The fascinating and isolated ethnic group of the Himba tribe of Namibia & Angola influenced the persona ‘Binti’ in Nnedi Okorafor’s novella Trilogy ‘Binti’.
Among inhabitants of above 50,000, the Himba are a polygamous people where Himba girls are married off to male partners arranged by their elders in their community once they reach adolescence. The majority of their customs have been justified regardless of western sway and distress.
Amid these, the Male comes first in oral history. The female has no opinion in the settlement. Submission to her husband’s demands comes first. It is normal, for them, for the women to take part in the everyday pursuit of milking cows, and looking after the children while the men go hunting for the daily meal.
When a traveler comes about knocking, The head of the family grants his compliance and gratification of witnessing his visitor by giving him the Okujepisa Omukazendu treatment — the wife is designated to his guest to spend the night while the husband sleeps in another room. In a case where there is no available room, her husband will spend the night alone in a different room outside. This, apparently, brings down envy and nurtures mutual connection.
Another separate oral history that distinguishes the experiment is that bathing is prohibited. Instead of taking shower, the women take a smoke bath and apply aromatic wax on their peel. They are also guided by the belief that the color red signifies Earth and blood. Their red skin is one of the things that make them extremely unique. The red color is from the Otjize paste (a combination of butterfat, Omuzumba scrub, and ochre) and its purpose is to safeguard their peel from the harsh desert conditions, sunshine, and insect bites among others.
The Himba community hasn’t been portrayed frequently in Creative African Traditional Writings. However, in Nnendi Okorafor Binti, the usher character ‘Binti’ is of the Himba people.