Binti

As Binti’s journey continues, she learns more about the Desert People. Chapter 10 details the differences between the Enyi Zinariya and the Himba, particularly how the Enyi Zinariya live unlike the Himba people:

The Enyi Zinariya lived in a vast network of caves in a huge limestone cliff. Within the bowels of these caves were winding staircases that led from cave to cave, family to family. Some caves were tiny, no larger than a closet, others were as vast as the Root (187).

Unlike the Himba, the Enyi Zinariya encourages their clan members to move and live wherever they see fit. They do not force their people to stay within the bounds of their original home. A young girl, for example, lives with her grandfather, and they both dedicate themselves to the study and documentation of stones. Binti speaks with her grandmother and discovers that both Titi and her husbands were botanists. Binti also learns that her grandfather was Himba. Although Binti wants to ask more questions about her father’s childhood amongst the Enyi Zinariya, she goes to sleep.