Contemporary Oviritje: Value Added To The Existing Cultural Heritage Of The Ovaherero People Of Namibia

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1 Applied Science Reports E-ISSN: / P-ISSN: DOI: /PSCP.ASR App. Sci. Report. 16 (1), 2016: PSCI Publications Contemporary Oviritje: Value Added To The Existing Cultural Heritage Of The Ovaherero People Of Namibia Dr. Francois Haipinge Tsoubaloko University of Namibia Corresponding author ftsoubaloko@unam.na Paper Information Received: 19 March, 2016 Accepted: 18 July, 2016 Published: 20 September, 2016 Key words: A B S T R A C T The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the Oviritje music which has gained momentum among the Ovaherero people and the entire Namibian nation. The paper will commence with the background of the Ovaherero tribe as it is recognised to be part of the Bantu group in Africa. It will then further elaborate on the meaning of the word Oviritje, its origin and furthermore deal with the characteristics of its old and the contemporary versions. Finally this paper would also talk about the artists involved; the problems encountered in the music industry in Namibia as far as the recording facilities and were as publishing companies are concerned. This paper is based on a qualitative research. Data collected is based on one to one interviews. Various people in the society were interviewed those who enjoy the genre, prominent people among the Ovaherero people and those that are involved in the promotion of music as an industry in Namibia PSCI Publisher All rights reserved. Introduction Recent developments in the local music industry have shown that there is a pressing need for the creation of the contemporary genres of music, based on the autochthonous traditional diversity that Namibia as a country possesses. Currently, the local music industry is mainly based on foreign genres. Most Namibian artists are not interested in creating their own contemporary music based on their traditional music as it is done in other countries on the continent (Tsoubaloko, 2012). Those who have tried, or are still making some attempts in this direction, are not supported. The Namibian people themselves negate their own creations, and continue supporting what comes from outside. A performer such as Elomotho, for example, who is recognised as a Namibian international artist, and has shared international music platforms with other well known artists in the world, is not supported, or even known, in his own country. It seems that twenty five years after independence, we do not yet have confidence in our own artists who have tried, or are still trying, to do something original, belonging to Namibia. Charity begins at home, but most of these artists have lost interest and dropped the initiative. The Oviritje music, which is the purpose of this paper, continues to gain momentum because it enjoys the overall support of the environment where it was created. The Ovahereo people strongly consider Oviritje music to be part of their culture, and are satisfied with the new contemporary style added to the old version, although not everybody is happy with the content of the songs. The genre is now part of the national cultural heritage of Namibia. Background Of The Ovaherero People The Ovaherero people constitute one of the Bantu tribes found in Namibia. The ancestors of the Ovaherero tribe migrated to the south direction of the continent of Africa from Omaoo Omanene (the large lakes) in the central part of Africa (P. Kaapama. Personal communication. May ). The Ovarehero people are pastoral, cattle-breeding people. Although the Namibian constitution gives citizens to move freely and settle or live wherever they want to after independence, the Ovaherero people were originally located in the eastern and central parts of Namibia.(Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). As far as the migrations are concerned, there are two distinct theories on the Bantu migration toward the south of the continent. The first says that the Ovaherero, Aawambo, and Vakavango were one group that departed from the Great Lakes,

