Namibia has a long and diverse musical history, from the traditional music of its various ethnic groups and the music of the Christian church, to the struggle music which was suppressed during the apartheid era, to the huge variety of genres, both homegrown and imported, which exist in Namibia today.
Music and dance have always played an important role in the traditional cultures of Namibia’s many ethnic groups, marking social occasions and rituals.1 As expressions of culture, music and dance also signified identity to others. Although Namibian society is no longer organized along ethnic lines, Namibians today continue to use these cultural expressions as markers of their own identities and to identify others as belonging to particular cultural groups.2
During the colonial era, the Christian church became a tool to impose expressions of Western culture, including education and music. Because of the introduction of Christianity by different missionaries to different ethnic groups and the division created by apartheid, the church today remains divided along ethnolinguistic and denominational lines. Although many artists cited religious beliefs as a positive influence on their relationship with musicking, Christianity emerged as a factor which divides the music industry in some ways. Under apartheid, the South African state sought to limit musical expression through the South West Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SWABC), censoring political messages and banning genres like reggae that were seen as subversive.0 At the same time, the traditional role of musicking as a way to punish social transgressions and its usefulness for reaching even illiterate audiences, together with the use of indigenous languages, made it a valuable tool for resistance (“Music became a weapon to let people know what was going on in this part of the world” Clip 01). Despite Namibia’s progress toward universal literacy and access to information, it is this property which continues to make music a uniquely accessible medium for expression.
After independence, recognizing and celebrating traditional music, and traditional culture more broadly, became a priority of the Namibian government, but this process is still ongoing.3 The government’s adoption of the slogan “Unity in Diversity” highlights its struggle to promote a single national identity while also celebrating Namibia’s ethnic diversity.4 For musicians, this means finding ways to express their personal identities without placing them above others.
This process of promoting and celebrating Namibian cultural diversity has also taken place during a period of intense modernization and globalization. This clash between internal and external priorities had the effect of commodifying music, shifting musicians’ focus from the creation of art and the expression of ideas to the earning of profit.5 At the same time, while singing and dancing were traditionally seen as social activities open to all, Western influences have created a distance between performers and audiences, and urban Namibians today tend not to participate in performing with the exception of religious or national events.6 These factors may discourage non-musicians from seeing themselves as capable of participating in performances, thereby redefining musicking as the sole preserve of artists. Although freedom of expression is actively supported today, the legacies of colonization and apartheid, along with external forces including globalization and advancing technology, continue to affect the Namibian music industry. Post-apartheid Namibia continues to experience deep social inequality, manifesting itself in areas from socioeconomic status to educational opportunities to land ownership.7 Tribalism, along with misogyny and homophobia, persists today as a result of the division sowed by colonialism and apartheid.8
Tribalism impacts the music industry in different ways, stifling collaboration between genres.
Although many artists cited religious beliefs as a positive influence on their relationship with musicking, Christianity emerged as a factor which divides the music industry in some ways.
Due to influences from both traditional and Western cultures, patriarchal and heteronormative attitudes are prevalent in Namibia, and misogyny and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) are serious problems. Female participants commented on the impacts of misogyny on their experiences. Female artists in Namibia face the threat of harassment in public () and pressure from producers and organizers to perform sexual favors (). Meanwhile, because there are fewer female musicians, it can be harder for them to be taken seriously.
Despite these barriers, participants observed that there has been progress toward inclusion and collaboration in Namibian music. Despite the use of the church as an instrument of oppression, Namibians have integrated their own languages and musical traditions into the music of the church.9 Musicians are becoming more open to collaborating with and listening to musicians from other genres (goodwill). The increasing popularity of imported genres like Afrobeats or reggae and the Namibian artists who have adopted them has led many Namibians to be more open-minded toward new genres of music.
Music itself can act as a unifier across boundaries of race, class, or physical location. (in the location). Participants recognized that Namibia’s cultural diversity is a strength for the music industry, (“somehow brings division, and somehow division is also good. … Imagine if we were all the same”), but stressed that musicians are responsible for continuing to combat tribalism by fostering collaboration and communication.
These influences have resulted in a richly diverse music scene which has begun to capture international attention and has the potential to help promote Namibian culture abroad. Namibian music today incorporates a wide variety of genres, from colonial imports like langarm and choral music to international genres like hip-hop and kwaito to genres like ma/gaisa, shambo, and kwiku which developed within Namibia itself.11 Few scholars have sought to examine the importance of music to Namibians and the role it plays in their daily lives today, but “the practice of the arts forms an integral part of the lives of many Namibians that is rarely verbalized or analyzed,” an observation corroborated by participants today, who emphasized the importance of music not only to themselves as musicians, but to many Namibians outside the industry.12
Why Do Artists Music?
Participants named a variety of motivations, describing music and musicking as a vocation and an identity.
