This presentation examines social order formation through the hydroelectric dam dispute in north-west Namibia, highlighting the fluid nature of chiefdoms. After Namibia's 1990 independence, the government proposed the dam to boost electricity self-sufficiency, but the ovaHimba community opposed it due to its impact on ancestral graves and grazing lands. National and international support led to the project's cancellation. Later, the leading chief reversed his opposition, agreeing to a new site, causing community rifts and legal disputes over his authority. The controversy highlights deep-rooted chieftaincy contestations from the colonial era, further fragmented post-independence. This presentation reveals how the nature of chiefdoms undergoes continuous created and reproduced in response to their social, political, and cultural environments. This presentation reveals how the nature of chiefdoms undergoes continuous created and reproduced in response to their social, political, and cultural environments.