Placido Hilukilwa
THE Ondonga warriors’ monument that was unveiled by President Hage Geingob at Namutoni on Saturday might be of an unfamiliar shape and strange adornment, but it has a deep spiritual meaning.
The head of the Ondonga Traditional Authority, Omukwaniilwa Fillemon Shuumbwa Nangolo, explained to President Geingob and other attendees why the monument was shaped like an anthill and adorned with two cattle horns.
He said that in the Ondonga traditional community the anthill and cattle were used in rituals that preceded combat missions.
A head of cattle was slaughtered and the blood sprinkled or poured on an anthill.
If the anthill collapsed, or part thereof broke off, it was interpreted as a bad omen and advisable to abort the mission. But if the anthill stood its ground, then that was seen as the green light to go ahead with the combat operation.
Approximately 500 Ondonga warriors attacked the Namutoni Fort on 28 January 1904 and ransacked and burnt it down after the few German soldiers fled under the cover of darkness, having suffered no casualties.
However, the lightly armed and unarmed attackers suffered significant losses, including 68 dead, 40 missing — now presumed dead — and 20 injured.
The monument was erected at the site where the fallen warriors were buried.
