How To Welcome A Guest In The Owambo Traditional Homestead (Namibian Culture)

This video narrates a short story about the Owambo Culture of Namibia
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[@helviniita]

Unique & great content 👌. Keep it up. However, I would like add to the content by sharing how we do welcome a guest in Ongandjera and Uukwaluudhi (aawambo sub-sets): 1. A guest calls for welcoming while she stands at the main enterance (outside the enterance) by saying: "Megumboo!". 2. Someone in the house responds to the guest's calling (often after the 2nd calling) by saying: "oomuka!". 3. The guest enters the homestead only after hearing a response from inside the homestead. 4. If a guest is carrying a basket on top of her head she doesn't need to sit nor wait for anybody to come and tell her where to go. For as long as she have received that response "oomuka", she proceed inside the homestead towards the kitchen area and place the basket infront of any of the huts at the kitchen area. NB tip: In general as guest to an aawambo homestead who is carrying a basket you should look out for the kitchen area when you enter the homestead. It is also acceptable to ask for direction from anybody you meet in the corridors of the house if you are not sure where the kitchen area is. You can say: "could you please show me the way to the kitchen?" = "kegulo oko ngaa hunoo/kelugo okuni/ kelugo okunipo ano/ kelugo kwiipeni ano?" 5. If someone comes to meet the guest or even if there were people nearby as she enters the homestead, she still proceed uninterupted to go drop off the basket first at the kitchen area and return to the main enterance (but inside) or at the shade near the main enterance ('oshitala') to wait to be welcomed properly in the house. 6. Proper welcoming entails: someone going to meet, greet & get the guest from the main enterance where she is seated and take her to a special area within the homestead e.g a hut or traditional shade ('okatala') or sitting room etc where she will be propely greeted and welcomed. 7. Other things such as offering a drink & preparing food for the guest then follow just as shown in the video. 8. Once the food is ready there is always someone appointed to go eat with the guest e.g a child from the same homestead or a neighbour depending on the type of guest (apointee eating with the guest is known in oshiwambo as 'okufala omuyenda kiimbale') . As a matter of oshiwambo rule the appointee should not eat too much from the food prepared for the guest and should leave politely shortly after they have started eating. Leaving the guest to enjoy the feast. 9. After the guest is done eating, someone from the homestead will come by and remove the baskets or plates (where food was served) including leftovers. 10. Elders or any other person (s) necessary will then come back to the guest and continue their conversation. 11. When it is time for the guest to return home, the elder (woman) of the house at that moment prepares a token of appreciation ('eenganda') for the guest and put it in the basket that the guest came with. She then places the basket outside one of the huts at the kitchen area (in most cases the same hut where the basket was placed when the guest first arrived). That is where the guest will collect it (the basket). Unfortunately I cannot go into further details, because what I have written here is really too long a piece to read already. Once more this is additional info to compliment the content of the video. Let's keep learning, unlearning and re-learning from one another.

[@teonamandje5239]

Helviniita, thanks very much. I have learned so much from your script. In future we can collab for a video:)!!

[@helviniita]

@@teonamandje5239 as I said that was just an addition to an already amazing content you have created. Keep it up and continue educating us🤗. Your videos are unique.

[@elizabethmateus2660]

thank you so very much helviniita, what brought me on the comment section was to write exactry what you wrote there, i am a ngandjera, thats exactry how we receive quests. and thank you so very much Teo Namandje for the amazing educational video. keep up the good work!!!

[@teonamandje5239]

@@elizabethmateus2660 Thanks Elizabeth for the beautiful comment 😀😍

[@Cecyk]

Oh woooooooooooow, amazing. Keep it up

[@taunotravels931]

Teo! You’re a great actor! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 This is amazing.

[@blondembandja9719]

Great content Teopo, Cant wait for more

[@NdinaNehemia]

Teo!!! This is AMAZING!! So informative. Please keep it up.

[@sisterk3847]

This is such great content Teo😊

[@Ndapewa1988]

Such a beautiful video and content Teopo ❤️

[@Namtrendingvideos]

Great video family 🙏🇳🇦

[@healthwithgrace2083]

So unique content🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 I love it

[@helvynestor6563]

Soo cool Teo

[@marthakatega3511]

This is very beautiful to watch ✌️

[@SizzlesDiaries]

Great content, keep it up🙏🏿

[@teonamandje5239]

Thanks so much .

[@klaw1425]

In my tribe in Northern ghana the visitor or stranger load or bag is first help with and immediately give water before exchanging greetings

[@monikapawana6673]

Wooow!

[@QueenDesta]

Wow. This is beautiful. Amazing content

[@teonamandje5239]

Thanks Damaris.

[@gregorydavinci]

❤😊

[@hilmashimuku7032]

Thumb up she deserve more likes

[@jasonmarshal5694]

We need more

[@mrplumtreeandfamily9899]

Nice content sister I like this rural area keep showing us more

[@teonamandje5239]

Thank you:)! I appreciate.

