National Culture in Post-Apartheid Namibia. State-sponsored Cultural Festivals and their Histories

Namibian anthropologist Michael Akuupa addresses in his book the challenges of creating a ‘national’ culture in the context of a historical legacy that has emphasised ethnic diversity. The state-sponsored Annual National Culture Festival (ANCF) focuses on the Kavango region in north-eastern Namibia. Akuupa critically examines the notion of Kavango-ness as a colonial construct and its subequent reconsitution and appropriation.