ABSTRACT
Elifas and 9 km from Oniipa, the headquarters of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN). The Lutheran Church is overwhelmingly predominant in Ondonga, but is less so in other ‘Owambo’ kingdoms. Most of my informants, therefore, were residents of Olukonda and the surrounding villages and members of the church. I tried to become as closely involved with the community as I could and to speak to as many people as possible, but because of my own age, limited grasp of Oshindonga and perceived status I found myself gradually included in a group of elite, English-speaking young men, including one of King Elifas’ younger sons. Furthermore, I was befriended by the family of the Pastor of Olukonda and by the staff of the museum and so many of my key informants were introduced to me by them. Most residents of Olukonda are by no means wealthy, but by local standards they are not poor. My informants were mostly literate and some were highly educated. Several had studied abroad. Almost all identified themselves as members of ELCIN and many were active participants in the life of the local church. Although a number of my informants had been involved with SWAPO during the liberation struggle, and most supported the SWAPO government, few identified themselves as active members. Furthermore, many had kinship connections to King Elifas’ family. My informants, therefore, are not representative of all Aandonga, but their perspective is widely shared, particularly among the post-independence generation.
