What Is Said About Homosexuality in the Himbacracy Philosophy?

 

What Is Said About Homosexuality in the Himbacracy Philosophy?

 

The premise of the assertion that homosexuality is expressly condemned by the forefathers in the Himbacracy Philosophy. One of the most persistent ethical difficulties across Ovahimba traditions is sexual variety, I have written in the personal study based on Himba culture over the past year since I started writing more frequently on my blog about the Himbacracy Philosophy. One of the first questions on this subject that many Ovahimba ask is, "What does the Himbacracy Philosophical point of view say about attraction to someone of the same sex?"

The term "homosexual" wasn't even coined until late moved to Windhoek when we moved to Windhoek to further our study, so it's unlikely that the Himbacracy philosophers had any understanding of the same sexual orientation. Nevertheless, for many Himbacracy, the Himbacracy Philosophy is looked to for timeless guidance on what it means to honour God through our ancestors with our lives.

Before I explain how Ovahimba culture upholds the authority of the Himbacracy Philosophy and affirms sexual diversity, it might be helpful if we first gave a brief but clear overview of some of the presumptions underlying many Himbacracy Philosophy approaches to understanding the Ovahimba culture.

What is the Ovahimba Philosophical point of view?

It is well known among Ovahimba culture, to whom the Ovahimba culture is God's very spoken word, that God created its contents through divinely inspired human authors to recount the tale of God's creation, the origins of sin, and the redemption found in our ancestors and their salvation.

In this regard, the Ovahimba culture is frequently seen as the key resource for teaching us how to live as members of the Himba civilization. Although it is crucial to emphasize, being in Himba culture does not imply that we learn what is right or bad by listening to isolated portions. Instead, most Ovahimba people make these difficult decisions by analyzing what the entire spoken word has to say about a particular subject, looking into the linguistic, historical, and cultural context in which the words were spoken, and then comparing their findings to what is known about the nature of Ovahimba culture more generally. While Ovahimba's history states that "ancestors are the same yesterday, today, and forever," our capacity to comprehend and apply the teachings of the Himbacracy Philosophy evolves and deepens as we develop in our faith and gain knowledge of the outside world.

What is Bible Interpretation?

I enjoy reading, and one book that I enjoy is the Bible. Whenever someone reads the Bible, an interpretive process begins. When people who are attracted to people of the same sex reach affirming conclusions about their relationships and identities, they are frequently admonished that they are "elevating" their experience over Scripture. They are frequently informed that doing this directly denies the Bible's authority over their life. But it begs the question: Is this a fair and true judgment? Exist neutral interpretations in any way? If so, who decides what is the one true or accurate method to understand the Bible? Reading the bible has helped me realize how closely related our society and the bible are, especially the old testament.

Hermeneutics, the study of biblical interpretation, aids Christians in answering concerns of this nature. When someone takes a text and asks "What does this mean?" rather than merely "What does this say," they are engaging in hermeneutics. Their duty is to investigate what the pertinent biblical verses on the subject meant in their original context and what they mean for them now. They accomplish this by asking, "What does the Bible say about homosexuality" (or, more accurately, "What does the Bible say about attraction to someone of the same sex").

The Trouble with Exclusive Interpretations

The majority of Ovahimba people, as well as those who support African cultures, believe the answer to this question is "yes." Their interpretation is that God's creative goal cannot be reflected in same-sex couples. Their justifications include, but are not limited to 1) the "unbiased" interpretation of the relevant verses that they were always taught to apply; and 2) a fundamental conviction that sex distinction is an essential component of Ovahimba marriage. The latter is extremely significant since, in our culture, marriage is regarded as the primary representation of the love shared by men and women. To us, same-sex couples are specifically barred from participating in this symbol because they fall short in one or more aspects of the frequently ill-defined category known as "gender complementarity."

