The
Damara (
Khoekhoegowab:
ǂNūkhoen, literally
Black people, , referring to their extended stay in hilly and mountainous sites, also called at various times the
Daman or the
Damaqua) are an
ethnic group who make up 8.5% of
Namibia's population. They speak the
Khoekhoe language (like the
Nama people) and the majority live in the northwestern regions of Namibia, however they are also found widely across the rest of the country. They have no known cultural relationship with any of the other tribes anywhere else in Africa, and very little is known of their origin. It has been proposed that the Damara are a remnant population of south-western Africa
hunter-gatherers, otherwise only represented by the
Cimba,
Kwisi, and
Kwadi, who adopted the
Khoekhoe language of the immigrant
Nama people.