- Location: 25 km north of Tsumkwe, Namibia
- Phone: +264 (0) 81 340 2112
- Website: www.lcfn.info
- Cost of visiting: $ 20-40
More and more tourists are going to Namibia not only to go on a safari or to get acquainted with its sights . Many of them fly here to plunge into the world of Yu / 'Hoansi Bushmen - the people of Africa, who still live according to the traditions of their ancestors.
The Way of the Bushmen
For a long time the people of Yu / 'Hoansi lived on the territory where the city of Tsumku now stands. True, at present local Bushmen no longer go hunting and do not collect. They independently built an open-air village where tourists are always welcome. This made it much easier to get to know their culture , since it is still impossible to pinpoint where the Bushmen of other groups live. Some of them inhabit the territory of the Etosha National Park . Other tribes of Bushmen live in the northwest of the Kalahari Desert.
The settlement of the people of Yu / 'Hoansi is considered one of the most accessible. These Bushmen speak Khoisan. From all world languages it differs in that it contains many clicks of consonant sounds. The Yu / 'Hoansi Bushman Residence is a hut of twigs and brushwood that protects them from heat and insects. Since ancient times, the nomadic peoples of Africa have not built strong houses, because they had to move often from place to place. The Bushmen care for the huts mainly women who are also engaged in housekeeping.
In addition to making souvenirs, the people of Yu / 'Hoansi are familiar with primitive painting. The Bushmen of Africa are characterized by the art of creating voluminous rock carvings, which were traditionally depicted:
- animals;
- surrounding landscapes;
- hunting scenes;
- fantastic creatures.
According to research, some petroglyphs could have been created for 8 thousand years before our era. The most striking work of rock carvings of ancient Bushmen was found in Namibia in the Brandberg Mountains .
Excursions to Bushman villages
The settlement, in which the representatives of the people Yu / 'Hoansi live, is open to visitors around the clock, 365 days a year. Since there is no connection here, it is not necessary to warn about your visit. Enough to book an excursion.
Travelers come here to:
- to get acquainted with the culture and traditions of Bushmen;
- try the food of the African savannah;
- listen to stories about hunting and how to set traps;
- to participate in the production of traditional souvenirs ;
- listen to songs in Khoisan;
- to see ritual dances with my own eyes.
In the village of Yu / 'Hoansi there are no signs of civilization. These Bushmen still live according to the customs that their ancestors adhered to tens of thousands of years ago. Some tourists write for day tours, during which you can get to know the people of Yu / 'Hoansi. During the day, guests can not only make interesting photos of the Bushmen tribe. Here you can visit the wedding ceremony, learn archery, or learn traditional ways of treatment from local healers.
Such excursions give a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the way of life of Bushmen - amazing people living in harmony with themselves and nature.
How to get to the Bushmen village?
The settlement of the people of Yu / 'Hoansi is located in the northeast of the country 600 km from the capital of Namibia and about 50 km from the border with Botswana. The nearby town is Tsumku, located 25 km from the Bushmen village. You can cover this distance in 20 minutes along the road D3312. From Windhoek to Tsumku, the fastest way is to get on the roads B1 and C44. In this case, the entire journey takes about 8 hours.