While it is true that gender complementarity has its roots in cultural passages, it is important to remember that while these stories claim that God first created humans of the male and female sex (defined as the complex product of combinations between chromosomes, gonads, genes, and genitals), there is nothing to suggest that God only created this binary in the course of human history or in our own history. About gender or the social and cultural norms and behaviours that correlate to what is deemed masculine and feminine, this account says very little to nothing. I personally had never met a gay person until moving to Windhoek, and I did so at a university.  I am aware that there are still residents of our community who have never met a gay person. It is obvious from this that these individuals do not belong to us and do not reflect our culture. While they claimed that polygamy was against humanity when we practiced it, they praised democracy for gays and lesbians.

Our culture is very important

To all Ovahimba people, let's teach our children to traverse diversity and to treat everyone with an equal amount of respect and dignity. To do this, we must first challenge constrictive gender stereotypes, instances of our gender culture, and same-sex beliefs. Our kids need to understand that a boy must stay a boy and a girl must stay a girl. It also entails having conversations with kids that ask them to evaluate the messages they hear from others and grabbing opportunities to broaden their worldview. Our kids can interact with others, but they must always act in a way that honours our culture. Our culture is very important to us, so we don't need to explain it to people who don't understand it since we do. Early exposure to our culture is important for our children.

Children who resist parents’ intervention

We must not let such activity because our children are our property and will behave in the manner we desire as they begin to internalize messages from the outside world to direct and express their own identities as gendered beings. Continue to teach your kids that a boy is a boy and a girl is a girl so that there is no confusion about gender in our society. Also, teach them what to wear and what not to wear according to their gender, how to style their hair, and how to act. Children shouldn't have holes in their ears. This is expected and simply emphasizes the significance of your efforts to change these mindsets. The traditional "broken record" method is the greatest technique to handle kids who resist your interventions.

 If you've said that toys aren't for everyone and that boys and girls must use different toys, then keep repeating your point quietly and deliberately. You don't need to come up with anything new; simply stick to your position until it is accepted or it becomes clear that you should leave. Boys must play soccer, while girls must play netball. Boys' games are for boys, whereas girls' games are for girls. 

As a result of our ancestors' adherence to our culture, we did not have any of these individuals in our community. People who are unwilling to accept our culture should not be heard. People can grow their abilities and skills in an environment that celebrates cultural diversity. One can learn from a wider variety of same people with the same culture by having a breadth of ideas and knowledge. It can also improve one's ability to solve problems, as well as their happiness and productivity.

 

Uerimanga Tjijombo

The Himbacracy Philosopher

 

 

Intermarriage can also cause linguistic shifts, my own independent study of social factors

 

Intermarriage can also cause linguistic shifts, my own independent study of social factors

Uerimanga Tjijombo

The Himbacracy Philosopher

Intermarriage can also cause linguistic shifts because, for social and economic reasons, families may prioritize teaching their kids the dominant language. Apparently, anyone can marry whomever they want, regardless of differences in culture and language, thanks to the world of technology and democracy. However, because they can change the language use patterns of minority language speakers and their children, mixed marriages may contribute to language shifts in the home.

In those days, our people, particularly the Ovaherero community, were not accustomed to forbidding their children from marrying members of other tribes for a variety of reasons, but one of the reasons was the language shift; they knew that if they allowed such marriages, their language, and culture would shift. However, thanks to technology, democracy, and so-called civilization, children now choose for themselves whom they want to wed, regardless of their background, but the following factors contribute to language shift and culture change:

(i)                 Economic, social, and political issues such as poverty (which may cause migration into any marriage of their choosing), the linguistic majority's social and political domination, etc.;

(ii)                 demographic variables such as a declining speaker population, geographic isolation, etc.

The majority of young people will disagree with this notion, however, someone will become watchful after a negative encounter. Following such an experience, people take extra precautions to avoid recurrences. The institution of marriage is a key socialization tool since it serves as the cornerstone of houses. Marriage may be counted on to play a significant role in maintaining a language and culture in this way. However, because they can change the language use patterns of minority language speakers and their children, mixed marriages may be a factor in language shifts in the home. As a result, marriages between partners who speak the same native tongue have a higher chance of maintaining a minority language than marriages between partners who speak different languages.

