- I'm Ernest White II, storyteller and explorer.

You know, Namibia isn't just about spectacular landscapes or exotic animals.

If you want to experience the engaging, diverse communities that make up this amazing country, you got to go to the north.

- I'm Ernest White II... storyteller, explorer.

I believe in connecting across backgrounds and boundaries.

- I mean, look at us!

We're chasing the sunset!

- Join me and my friends... What's going on, boy?

♪ ...and discover that no matter the background, no matter the history, the whole world is our tribe.

Come with me.

♪ Whoo!

"FLY BROTHER."

- Major funding for this program is provided by Marie Roberts de la Parra -- personal coaching, executive leadership, and self-empowerment.

Courageous Conversation Global Foundation.

Promoting racial justice, interacial understanding, and human healing.

MetalShake by Sweden.

Additional funding provided by the following.

♪ - Namibia.

Covering some 512,000 square miles of desert and bush, Namibia's landscapes are formidable.

But I'm here for the people.

And there's no better place to start making new friends than in the modest, but modern capital city of Windhoek.

♪ One of those new friends is Anna Mafwila, entrepreneur and tour guide, who operates Katu Tours in the bustling township of Katutura, a legacy of Apartheid-era segregation.

Anna takes guests on bicycle and walking tours, educating folks about the history and culture of the place.

- So, you know, often, when people think about Africa, they usually think about the landscapes or the animals, not the people so much, - Exactly.

- ...you know, at least when it comes to tourism.

- Exactly.

- How do you feel about that?

- ♪ Ah, when we got independence ♪ under the Swapo logo ♪ ♪ Mmmmmmmm ♪ [ Both laugh ] - Mmm.

- Mmm.

Yum, yum.

♪ - I promise, I was a vegan when I woke up this morning.

Worst meat ever.

I'm going to have another one.

Anna gives me the skinny on all the goodies at Katutura's Open Market.

- Okay, okay.

- My God.

- Okay... now, I really am vegan.

Tires.

Recycling.

For food and friends, Katutura is an excellent, if not obvious starting point in Namibia, a country with a natural warmth that transcends its history.

Located on the Atlantic Ocean in southwest Africa, Namibia is named for the vast Namib Desert, considered to be the world's oldest.

Carved rock paintings dating back to 26,000 BC signal a long line of human habitation, from the nomadic San, Damara, and Nama peoples to the Bantu herdsmen who began migrating into the region in the 14th century AD.

European colonizers mostly skirted the dangerous coastline until the end of the 19th century, when Germany occupied much of what it called German South West Africa to strip the land of its diamonds, gold, copper, platinum, and yes, diamonds.

Pre-colonial Namibians, of course, rebelled as much as possible in the face of oppression and genocide, while Germany surrendered the colony to neighboring South Africa at the end of World War I.

Ruled under South Africa's policy of apartheid, Namibians fought a decades-long war for liberation, finally gaining independence on March 21, 1990.

From Katutura, we drive due north into the tropical flatlands that mark the region known as Ovamboland.

Our first stop in Ovamboland -- the former 19th century Lutheran mission-turned-museum called Nakambale.

The word means "the one who wears the hat," and here, they will christen you with a nickname as soon as you step out of the car.

So, what's the importance of nicknames in Oshiwambo, the local language?

- Ah, you see, Ovambo people, they like to give a nickname to... for what the people like to do.

- Okay.

- Like, if you like to do this, they give a name for what you like to do.

And there was one of the Finnish missioners who lived here in Ovamboland and then he didn't have hair here.

- Okay.

- And then, Ovambo people, they name him... they give a name, a nickname, Angwala.

- Angwala.

- Yeah, Angwala, because he don't have hair like you.

- Oh, okay.

- You are Angwala.

I think you are also Angwala.

- Angwala.

I receive that name.

- Yeah.

Your Oshiwambo name.

- My Oshiwambo name... - Angwala.

- Named for the largest ethnic group in Namibia, Ovamboland straddles the border between Namibia and Angola, and is the most densely populated part of the country.

At Ongula Village Homestead Lodge, folklorist Eric Shilomboleni shows us how they keep traditional practices going as a source of cultural and economic sustainability for the Ovambo community.

Okay, Okay.

What's the game called again?

Owela.

Okay.

- Okay.

Okay.

So, what's the objective, then?

I know we've got two nuts here.

What are these nuts called?

Manketti shells.

Okay, and so, these are ours.

Are we on a team?

Okay.

Manchester.

Man U!

And the idea, then, is to get all your nuts down to the end... And how long, then, does it take, usually, to get through one game?

