Omangongo Festival

Oshituthi shomagongo is one of the colorful events in the Namibian calendar that promotes unity / Science Techniz. This year the Omagongo cu...

Oshituthi shomagongo is one of the colorful events in the Namibian calendar that promotes unity / Science Techniz.

This year the Omagongo cultural festival was held from 26 April- 27 April 2019 at Uukwandongo village in Ongandjera, Omusati region, northern Namibia. Marula Festival is a catalyst for unity amongst the eight communities of Ovambo. 

It also demonstrates the cultural diversities of Namibian people through the celebration of our traditions, country's authentic pastries, cuisine, and drinking omagongo - which is an organic beverage made from marula fruit juice that contains Vitamin C and other essential constituencies good for the healthy body.

Oshituthi shomagongo is our national heritage (uuthiga wetu woshilongo) and here to stay. The festival is hosted each year by a different Aawambo community of northern Namibia.  All people from all works of life and different ethnic groups from the various regions of Namibia attended the Omangongo festival that ended over the weekend. Last year over 5000 people including foreigners took part in the Festival. Both men and women, dressed in their colorful traditional clothes. 

Promoting development through cultural heritage is the guiding thread of Marula Fruit Festival event / UNESCO.

The event is an integral important tool in accelerating development through tourism. The event - is hosted annually on a rotational basis by the traditional authorities of Ondonga, Uukwaluudhi, Uukwambi, Ongandjera, Oukwanyama, Uukolonkadhi, Ombalantu, and Ombadja respectively.

Namibia’s Founding President Sam Nujoma, who is patron of the festival, reiterated his usual message of last year about men who neglect their families, mainly due to alcohol abuse. He said some men spend prolonged hours at cuca shops instead of spending their time imparting cultural values and norms to younger generations. As a result, Nujoma said, many young people have resorted to social media as there is a lack of parental cultural guidance at home.

Namibian people dancing during Omagongo Festival photography / Annelien Robberts.

Following other institutional speeches during which the importance of preserving the traditions and culture of ethnic groups is still considered as the cradle of humanity and once again has been reaffirmed. The Festival continued with a rich banquet, hectoliters of Omagongo, musical entertainments, and live performances during which the crowd in joy was unleashed in songs and dances.

The National Heritage Council of Namibia (NHC) is the statutory organizing body of the government that was established under the National Heritage Act, No 27 of 2004. The Institution has been in existence since 2005 when it replaced the National Monuments Council oversight the administrative committee responsible for the protection and preservation of Namibia's natural and cultural heritage.  

In 2015, UNESCO listed the Omangongo festival on the Representative List of the World’s Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity.