Mucubal people

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The Mucubal are a group in southern Angola. They are related to the Herero people and possibly to the Masai. They are semi-nomadic and rely on cattle and farming. Their lands lie in the Namib Desert, with the Serra da Chela mountains to the north and the Cunene River to the south. They wear little clothing and often carry machetes or spears, and they are known for endurance, sometimes running 50 miles in a day. Their villages usually have huts arranged in a circle.

In the 1930s about 5,000 Mucubal lived in an area two-thirds the size of Portugal. Between 1939 and 1943 the Portuguese army fought them, accusing rebellion and cattle theft. Hundreds were killed. Three thousand five hundred twenty-nine were taken prisoner, about 20% of them women and children, and imprisoned in concentration camps. Many died from hunger, violence and forced labor. Some were sent to Sao Tome and Principe, and hundreds to a camp at Damba where many died. Some observers say these actions were genocide.