Christmas in Owamboland

So, what is like to celebrate Christmas in Owamboland?
Well, Christmas is not much different from any other time of the year. Except the shops are shut. And so many people….

THE AMBIANCE
There are no street decorations, no traditional Christmas fare in the shops, no sweating Santa ho-ho-hoing his way around the children, no canned Christmas music ANYWHERE. (However, I am pretty certain that Windhoek would have the festive mood we are used to.)
As Owamboland is a poorer corner of Namibia, many people do not have money for things like Christmas crackers and Christmas cake etc. So shops do not sell them. However, ‘Game’ (like K-mart) did sell some tinsel and imitation plastic Christmas trees of various sizes so we got a baby one.
The children and I made crackers.

THE FOOD
Christmas lunch? Well, not being a keen cook, I found it hard to be innovative with tripe, lungs and chicken feet! Seriously though, although that food is common in our nearby shop, also purchasable in another shop is sausage (only boerewors), stewing beef or mutton, mince or frozen chicken. 99% of Namibian food stuff (excluding meat and fish and chicken) in shops comes from South Africa, including frozen stuff. However, one can also buy local Owambo chicken. It is dark meat and rather tough. The Owambo chooks are “free range” and take some catching!

Close to Etosha, there is a small town called Oshivelo (gate). It the ‘border’ town into Owamboland (and has a police road block to check cars and people), and in the war years it marked entry into the “conflict zone”. Now, through it, and across the width of Namibia runs an imaginary ‘red line’ through which there is no movement of animals and fresh animal products. Like the Owambo chooks, Owambo cattle and goats are “free range”, which means disease transmission is easier up in the North. Also, none of the cattle up north are inoculated, due to the socio-economic circumstances of their owners.
Cattle south are confined to farms, and get similar treatment to Aussie cows and so diseases are far easier to control. There is no export of northern meat, and the Namibian meat board are keen to keep the two separate!

In Oshakati I was able to buy a piece of roasting LAMB and that was really nice. (Would have liked mint sauce though!) There are no sheep in Owamboland, just goats, pigs and cattle.

Talking of goats, we came home from church on Christmas Eve to see that our new neighbours had strung up a goat (by the neck) from a tree and were busy hacking off their Christmas lunch. There are a number of goats that can be heard this holiday bleating piteously as they stand, tied up and awaiting the knife.

THE PEOPLE
On Christmas Eve we had some of the street kids around for sausages and potato and to watch the Jesus video in Oshikwanyama.
Christmas Day church for us was like other church services (though longer). There were a couple of carols in Oshikwanyama. However, some churches here hold their Christmas morning service 4-6 a.m. to ‘usher in’ the Christ Child.
In the afternoon we gatecrashed a neighbours’ where they were having a braai/barbie.
A lot of people go to SA or to the coast (or Windhoek) at Christmas, mainly to visit family but also to escape the heat. We have less than a week before we head off to cooler climes!
Not having had family around to visit when we lived in Australia, and with David (when a minister) working over Christmas means that we have never really got into a Christmas groove. We all spent much of the day after church reading new books. Caris got a great one called ‘The three little wolves and the big, bad pig’! People have also kindly sent us dvds so there will be some great, fresh, viewing time in the weeks ahead.

THE JOY
Of course, the great joy of Christmas is the opportunity to remind people of the gospel message of hope for mankind. David was invited to preach at the English-speaking church we were pastoring temporarily in the middle of the year. The couple who are now there have really poured their hearts into it and it is wonderful to see people coming and enjoying it. He was going to be preaching in Ondangwa on Christmas day but then the bishop, who had been unwell, was much better and could do it.

NEW YEAR
New Year’s Eve saw us going out to Omugwelume church (see pix). This is the church which lost a wall in floods a year ago. As you can see, there is quite a back-drop to the sermon. The Bible reading had to compete with donkeys racing past, braying. The children went and stood on the wall as the donkeys ran by, close enough to be touched, and this delighted the children. David used a wrapped ‘Christmas present’ to tell of the true Christmas present. When it was unwrapped (by a lady in the congregation) it became a cross. The people, obviously not used to visual aids in the sermon, clapped as if he had done a magic trick.

David has been invited to preach to the Evangelical Baptist pastors on New Year’s Day on ‘the importance of theological education’ and, following that, to do a presentation about NETS. We are excited about that. This (small) denomination is about the most theologically-sound in the country, and has great vision for growth in the North.

THE HOLS
We shall be off on our hols in a few sleeps and will be away from home about 3-22 January. We will split the drive over 2 days to get down there and perhaps do the same coming back as it is over 1,000kms each way, esp as we are taking the desert route down so not much of the road will be tarred and very little will be straight (except the coastal road).
Now I had better finish correcting the proof-read Greek manuscript before we leave … !
And when we get back from our break it is all systems go for workshops around the Northern region.