Fame

I attained immediate celebrity status, however, as I am the first tjilumbu (white person) to be in Otjiteke. Maveja and I were visiting some more of her relatives at some nearby otase (pronounced o-ta-thay) houses (homes made with sticks and cow dung) when the omombo omuti (directly translated: book of tree) ceremony finished. (it is a little bit like a Christmas Eve service, with verses shared and the singing of Christmas songs) All of the children who had been in attendance at the omombo omuti came running over to where I was standing and crowded around me, just staring and probably wondering what the heck I was doing there. Finally one brave little soul stepped up to me and put out her hand for a handshake. That was all it took. Suddenly I was shaking hands with 50 kids.

otase in Otjiteke