The ǂNūkhoe, in their relentless pursuit to preserve their cultural heritage, unveiled the long-awaited grave of Ouma Amalia |Hones.
The gravesite signifies the historical existence of the |Khomanin clan of the ǂNūkhoe people.
The gravesite, located east of Havana, was found in 2018, and subsequently, the chief of the |Khomanin clan and the |Honen family members were notified.
Ouma Amalia |Hones was born in 1891 and was buried in 1963.
|Hones' grave signifies the existence of |Khomanin people in the modern-day Windhoek area, originally known as |Khomas.
Karl ||Aribeb after observing how the gravesite was being vandalised, took the responsibility to spearhead its protection.
He approached the Damara people through social media sites to secure funds.
"Let me work together with people to secure the funds to protect the heritage site because the advancing development nearby has been a distraction to the gravesite."
The city, however, has been requested to build a historical site around the grave.
||Aribeb says this is important to protect the ǂNūkhoe people's footprint, which is lost in Namibia.
Jorro Eiseb, a member of the |Khomanin traditional leadership, says that |Khomani people are buried in Sore Sores because they were moved from here.
"When will the bodies of our ancestors buried in Sore Sores return to |Khomas and when are we going to fight for the return of those bodies to their home if we are divided? But the big question is, when they return, where do they go because we don't have a place here in |Khomas."
Juliane Gawa!Nas, the Gaos of the |Khomanin clan, says the grave is a landmark.
"This grave represents the Damara existence in the central part of Namibia, and it's surrounded by graves because a grave never stands alone. Our things are dying out, so we need to wake up and preserve our existence."
Gaos Gawa!Nas further urged the Damara people to unite and go back to their roots.
"In actual fact, I can't say that |Khomanin doesn't have land; we have land; we came from the land, and we need to fight for our land."
She further urged the youth to stand up and learn about their history.