2 and took the West direction from Victoria Falls. The second indicates that the group went through Chobe River and the Kavango swamps. As this group of Bantu moved toward the south of the continent, it became fragmented. This led to the erosion of the language in various groups. (Tsoubaloko, 2003). Although the theories regarding the itineraries of this southward migration differ from each other, the move toward the south by this group of people is irrefutable. The majority of the Ovaherero people are found in Namibia, and others are found in Botswana where they migrated because of the various battles waged against the former German colony, previously known as South West Africa, now the Republic of Namibia. (J.Roy, ) The Meaning And Origin Of Oviritje Oviritje is the plural of otjiritje, derived from the word lied in German or Deutsch. (Z. Ngavirue. personal communication. May ). There are many versions regarding the meaning of Oviritje as used to describe this music. The first version describes Oviritje as self- explanatory, self-expression or it says it for itself (R. Komeheke. Personal communication. May ).Then there are those who recognise it as our music, while others identify it as music sung by people from the schools, since learners in schools, wanting to have fun, used to transform the lyrics of the church songs into their own words, and this acapella music was given the name of Oviritje. There are also two other versions on the origin of Oviritje. The first states that on their return to Namibia, the Ovaherero warriors trained and based in South Africa during world war ll sang Oviritje songs to express what they had gone through (Z. Ngavirue. personal communication. May ). The second holds that the contemporary version of Oviritje music started as acapella, emanating from the old version introduced in Namibia in the seventies by the teachers and nurses from South Africa who came to train Namibians. These songs were sung during and after sport activities, especially athletics. Later, the genre became the music that accompanied any event in the society. Characteristics Of The Old Version Of Oviritje The old version of Oviritje is acapella, meaning the music produced by singing without the accompaniment of instruments, but at times it included the stamping of feet and the snapping of fingers to sustain the flow of the rhythm. However, the audience was more interested in the message contained in the songs, so the way of dancing and the harmony arrangement did not matter much. Because of the lack of sophisticated equipment to amplify voices in those days, the music was performed in community halls, in a very quiet atmosphere, in order for the audience to grasp the content of songs (R. Comeheke. Personal communication. May ). Relationship Of Oviritje Music With Other Genres In Africa The Ovaherero people became very fond of the mbaqanga music genre performed by a South African group which goes by the name The Soul Brothers. In fact the Ovaherero people consider the members of this band to be of their tribe, because of the love they express for them. They became used to this music during colonial times when they were exposed to radios that used to broadcast mbaqanga music, especially that of the soul brothers (K. U. Ngamane. personal communication. May ). It became the most popular music covering events in these communities. The Soul Brothers group was formed in 1994 in Kwazulu Natal and remained the most successful and prominent band of the mbaqanga genre which dominated the music arena of the South African townships, and the all Southern African countries for over three decades. The band recorded 30 albums, and people still cherish the group to this day. The Soul Brothers music was influenced by the Americans, in terms of costumes and choreography. Their music is based on the following instruments: A very good percussive organ mixed sometimes with a keyboard, a lead and bass guitars, and a drum set. This instrumental mixed sound is accompanied by the melancholic voices of the singers, and the steps are performed in a perfected choreography that made all Southern Africa countries rally behind the band, including Namibia, and in particular the Herero tribe. This influenced the new contemporary version performed by the various Oviritje musical groups who would use the same instruments except the drum set and the bass guitar. Characteristics Of The New Version Of Oviritje Progressively, a new version of Oviritje was created by introducing one keyboard to the genre first. Later on, other instruments were introduced to add a fuller, better sound to the music. The modern version has also introduced a new way of dancing different from that of the old version. This way of dancing is complex, involving quick steps related to the rhythm of the music and the content of the songs. The new version of Oviritjeis is most performed in a time signature of four beats, most of the time using two to three chords only, on one or multiple keyboards. It also accommodates a mixture of voices, as in the old version, in a the form of a chorus provided by a group of artists responding to the main artist in a format known as call and response in music theory. There was also a tendency to use higher tones in Oviritje compositions in the past, meaning that artists were using high notes in singing, but that has been corrected in such way that even low key notes are now being used (R. Comeheke. personal 53

3 communication. May ). In experimental work done by Mr. Rirua Komeheke, who tried to adapt the singing part of Oviritje music to genres of music from other parts of the world, it was found that the Oviritje music can be adapted to reggae music, and rhythm and blues, as well as rumba music from Congo, especially the kwasa kwasa version. Content Of Songs In Oviritje Music Many of the songs performed by various groups of Oviritje do not contain substantial messages. They mostly sing about things that are meaningless or difficult to understand, such as shake your body, shake your head etc. However, there are quite a number of recognised artists who use this genre to sing about impactful subjects to society, for example, by singing about gender based violence, drought, alcohol abuse, genocide, and many other situations prevailing in the various Ovaherero communities and the nation at large. They make use of praise songs, revisit old songs, and remix them. The Artists Involved In The Creation Of The New Version Of Oviritje The modern version of Oviritje music was first started during the early 80 s, with the pioneers such as Minora, Dr. Kareke Henguva, Mbuale Kenamuinyo, Roma Kaaronda and Oomsulu Pietersen, the master keyboardist as they call him. These are the people who were involved, including Abrosius Mutuarari Kaakunga, who introduced another version of Oviritje after he had been part of Mukorob band of the late Jackson Kaujewa. Immediately after the independence of Namibia, inspired by some bands from exile, and others from other countries that visited the country, the above mentioned artists started adapting the existing lyrics to an accompaniment, at first using one keyboard, played by Oomsulu Pietersen, now known as the master keyboard. It is important to note that the Oviritje genre of music only became very popular when the song called Saddam Hussein was released. No explanation is given as to why this title was chosen, but perhaps it was because of what happened to Hussein as President of Iraq. Many people in Namibia, including various different communities, enjoyed this song, and this influenced other young artists among the Ovaherero people to become Oviritje artists. Managerial And Promotional Problems Encountered In Namibia By Artists In General And Those Performing Oviritje In Particular The problems faced by artists playing Oviritje music are no different from those of local artists in Namibia. There is a need for proper companies dealing with music production. It is true that garage studios have flourished in the country, dealing both with recordings and the production of CDs, but they are not of as high a quality as those produced in other countries. Marketing and distribution is another problem that the local music industry is facing. When people want to buy locally produced music, they do not know of shops involved in selling these products. Artists sometimes prefer to sell their music on the street themselves because of the small percentage in profit they would earn through approaching music stores to sell the music for them. The few, small shops selling local music products are not specialised in these products, and thus, information does not reach the audience, or it becomes difficult to locate them. Copyright violation is another problem in the country. People duplicate and sell products for which they have no authorisation, nor the right to sell. This leads to third parties earning money on artists intellectual rights free of charge. As far as the Oviritje bands are concerned, because there are so many members in a group, the little money they make during performances is not enough to be shared among all the group members, and few of them can manage to put bread and butter on the table for the whole month and also afford to pay rent. Furthermore, most of the musicians in Namibia work twice as hard to produce good quality music so as to be nominated for the yearly NAMA Awards, without knowing whether they will win a price during this competition. So-called promoters in Namibia prefer not to allocate performances to larger groups because they are costly to engage; they would rather engage smaller groups miming on CDs. Analysis And Findings Procedure Data collected is based on one-to-one interviews. The questionnaire used during these interviews is attached as appendix. The interviewees were divided into two groups: The prominent people among the Ovaherero people and the supporters of Oviritje music formed one group, and the so-called promoters of music the second group. Question 1: What is the meaning of Oviritje? Answering the first question, one group stated that these are songs known as self-explanatory, self-saying, or it says it for itself. The other group recognised Oviritje as our songs and also music sung by people from schools especially those from various secondary schools in the villages, transforming church songs into their own lyrics during playtime. 54

