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Search for the Last True Hunter Gatherers of Namibia - a new film with a strong punchline
Type in “Otjimba” on Google and you’re likely to get a near zero response.
If you know the Otjimba, you will shake your head in disbelief, and wonder about the so-called power of today’s information age.
 Independent film maker Rulan Heunis has just released a film, in 3 parts, documenting his search for any remaining true hunter gatherers in southern Africa. It culminates in finding the last group of 34 individuals of the Otjimba tribe who still live a true hunter gatherer lifestyle, on top of the remote Baynes Mountain plateau, in northern Namibia. (Otjimba should not be confused with Otjihimba, which is the language of the Himba people, a nomadic pastoral tribe populating large areas of north western Namibia.)
The San, who have recently been identified by dr Frances Wells, DNA scientist of Stanford University, as the original forefathers of modern man, are generally regarded as the standard bearers of the hunter gatherer tradition in southern Africa. However exposure to the effects of the Neolithic and subsequent industrial revolutions has wreaked havoc with their traditional lifestyle. Today, none of the San can be described as true hunter gatherers anymore. To a greater or lesser extent, they rely on tourism, government grants and farming to augment their otherwise meager traditional food sources.
 In 2003 Heunis received information about the possible existence of a single group of non-San individuals, from the Watwa tribe, originally from Angola, who apparently lived reclusively in the remote Zebra Mountains, in northern Namibia. According to the informant, they avoided visiting tourists and other tribes living in the area, relying completely on hunting and gathering for their survival. They apparently extracted iron from the iron rich ore obtained from the Zebra Mountains, to manufacture the spear and arrow tips required for hunting.
For anybody who has traveled in northern Namibia, the sheer enormity of the task will be evident. The rugged and rock-strewn slopes of the Zebra Mountains covered in dense bush, with absolutely no road access and almost no drinking water, would most likely immediately move those who can afford it, to call in their helicopters for assistance. However, add a population density of around 1 person per 100 square miles to the description above and you soon realize that helicopters are unlikely to be successful. This search yielded some results and was extended in 2005 to include the Baynes Mountains, which are even more remote and inaccessible.
The film not only documents the filmmaker’s search for people practicing a life style that has virtually disappeared from the earth and the unexpected discoveries that were made in the process, but strives to awaken in the viewer the same deep awareness that the filmmaker experienced as the search progressed; an awareness that an inevitable fate awaits modern man if he continues on his present path of overexploitation of the earth and its resources.
Finally the filmmaker comes to the disconcerting conclusion that the only real solution to man’s dilemma is a drastic reduction in the world population within a relatively short time.
Heunis reckons that the number of politicians in the world, who would be prepared to underwrite this viewpoint publicly, would be fewer than the number of responses Google spits out for the word “Otjimba”.
Film Resumé
Intro
Viewers are firstly introduced to the country of Namibia and the meteorological factors which create its harsh climate.
It then traces the history of the hunter gatherers of Africa, the first human beings ever to have walked the planet of the earth, from the end of the last ice age (when they occupied most of Africa south of the Sahara) up to the present time. Using map animation, it shows how the advent of the Neolithic revolution, as a precursor to the industrial revolution, threw the existence of the hunter gatherers of Africa into turmoil, as cattle were being introduced into Africa, from Egypt, and as traditional hunting lands were gradually being usurped as farmland, ultimately forcing the hunter gatherers into a few tiny, barren and isolated spots, such as the semi-deserts of current day Namibia. The inevitability of the extinction of the hunter gathering method of survival in Africa due to industrialization, probably within the next 10-20 years, is pointed out.
The status of the remaining hunter gatherers of southern Africa is reviewed, concluding that although there still are a few scattered groups of hunter gatherers to be found today, such as the well-known San of the Kalahari, none of these can be strictly categorized as true hunter gatherers, since they are currently largely dependent on resources other than that obtained from hunting and gathering for their survival.
Based on information received, to the effect that there may still be a previously unknown (and elusive) group of true hunter gatherers in the remotest parts of the Zebra Mountains in northern Namibia, it is decided to go and search for them.
Part 1
 Part 1 covers the search within the Zebra Mountains, accessing the rugged and semi-desert terrain on foot via a 30km long valley penetrating the mountains. It shows the condition of the fauna and flora, and the detrimental influence of cattle farming, initially. As the mountains are penetrated further, it becomes clear that environmental conditions are improving, making it more suitable for the sustenance of hunting and gathering lifestyle. Yet no hunter gatherers are to be found.
In the course of the search, a single yet brief encounter is made with a small group of children whose parents clearly do not own any stock. How can they survive in this barren terrain, without stock? On meeting with the strangers, the children clearly are frightened and take flight, into the bushes and never to be seen again, before further information can be obtained.
With the increased knowledge that we had gained of the area, it is decided to return the following year and to continue with the search, concentrating the search in the area where the shy children had last been spotted.
Part 2
Part 2 covers the extended search, now along the south eastern perimeter of the Zebra Mountains - an area near where the elusive children had been spotted the previous year.
A group of Watwa tribesmen is eventually encountered, who do live an almost true hunter gatherer lifestyle, with no stock, but with some small patches of mahango grain crops, planted as a food supply. They demonstrate their traditional ironmongery skills, showing how they manufacture iron spear and arrow tips, and how they hunt. They also create music using a traditional musical instrument, and the females and children of the group celebrate our visit by performing some of their traditional dances, accompanied by hand clapping.
The small ecological impact of the tribe on the environment becomes evident during filming, and is noted.
During the visit it is established from the Watwas that our original information was indeed correct, but that the last group of true hunter gatherers of the Zebra Mountains had in fact finally and discontinued their hunting gathering lifestyle the previous year. They do, however, supply us with new information about a still-existing group of true hunter gatherers, this time in the Baynes Mountains, some 70 km to the west of where we are.
Part 3
 Part 3 covers the search in the Baynes Mountains. The area, 2200m above sea level, truly lies in the remotest part of Namibia, with the nearest road access more than 40kms away. It culminates in finding the last remaining group (34 individuals, of the Otjihimba tribe) of true hunter gatherers of Namibia. The group informs me that I am the first white person ever to have visited them. They show how they hunt, how and what types of veld foods they gather, how they collect wild honey, how they make fire and how they make music.
The small ecological impact of the tribe on the environment becomes apparent again. Yet, they are able to maintain an extremely high life quality factor (LQF).
The film concludes with comments regarding lessons to be learnt from the experience. It raises the issue of the global environmental destruction caused by modern man, and the concomitant reduction of man's LQF. Rather shockingly, it points out that the remedy for the problem clearly does not lie in further technological advancement and economic growth as is so commonly accepted, but rather in a very different direction. The drastic reduction of the earth's human population is essential if the natural environment and man's LQF is to be fully restored.
It ends by discussing this drastic conclusion, and by asking the rhetorical question of whether modern man can afford to continue ignoring this important and patently obvious fact much longer.
General
The tempo of the film is relaxed and rather slow moving, with minimal use of video effects etc. The film contains no rehearsed footage. It was filmed using a Canon LX1s digital video camera, in 720x576 resolution format.
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