article
Near death in the streets of Karibib: famine, migrant labour and the coming of Ovambo to central Namibia
Journal of African history • 44 (2) • Published In 2003 • Pages: 211-239
By: Gewald, Jan-Bart.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This study explores the cultural and political legacies of the 1915 famine that prompted massive population movement from Portuguese-controlled northern Ovamboland to central Namibia, which had recently become a protectorate of South Africa. In focusing on the town of Karibib, which emerged as an important center for both government-provided relief aid and labor recruitment among Ovambo migrants, it is shown how the famine contributed to the end of Ovambo independence by accelerating South Africa’s control over Namibia. The conditions of Ovambo migrant laborers and famine refugees became an important motivation for subsequent political mobilization and armed insurgency against the South African government.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- External migration
- History
- Labor supply and employment
- Labor relations
- Administrative agencies
- External relations
- Government regulation
- Public welfare
- Aftermath of combat
- Disasters
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Ovambo
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southern Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Historian
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Teferi Abate Adem; 2021
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- not applicable
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1915-1916
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- northern Namibia
- NotesAdditional notes
- By Jan-Bart Gewald
- Includes bibliographical references
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 63005723
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Ovambo (African people)