Don't these Himba people know that Hong Tao is here for tourism and do not plan to settle here? The answer is that they really don't know, this desert is inaccessible, and the Himba people who live here have never gone out all their lives, and their understanding of the outside world is limited to a radius of a few dozen kilometers. Those who can know the names of the two countries, Namibia and Angola, are considered wise men of the clan, and they have no concept of the country at all, let alone think of anything more precious than cattle. They also have no place to explore, and only the Himba people living on the edge of this desert will come into contact with the outside world, but when they enter the nearby villages and towns, they are also naked, and basically retain their own culture. It's not that they can't afford to wear clothes, Himba women regard their bodies as beauty, and they are not beautiful when they cover them.

Himba people like the informant's wife are a complete exception, she was taken away by a white expedition as a child, or more appropriately, snatched away. Even if she lived in the civilized world of South Africa, once she returned to the community, she would still change back to the clothes of the Himba tribe. At the beginning, Hong Tao was still a little uncomfortable, and felt that his employee's wife was talking to him naked.

For such a simple and enthusiastic people, Hong Tao was embarrassed to leave even if he wanted to, he asked the informant's wife and the villagers to explain the reason why his family could not settle here, and after obtaining understanding, he took the children and began to continue to build those thatched huts according to the habits of the Himba people. Although he does not plan to settle here, he wants his children to live here for a few days and live and work with the locals, which can be regarded as an experiential activity. The most important thing is that the informant's wife told Hong Tao that there are basically no infectious diseases here. Probably because of the environment, the Himba people have not been worried about illness since ancient times. However, she also warned Hong Tao. It is best not to consume the water and food here for a long time, as the ratio of men and women among the Himba people is very imbalanced. Very few boys were born, only 1 in 10, most likely due to the water and food available here, a subject she studied at the University of South Africa.

Now that he has lived, Hong Tao plans to really try the life of the Himba people, how to experience it? Of course, he is trying to be a Himba through and through. First of all, there was the question of dress, and after a simple work of persuasion, the adults first stripped off all their clothes and tied only a piece of cloth around their waists. And then the kids were all naked. Only Vanessa was slightly resistant to this request, and the remaining children were still young, and they had long been curious about the dress of the Simba children, so as long as an adult took the lead, they immediately followed.

The second step is to put on makeup, and the Simba people are also very particular about dressing, and you can distinguish between men and women, married and unmarried from the hair accessories. The first is braids, which are always combed back for boys and forward for girls. It's like two horns. Adult unmarried men and women have drooping pigtails, and at this time a red mud is the difference between men and women, only Himba women will smear red mud on their bodies, and men generally do not paint it. After getting married. Himba women would tie a petal-like ornament made of cowhide to the top of their heads, and begin to wear an unlimited number of silver bracelets on the ankle of their left leg and wrist. The more you wear, the richer you are.

What interests Hong Tao the most is that kind of red mud, because Hong Tao watched it for two days. Judging by his professional eye for the women who are here and there, the women here are of no age. His skin is very good, and he can feel delicate and smooth even if he is covered with a layer of mud, so he decided that the red clay has skin care benefits. What is this red mud made of? Actually, it is very simple, there are places in this red desert where you can dig up a kind of red stone, which looks a bit like sun-dried mud, and this stone is picked up and ground into a fine powder, and then mixed with butter and then applied to the body.

As for what this stone is, Hong Tao showed the people in the convoy, and two female crew members said that it was an iron ore called ochre. As for what the mud tastes like when it is applied to the body, it doesn't taste at all, because of the presence of butter, so it is not dry. But most people still feel awkward when they suddenly get a layer of oily stuff on their bodies.

Hong Tao took the lead again, although Simba men generally don't smear this kind of red mud, but Hong Tao still smeared it, how could he lag behind in such a fun thing. This mud is really all over the body, 100% full, even on the roots of the hair. After painting, everyone looked at each other, hey, it's really a Simba, even Rada, an elf-like woman, is now red, and her snow-white hair has turned into dozens of red braids. The only difference is that they are taller and in better shape.