4 Question 2: Can you establish the origin of this music? Concerning the origin of Oviritje in the second question, one group stated that Oviritje originated from the church influence, as learners were attending church schools. The second group attributed Oviritje to being introduced by teachers and nurses from South Africa who came to Namibia to train Namibians. Some in the group also said that soldiers who were trained in South Africa during World War ll sang Oviritje on their return to Namibia. Question 3: Who were those first involved in the creation of this music? On the third question, both groups said that the old version was created by various people in the Ovaherero communities, and the contemporary version by those names given in the text above. Question 4: How do the Ovaherero feel about Oviritje? Answering the fourth question, both groups recognised Oviritje music as belonging to the Ovaherero people, but also stated that as a nation in diversity, it belongs to the national cultural heritage of Namibia. Question 5: What is the content of songs in Oviritje music? On the fifth question, one group said there was a diversity of messages in the songs, but that few addressed problems affecting people in the society, the majority talking about things that did not make sense or were understood only by the singers themselves. The other group said the content in the contemporary Oviritje music did not make sense. Therefore they expressed the need for improvement as far as the content of songs was concerned. Question 6: Where do the Ovaherero people originate from? On the last question, both groups agreed that the Ovaherero people are Bantus, and as such, they originated from the large lakes in the central part of the continent of Africa. Recommendations Both the government (through the Ministry dealing with arts and culture) and the private sector should come up with strategies to develop and promote the music industry in Namibia. There are almost no shops specialised in local music products. Even though some releases are known in the country, people do not know where to find them. It is true that the market is small, but the possibility should be considered of exporting local music outside Namibia, just as Namibia receives music from outside. The industry offers only one opportunity for awards in Namibia, namely the NAMA Awards; therefore, most artists in the country target these awards. However, not everyone wins a prize during this competition. Even for those who win, the amount won will not even sustain them for the entire year in matters such as putting bread and butter on the table or securing the rent for the whole year. Thus, there is a need of creating more music forums or competitions. Furthermore, it is time that Namibian artists should started creating contemporary genres based on indigenous music, which the country has in abundance. There is a need for a change in mind-set, a need to promote those who create their own music by giving them more money in categories based on the indigenous music, as is done in other African countries. When this music is broadcast and given more air time, people will start enjoying their own local music, and this will also increase its exposure in other countries in the world. Questions that we need to ask ourselves are: How can we become masters in the genres that do not belong to us, even when we can perform them better than the creators as we claim? During Awards accommodating the whole continent, are we going to compete with others on their own creations? We will never be the best in music that we copy. Therefore as Namibians, we greatly need to work on promoting our local music, both nationally and internationally, as well as well as motivating our young and upcoming artists, to groom them to come up with contemporary genres based on our rich and diverse indigenous cultures and values, inspired by the originators of genres such as Oviritje music, as well as those that have become dormant, such as Shambo music, Damara punch and many others. Conclusion Oviritje music is gaining momentum in Namibia. It is a shining example of the indigenous contemporary music. It is true that it needs improvement, but as long it is enjoyed by the community concerned and the country at large, it will persist and become a national pride that can be exported and be accepted in the same way that we accept the outside music we enjoy in Namibia. I hope and pray that other communities in Namibia will revive and support Shambo, Damara Punch and many others, and help them to once again achieve the level reached when they were flourishing. Let us make it a priority, as a nation, to promote and empower those who create contemporary music from the indigenous music that Namibia processes, to compete internationally and be proud of what is ours. 55

5 References Comeheke R Personal communication. May Jones Roy S History: Who are the Hereros? Retrieved from hererowars.com/history_whoare_the_herero.htm. Kaapama P Personal communication. May Ngamane KU personal communication. May Ngavirue Z personal communication. May Tsoubaloko F A case study: The importance of language in preserving cultural identitity, the Aawambo and Vakavango. UNESCO-Namibia Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: The Herero people Retrieved from 56