The Orange teapot dress

Last night was the first time I have done some serious painting since my exhibit in Gaborone.It is of a Herero lady and she is part of a much larger painting ,which I will reveal when it is all finished.

The Herero people live mainly in Namibia a country that borders on the Western part of Botswana.The Herero spread into Botswana during 1904 after they rebelled against the German rule of that time and were defeated.About 2000 fled into Botswana ,however without any cattle or livestock they had to worked for the Tswana until they once again amassed for themselves their own herds of animals.

Today many Herero are big cattle farmers,and are known to take good care of their livestock thereby contributing to Botswana's beef industry. The Herero woman are easily identified by their long dresses,these outfits are made by themselves are are only worn by married women.The Victorian style of dress was influenced by the German colonization in Namibia during the late 1800 century .The outfit also consists of some kind of headdress (which I call horns) and it normally matches the dress.This style of dress has change little over time, except for the fact that you can now find them in all kind of bright colors, and even with teapots on them.