The leader of the Damara tribe, Kai-Gaob Justus |Uruhe ||Garoëb has urged the community to uphold the values of unity and peace while striving for socio-economic development at all times.

||Garoëb addressed the community during the 46th Annual Damara Cultural Festival, held over the weekend.

President Hage Geingob and First Lady Monica Geingos were the guests of honour at this year's festival, held at the Okombahe Settlement in Erongo Region.

Traditional ‡unib, or chanting, signifies the highest level of welcome to the sacred grounds of the festival.

The 34 clans of the Damaran, spread across Namibia, descended on Okombahe to pay homage to their forefathers, the great kings who led the community throughout the centuries, and celebrate their culture preserved since time immemorial.

Perhaps the most intriguing was the cleansing ritual of the seats of the current Kai-Gaob ||Garoëb and his wife, Emgard ||Garoës before their arrival.

For the Damaran, the sacred ancestral fire is where connections to one's ancestors, healing, and lineage are explained and brought to the fore.

It is for this reason that President Hage Geingob, as a guest of Kai-Gaob ||Garoëb had to be taken to the site first, alongside Madam Geingos, who was clad in the |Gaio-Daman traditional dress, the clan from which her husband originates.

Here, an ancestral welcome and cleansing of the aura were observed and performed.

While the festival has served as a platform to showcase the sacredness of Damara traditions, this year, ||Garoëb used it to quiet the rearing voices of division among the sub-tribes.

The Chairperson of the Council of Traditional Leaders and Chief of the !Oe-‡Gan Traditional Authority, Immanuel |Gâseb, concurred with the call to return unity to centrality in the fabric of the Damaran as they navigate an ever-changing environment.

In staying true to their calls for unity, Kai-Gaob ||Garoëb, Gaob |Gâseb and President Geingob released white doves to fly, a symbolic gesture of peace.

Namibians across the tribal, racial, and political divide also attended the Damara Annual Cultural Festival, held under the theme ''2023 Year of Revival and Rejoice ".