'Showing off': Nostalgia and heritage in North-Central Namibia

In this article, I seek to elucidate the meaning of a series of dichotomies which are familiar in social science research, as they were elaborated by my informants during fieldwork. Local distinctions between pagan and Christian, traditional and modern, and urban and rural are analysed in the light of James Ferguson's work on the adoption of 'local' and 'cosmopolitan' styles by mineworkers on the Zambian Copperbelt. This analysis is accomplished by considering the staging of a 'traditional Christian wedding' that took place in the 'Old Church' in the village of Olukonda, in North-Central Namibia. This church has been designated a national monument and forms part of the 'Nakambale' museum. It is therefore an important heritage site. I conclude that the importance of this event was the nostalgic construction of 'tradition' implicit in the proceedings that allowed for a multilayered performance. This performance expressed both urbanites' desire for a sense of 'rooted-ness' in a rural, local tradition and the villagers' interest in presenting themselves as cosmopolitan citizens of a modern world.