Around 16th century Himba people crossed to Namibia from Angola, settling in Kaokoland (Kunene) as part of Herero tribe. Impoverished by disease and Nama cattle raiders, Himba were left without live-stock, forced to rely on land for their survival. Driven by hunger, many Himba fled to Angola, where they were called Ova-himba, meaning 'beggars' in Otjiherero language. 

Proud and exquisite, Himba women are said to be one of the most beautiful in the world. Fiercely proud of their traditional hairstyles and clothes, taking several hours each morning for their beauty care, sleeping on the wooden pillows not to ruin their hair style. Both men and women take great care in wearing their traditional attire, clothes, hairstyle and jewelry are all of particular significance to the Himba, and are part of their tradition and culture. 

Himba homes are simple huts, made from a mixture of earth and cattle dung and contain little beyond a bed and collection of useful implements such as kitchen tools. Both woman and men wear their traditional dress, loin cloths and sandals for a man, often with foot soles made from old car tires, women dress in goat skinned skirts and jewelry.

From the time a Himba girl is born, her hairstyle will identify her place in society, indicating age, clan and marital status of a woman. A young girl typically has two plaits of braided hair (ozondato), the form of which is decided by the clan  she descended on her father's side. A young girl who hasn’t reached puberty yet, will display two braids at the front of her head, if a girl is a twin, she will wear only one single braid, indicating she is only one half of a pair of twins.

At puberty, the girl will wear braids up front covering her face, letting males know that she isn’t ready to marry. When a young woman is ready to marry, same locks will be braided toward the back of the head, allowing potential suitors to see her face. First the hair is lengthened with a straw woven together with the hair extensions to create dreadlocks, which are subsequently covered in otjize and finished with goat hair, added to give the distinct pom-pom look.When a woman has been married for a year or has had a child, she will wear the erembe headdress on top of her head.

https://www.namibiatourism.com.na/blog/Fast-Facts-The-Himba-of-Namibia

https://www.cnn.com/2012/05/11/world/africa/himba-namibia-inside-africa/index.html