Juxtaposing Knowledge + Making: decolonising stagnant museum typologies into dynamic cultural representation along the swakopmund promenade, namibia

Abstract

The town of Swakopmund is a key tourist destination in Namibia, well-known for its colonial German architecture and cultural heritage. However, its history is filled with juxtaposition of colonial and precolonial influences. Before the Germans arrived, the Nama and Herero tribes would use the Swakop River to demarcate their territories. The river also functioned as a colonial boundary between the German port of Swakopmund and the English harbour of Walvisbay, with the establishment of the town in 1892 by Captain Curt von Francois to assist with trade in Southwest Africa. Colonial structures, such as the Mole (pier wall) and Zollhaus (customs shed), predominantly represent a static colonial perspective of the area’s history (making of knowledge), overshadowing dynamic indigenous knowledge systems (knowledge of making). Indigenous practices, such as the Herero’s harvesting of mussels before the 1750s at the Swakop river mouth, also known as Otjizondji (place of mussels), and the making of Onyoka necklaces (fig. 01) by the Oshiwambo people, reflect a vibrant precolonial knowledge of trade and making. These activities, rich in cultural significance, are often marginalised in favour of colonial narratives. In recent decades, Swakopmund has attempted to recreate a “little Germany”, often at the expense of dynamic indigenous identities and practices. The ongoing traditional Onyoka manufacturing contrasts sharply with the museum’s static representation of knowledge. Thus, how can a proposed museum typology be designed that juxtaposes dynamic Indigenous knowledge systems, particularly that of Onyoka-making, with the stagnant colonial representation of knowledge to foster inclusive, dynamic cultural representation along the Swakopmund Promenade, Namibia?