It seems that each Angolan Tribe adorns their hair in a distinctive way. This is especially true during the initiation or coming of age rituals for girls. After these ceremonies, the girls are deemed to be eligible for marriage. The ceremony happens once a year so any girl who becomes eligible during the year waits until the time of the ceremony to be initiated.

We witnessed the actual ceremony of these five girls coming of age in their village. The ceremony, while we were present, was videoed for Angolan TV in a show that promotes tourism.

These hairstyles are like elephant ears.

Scroll down to see a bit more of the village.

We especially asked why the girls bowed their heads so completely. This is out of respect, was the answer.

These are woven into their hair.

A typical house in the OvanKhumbi village.

They were very proud of this animal skin bracelet but I cannot identify it.

I found this humorous but do not know if this is an outhouse or not. Also note the seldom seen motorbike.

These young girls have all switched to western attire.

The huge and famous Baobab tree