Damaraland

History

Damaraland was established according to the Commission Report Odendaal of 1964 which recommended to separate the territory by fixing Damaras on their tribal reserves.

Created in 1970, Damaraland acquired a territorial government in 1980 following the constitutional agreements of the Conférence of Turnhalle. The government of Damaraland was directed of 1980 with 1989 by Justus Garoëb.

It was reinstated in Namibia in May 1989 in the new administrative areas of Kunene and Erongo.

Geography

Of a dimension of 47 990 km ², Damaraland had a population of approximately 44 000 inhabitants in 1964.

The Capitale of Damaraland was Khorixas (11 000 inhabitants nowadays).

The territory of the Bantustan was mainly located in the Désert of Namib and skirted the Squeleton Coast without never having access to the Atlantic Ocean.

The relief is composed of arid plains covered with Savane S dominated by mountains of which some are the old remainders Volcan S (like Spitzkoppe). The culminating point is Königstein (2 573 meters in the solid mass of Brandberg).

One finds from time to time remainders of petrified forests, signs which the vegetation and the climate were completely different million years ago. The area is also rich in cave paintings.

Policy

Justus Garoëb was the Head of State (president of the executive committee) of Damaraland of the December 29th 1980 at May 1989.

Flag

The Drapeau of Damaraland was proposed the May 2nd 1979 by the South-African office of the Héraldique and not by the government of Damaraland which accepted it in October 1979. There does not exist official description of the drapeau : the brown one could refer to the ground and with the aridity and the lance stylized with eight points could represent the eight tribes composing the Damara people.

This flag was not based on the old flag of the Damara confederation.

See too

External bond

Bantustans of Namibia on worldstatesmen.org
Flags of Damaraland
Flag of Damaraland
Photographs of Damaraland

Reference

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