She knows what her life will entail if she stays: she’ll marry, she’ll take over her father’s workshop, and she’ll always have access to the otjize (a mixture of oil, clay, and scent that Himba spread over their bodies and hair) that marks her as a proud member of the Himba people. Ultimately, the novel suggests that while staying close to home may help a person feel secure, traveling offers people the opportunity to see their home and their culture through fresh eyes, thereby gaining a more nuanced understanding of who they are.īinti is at a crossroads in how she thinks of her identity as she leaves her family home for the spaceship bound for Oomza Uni under the cover of night. However, as Binti travels and meets people and beings very different from the Himba, including the jellyfish-like aliens known as the Meduse that hijack her spaceship, she begins to see her identity and her home in a new light. Notably, Binti leaves her home believing she knows exactly who and what she is: a proud Himba, a talented mathematician, and a skilled “master harmonizer” (a person who can control electrical currents to create various technologies). In the world of the novella, the Himba stick close to home and seldom leave their ancestral lands, even for nearby cities-and no Himba has ever gone to Oomza Uni. Her world turns upside down when she’s admitted to Oomza University far across the galaxy-on a full scholarship. Binti, the novella’s titular character, is a mathematically gifted young woman of the South African Himba people.

Binti novella