Le tourisme ethnique des Himbas en Namibie : entre invisibilisation des hommes et médiatisation des femmes. Études de cas de deux villages himbas en 2010

Abstract

If ethnic tourism highlights both men and women indiscriminately, it is not uncommon for the male or female sex to be of more specific interest to visitors. This is the case of the Himba, a Bantu minority in northern Namibia whose women are the only ones to welcome tourists to their village. Where are the men? Is their invisibilization associated with their exploitation of women, as we have already seen in other minorities like the Kayan refugees in Thailand? The answers for this case study in Southern Africa are to be sought elsewhere and the overrepresentation of women in tourism affairs seems to be linked to several factors: physical and cultural characteristics as well as strong media coverage. Tourist activity here is not associated with subjugation. In a Namibia where traditions are gradually fading, tourism tends on the contrary to reinforce the status of women who were already powerful in a partly matriarchal society.

Keywords

• tourism
• minority
• Himba
• woman
• media coverage