- Okay.

Oh, there's rules?

[ Laughs ] Okay.

Oh, thank you.

♪ Like, bam!

We won!

- We won it.

Yeah, we are the champions!

- That's what I'm talking about!

- The champions!

- It was a nice game.

We won.

I have no idea how we won.

I couldn't describe it.

I couldn't tell you a replay.

I couldn't give you any information on how to play the game.

But I know that we won.

Slightly overcast, with palm trees, heat, and humidity, Ovamboland reminds me a lot of my home state of Florida, but without theme parks and outlet malls.

Another reminder of home, however, is community, and here, teamwork makes the daily chores, such as the processing of marula oil, seem a bit less rigorous.

Marula oil comes from the kernels of the marula tree and is used for cooking, cosmetics, and to treat leather.

Okay, I did say a bit less rigorous.

♪ So, they still have to do all that and take care of the kids.

- So they're working mothers.

[ Women trilling ] - [ Chanting in native language ] - But it's not all work and no play in Ovamboland.

At dusk, these young ladies perform a welcome dance for visitors to Ongula Village Homestead Lodge, stomping rhythmically and revealing one of the cultural roots of African-American collegiate fraternity and sorority stepping, the urban American sport of Double Dutch, and, yes, even Brazilian samba.

- [ Singing in native language ] ♪ ♪ ♪ - [ Singing in native language ] - In Brazil, he's playing a berimbau.

In Namibia, it's an okambulumbumbwa.

- [ Singing in native language ] ♪ - Namibia, presente!

Even though they don't speak Spanish.

Our journey continues across the great north, past palm trees and sorghum fields, toward the royal palace of Uukwambi.

We're about to go see some of the origins of the traditions that I grew up with back home in the US.

- [ Singing in native language ] - Official visitors to the palace are welcomed with dance and song, with a vitality I can only hope to possess in a few more years.

- [ Singing in native language ] ♪ ♪ - The royal palace serves as the setting for the infinite administrative and domestic activities of King and Queen Iipumbu, including traditional methods of food preparation for daily living and special occasions, crop cultivation, and law and order proceedings.

- [ Singing in native language ] - While the Uukwambi Kingdom has a traditional geographic range within the region of Ovamboland, King Herman Iipumbu represents, within the modern Namibian government, all of the Kwambi people, no matter where they're physically located.

Officially called "chief," as contemporary English reserves "king" for national heads of state, the king nevertheless retains the respect and honor due a monarch.

Thank you very much, King.

We really appreciated the welcoming and being shown around your homestead.

It's a wonderful experience for my audience and everyone.

Thank you.

- Okay.

- It was exciting, man.

I met an African king, a Namibian king.

Tying the kingdom more tightly to the modern government is the royal daughter Lucia Iipumbu, who serves as Deputy Minister of Industrialization, Trade, and Small and Medium Enterprise Development in Windhoek.

As someone who's not from the community, how do I address you?

As Your Highness, or Princess, or The Royal Daughter?

[ Laughs ] - Because you're not from this community, I would expect you to address me just Lucia.

- Lucia?

- Yes, as simple as that.

- Okay.

But I'm Southern, so I would have to say Miss Lucia.

- Yeah.

- Okay.

- Exactly.

That's now your culture.

- True.

That's true.

[ Laughs ] So, where do you see a place for the traditional African royalty in modern Namibian society?

- You know, the Namibian culture is prominent and it's elevated by government itself.

Article 66 of the Namibian constitution calls for the traditional customs and activities that were in place to continue unless otherwise they are repelled.

- Okay.

- So, that's where the strength of the traditional authority stems from.

So they will remain strong, and I believe that they are going to remain intact for as long as we are here.

And going forward, we are trying very hard to inculcate a culture of understanding where we are coming from in our younger generations.

Because we know, like you say, with modern technology taking over, sometimes we don't pay much attention to that aspect of culture that's supposed to shape and mold our conducts and our behavior.

- Yes, yes.

This is my first time ever meeting a king in real life.

And, obviously, we're all human beings.

I didn't expect him to be anything other than welcoming and nice, and he absolutely is.

But what's most resonant is coming to the homestead and seeing that someone with such great responsibility and respect also has a domestic life, with a family like any other.

That was a wonderful experience.

I mean, not only do I feel like I'm at home because of this Florida-looking backdrop, but I just felt really welcome and accepted and connected with my peeps.

Wakanda, forever!

That's what I'm talking about.

We say goodbye to the king and queen and continue our journey.

To the west of Ovamboland are the arid highlands of Kaokoland, home to the Himba people.

