It's early morning in Purros and we are ready to explore.
Even the animals are up and on the move.
I mentioned to Onea, the waiter at our hotel and whose home is Purros, that I would love to be able to meet some Herero women. He said he would be happy meet us after our visit to the local school and introduce us to the wife of the Village Chief.
Those of you who are quilters and textile lovers would also love to spend time with the Herero women. They wear very distinctive dress which is characterized by long, brightly colored dresses and hats that are reminiscent of the Victorian Era. The Herero speak the same language as the Himba, which is Oshi Herero. Unlike the Himba though, when these people came in contact with the missionaries, who were offended by their semi-nakedness, they were encouraged to wear what the missionaries thought was appropriate clothing. They adopted and have continued to wear these clothes as their traditional dress since that time.
This is the Chief's wife. I especially loved her dress. The various patterns in the fabrics of her dress and the way it was constructed reminded me of a quilt.
When we arrived to meet her, she was in the yard with two friends sharing the day's news.
Women are the same the world over. We like jewelry, makeup, and clothes and discuss it endlessly.
The women said the fabric for their dresses was Chinese and was purchased in Opuwo which is a days drive from Purros.
All three hats were of the same design and they said that once the hat is made a stick or light weight board is placed inside to hold the shape.
The sun is hot and harsh in Africa and I realized very quickly sitting in full sun how useful the hat shape was for providing shade and helping to keep them cool.
That harsh sun does provide some fantastic sunsets over the village of Purros though.
Our time in this frontier town has been so interesting!
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