Pluralism is the coexistence of several cultural groups within a society, but they keep their cultural heritage. A prime example of this in the United States is the small sub-communities of China town, and little Italy in New York. These communities preserve their culture so well that it is like stepping into small slice of their country. Similarly, Namibians have groups like China town that preserve the rich history of their culture.
A small group of young adults playing football in Solitaire on July 16, 2017. Soccer is a major sport for Namibians, which helps to bring people together.
In the United States these smaller community groups are usually clustered together because they have a similar dialect, understanding of their own culture, and pride from where they were born. Most of the Namibians I spoke to knew their tribe and regions of the country for their family origins. Namibians did not shy away from being asked about their heritage, but instead they embraced it and told me everything they could possibly know about their culture. This shows a magnificent pride, which can also be seen in the small communities in the United States. An example of this is when we stayed in the small town of Solitaire, and watched a group of young adults play football. When investigating, I found out that many of the soccer players were from the Owambo tribe.
The Christuskirche is located in the capital city of Windhoek. The church still plays an important role in people’s lives today, as it did back when the church was founded.
Another example is the Christuskirche or the Christ Church is in the heart of the national capital of Namibia, Windhoek. The church was built in 1907 mainly catering to the Namibians of Lutheran religion. The church was known as the Church of Peace since it had been constructed after a war between Germany and Khoikhoi, Herero, and Owambo.
A few of the tribes of Namibia include the following: Damara, Herero, Himba, Kavango, Nama, Topnaars, Owambo, Rehoboth basters, San, Tswana, and many more. They are very diverse even though they roughly come from the same country. For Example, the Owambo is a tribe living in the northern part of Namibia. The Damara have mainly been clustered together with in the urban centers because of on lasting battles with the Herero tribe. On the other hand, the Herero mainly live along eastern Namibia in the Gobabis district and other specialized reserves.
A prime example of a culture coexisting within society is seen in the national newspaper of Namibia. The Namibian has a section that is written in the Owambo’s dialect. The implication is that a large number of Owambo read the national newspaper.
The Namibian, the national newspaper, was bought at Heja Game Lodge on July 14, 2017, which has a section fully dedicated to the Owambo language dialect. This means that many of their readers are able to either speak or understand what is being written.
Namibian’s cultural pride is what is so similar to the smaller groups in the Unites States. Our China towns and little Italy communities is equivalent to Namibian communities that are culturally divided. I am not saying that the tribes do not intermingle and live outside of their own, but they know what it means to be a part of a tribe. Some people must move to survive, but they still have a home base in their hearts.
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