The Herero are a Bantu Tribe of South-West Africa.
'The Hereros know a supreme being whom they call by two names: Ndjambi Karunga. The
Karunga has an Ovambo derivation and is only known intimately to those Hereros, who have
been in contact with the Ovambo in former times. . . .Ndjambi is the Heavenly God. He lives in
Heaven, yet is omnipresent. His most striking characteristic is kindness. Human life is due to
and dependant on him and all blessings ultimately come from him. He who dies a natural death
is carried away by Ndjambi. As his essence is kindness people cherish no fear but a veneration
for him. As his blessings are the gifts of his kindness without any moral claims, the belief in
Ndjambi has no moral strength, nor has the worship of Ndjambi become a cult. At best his name
is invoked only in Thanksgiving after some unexpected luck or they pray to him when all other
means of help fail. For the rest, the utterance of his name is not allowed. In reply to a question I
put to a Tjimba woman in the Kaokoveld as to the abode of Ndjambi Karunga, she said: 'He
stays in the clouds because, when the clouds rise, his voice is clearly heard,' and further research
has brought to light that the Tjimba look upon Ndjambi as the giver of rain.' (H. Vedder, The
Native Tribes of South-West Africa, Capetown, 1928, p.164)
Dr. Vedder's statement that the sacred name should not be uttered is significant. It explains
partly, if not wholly, why the missionaries who had lived in close contact with the Herero since
1844 heard his name for the first time only in 1871.