Musicking and Identity
Participants commented that their personal identities, including cultural and religious identities, have shaped their experiences with music in various ways and act as motivating factors.
Cultural Identity
Religious Beliefs
The Power of Music
Participants gave examples of ways in which music has helped them build community with others, express political, cultural, and personal identities and experiences, and advocate for social change.
Irmgard Rannersmann, the chairlady of the NNSO, emphasized that their motto, “One nation, one sound,” is not just aspirational, but is lived out through their actions.
Others emphasized that the act of musicking itself can help build community.
Benefits of Collaboration
Participants pointed to their own experiences as evidence that collaboration between countries, organizations, and individuals creates exposure to new cultures and ways of thinking for both artists and audiences and allows the sharing of resources, while collaboration with international organizations provides necessary support in the absence of adequate government support.
“We are three very different peas in one pod[…]sometimes one person gets on, one person gets off.” Clip 16
“I would say that there was an element of surprise[…]and learn and so on.” Clip 23
Artists observed that bringing different cultures and genres together has allowed Namibian artists, and in turn Namibian audiences, to be exposed to new ideas and new music.
“Growing up…I grew up in a deeply culturally rooted home[…]it just expanded my vocabulary in creating and composing music.” Clip 04
In addition to the benefits of collaboration for Namibian artists and audiences, participants pointed out that contact with artists and audiences from outside Namibia creates an opportunity for others to see what Namibians can achieve and to learn from them.
“Seeing the American kids’ faces lighting up[…]and we’ve learned the songs and we’ve successfully executed them in our performances.” Clip 20
Creating something here and exporting it to other countries, it’s been amazing[…]we need to learn from each other.”
The benefits of collaboration and communication extend to organizations as well.
“it’s quite a wonderful experience to have that relationship … to be able to do those choirs as well.” Clip 18
Namibians working in arts administration and arts education emphasized the importance of collaboration with international organizations and support from foreign cultural institutions in Namibia, while stressing that cultural diplomacy should not lead to dependence on foreign aid. Given the historical context of colonization and genocide, investment from Germany in Namibian arts and culture development is often looked at askance as an attempt to “create collaborative art out of the neo-colonial contradiction, rather than resolve it.”
“I feel that it’s still a great thing[…]Them coming and stuff is a very very very good thing, it’s a very good thing. I think it’s still important, because we get to learn from them as well.” Clip 12
Musicians stressed the importance of having opportunities for live performance, pointing out that it can create exposure to new audiences and lead to new collaborations.
“The biggest thing is that when you play music all alone[…]a huge difference to just putting on the radio and having it on in the background.” Clip 01
“Essentially this is a holiday town[…]If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have gotten that opportunity to go do that, I’m sure.” Clip 27
Musicians celebrated the support they receive from the public and from local institutions, while emphasizing that a lack of exposure can make it difficult to gain that support.
“We have so many great artists that give up by the time they’re thirty[…]And they don’t go to concerts anymore.” Clip 15
Benefits of Technology
“From the booking aspect, it’s completely changed[…]The whole industry from that side has changed. And made it a lot easier, I think. And easier to be taken more seriously as a professional.” Clip 12
Effects of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound effect on the global music industry, eliminating live performances completely, which account for over half of all income within the global music industry, and leading to a drop in streaming.
“Covid was very difficult[…]But yeah, the pandemic was not…not really fun.” Clip 11
However, the pandemic also led to the development of new technologies and strategies which benefited the industry in sometimes surprising ways.
As live music, and the community engagement that comes with it, returned in the aftermath of the pandemic, things went back to normal in some ways.
However, musicians continue to feel the effects of the pandemic, including a decrease in the number of students studying music (“They are definitely fewer[…]post-Covid, whatever that means.”). Clip 22 In addition, because of the financial difficulties suffered by many Namibians during the pandemic, music has increasingly come to be seen by both venue owners and the public as a “luxury,” leading to a shift away from live music.
“I actually thought it was just Covid, but[…]it changed a lot.” Clip 15
Whether or not these changes are the result of the pandemic or part of larger trends, they indicate the need for the government to support the industry to allow it to continue to grow and flourish.
References
- Tsoubaloko, 2013, pp. 29-31. ↩︎
- Mans, 2003, p. 10. ↩︎
- Tsoubaloko, 2013, p. 9. ↩︎
- Mans, 2003, p. 15. ↩︎
- Heuva, 2022, p. 435. ↩︎
- Mans, 2003, p. 12. ↩︎
- Amoo & Harring, 2012; Lothaller, 2023. ↩︎
- Gaiseb, 2025c. ↩︎
- Mans, 2007, p. 250. ↩︎
- Music Business in Namibia Reader 2021, 2021, pp. 6-7. ↩︎
- Mans, 2000a, p. 11. ↩︎