, 350 p. ISBN 0-7618-2110-4.
- Gwyneth Davies, The medical culture of the Ovambo of Southern Angola and Northern Namibia, University of Kent at Canterbury, 1993 (thesis)
- Patricia Hayes, A history of the Ovambo of Namibia, c 1880-1935, University of Cambridge, 1992 (thesis)
- Maija Hiltunen, Witchcraft and sorcery in Ovambo, Finnish Anthropological Society, Helsinki, 1986, 178 p. ISBN 951-95434-9-X
- Maija Hiltunen, Good magic in Ovambo, Finnish Anthropological Society, Helsinki, 1993, 234 p. ISBN 952-9573-02-2
- Matti Kuusi, Ovambo proverbs with African parallels, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Helsinki, 1970, 356 p.
- Carl Hugo Linsingen Hahn, The native tribes of South-West Africa : The Ovambo - The Berg Damara - The bushmen of South West Africa - The Nama - The Herero, Cape Times Ltd., Le Cap, 1928, 211 p.
- Seppo Löytty, The Ovambo sermon : a study of the preaching of the Evangelical Lutheran Ovambo-Kavango Church in South West Africa, Luther-Agricola Society, Tampere (Finland), 1971, 173 p.
- Giorgio Miescher, The Ovambo Reserve Otjeru (1911–1938) : the story of an African community in Central Namibia, Basler Afrika Bibliographien, Bâle, 2006, 22 p.
- Ramiro Ladeiro Monteiro, Os ambós de Angola antes da independência, Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas, Lisbon, 1994, 311 p. (thesis, in (in Portuguese))