'HURININ People of the Sea' - The Topnaar people’s search for human rights and recognition

The short film ‘Hurinin, People of the Sea’ tells how the marginalised Topnaar people in Namibia seek recognition for their ocean-related heritage, knowledge and rights.

The Khoe-speaking Topnaar people (ǂAonin) were the first inhabitants documented as settling in Walvis Bay along the central Namib coast. For several centuries, their cultural livelihoods depended heavily on ocean resources. During the colonial rule, the Topnaar sub-clan known as the Hurinin (‘People of the Sea') were forced out of the coastal areas, disrupting their centuries-old reliance on ocean resources.

In contemporary Namibia, the Topnaar continue to be excluded from decision-making on the ocean. The film shows how the One Ocean Hub has fostered connections between the Topnaar community and national and international actors to ensure more inclusive decision-making on the ocean. The film also depicts how songs, poems and dances specifically related to fishing and the ocean were once an integral part of Topnaar culture and how these cultural expressions of their former ocean-based way of life survive in the memory of very few Topnaar elders. The One Ocean Hub has supported an arts-based research project led by Mr. Glenn Kasper, a Junior Councillor in the Topnaar Traditional Council, collecting Topnaar elders’ living memories of their people’s intangible cultural heritage and connections to the ocean.

To learn more about the One Ocean Hub's Topnaar project to protect human rights and revive ocean culture see this impact story:
https://oneoceanhub.org/working-with-...

Warm thanks to the Topnaar community for helping to make this film.

Produced by: Kogia & What Took You So Long?
Director, Cinematography & Edit: Fanny Lindström
Producer, Cinematography & Drone: Nessim Stevenson
Executive Producer: Laura Meriläinen
Post-production Producer: Sam Mulvey
Color Grade: Alex O'Brien, Okay Studio
Sound Design: Robin Carlheim-Müller