CALENDAR OF TRADITIONAL CEREMONIES
ZAMBIA has 73 different tribes and many of them hold colourful cultural festivals and if you are lucky enough to bump into one, you are sure of enjoying the invigorating atmosphere that immediately touches your faculties. This week, we take the pleasure of presenting before you the traditional ceremonies calendar as documented by the Zambia Tourism Agency (ZTA) as NDUBI MVULA writes…
THEY present a rare memorable experience. They make you realise how rich the tribe you belong to is and how best it should be nurtured such that generations after generations benefit from them.
To witness them is such an awesome and magnificent spectacle with the drumming, singing, dancing and the ever-sharp ululations, all performed for the benefit of not only the local people but visitors as well.
However, out of the 73 tribes documented by the Zambia Tourism Agency (ZTA), 54 are traditional ceremonies performed countrywide and to start with, the calendar in January has the Toka Leya of Chief Mukuni’s village in Kazungula opening the year with their Lwiindi ceremony where they pray for the beginning of the good rains.
In February, is the N’cwala traditional ceremony of the Ngoni people of Chipata Eastern Province.
This is a thanksgiving ceremony by the Ngoni speaking people done in February at M’tenguleni village where Paramount Chief Mpezeni tastes the first fresh produce of the year. Tribal dances and much feasting mark the ceremony.
In the month of March/April, we have the Kuomboka ceremony which is one of the most famous ceremonies that take place in Western Province when the Barotse plains are flooded.
It is noted that the precise date is decided upon by the Litunga adding that the origin of the ceremony dates back centuries when the Litunga established his headquarters at Lealui, which he soon discovered submerged when the river rose during the rainy season.
And this month’s colourful Kuomboka ceremony 2024 witnessed a new page in that, the Lozi speaking people are now traditional cousins with the Bemba speaking people after the Chitimukulu accepted and graced the ceremony that was characterized with pomp and splendour.
The journey most of the day and the entire village in a flotilla of canoes, headed by the royal barge, finally arrives at Limulunga, further up the Zambezi River, where a huge crowd celebrates with traditional dancing and singing.
The other ceremony is the Likumbi Lya Mize between July and August, which takes place at Mize, the official palace of Senior Chief Ndungu, about seven kilometres west of Zambezi Boma in the North-Western Province.
Here, people of the Luvale tribe gather to celebrate their cultural heritage, bringing displays of all types of handicrafts and spicing the event with traditional singing and dancing.
The dancers wear elaborate and colourful costumes popularly known as the ‘Likishi’.
Come July, visitors from all walks of life home and abroad, the road will lead to yet another famous ceremony, the Umutomboko held in Luapula Province, in Chief Kazembe’s area.
The ceremony is held in a specially prepared arena close to the Ng’ona River and is accompanied by feasting and dancing in celebration of their ancestral Chief Mwata Kazembe’s victories.
Shimunenga is also another big ceremony that comes up between September and October and is held on a weekend of the full moon by the Ba-Ila tribe at Maala on the Kafue flats in Central Province. The ceremony is meant to express people’s devotion to their divine ancestors.
There are, as indicated above, a number of ceremonies to be enjoyed, that reflect the rich cultural heritage of mother Zambia.
Below is also a presentation of some ceremonies, some of which you may not have heard of but are very significant to the nurturing of Zambia’s cultural heritage and domestic tourism.
They are according to their monthly occurrence; after the main Kuomboka, there is the Kuomboka Libonda also of the Lozi people of Kalabo in May while in the same month in Solwezi, there is Kufukwila by the Kaonde people.
In June, there are three ceremonies one in Kasempa, the Nsomo by the Kaonde people and the other in Mbala, the Mutomolo by the Mambwe/Lungu people and also the Chivweka by the Luchazi of Kabompo District.
Other than the Umutomboko in July, there are other four ceremonies, which are the Kazanga of the Nkoya people of Kaoma, the Lwiindi Gonde of the Tonga people of Monze, Kunyanta Ntanda of the Kaonde people of Solwezi as well as the Kupupa of the Kaonde people also of Solwezi.
The Likumbi Lya Mize in August also shares the month with 10 other ceremonies which are, the Lukuni Luzwa Buuka of the Toka Leya people of Kalomo, Lubinda Ntongo of the Kaonde people of Solwezi, Makundu of the Kaonde people of Mufumbwe, Lunda Lubanza of the Lunda people of Zambezi, Chisemwa Cha Lunda of the Lunda people of Mwinilunga, Mukulu Pembe of the Bemba of Luwingu, Ukusefya Pa Ng’wena of the Bemba people of Mungwi, Makumba of the Ushi people of Mansa and the Kulamba of the Chewe people of Katete.
The month of September has 13 ceremonies countrywide and these are the Kuvuluka Kishakulu of the Lamba people of Solwezi, Ntongo of the Kaonde people of Mufumbwe, Bisa Malaila of the Bisa people of Mpika, Chisaka Chalubombo of the Bisa people of Chilubi Island, Mulasa of the Namwanga people of Nakonde, Chambo Chalutanga of the Mfungwe people of Isoka, Vikankanimba of the Tumbuka people of Isoka, Walamo of the Lungu people of Mpulungu, Chinamanongo of the Bisa people of Mpika, Kailala of the Goba people of Kafue, Bwile of the Bwile people of Chiengi, Musaka/Jikubi of the Kaonde people of Mumbwa and the Ichibwela Mushi of the Bisa/Swaka/Lala people of Mkushi.
October, the Independence month of Zambia, has 13 ceremonies. They are, the Maanzi Aabila Lwiindi of the Tonga people of Kalomo, Chungu of the Tonga people of Kalomo Mbuna Liyoyelo of the Mbunda people of Kabompo, Lukwakwa of the Mbunda people of Kabompo, Chibuka of the Ushi people of Mansa, Chishinga Malaila of the Chishinga people of Kawambwa, Mabila of the Shila people of Chiengi, Kwanga of the Ng’umbo people of Samfya, Kwenje of the Senga people of Chama, Malaila of the Kunda people of Mambwe, Tuwimba of the Nsenga people of Petauke, Likumbi Lyamalumbe of the Kaonde/Ila people of Mumbwa and the Kulamba Kubwalo of the Lenje people of Chibombo.
Last but not the least, comes the month of November probably marking the closure of the year with five ceremonies which are the Chabalankata of the Lamba people of Masaiti, Chitentamo/Nsengele of the Lamba people of Mpongwe, Mbambala of the Nsenga-Luzi of Luangwa, Chibwela Kumushi of the Soli people of Chinyunyu and Ng’ondo of the Namwanga people of Nakonde District.
In conclusion, the above calendar is of great importance to both visitors and the local people who should develop an interest in these ceremonies and see how rich Zambia’s cultural tourism is.
It is worth it dear readers!
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