Herero Heroes — 1999 ·

A Socio-Political History of the Herero of Namibia, 1890–1923

By Jan-Bart Gewald

Co-published with James Currey, London

"This strikes me as an absolutely brilliant book. It is wonderfully readable, profoundly fascinating, and admirably scholarly...To a reader who is not an expert on Namibia the book is elegantly illuminating."

David Birmingham — Professor of History, University of Kent at Canterbury

The Herero-German war led to the destruction of Herero society. Yet Herero society reemerged, reorganizing itself around the structures and beliefs of the German colonial army and Rhenish missionary activity.

This book describes the manner in which the Herero of Namibia struggled to maintain control over their own freedom in the face of advancing German colonialism. The study includes the death and funeral of Samuel Maherero--first paramount of the Herero and then resistance leader--which was the catalyst that brought the disparate groups of Herero together to establish a single unitary Herero identity.