Namibia is in the southwest of Africa.
In the dry northern lands of this country, the Himba people live.
Photographers and travelers sometimes call them "the most beautiful people in the world" for their unique sense of beauty and way of life.
But for them, beauty is not decoration. It is a way to live.
These ways are passed down and become a steady form of aesthetics.
Himba Village
The first thing that draws the eye is the women’s red hair.
They apply Otjize, a mix of butterfat and red earth, to their hair. It protects them from the sun and insects, and it is also a sign of beauty.
In the dry wind, the red blends with the land around them.
Hands that Arrange Beauty
On their heads some women wear the Erembe.
It is a crown made of sheepskin, worn by married women or women who have given birth.
Hair and ornaments also show age and stage of life.
Children, adults, and married women all have different styles.
By looking, you can know which stage each person is in.
Red and the Crown
Inside their homes there is a fire pit in the center.
They place herbs on the coals and smoke fills the hut.
They told me, “This smoke cleanses the body.”
The smoke opens the skin. They use a flat stick to rub away dirt, and then reapply Otjize.
This is their way of bathing.
Because water is scarce, some also clean their hair with wood ash instead of water.
Ritual in Smoke
The Scent of Incense Wood
Outside, children laugh and women gather.
They stamp their feet and clap their hands, making a steady rhythm.
One by one, people step forward to dance.
There are no instruments. Only the sound created by everyone there turns the air into dance.
It was an improvised welcome for visitors from far away.
Welcome Dance
Joined Dance
To eyes used to city life, their way of living may look inconvenient.
But every piece of clothing and every gesture carries meaning and time.
Nothing is staged, yet they are beautiful simply in the way they stand.
That is what the Himba people were.