Ovambo people

The **Ovambo people** (), also called **Aawambo**, **Ambo**, **Aawambo** (Ndonga, Nghandjera, Kwambi, Mbalantu), or **Ovawambo** (Kwanyama) are the main ethnic group in Namibia. They are 49% of the population in Namibia.

## Ovambo clans

This table has the names, areas, dialect names and the locations of the Ovambo according to T. E. Tirronen's _Ndonga-English Dictionary._ The table also has information about the of noun class of the Proto-Bantu language for these words.

|width=220|Area|width=130|Clan|width=130|Dialect|width=280|Location|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|**Classes 9** (*ny > on-), **11** (uu-/ou-)|**Class 2** (*wa-, a-)|**Class 7**  (*ki > oshi-)||||||
|O-ndonga|Aa-ndonga|Oshi-ndonga|Southern Ovamboland|||||
|Uu-kwambi|Aa-kwambi|Oshi-kwambi|Central Ovamboland Oshakati|||||
|O-ngadjera|Aa-ngandjera|Oshi-ngandjera|Central Ovamboland|||||
|Uu-kwaluudhi|Aa-kwaluudhi|Oshi-kwaluudhi|Western Ovamboland|||||
|O-mbalanhu|Aa-mbalanhu|Oshi-mbalanhu|Western Ovamboland|||||
|Uu-kolonkadhi|Aa-kolonkadhi|Oshi-kolonkadhi|Western Ovamboland|||||
|Ou-kwanyama|Ova-kwanyama|Oshi-kwanyama|Northern and Eastern Ovamboland, Southern Angola|||||
|E-unda|Ova-unda|Oshi-unda|Western Ovamboland, Epalela vicinity|||||
|O-mbadja|Ova-mbadja|Oshi-mbadja|Southern Angola, Shangalala region|||||

### Bibliography

- Karl Angebauer, _Ovambo : Fünfzehn Jahre unter Kaffern, Buschleuten und Bezirksamtmännern_, A. Scherl, Berlin, 1927, 257 p.
- P. H. Brincker, _Unsere Ovambo-Mission sowie Land, Leute, Religion, Sitten, Gebräuche, Sprache usw. der Ovakuánjama-Ovámbo, nach Mitteilungen unserer Ovambo-Missionare zusammengestellt_, Barmen, 1900, 76 p.
- Wolfgang Liedtke & Heinz Schippling, _Bibliographie deutschsprachiger Literatur zur Ethnographie und Geschichte der Ovambo, Nordnamibia, 1840–1915, annotiert_, Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden, Dresde, 1986, 261 p.
- Teddy Aarni, _The Kalunga concept in Ovambo religion from 1870 onwards_, University of Stockholm, Almquist & Wiksell, 1982, 166 p. .
- Leonard N. Auala, _The Ovambo : our problems and hopes_, Munger Africana Library, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Cal.), 1973, 32 p.
- Allan D. Cooper, _Ovambo politics in the twentieth century_, University Press of America, Lanham, Md., 2001, 350 p. .
- Gwyneth Davies, _The medical culture of the Ovambo of Southern Angola and Northern Namibia_, University of Kent at Canterbury, 1993 (thesis)
- Patricia Hayes, _A history of the Ovambo of Namibia, c 1880-1935_, University of Cambridge, 1992 (thesis)
- Maija Hiltunen, _Witchcraft and sorcery in Ovambo_, Finnish Anthropological Society, Helsinki, 1986, 178 p. 
- Maija Hiltunen, _Good magic in Ovambo_, Finnish Anthropological Society, Helsinki, 1993, 234 p. 
- Matti Kuusi, _Ovambo proverbs with African parallels_, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Helsinki, 1970, 356 p.
- Carl Hugo Linsingen Hahn, _The native tribes of South-West Africa : The Ovambo - The Berg Damara - The bushmen of South West Africa - The Nama - The Herero_, Cape Times Ltd., Le Cap, 1928, 211 p.
- Seppo Löytty, _The Ovambo sermon : a study of the preaching of the Evangelical Lutheran Ovambo-Kavango Church in South West Africa_, Luther-Agricola Society, Tampere (Finland), 1971, 173 p.
- Giorgio Miescher, _The Ovambo Reserve Otjeru (1911–1938) : the story of an African community in Central Namibia_, Basler Afrika Bibliographien, Bâle, 2006, 22 p.
- Ramiro Ladeiro Monteiro, _Os ambós de Angola antes da independência_, Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas, Lisbon, 1994, 311 p. (thesis, in )

## Other websites

- Language Map of Namibia

## Infobox (ethnic group)

- **group**: Ovambo
- **image**: Bundesarchiv Bild 105-DSWA0038, Deutsch-Süd-Westafrika, Ovambo-Männer.jpg
- **caption**: Ovambo men in the early 20th century
- **population**: ~2 million
- **pop1**: ~1.3 million (49.5% of Namibia population)
- **pop2**: 650,000
- **langs**: Ovambo language, Ovambo, English language, English, Portuguese language, Portuguese
- **rels**: Lutheranism, Other
- **related**: Ovimbundu, Herero people, Herero and other Bantu peoples