The Topnaar people (ǂAonin) are a clan of the

Nama people Nama (in older sources also called Namaqua) are an African ethnic group of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. They traditionally speak the Khoekhoe language, Nama language of the Khoe languages, Khoe-Kwadi language family, although many Nama ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

. Their settlements are all situated on the

Kuiseb River The Kuiseb River is an ephemeral river in western-central Namibia. Its source is in the Khomas Highland west of Windhoek. From there it flows westwards through the Namib-Naukluft National Park and the Namib desert to Walvis Bay. Several settlement ...

in the

Erongo Region Erongo is one of the 14 regions of Namibia. The capital is Swakopmund. It is named after Mount Erongo, a well-known landmark in Namibia and in this area. Erongo contains the municipalities of Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Henties Bay and Omaruru, as ...

of central Namibia, the largest one is Utuseb.

History

The Topnaars began settling in the area of Walvis Bay and along the Kuiseb River during the start of the 19th century. They first occupied the area at the mouth of the Swakop River, today the city of

Swakopmund Swakopmund ("Mouth of the Swakop River, Swakop") is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 road (Namibia), B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo Region, Erongo administrative district. It ...

, and moved south beyond Walvis Bay to the Kuiseb mouth between 1820 and 1830. A small faction moved upriver to Sandfontein but was attacked and driven away by warriors of the

Red Nation "Red Nation" is a song by American rapper and West Coast hip-hop, West Coast hip hop artist The Game (rapper), Game featuring vocals from rapper Lil Wayne, from his anticipated fourth studio album ''The R.E.D. Album''. Released as the album's lead ...

. They receded to Rooibank (''Scheppmannsdorf'' during Imperial Germany's colonial rule of South-West Africa). Missionary Heinrich Schmelen and

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Amraal Lambert of the Kaiǀkhauan ( Khauas Nama) visited the Topnaar around 1824 or 1825 while searching for a hospitable place at the coast to improve logistics for the support of the missionaries in the hinterland.

Culture and living conditions

ǃNara melons which grow on the banks of the Kuiseb are the primary staple food of the Topnaars. Apart from ǃNara products which are also sold to tourists, most Topnaar people depend on livestock farming and old-age grants. Seth Kooitjie was the Chief of the Topnaar people until his death in February 2019. The traditional authority gains money from tourism concessions and fishing quotas in their tribal area but these monies have yet to bring about upliftment of the community which lives without access to sewerage and electricity.

History

Culture and living conditions

References

Notes

Literature

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