Trip to Angola: tribes, giant baobabs and desert landscapes

Discover the highlights of this trip to Angola

► Tribes that we will meet along the trip

Plain Muila and Mountain Muila

After introducing ourselves to the soba (traditional chief) we will visit the the Plain Muila village. The women of this ethnic group are the ones who decorate themselves the most with colored necklaces and complex hairstyles. We will also meet the Mountain Muila, who are more traditional than those of the plains.

Humbi

The Humbi are a large tribal group of artisans and agro-pastoralists. Despite foreign influence, Humbi society has been able to preserve tribal aspects of social organization, such as rites of passage (‘fico’) where young women show impressive hairdos in the form of crests and elephant ears.

Tua

The Tua are an ancient people. They dress in a similar way to the dominant tribe in the region: the Himba. They speak a Herero dialect and their economy is based on hunting and gathering. Some men are great metalsmiths, making arrowheads, hoes, and bracelets for neighboring tribes.

Hakaona

The Hakaona are mainly goat shepherds, their heads of cattle being a marker of social status. They tend to take charge of the herds of the Himba as a sign of social submission. The Hakaona men are renowned traditional doctors and the women are valued as excellent craftswoman. The women wear a striking headdress and they usually removed some of the lower teeths.

Himba

The Himba are a semi-nomadic ethnic group native to southern Angola and northern Namibia. They are a livestock society with a strong identity, dating back two hundred years and reflected in the large number of ornaments and complicated styles of their hairstyles, as well as in their epidermal coating based on ocher, butter and herbs. The Himba are governed by a political and spiritual chief in each town.

Cuis

Cuis people are descendants of the first Bantu groups that arrived in Angola. They live in marginal zones around Virei town and work for the Cubal cattle pastoralists. The Cuis usually camp near rock formations. They have lost their original language but they have preserved the rest of their cultural identity and continue to hunt and gather.

Gambue

The Gambue share many customs with their neighbors Muila and Handa. One of them is the use, by women, of bead and clay necklaces, as well as the complex hairstyles that indicate the marital status of each Gambue woman.

Dimbas

The Dimba are a livestock society that mainly inhabits the savannah on the outskirts of the town of Cahama. Their towns are characterized by being surrounded by robust palisades and having houses decorated with colorful geometric patterns. Despite the Christianization of the area, women still preserve a fascinating hairstyle culture, wearing different and amazing styles for every occasion and stage of life.

Cubal

The Cubal are a semi-nomadic group, whose economy is based on livestock and also on agriculture. It is an ethnic group with more than 70,000 members and was the last one to succumb to the Portuguese in colonial times. Cubal women wear an original and unique headdress, called ‘ompota’ and they also use belts to tighten their breasts, as a bra, called ‘oyonduthi’.

Ngendelengo

The Ngendelengo are semi-nomadic herders, hunters and subsistence farmers. Living in a forested environment has allowed them to develop a rudimentary charcoal business. Machetes are an essential part of their attire, which is complemented by large crests as a hairstyle for unmarried boys and multiple topknots for women.

Discover the tribes of Angola with the book 'Last Tribes of Angola'

If you want to know more about the tribes of Angola, you have the book 'Last tribes of Angola' available for sale, the result of the joint work of the anthropologist Joan Riera and the ethno-photographer Aníbal Bueno. Written in both English and Spanish (bilingual edition), and enriched with a wealth of photographs, illustrations, and maps, the book is a unique visual guide to the most remote tribes of southwestern Angola. Click here if you are interested in buying it.

► We will admire the giant baobabs of southern Angola

During this trip to Angola we will have the opportunity to admire giant baobabs. The area near Xangongo is full of large baobabs scattered everywhere.

► Admire Portuguese colonial architecture and vernacular architecture

The Portuguese were in Angola from 1575 to 1975 and left a cultural legacy of great anthropological and architectural interest. The churches and forts in the Baroque style, the Art Deco buildings of the coastal cities and the ‘tropical modernism’ style that lasted from 1945 to 1975 stand out.

Vernacular architecture

In addition, we will enjoy the vernacular architecture that the different tribes that we will visit during the trip to Angola continue to practice.

© Photos by Aníbal Bueno

► Book your place now for this trip to Angola

This ethnographic trip to Angola is specially designed for lovers of cultural diversity and human contact. Click on the button below to easily reach the booking form.