Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
At the time of writing, Namibia still lacked a statutory minimum-wage law. As a result, the mining, construc-
tion and agricultural sectors continue to set basic levels of pay through collective bargaining practices, which
some economists have criticised for being extremely cumbersome and even exploitative.
Arts
With its harsh environment and historically disparate and poor population, Namibia does
not have a formal legacy of art and architecture. What it does have in abundance is a
wealth of material arts: carvings, basketry, tapestry, beadwork and textile weaving.
There are some excellent festivals dedicated to the arts - for one of Namibia's newest,
most exciting arts events head to Omaruru in September for the Artist's Trail.
Literature
Dogged by centuries of oppression, isolation, lack of education and poverty, it is hardly
surprising that prior to independence there was a complete absence of written literature in
Namibia, though there was a rich tradition of oral literature. What there was boils down to
a few German colonial novels - most importantly Gustav Frenssen's
Peter Moor's Jour-
ney to Southwest Africa
(original 1905, English translation 1908) - and some Afrikaans
writing. The best-known work from the colonial period is undoubtedly Henno Martin's
The Sheltering Desert
(1956, English edition 1957), which records two years spent by the
geologist author and his friend Hermann Korn avoiding internment as prisoners of war
during WWII.
Only with the independence struggle did an indigenous literature begin to take root.
One of contemporary Namibia's most significant writers is Joseph Diescho (b 1955),
whose first novel,
Born of the Sun,
was published in 1988, when he was living in the
USA. To date, this refreshingly unpretentious work remains the most renowned Namibian
effort. As with most African literature, it's largely autobiographical, describing the protag-
onist's early life in a tribal village, his coming of age and his first contact with Christian-
ity. It then follows his path through the South African mines and his ultimate political
awakening. Diescho's second novel,
Troubled Waters
(1993), focuses on a white South
African protagonist, who is sent to Namibia on military duty and develops a political con-
science.
Namibia also has a strong culture of women writers. Literature written by Namibian
women after independence deals primarily with their experiences as women during the
