Bantu Peoples & Herero

From the 14th century, Bantu peoples migrated from the north and displaced the San into inhospitable desert areas. The main groups:

• Ovambo (Oshiwambo): By far the largest population group in Namibia (about 50%). They traditionally live in the fertile north (Ovamboland) and engage in agriculture and livestock farming. The SWAPO liberation movement emerged from the Ovambo
• Herero: Cattle herders who migrated from East Africa in the 17th/18th century and settled in the central highlands. Recognizable by the Victorian dresses of the women — an adaptation of 19th-century missionary clothing, now proudly worn as a cultural symbol
• Nama/Damara: Khoi-San-related groups who lived as shepherds and traders. The Nama under Captain Hendrik Witbooi were the last to resist the German colonists
• Kavango, Caprivians, Tswana: Other groups in the north and northeast

This ethnic diversity still shapes Namibia today — the country has 13 recognized ethnic groups and over 30 languages and dialects.