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Omaongo festival

Quote

“when I think about Marula, I think about all the hours we spent under the tree , about the refreshing juice which is squished out from the fruits directly into my mouth; I think about summer , fun, colourful dressed and festivals”. Mapo, 20 years, Owambo, Namibia

Brief

The omaongo festival marula festival is the celebration of the harvest of the marula (sclerocarya birrea) fruit marulaand the drink which is made from it, called omaongo which in English means marula wine. This drink holds a special place in the Oshiwambo culture, with specific rules to regulate its consumption. During the omaongo season summer, traditional authorities suspend their normal activities, including traditional court sessions and headmen’s meetings. Traditionally, each authority holds its own omaongo festival. That was before Founding President Sam NujomaSam Nuujoma came up with the idea of a unified annual festival that rotates among the eight traditional authorities of Ovawambo. The first festival of this kind was held at the palace of King Jafet Mukundi of the Ongandjera Traditional Authority Ongandjerain 2001, followed by Ondonga Ondonga (2002), Uukwambi (2003), Uukwaluudhi (2004), OmbalantuOmusati Region (2005) and Uukolonkadhi Ruacana(2007). The Oukwanyama Traditional Authority was supposed to host the event in 2006 but cancelled it due to the death of King Kornelius Mwetupunga Shelungu followed by the coronation of Queen Martha Mwadinomho Kristian Nelumbu shortly thereafter. Queen Nelumbu finally hosted the Festival at her palace at Omhedi, Ohangwena Region, last year.

Procedure

Individual housemasters organise the event, which is held to allow women will begin extracting marula juices. The event has been pushed to the periphery of an indigenous culture due to modernisation and its didactic import. There are, however, a few families and communities who still observe the occasion. On the set date the organising housemasterovambo people collets the marula fruits first thing in the morning. He packed the marula fruits according to the number of house occupants. Then he takes the fruits the oshinyanga shondjungo (the reception area close to the wife’s hut) where they are kept for a day. The herbs and fruits are also brought at this place a day before the celebration. The house occupants are advised to spend the night in the homestead as it is a taboo for them to spend a night away from home. The next morning, all the house occupants get up early in the morning and make all arrangements for the celebration. The foods for the festival are cooked at the kitchen of the chief wife. The oshithima (porridge)Pearl millet and ekaka are prepared. The oshithima is cooked with onkeshenga (the mahangu flour from the corn that was not mixed with grain, wa tsuwa ompanda). The ekaka lyompungu is eaten to wish the house occupants good luck in the new year.

The word ompungu comes from the verb: pungulula (to turn way from danger or misfortune). Cow’s fat is added to the ekakaOwambo people while the juices from bean leaves known as ekundu is eaten at the main reception. In the evening of the same day, the fruits are stacked at the Oshinyanga shondjugo and the house occupants sit around the stack. The housemaster then takes a fruit and sucks it, swallowing the juice together with the fruit and says: Mumvo mukulu za mo omupe e ye mo (Old year got out to usher in the New Year). The house occupants take turns in sucking the fruits. In the ancient times, the chief wife sucked first followed by the junior wives then the children. Each house occupant says the maxim when sucking the fruits.

Festival

The Omaongo festival takes place after mostly during February to March there when the marula fruits are all yellowish to be squished Marula. During this festival the women wear pink and add beads and shells to make their dresses even more beautiful with the red powder which the HimbaHimba peoplewomen use to cover their skin. . The men wear red and white striped shirts with a waistcoat and a hat with a large feather; they sometimes addleopard skin materials to their clothes as decoration. Once the festival begins, there usually be entertained by marching by some people from the Herero tribe Herero people, by a drama about how the marula fruit is made into the omaongo drink and by dancing. After this everybody gets goes to the palace for some refreshments and Omaongo for sure !