In search of survival and dignity

While the anti-colonial struggles in Namibia a hundred years ago have received some attention in research and the general public, little is known about the situation of black Namibians under South African rule. The present study examines the experience of two traditional Nama communities in Southern Namibia from the time of South African occupation up to the first years of independence. The account maps out South African reserve and homeland policies and looks at the experiences and traditions of dealing with the colonial challenge by resistance or accommodation. The author shows how the politics of iden-tity and restitution intertwine with the exigencies of survival, the struggles over water, land, stock, labour and finance. He traces the – as yet little-known – roots of the Namibian liberation movement in the South of the country and shows that the problems stemming from South African settler colonialism persist to this day. The study critically reflects on current debates on ethnicity and the difficulties that arise in the attempt to fit traditional communities into the framework of the modern state, in southern Africa and beyond.