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Nama Tribes Seek Unity

Home Archived Nama Tribes Seek Unity

By Frederick Philander

WINDHOEK

Six of the nine officially recognized Nama traditional chiefs last week met at the village of Warmbad to discuss and examine a proposed voluntary association for the unification of the Nama people.

This was announced in a press statement by the interim chairperson of the unification association, Chief Dawid Frederick.

“Stability is a prime necessity and needs to be fortified by a conviction of the sanctity of what kept us together. We need to embrace an adequate system of communication for organizing and developing the social mind of our people,” said Chief Frederick during the meeting, a forerunner to the setting up of a constitution for the association planned for December 13 at Keetmanshoop.

Chief Frederick urged the respective Nama groups to foster unity among themselves.

“We need to encourage and foster a proud cultural awareness and progress, inculcate discipline and create a body of special traditions and customs to meet the exigencies to which our people are liable,” he said at the historic meeting.

According to the Chief, the groups got together to form the nucleus of the Nama, each living and operating on a clan basis with little or no real congenial inter-growth.

“The outcome of this situation demonstrated by the social audit continues to record a deficit, which the Nama traditional leaders can no longer condone.

As the custodians of the cultural riches of these groups, the traditional leaders resolved to set an example at leadership level by forming the voluntary association. The association is aimed at a democratic and free all Nama traditional leaders discussion forum to engage one another on any matter in the interest of the unification agenda,” he said.

The constitution under consideration during the meeting is formulated to provide the necessary contract agreement and competencies to the Nama leaders for advancing these objectives.

“Mediation and conciliate conflicts among members and the preservation, promotion of the cultural identity, customs, traditions and the common objective of peaceful coexistence with the rest of the traditional communities within Namibia, shall constitute a major stage of the social agenda,” the Chief said.

At the Warmbad meeting, the initiator of the to be established voluntary association in 1996, Chief J. Fredricks, was elected interim chairperson.

“Discussions and the examination of the proposed constitution went exceptionally well. We are now closer to the forming of the association. All Nama traditional leaders are expected to meet on December 13 at Keetmanshoop for the adoption of the constitution. The launch of the association will then follow after the registration of the association,” Chief Dawid Frederick said.

The clans represented at the meeting included: the Topnaars, Red Nation, Berseba clans, Vaalgras, Veldskoendraers, Swartboois, Bethaniers, Bondelswarts, Witboois, Afrikaners, Simon Koopers, Groot Doden and Lamberts.