A Namibian Christmas

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the north, goats had just been slaughtered. Tafel was chilling in cooler boxes, tomato sauce had been stored in abundance and rice enough would soon be eaten by the plateful.

For Shaende Kondjeni Justus, these elements portray a typical Aawambo Christmas. He comments as much with an image titled ‘The Wambo Christmas Starter Pack’ adding “if you know, you know”.

His summation earns laughs of approval with Mutinta Nchindo correcting “Tafel is missing”. An addition Justus finds glaringly obvious.

Asked “what according to you is a Namibian Christmas?’, readers commenting on the Facebook page are full of stories. While Desmond Usuta Kandorozu believes “it is just another drinking day”, Ndeshy Nangula Nyandie tells a joyful personal story tinged with a hint of sabotage.

“In our family, we all go to village and gather at our grandparent’s house,” she says.

“We slaughter a goat, cook some food – both traditional and modern cuisine, drinks on ice, say some prayers, share presents, dance, eat and go to church the following day. The whole family has a thing for potato salad, it is a must-have every year. This year I am in charge of the food department and I may just deliberately forget to buy mayonnaise.”

While Nyandie plots against potato salad, Anna Mono Kleopas and her family will be praising the Lord and enjoying new outfits.

“We go to church on Christmas Eve and on the 25th,” she says. “Of course we dress up, especially the kids always look forward to Christmas because that’s the only day most of them get to wear new clothes. For food, we always slaughter a goat, cook some rice, macaroni and salad. We drink anything that is available, unfortunately.”

While Tafel is a must for some, Jeanette Beukes highlights the importance of another kind of beverage.

“Gingerbeer is a big deal for Rehoboth Basters,” she says. “Most farm-based families start baking cookies in the first week of December. The tree and stringers go up in the second week and, in most cases, it is an old tree branch from the veld.”

This easy, DIY Christmas tree is also a staple in Selma Bachler’s experience and she comments in detail and with excitement.

“What’s Christmas without slaughtering a goat in the north?” she asks. “Seven colours. Cold namnates. ‘Omayimbilo’ playing in the background. No Christmas tree, but ‘twigs with leaves’ are shoved around the homestead for decoration. All this while ignoring the heat.”

The veld-found Namibian Christmas tree also makes an appearance in Alna Dall’s celebrations and is a tradition she has cherished for many years.

“Since I’ve been little, Mom and I would go into the bush to find a beautiful dry thorn bush to decorate as a Christmas tree,” she says. “We’d have traditional ‘boerekos’ and spend time as a family playing board games and singing hymns with my mom on the guitar.”

Often described as a time of church and prayer, the festive season is also marked by travel to one’s traditional home where it is important to reconnect with the family one may not have seen all year.

“The village is the place to be, Iipanda to be exact,” says Aaron Tuyooleni Shapaka.

“The kids all play together, work is kept to a minimum as most of what needs to be done has been done. We have a festive ritual of slaughtering cattle and a community-led gathering takes place between the homesteads.”

Travel is also a part of the Christmas season for Kulan Ganes, whose family would normally be at the farm by 23 December.

“We would set up the Christmas tree in the shade on the 24th, slaughter some animal and cook all the tripe with homemade bread or vetkoek on Christmas Eve. The rest we braai on Christmas Day with salads,” she says.

“My gran used to make us sing carols in Damara around the tree. But now we just listen to radio ’cause they play Christmas songs. We would stay up all night having a ball, eating, drinking and playing dominoes. Every child in my family gets taught how to play while young.”

“The most beautiful thing we do is watch the sunrise on Christmas morning, the sun is dancing. We swim in the dam and yes, there has to be a huge family fallout ’cause someone didn’t get food or they cheat on dominoes.”

Just some of the ways locals celebrate Christmas – whether with church, prayer, potato salad, rice, goat and games of dominoes, the one thing these celebrations all have in common is that they are shared with loved ones.

Which is why this and every year, if money is tight, remember to do the things that really matter. Share what you have, love those you’re with and have a happy Christmas.

– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter and Instagram; marthamukaiwa.com