ORAL history of the Aawambo tribes has many narratives of how differently they responded to the arrival of the white man. One narrative has it that those who saw the white man for the first time went to inform their tribespeople that they saw albinos in groups wearing hats and on wagons. Indeed, the white man and his bible, who was on a conquering offensive voyage was received differently by various tribes of the Aawambo people. In some tribes, he was welcomed handsomely and easily established himself and his church in those communities.
In these tribes, he made serious inroads in the shaping and reshaping of the tribe outlook. With the assistance of the tribal stewardship, who were supplied his whiskey, all subjects were to change their value systems to align with the new order; Christianity. Whether you were 50 or 60, you were to be reoriented, you needed to be baptised and get ‘rescued’ from your ancestral practice. You needed a new name that is considered appropriate by the white man – names he will not have difficulty in pronouncing. Black people became Job, Simon, Ester etc.
These names, as it were then and as it is now, have no meaning or whatsoever. In other tribes, the white man, although he managed to establish himself, was not accepted to similar extents. It is for this reason that one finds that in some tribes; slave names (Job, Simon, and Ester) are not so dominant comparatively. In his conquering and christianising crusade, whites distributed to each other, the Aawambo tribes to conquer and Christianise.
The Lutheran chose the Aandonga, Catholic chose for themselves Aakwambi and Anglican confiscated the Aakwanyama etc.
Then there arrived the South West Africa Native Labour Association (SWANLA); a colonial tool which had an Ondangwa office recruiting the Aawambo men to go work on mines, railway lines and farms. SWANLA was a brutal and inhumane institution. The prospective workers would stand in queues naked and have their anuses and penises touched and inspected by young white inspectors. When they were finally recruited there was now this observable concentration of one tribe at one work type. Some worked in the kitchens, some cleaning while others did heavy duties. I shall not mention which tribe did what. Even after independence, the Aawambo tribes integrated in the new economy differently. The best place to observe this trend is the informal economy. It is no accident that one would find that a particular tribe dominates and chooses to labour in hotels and guesthouses. Some are known for selling kapana while others are known for selling newspapers. The white man had, it must be realised, a logic of ‘like father like son’ to recruitment. As the father reaches retirement age, the white man (whether in a hotel, mine or farm) asks the father to nominate one of his sons to replace him.
Sometimes, especially in cases where much labour was required, it extended to children of friends, neighbours and extended family. This recruitment method and logic (like father like son) was reproduced over and over again. It is probably being reproduced even today.
Shekutaamba formed part of that long chain of ‘like father like son’ recruitment logic. His father worked at a Tsumeb hotel. When his father retired, he was nominated to join the Hotel establishment. Born in Onayena village in Ondonga, Shekutaamba had one striking characteristic; tremendous love for eating. His loyalty is dependent on the availability of food. The entire Onayena village came to know him for that; uncontrollable love of eating. He was a smooth talker who often directed all sort of proceedings whether weddings, funerals or parties for only one reward; food. His favourite food was pork.
Shekutaamba would walk even 60 kilometres just for pork. What he preferred the most was the meat of piglets. The Aawambo call it okangulu. He loved okangulu such that Onayena residents named him kangulu. His employment at a Tsumeb hotel lasted only for 3 months. The white man fired him, on the spot, when he was caught with a plastic full of stolen pork.
He returned to Onayena and started looking for a job in a nearby town of Ondangwa. Few weeks later, he got a job at a Guesthouse in Ondangwa. His task was to make-up beds and clean rooms. He enjoyed his job for one reason and one reason only; prospects of discovering food in the guest room in the morning. One day, there arrived a guest driving a red BMW with Oranjemund registration number. The guest, a young man full of jokes and tantrums, was accompanied by a young woman whose beauty can make one think that she doesn’t use a toilet.
“Openi hapu landwa okangulu maan” the young man asked Shekutaamba as to where one can buy a piglet. Delighted by the question, Shekutaamba told the young man that he knows and can go buy Okangulu at the nearby place. He got the money and delivered okangulu to the young man. Shekutaamba did not know that the young man is from Onayena and is well aware of Shekutaamba’s uncontrollable love for okangulu. The young man was young at the time when Shekutaamba left Onayena for Tsumeb. He knew of Shekutaamba and his affiliation to okangulu.
Shekutaamba, after delivering okangulu, went to his room. The young man and partner went to theirs. Behind the scene, the young man and his partner did not finish the piglet; they left much of the part closer to the head. After finishing with their below the stomach enterprise, the young man placed the used condom inside the mouth of Okangulu. Shekutaamba did not sleep, he was praying to his god almighty to answer his one prayer; that when he wakes up, the young man would have been defeated by okangulu and not finish it. His prayer was answered. When he opened the room the following morning, there was okangulu; he kneeled down and shouted “Hallelujah!” He hid himself in one secluded corner to enjoy his delicacy.
The okangulu was nicely fat, it had dripping fat. As a warm-up, he held okangulu’s head up, opened his mouth wide to receive the dripping fat coming from his delicacy. Once is perceived dripping (whose colour is grey-yellowish) finished, he started enjoying the actual meat. The tongue was scheduled for enjoyment last. While busy, his two colleagues came to join the festivity. To distribute the meat, he decided to open the Okangulu wide to obtain his tongue and give the top and bottom part to his colleagues. That is how he discovered the condom, with dripping sperms.
His colleagues were rolling on the ground with laughter especially after discovering what was still on his lips and beards.
After a failed suicide attempt, Shekutaamba relocated from Onayena to Omuthiya. He now hates okangulu.
• Kamati KaTate’s new book on politics and society titled, “Truth is Truth” will be published soon. To order a minimum of 50 copies for distribution to youth for Christmas email truth@perfectpolitics.com