Celebrating Nama culture through Namastap

WINDHOEK-based cultural group ‘Suide Maak Vrede’ (The South Makes Peace) has become a torch-bearer of Nama culture through dance and song.

The group with a mix of youth and elderly members who migrated to Windhoek in search of jobs, performed during a ceremony at Namibia Wildlife Resorts’ Hobas camp on Friday.

NWR invited the group to perform traditional dances and songs at the event to mark the reopening of the camp following a N$6,5 million facelift.

The Namibian caught up with one of the group’s founders, Rebecca /Gomusas, who said the aim of the troupe was to preserve Nama culture through displays of the traditional Namastap. She said the idea of preserving Nama culture and to start a cultural group emerged in 2009 after they saw other ethnic and cultural groups participating at the annual Windhoek cultural festival. According to /Gomusas, the purpose of the group was to keep the Nama culture alive for future generations to take it further.

“Our aim is to preserve our culture. We want to teach the youth about the customs and cultures of the Nama people, instead of them adopting Western traditions,” she said.

The 23-member group mostly performs at weddings, parties and cultural gatherings to showcase their traditional dances and to sing traditional songs.