From 'One Namibia, One Nation' towards 'Unity in Diversity? Shifting representations of culture and nationhood in Namibian Independence Day celebrations, 1990-2010
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Date
2013
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Abstract
In 2010 Namibia celebrated its twentieth anniversary of independence from South African rule. The main celebrations in the
country�s capital Windhoek became the stage for an impressively orchestrated demonstration of maturing nationhood,
symbolically embracing postcolonial policy concepts such as �national reconciliation�, �unity� and �diversity�. At the same time,
nation building in post-apartheid Namibia is characterised by a high degree of social and political fragmentation that manifests
itself in cultural and/or ethnic discourses of belonging. Taking the highly significant independence jubilee as our vantage point,
we map out a shift of cultural representations of the nation in Independence Day celebrations since 1990, embodied by the two
prominent slogans of �One Namibia, one Nation� and �Unity in Diversity�. As we will argue, the difficult and at times highly
fragile postcolonial disposition made it necessary for the SWAPO government, as primary nation builder, to accommodate the
demands of regions and local communities in its policy frameworks. This negotiation of local identifications and national
belonging in turn shaped, and continues to shape, the performative dimension of Independence Day celebrations in Namibia.
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Keywords
Namibia, Swapo, National day, Independence Day, National commemoration, Cultural nationalism, Unity in diversity, Kavango, Omaheke
Citation
Akuupa, M. & Kornes, G. (2013). From �One Namibia, one Nation� towards �Unity in Diversity�? Shifting representations of culture and nationhood in Namibian Independence Day celebrations, 1990�2010. Anthropology Southern Africa, 36(1-2): 34-46