OLUFUKO CULTURAL FESTIVAL
editThe Town of Outapi which is the Capital and Administrative Center of the Omusati Region hosted the Olufuko Festival for the whole region. The festival which took place for the first time in August 2012, had marked the rivaval of an initiating ceremony that is believe to had died out more than 80 years ago.[1]
Omusati Region is the 3rd largest region in Namibia (242 900) according to the 2011 Census Report. The festival sees three towns from Omusati taking part namely, Okahao, Oshikuku and Ruacana The Omusati Regional Council is also playing an active role. There are many festivals in Namibia, but this one (Olufuko) is unique because its aims to put more emphasis on the following components:
- Tradition
- Culture
- Agriculture
- Arts [2]
However the churches in Namibia are againist the ceremony, they had urged their members to boycott the initiation. According to the eyewitness, who attended the event, churches require that those who attended the Olufuko ceremony should ask for forgiveness from the church. Pregnacy testing is also part part and parcel of the Olufuko ceremony making sure that the brides are pregnancy free. The testing is done when a bride is asked to do physical work to prove that she is not pregnant.[3]
REFERENCES
edit- ^ SHINOVENE, IMMANUEL. "Olufuko initiation starts". The namibian. Retrieved 22.08.2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Government endorses Olufuko". Namibian sun. Retrieved Fri, 24 Aug, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Kae Matundu, Tjiparuro. "Let's not be impulsive about Olufuko!". New Era. Retrieved 17 Aug 2012.