With the arrival of the village chief, there are many people and great strength, coupled with the diesel saw in the car, the speed of collecting tree branches is fast, and it only takes more than a day for 7 or 8 thatched houses to be erected, plus a few and the original 3 built with the help of the Himba people, it can already allow everyone in the convoy to live in. In fact, since the red mud on the body, everyone can't go back to live in the car, this thing is oily, and when it gets there, it's a piece of red, and it's not easy to wash, so you can only make do with it in a thatched house. As for eating, it's easy to do, the dining car is all stainless steel equipment, not afraid of dirty, the chef can still go in to cook, just try to wipe your hands clean before going in. Why do you need to use a wipe? Because there is an extreme shortage of water here, it is enough to sustain yourself with water in the tank, and it is not enough to take a bath.

Besides, they are not allowed to take a bath even if there is a flood of water, and the Simba women do not take a bath once in their lives, but there is no other strange smell on their bodies except for the smell of butter, and they must not have skin diseases, which is really evil. Hong Tao also wanted his women and children to give it a try, and if it really worked, he would send someone here to import ochre and butter, and then transport it back to Pyramid Island, where he would make a mud bath in the bedroom, and roll in it if he had nothing to do, as a means of health care.

After a month of this primitive life, Hong Tao felt very comfortable and didn't have to think about anything. Every morning at 4 o'clock, he got up and took the children and women to herd the cattle with the children of the Himba tribe. It took more than ten miles to find enough forage and leaves for the cattle to eat, and they had to drive the cattle to the Kunene River to drink, and on this day they walked at least 50 miles, and at noon they simply ate some corn paste and beef jerky, and then came back in the evening to have a main meal. After eating, he sang and danced with the Himba people around the bonfire, silly and happy for 2 hours, and at 8 o'clock in the evening when the bonfire went out, he went into the thatched hut, squeezed each other and soon fell asleep, so tired that he didn't have time to think.

At this time, I can't take care of any mosquitoes, and after smearing these red mud, mosquitoes don't bite, and they rarely even get close to the human body, and this thing also has an insect repellent effect! As for entertainment life, there is nothing to entertain except to make villains, and the Himba people are very open to the relationship between men and women, almost irregular. Girls can get pregnant at will, but the children born before marriage will belong to the man, and the children after marriage will belong to the woman. And the place where they conceive is more casual, they can do it anywhere, they will do it when they think of it, sometimes dancing by the campfire, and there are men and women who start to make villains, without any sense of disobedience.

In this almost animal-like living environment, Hong Tao felt that he was more open-minded, not only did he eat Nikki when he was herding the cattle, but he also had the courage to try an unmarried girl of the Himba tribe, but there was no special feeling. In the end, Hong Tao also followed the advice of one of the oldest grandmothers in the tribe, bought a big black cow, and married the girl home as a dowry, and since then Hong Tao has a home in this Simba tribe and has an official daughter-in-law.

However, he does not have to accompany his daughter-in-law here, and the Himba men are out hunting all year round and rarely return home, and they are hardly seen in the village. Even if he came back, he put the jewelry and food exchanged for the prey at home, recreated the villain, and soon left again, except for the women and children in the Simba village, there were basically no adult men. Hong Tao can also leave here, as long as he brings his belongings home regularly, and the other is to impregnate this Simba daughter-in-law, and the more children the better. Hong Tao is very confident that this work will be completed, and there is no need to do it again, just a few days are enough.

The children are also very fond of this kind of life, they are more energetic than adults, they go to collect cow dung, herd cattle, and then they can play freely in this red land, and there are dozens of Himba children about their age to play with them, and they are happier than going to kindergarten. Hong Tao has seen his children and Simba children put the ants and scorpions they caught directly into their mouths and chew them, chew them and swallow them, and their two daughters chased a kind of mouse that could jump and run in the desert with a small shuttle dart. If he lived for another half a year, he might not be able to tell that it was his own child and that it was a Himba child, and they would all become little primitives.

When they left this small village, all the children cried, and they were reluctant to give almost all their own toys, sweets, and jewelry to these Himba children. Hong Tao is very happy that the children can find their true friendship, and if he has time next year, he will bring the children to live here for a month or two. There are things they can't learn in school, in the city, and nature can also cleanse people's minds, although they are not too dirty, and it doesn't hurt to wash more. (To be continued......)