The Himba are part of the Herero nation, and unlike the Herero ladies, who wear floor-length dresses inspired by 19th century German missionaries, Himba ladies traditionally coat their bare skin in a covering of ochre and butterfat, which keeps their skin clean and protected in the harsh desert environment of Kaokoland.

The Himba retain, in large part, their traditional gender roles -- while the men hunt and herd livestock far afield, the women maintain the home, raise the children, milk cows, make jewelry, and, of course, cook.

- [ Singing in native language ] ♪ ♪ - Some of the Himba children leave the village to attend school, but the elders instill a great pride in the traditional ways of living.

[ Chanting and clapping ] Himba ladies often travel to the nearby market town of Opuwo for supplies and to sell handicrafts.

And it's in Opuwo that I, unexpectedly, make a new friend who overhears me speaking Portuguese with my cameraman, Pedro.

Okay.

Okay, okay.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

- Now, the Himba tradition, they usually wear the ochre-colored skin covering and that kind of thing.

But you wear Western clothes here in the city.

Okay.

Okay.

What grade are you in?

Grade 8?

- Yes.

- Okay.

So, what are the things that you're learning right now in school?

Okay.

<i>Pero también hablas español,</i> <i>verdad?</i> - Yeah.<i> Oui.</i> <i>Oui?

Es frances.</i> - Oh, wow!

- Yeah.

- That's important, though.

Because it means that you can travel in the world and speak to many different people.

- Yeah.

- Alright!

Give me a high five!

♪ So, how do you see traditional Himba villages existing in modern Namibia?

Now, are you a Born Free?

And what does that mean?

What does that term mean?

Okay, Okay.

After you finish school, do you plan to go back to a traditional Himba village, or... what's your plan?

Wonderful.

Yes, yes.

Wonderful.

Yes, absolutely.

Yes.

Absolutely.

Wonderful.

- Yeah.

- Alright!

I love it.

Very early the next morning, we truck it across Namibia's vast Central Plateau en route to the outskirts of Windhoek.

In the ancient highlands a short drive from the capital city, we visit Manfred Gaeb, a consummate storyteller who takes me into his rural community to learn about the traditions of the Nama people, descendants of the original Khoikhoi tribes, where we discover an old school culinary tradition that's actually a vigorous workout.

- We are now going to start from the butter process.

Both processes.

And you will take part in the process.

And then we'll create butter, komasam.

And then we'll go for lunch!

- Butter-churning is one of those traditions that requires a little elbow grease, and it's a way for Manfred's community to sustain itself, and for visitors to experience a slice of daily life.

Buttery.

It's heavier than I thought.

- Yes.

- I wasn't ready, y'all.

♪ - Mixer.

♪ - It's coming.

- Is it?

- Yes.

♪ [ Laughter ] - Come on.

♪ After a delicious lunch prepared for us by Mrs. Gaes, Manfred and I sit down to discuss what he sees as Namibia's future.

So, you know, Namibia, like many other countries, has many different ethnicities, many different groups of people who speak different languages.

What do you see, in terms of moving towards a unified future here in Namibia?

- I think, actually, there is a plus that we have, because if you've got it in one country, it means that there are many other different countries out there, the world, there is a global village.

But if you've got it in one country and you practice it and you bring it to perfection, then the world is an open place for you.

I invite that we have different cultural groups, different ethnic groups, totally from different cultural backgrounds.

I appreciate that fact because every little thing that you do culturally is totally different.

And that's a learning process.

If you do things innovatively, with different cultures, because I think different cultures is an innovation in itself.

- Wow.

- Meaning, things that you can learn from others and evolve and experience, that's an innovation in itself.

Things that we didn't know about the Oshiwambo culture that would work here and help our community to grow better, and things that we know about here and that we can take to the other side and make their community a better place, I think if that uniting force can come together, we can make Namibia a better country.

♪ - Namibia is vast and spacious -- only Mongolia has less people per square mile.

And exploring the north means experiencing but one of many parts of the place.

Here, I learned about traditions that influence <i> my</i> culture and in turn, global culture.

It's a good feeling.

And after visiting the north of Namibia, I know the saying I learned there is true -- "We meet only to meet again."

♪ ♪ ♪ - Major funding for this program is provided by... Marie Roberts De La Parra -- personal coaching, executive leadership, and self-empowerment.

Courageous Conversation Global Foundation.

Promoting racial justice, interacial understanding, and human healing.

MetalShake by Sweden.

Additional funding provided by the following.

To join the "Fly Brother" travel community or to order your own copy of this episode, visit flybrother.net.

♪