[@samuelegger5070]

Well done - very informative- good actress

[@teonamandje5239]

Thanks Sam.

[@nnmzulu.401]

Gogo and yenda are word that I understand.

[@reginaldndokotola3869]

This is amazing Teo thank you 🎉

[@teonamandje5239]

Thank you Reginald.

[@foibeshoopala971]

We did it yeepy🥰🥰 with my Mentor Teo

[@teonamandje5239]

Yeah Foibe. We did it:)!

[@mrplumtreeandfamily9899]

You got my subscription

[@kimmysempire2900]

Nice one

[@annaabraham6804]

No no you can't sit to wait someone to welcome you in the house no you have to come straight kelimba drop imbale poshivelo shelimba tokala omutumba mokatal watelela wuyee ukundwe that is how i know

[@miriamluphahla6429]

Good stuff, I visited 3 different homestead, l was not offered even water 🙆

[@kabelomoola1846]

I love it, some of the Owambo words sounds like South African language Tswana, Sesotho, Sepedi

[@teonamandje5239]

Really? Africa is one. Thanks for watching Kabelo.

[@teonamandje5239]

Ooh really? Africa is the same:)

[@simonhaufiku5960]

This is super beautiful I love it, egumbo ndjono is it a royal house so big

[@teonamandje5239]

Thanks Simon 😀

[@teonamandje5239]

Yes, it is a royal house

[@simonhaufiku5960]

@@teonamandje5239 which part of the north is the house I would to visit?

[@teonamandje5239]

@@simonhaufiku5960 Okaku

[@andymcneill1849]

Eish, Mee Teo... this is exactly how I remember my welcome from Scotland when I arrived in the north of Namibia, in Outapi. Namibians are shiri nawa ka kadona, even on Eveline St in Greenwell lol ;)

[@teonamandje5239]

Hi Andy. I’m glad you can relate. Are you still in Namibia?

[@andymcneill1849]

@@teonamandje5239 afternoon Teo. Unfortunately I am now living in Glasgow, Scotland. I lived in Katutura near by Single Quarters. Do you know where I mean my friend? Do you live in the north?

[@teonamandje5239]

Yes, I know the place, single quarters. I live in Windhoek.

[@andymcneill1849]

@@teonamandje5239 Single Quarters... best place in Namibia. I miss the kapana, matangara and even the smilie, lol... 🙂

[@FreedomBiafra]

Good video! Are the Aawambo people related to khoisan? I'm Haitian and I'm trying to figure out how I ended up with 7.5% Aawambo DNA. I've been trying to find as much information on this beautiful culture and history.

[@omeshoonhwasceneries9898]

Aawambo form part of Angola too. Such as some of our tribes are still to date cut in between with some of our close relatives still in Angola. And during the slave trade era, especially the Portuguese, many people were taken from Angola for slavery too. It’s also documented for some of our Aawambo Kingdoms as well. Majority of those taken from Angola are now very well know to be in Brazil etc.

[@FreedomBiafra]

​@@omeshoonhwasceneries9898 thank you, do they have congo ties also?

[@omeshoonhwasceneries9898]

@@FreedomBiafra Yes, Aawambo are Bantu and according to our legends , we are the people from the great lakes and we came from/through (east/ central) Africa. If you look up Aawambo migration or Bantu migration, you will see that it strecthes all the way from upper Congo through to the east of Africa down to south of Africa. When you listen to Aawambo language, and the Central African Bantu languages (Lingala and Bakongo language), we have a lot of similar words even down to our concept of the Supreme Being. So at some point we were just one people. The Bakongo Kingdom stretched all the way through some parts of what is now Angola and Congo.

[@FreedomBiafra]

@@omeshoonhwasceneries9898 thank you, I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge

[@Nghilifa]

I don't know if you'll read this, but I'm Aawambo (Kwanyama actually, not the same kingdom as depicted here) too, and I did a dna test with a now defunct company named DNA Tribes. My closest/Strongest match from the African diaspora (that they had in their database at least) was Haiti. I don't know which company you used, but that at the very least should prove that your result is fairly accurate! 🙏🏿👍🏿@@FreedomBiafra

[@josefinakemah4632]

Maybe other vambu tribes, not kwanyamas

[@user-kd9xp9se1v]

Th little girl suppose to sit

[@teonamandje5239]

I know right 😀

[@saimainnoh5743]

Not well presented, maybe in other owambo tribes but in ovakwanyama tribe if a woman come visiting with a busket then traditionally she will walk straight to the kitchen put the busket pelimba but not half half ways

[@Leonardnuugulu]

Tru

[@ekiamediambedeka5188]

Doubtful! Not sure if it really represents the original culture. Or perhaps it differs depending on sub-tribes.

[@seveliashaalukeni3439]

For really? I thought omweenda oye mwene ha eta oimbale yaye pepata aiii um not familiar with this one kaa. I will make a research about this. Yoh I knew nothing about our traditional

[@saimainnoh5743]

I agree with you,

[@ailyshiveli292]

Yes omweenda must take iimbale poshivelo shelimba