Because one man's meat is another man's poison, everyone's experience may vary. However, there are those who have married intermarriage and have never had a problem. I am speaking from my own personal perspective; anyone else may view it in a different way. What I consider to be worthless to one person may be precious to another. The likelihood of fruitful interracial interactions is increased as a result of interracial marriages. In my own research, I have discovered that when one has pleasant interracial contacts, prejudice, and discrimination against members of an out-group (someone from whom one has a different racial identification) decreases.

Language attitudes affect a person's motivation to acquire a second language, hence they are directly related to language shift. One of the key elements that affect language maintenance and change is attitude. To put it another way, language shift depends greatly on "the self-image of the minority group" and attitudes toward its linguistic surroundings. For instance, parents' perspectives on their language ultimately affect their choices over whether or not to pass it down to their children. While attitudes toward the English language tend to favour its use, attitudes toward minority languages tend to favour their abandonment. Similarly to this, when a low-status language develops a bad reputation and image, prospective speakers steer clear of it to avoid being identified with its undesirable image.

Numerous studies have supported the significance of values in the preservation and shift of minority languages, and I discovered that some minority language speakers do, in fact, harbour animosity toward their native tongues. For example, I'll caution against the mindset of many native speakers of minority languages, especially the youth in the town’s minority who like speaking Afrikaans or English to one another. I am particularly concerned about the minority groups' waning interest in their native tongues in towns and their current preference for English, which signals the minority languages' quick abandonment in private spheres of life.

You shouldn't put too much faith in something's ability to succeed. You can believe that everything is fine without taking the long view, that people are blind to how others perceive them, or that they cover up their flaws. A bed bug stinks, but because they are only familiar with that stench, they are not aware of how offensive it is to others. People who don't care about the value of language and culture might assume everything is fine when it's actually not. Do not put yourself in a dangerous situation or limit your alternatives for future action.

After the horse has bolted or the stable has been burglarized, it is too late to lock the stable. What you must understand is that once language or culture changes, it won't be possible to return to the previous state. From a Himbacracy philosophical standpoint, I prefer to preserve what we had before we lost it. As Namibians, we must respect one another while still preserving our native tongues and cultures. There is a beginning and an end to everything. So, whether you want something to end or not, when its time comes, it will. When you discover you've followed the incorrect path, it will be obvious that you've lost the things you were supposed to keep. However, turning around will be challenging because you have nowhere to start. If at all feasible, get married inside your community to preserve the richness of the area as well as your language and culture.

Given that this is a small-scale personal study, I won't make any sweeping statements about the ramifications of what I've learned. However, it can be argued that I have at least made some perceptive observations regarding the roles that mixed marriages play in language shift, and subsequent studies with larger samples may build on my individual research.  Minority languages are passed down through families from one generation to the next. As I correctly noted, a minority language's likelihood of surviving or dying out largely depends on "the degree to which the language is passed on from one generation to the next within the household context." Minority languages get endangered if parents don't make sure their kids learn and speak them.

According to the findings of my observation, many mixed-language families reveal a persistent failure or unwillingness on the part of parents to pass on minority languages to their children. If this trend continues, the existence of such minority languages is unclear in the future. Based on the facts that "intergenerational transmission is heavily dependent on home language use" and "the home language question does enable predictions of future use of the languages concerned," this conclusion has been drawn.

Without the family's assistance, minority language preservation will be challenging. Language maintenance requires the cooperation of both parents and kids. If parents do not speak the language to them or encourage them to speak it, children will not play any part in the preservation of the mother tongue. Mixed-language households will continue to migrate to the former ones as long as dominant languages continue to be linked with political, social, and economic benefits while minority languages are not, with obvious implications for the future of minority languages. Raising the value of minority languages should be an intentional status planning aim, for example, by requiring their usage in prestigious sectors like education, the media, and the parliament, in order to significantly stop the shift away from minority languages.

These Otjiherero proverbs, which I'll close with, say that anything rooted in the truth lasts considerably longer than anything built on lies. An elderly person's words of wisdom are not lessened by their terrible breath.

Uerimanga Tjijombo

Himbacracy Philosopher