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From `General Field Marshal' To `Miss Genocide'

The Reworking of Traumatic Experiences among Herero-Speaking Namibians

Department of Social Anthropology, University of Cologne, lafoerster{at}aol.com

The colonial war of 1904—8 in Namibia still features prominently in contemporary Namibian memory culture. Above all, Herero-speaking Namibians have created various practices by which the war is commemorated annually. Seminal are commemorative rituals held in different areas of Namibia and organized by a ritual and social network established in the aftermath of the war. These commemorations provide a stage for the continuous reworking of the memory of defeat and flight, of dispersal, displacement and genocide, but also of survival and reorganization. The employment of uniforms in the commemorative practices of Herero-speaking Namibians is but one example for the way such memory work is also embodied in material culture. Historic as well as more recent developments of Herero memory culture are scrutinized in an appraisal of different images and representations of the past.

Key Words: colonialism • commemoration • genocide • memory culture • uniform

Journal of Material Culture, Vol. 13, No. 2, 175-194 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1359183508090898


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