• Home
  • CULTURAL
  • Ondonga postpones community events due to elections
POSTPONED: The Ondonga Traditional Authority has postponed two events due to upcoming elections.
POSTPONED: The Ondonga Traditional Authority has postponed two events due to upcoming elections.

Ondonga postpones community events due to elections

Boys’ initiation to take place next year
In light of the upcoming elections, the Ondonga Traditional Authority has shelved key events for now.
Kenya Kambowe
The Ondonga Traditional Authority has indefinitely postponed its community meeting that was scheduled to take place this past Saturday to allow communities to engage in political activities ahead of next month’s general elections.

Another event, known as the Epito lye tanda (boys’ initiation) keKango lyOmongwa, which was scheduled for September, has also been postponed to next year due to the ongoing political campaigns.

This announcement was made by the chairperson of the traditional authority, John Walenga, at a media briefing last week.

Walenga said the decision to postpone the community meeting was taken at a leadership sitting on 3 October.

“The Ondonga Traditional Authority decided that the community meeting, which was initially called to take place on 12 October, should be postponed to a later date that will be communicated,” Walenga said.

“This is to allow the community to engage in their political activities, leading up to the national and presidential elections later in November. However, as is custom, any member of the community that has grievances should approach the Ondonga Traditional Authority office and follow the established structures."

Walenga explained that due to election season, a decision was also taken to "move the annual Epito lye tanda keKango lyOmongwa to only take place next year.”

The Epito lye tanda, which is the boys’ initiation that takes place at the Etosha Salt Pan, is an ancient tradition meant to, as they explained, instill positive masculinity among Ondonga men.

Preventing boys from "becoming gay" and preparing them for future leadership positions were among the other reasons cited by the traditional authority for their decision to revive the tradition.

[email protected]

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-02-14

No comments have been left on this article

Please login to leave a comment

Six Nations: Scotland 18 vs 32 Ireland | England 26 vs 25 France | Italy 22 vs 15 Wales Premier League: Everton 2 vs 2 Liverpool Katima Mulilo: 18° | 28° Rundu: 18° | 28° Eenhana: 18° | 27° Oshakati: 19° | 27° Ruacana: 18° | 27° Tsumeb: 18° | 25° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 24° Omaruru: 19° | 29° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Gobabis: 19° | 22° Henties Bay: 18° | 22° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 10:40, High tide: 04:44, Low Tide: 22:43, High tide: 16:54 Swakopmund: 17° | 18° Wind speed: 17km/h, Wind direction: NW, Low tide: 10:38, High tide: 04:42, Low Tide: 22:41, High tide: 16:52 Walvis Bay: 18° | 21° Wind speed: 18km/h, Wind direction: NW, Low tide: 10:38, High tide: 04:41, Low Tide: 22:41, High tide: 16:51 Rehoboth: 21° | 30° Mariental: 24° | 35° Keetmanshoop: 26° | 37° Aranos: 21° | 33° Lüderitz: 15° | 27° Ariamsvlei: 24° | 39° Oranjemund: 15° | 23° Luanda: 26° | 29° Gaborone: 20° | 31° Lubumbashi: 17° | 21° Mbabane: 17° | 24° Maseru: 18° | 31° Antananarivo: 18° | 22° Lilongwe: 19° | 29° Maputo: 22° | 31° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Cape Town: 19° | 24° Durban: 21° | 24° Johannesburg: 18° | 30° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 17° | 19° Harare: 17° | 23° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.06 | EUR to NAD 19.25 | CNY to NAD 2.53 | USD to NAD 18.35 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.64 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.21 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 134.95 | USD to AOA 912 | USD to BWP 13.83 | USD to EGP 50.59 | USD to KES 129.22 | USD to NGN 1509 | USD to ZAR 18.36 | USD to ZMW 28.15 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 88717.13 Up +1.00% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1797.63 Up +0.36% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 16452.23 Up +0.33% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 29997.11 Up +1.13% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 10063.87 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 882.51/OZ DOWN -0.0166 | Copper US$ 4.62/lb DOWN -0.0272 | Zinc US$ 2 857.30/T DOWN -0.07% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 75.04/BBP DOWN -0.0082 | Platinum US$ 1 002.04/OZ DOWN -0.0355 Sport results: Six Nations: Scotland 18 vs 32 Ireland | England 26 vs 25 France | Italy 22 vs 15 Wales Premier League: Everton 2 vs 2 Liverpool Weather: Katima Mulilo: 18° | 28° Rundu: 18° | 28° Eenhana: 18° | 27° Oshakati: 19° | 27° Ruacana: 18° | 27° Tsumeb: 18° | 25° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 24° Omaruru: 19° | 29° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Gobabis: 19° | 22° Henties Bay: 18° | 22° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 10:40, High tide: 04:44, Low Tide: 22:43, High tide: 16:54 Swakopmund: 17° | 18° Wind speed: 17km/h, Wind direction: NW, Low tide: 10:38, High tide: 04:42, Low Tide: 22:41, High tide: 16:52 Walvis Bay: 18° | 21° Wind speed: 18km/h, Wind direction: NW, Low tide: 10:38, High tide: 04:41, Low Tide: 22:41, High tide: 16:51 Rehoboth: 21° | 30° Mariental: 24° | 35° Keetmanshoop: 26° | 37° Aranos: 21° | 33° Lüderitz: 15° | 27° Ariamsvlei: 24° | 39° Oranjemund: 15° | 23° Luanda: 26° | 29° Gaborone: 20° | 31° Lubumbashi: 17° | 21° Mbabane: 17° | 24° Maseru: 18° | 31° Antananarivo: 18° | 22° Lilongwe: 19° | 29° Maputo: 22° | 31° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Cape Town: 19° | 24° Durban: 21° | 24° Johannesburg: 18° | 30° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 17° | 19° Harare: 17° | 23° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.06 | EUR to NAD 19.25 | CNY to NAD 2.53 | USD to NAD 18.35 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.64 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.21 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 134.95 | USD to AOA 912 | USD to BWP 13.83 | USD to EGP 50.59 | USD to KES 129.22 | USD to NGN 1509 | USD to ZAR 18.36 | USD to ZMW 28.15 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 88717.13 Up +1.00% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1797.63 Up +0.36% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 16452.23 Up +0.33% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 29997.11 Up +1.13% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 10063.87 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 882.51/OZ DOWN -0.0166 | Copper US$ 4.62/lb DOWN -0.0272 | Zinc US$ 2 857.30/T DOWN -0.07% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 75.04/BBP DOWN -0.0082 | Platinum US$ 1 002.04/OZ DOWN -0.0355