The labour migration of the Ovambo workers to the diamond fields in German South West Africa

The extraction of several hundred thousand carats of rough diamonds per year in German South West Africa would have been inconceivable without indigenous workers from the Ovamo region. Each year, thousands of migrant workers from the north of the German colony migrated to the diamond fields to engage in diamond mining and wage labour. The Ovambo workers typically entered into short-term employment contracts for six or nine months before returning to their home regions to focus on farming and harvesting for the rest of the year. This article examines the migrant labour of the Ovambo on the diamond fields of German South West Africa from 1908 to 1914. It focuses on the agency of the indigenous miners, the reasons for their migration, and their social profile. Additionally, it explores the interconnections that arose due to the labour migration of the Ovambo between their home regions and the diamond fields, along with their resulting implications. KEYWORDS: Agency. Wage labour. Diamonds.