Author(s): Resnais Ulrich Kacou, Donafani Siaka Kone

Abstract: This article aims to highlight the decentering of the hegemonic discourse of the colonizer by the colonized. The study focused on the crossed gaze of the otjize: the colorization of the Himba female body: between colorist opinions of the Khoush colonizer and Africans’ cultural identity. With Afrocentricity as a theoretical basis, we first demonstrated that the otjize symbolizes authentic African feminine beauty. On the other hand, through the lens of postcolonial studies, we have indicated that the whitewashing of the female body with red clay is subject to colorist criticism on the part of the Khoush colonizer. Finally, we have observed that though in a diasporic situation, women succeed in resisting and subverting the process of subjectification set in motion by the global Kush civilization owing to the attachment to their cultural identity

Keywords: Himba, identity, colorists, cultural, otjize.

Article Info: Received: 04 Apr 2026; Received in revised form: 30 Apr 2026; Accepted: 03 May 2026; Available online: 07 May 2026

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.113.5