Owela Museum

Owela Museum

Are you wanting to find out a little bit more about Namibia's human history and tribal cultures before heading out on a tour of the country? Then the Owela Museum is your first point of call. For those traveling the country from Europe or the States it may seem a little quaint but this little museum is packed with information and interesting displays.

The Owela Museum is situated between Robert Mugabe Avenue and Luderitz Street in Windhoek and focuses on natural history as well as anthropology. The name Owela comes from a traditional African game, which depending where you are in Africa can be called by different names, and groups of people are often found sitting outside the museum playing the game on the large carved stone board. The museum shows extracts from Namibia's natural history and has interesting and educational displays of Africa s earliest inhabitants. The skills and understanding of these early humans never ceases to fascinate and the touch room is a great favourite with the younger visitors. Alternating exhibitions complement Owela's offerings.

One of the displays, The Nama display, features everything from a typical grass hut and tortoise-shell powder box to the story of the Nama people, while the San (Bushman) exhibit delves deeper into the history and exploitation of these people, and explores their identity and culture.

Entrance to Owela Museum is free but a donation towards an AIDS charity is much appreciated.