Best time to visit Angola

Things to do in Angola…

Head southwest. As Angola’s civil war rumbled on, it became just as much about controlling the diamond mines and oil fields of the country’s center, north and east as about politics. As the southwest provinces of Huila, Namibe and Cunene had no such resources, they were left alone. This not only makes them landmine free, it means the tribespeople living here remain broadly uninfluenced by the outside world. Meet the people. Angola has some 90 ethnic groups, with many living in the southwest and still observing ancient practices, with women typically maintaining their traditional dress more than men. The Mucubal women wear a wicker framed ompota headdress and girls have their upper teeth sharpened and lower teeth removed. Interestingly, teeth sharpening is thought by some anthropologists to be a cultural hangover from the 1570s when Portuguese slavers began shipping huge numbers of Angolans to Brazil. Slaves were valued for the quality of their teeth, so tribes resorted to despoiling them. The women of the Muila tribe coat their hair with a red paste called oncula and wear massive collars, created using beads and ostrich eggs, covered with a mix of mud, cow dung and herbs; the vilanda set of necklaces worn once married can’t be taken off. Himba women, meanwhile, coat their braids and skin in butter fat and ochre, creating a reddish sheen. Bring patience and a sense of humour. You’re traveling in a remote part of the world, with little infrastructure, and different standards and attitudes. Things may not go to plan, but a positive attitude is helpful when faced with practical difficulties.