Ovahimba

The Himba are living in Namibia, mainly in the northern part of Namibia, Damaraland and Koakaland and north of the Kuene river in Angola;  you will meet them in the dessert, along the roads, in small villages, in towns., they are widley spread in these parts of Namibia.  The Himba (singular: OmuHimba, plural: OvaHimba) are indigenous peoples with an estimated population of about 50,000 people. 

Himba women especially, as well as some Himba men, are remarkably famous for covering themselves with otjize paste, a cosmetic mixture of butterfat and ochre pigment, to cleanse the skin over long periods due to water scarcity and protect themselves from the extremely hot and dry climate of the Kaokoland as well as against mosquito insect bites. The cosmetic mixture, often perfumed with the aromatic resin of the omuzumba shrub, gives their skin and hair plaits a distinctive orange or red-tinge characteristic, as well as texture and style. Otjize is considered foremost a highly desirable aesthetic beauty cosmetic, symbolizing earth's rich red color and blood the essence of life, and is consistent with the OvaHimba ideal of beauty also the Himba have a few teeth extracted as sign of being a real Himba (see one of the pictures).