‘We must write our own history’

KENYA KAMBOWEFounding President Sam Nujoma says the history of Africa and that of Namibia started long before the European missionaries arrived.Nujoma, who was speaking during the official opening of the Olufuko Festival at Outapi, said the country’s history and heritage must be preserved for future generations.He announced that the Outapi town council and the University of Namibia are carrying out a comprehensive socio-cultural study of Olufuko before and after the advent of colonialism in Namibia.According to Nujoma, the study will give Namibians the opportunity to learn about the history of Olufuko.“This is unlike before when our history was written by European missionaries who wanted to assert the Eurocentric view that whatever is called history in this country or Africa as a whole began with the arrival of Europeans, thus denying our people a culture and history of their own,” said Nujoma, who is the patron of the Olufuko Festival.This year a total of 79 girls took part in the event. Olufuko is a process where girls between the ages of 15 and 20 are prepared for womanhood by going through an initiation process at which they are taught how to do various traditional chores.Although in some quarters Olufuko has been criticised as a ceremony that objectifies women and girls, Nujoma defended the practice, saying it needed to be promoted.“I always say people without culture are comparable to people without identity because people’s culture gives them the reason to exist, hence, a nation without culture is like a tree without roots… we must therefore ensure that the promotion of culture should become one of the most important engines of development,” Nujoma said.Omusati governor Erginus Endjala echoed Nujoma’s sentiments, saying Olufuko was very important to the youth, adults and society.“Olufuko Festival is very important to the young people, the adults and the entire society as it provides vital information about our cultural heritage that was practised by our forefathers in those days,” Endjala said.

‘We must write our own history’

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Namibian Sun 2026-06-10

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‘We must write our own history’

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Namibian Sun 2026-06-10

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