Hoachanas
| Hoachanas | |
|---|---|
| settlement | |
 Hoachanas
|
|
| Coordinates: 23°55′S 18°3′E / 23.917°S 18.050°E | |
| Country |
 Namibia
|
| Region | Hardap Region |
| Constituency | Mariental Rural Constituency |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 3,000 |
| Time zone | South African Standard Time (UTC+1) |
Hoachanas is a settlement of 3,000 inhabitants in the Hardap Region of southern central Namibia, located 55 kilometres (34 mi) northeast of Kalkrand. It is situated at the junction of the main road C21 from Kalkrand, and C15 from Dordabis to Stampriet and belongs to the Mariental Rural electoral constituency.
Inhabited since at least 1695, Hoachanas is the main settlement of the Khaiǁkhaun (Red Nation), the largest and most important of the subtribes of the Nama people. All chiefs of the Red Nation had their main residence at this settlement. Hoachanas is also the home of Markus Kooper, reverend, educator and anti-apartheid activist.
Hoachanas has a Junior Secondary School that is named after Khaiǁkhaun chief Noach Tsai-Tsaib
Hoachanas is situated on Namibia's Central Plateau in an Acacia tree and shrub savanna typical for the Kalahari. The area has an elevation of 1,200 to 1,500 metres (3,900–4,900 ft), the average annual rainfall is 200 to 250 millimetres (7.9–9.8 in). The settlement is cut by the !Guwisib River, a tributary to the ephemeral Auob River.
The majority of the houses at the settlement are shacks made from iron sheets. Almost half of the villagers are unemployed, literacy levels are low. The main economic activity is small livestock farming with goats and sheep.
Hoachanas has been the main settlement of the Red Nation, a subtribe of the Nama people, since the formation of this group at the end of the 17th century. There is a perennial spring at the centre of today's settlement, located behind the old Lutheran church.
The Hoachanas Peace Treaty of 1858 saw an alliance formed between Orlam chief Jonker Afrikaner and Nama chief ǁOaseb, two of the most powerful tribal leaders in South-West Africa of that time. This treaty partitioned southern and central South-West Africa into Namaland and Hereroland, with the area controlled by the Nama people reaching from the Kalahari to the Auas Mountains near Windhoek. Although not of Herero descent, Jonker Afrikaner was accepted as the leader of Hereroland and remained in that position until he was defeated by Maharero in 1880. 13 Nama chiefs ratified the treaty.
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