By Catherine Sasman
OHANGWENA
A few kilometres after entering Ohangwena, a gravel road turns off and leads you to the palace of the Oukwanyama kingdom in the Omihedi village.
The three-hectare-large wood structure was built in 2004 to restore and strengthen the royal bloodline of the Kwanyamas after it was nearly completely destroyed in the British and Portuguese military intervention in 1917 and 1932.
This intervention resulted not only in the removal of the kings and chiefs, but also changed the traditional system itself.
One result was that after the death of King Mandume Ndemufayo in 1917 in anti-colonial skirmishes with British and encroaching Portuguese forces, the Kwanyama nobility – like many other traditional nobilities – went into hiding, to only re-emerge to some prominence when King Ndilikwenya Kaleninasho Ndeiwedha was designated head of the royal house in 1997.
Before he died at the age of 87 in November 2005, he in turn, designated his niece, Martha Mwadinhomo Nelumbu as the first woman to hold that position.
The king died at 11 o’clock one night, and the traditional council of the Kwanyamas installed the queen between 10 and 11 o’clock the following morning. In the same month, the queen moved to the palace, making her the 17th head of the Kwanyama kingdom.
“She was chosen by her uncle to succeed him and we have accepted that and respect her,” said Kwanyama chief headman Nghidinihamba Ndilule.
The queen was installed with much pomp and ceremony later that year, when more than 10???_?_’???_?’???_???