The Omumborombonga Tree

In the beginning, there was nothing but darkness. Then, from the ground, grew the first tree, the great Omumborombonga. This tree was the mother of all life. One day, its trunk split open, and from the crack emerged the first man and the first woman, the ancestors of the Herero people. After them came the first cattle, with their long, beautiful horns. Then came all the other animals of the world: the lion, the leopard, the giraffe, and the zebra. But the Herero ancestors emerged first, and the cattle emerged right after them. Because of this, the Herero know that cattle are a divine gift, given specifically to them at the dawn of creation. The Omumborombonga tree is considered sacred, the birthplace of both the people and their most precious possession, and the Herero would traditionally never cut it down.