N´cwala Traditional Ceremony - Eastern Zambia

The Nc´wala traditional ceremony – Zambia, is one of the most spectacular and thrilling traditional dancing events that take place among the Ngoni speaking tribe of Eastern region in the morden day Zambia. The ceremony takes place at the end of February every year at Mutenguleni village, about 600km from the capital city, Lusaka and about 6Okm South –West of the provincial administrative town of Chipata.

The ceremony whose significance is to celebrate among other things, the ripen and tasting of farm produce such as maize, sugar – canes, pumpkins, groundnuts and thanking the ancestral spirits for the food provided and protection attracts not only the majority local Ngoni speaking people but also other different local tribes and Ngoni tribal men from Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania.

The ceremony has two important customs. The first is the tasting of the first fruits of the year and other farm products by His Royal Highness Nkhosi yama Nkhosi Paramount Chief Mpenzeni of the Ngoni people at his royal palace in Luangeni Hills about 40km South – East of Chipata and then prepares for a long journey to Mutenguleni village were the grand finale of the traditional dancing ceremony and other rituals take place. Here, the dancers are adorned or dressed in leopard or cow skins and carry shields, spears and clubs in their hands while they dance to the rhythm of the drums and engange in a repetitive movement of their legs. Clapping of the hands by nude - breast women accompanied by whistling in the traditional sounds and rhythm especially by the elderly women just adds flavour to the whole celebration. Exessive drinking of local brewed and international beer often accompans the celebration.

The second custom is where a black bull is killed by sliting its throat with a sharp traditional knife. Before the bull dies, the blood is taken to the paramount chief who drinks it, without delay the members of the Ngoni tribe descends on the dead bull cutting chunks of its meat and the bull dissapears in a few seconds.

As celebrations continue, the representatives from the paramount chief, invited guests from abroad and from government, often the president or a minister makes speeches. Last year, Zambias president Mr. Rupiah Banda and his South African counterpart Mr. Jacob Zuma graced the traditional ceremony. This years celebration took place last week at Mutenguleni village near Chipata.

The history of the Ngoni speaking people of the Eastern province of Zambia dates back during the time of Shaka Zulu, a one time great King and leader of the Zulu speaking people of South Africa. They migrated from South Africa to Zambia due to the tribals wars of that time and crossed the Zambezi river in 1835, fought and conquered weaker tribes along the way and eventually settled in the Eastern province of the modern day Zambia.

Zambia - The Real Afrika

Fomerely called Northen Rhodesia in the colonial lexicon and administration era, Zambia is a land - locked country found in the Central – Southern part of Africa and originates its name from the might Zambezi river. With a population of that simmilar to the Czech Republic (10.5) million people but ten (10) times larger in size, Zambia covers a total erea of about 752, 610km with much of its land mainly a plateua.

Because of its moderate, human and animal friendly climate with rich vegetation and lots of water, Zambia is home to a variety of animal and bird species that are found in more than 18 National Parks and Game Reserve Management (GRM) areas that offer an unforgettable experience to the visitors. A trip to Zambia is considered incomplete without the visit to the might Victoria Falls. Known as “Mosi-oa-Tunya“ in the local language and translated in English as the “water that thunders“, the Victorial Falls is one of the great 7 wonders of the world and its spectacular and magnificent view is breathtaking and indeed this makes Zambia - The Real Africa and a true sanctuary of both human kind and wild life.

Zambia got its independence in 1964 from the British colonial government. The official language is English and is fluently spoken especially among the town dwellers but however its inhabitants mainly speak Bantu – related languages that has more than 70 ethnic tribes and dialects. The traditional houses are often built with logs and mud while the roofs are thatched with grass. However, different tribes have differing styles of building their houses. Some build square houses from burnt bricks, Paint and decorate walls using different types of clay. The traditional dish is called Nshima, a thick porridge form made from maize grain and is eaten by hands with some meat, fish and vegetable

Despite current treands of mordenity and globalization, Zambia is still one country were traditional norms, values and cultures vividly manifests itself in several traditional ceremonial festivals that take place every year in rural areas. Dance and traditional druming indeed still remains an important musical expression among the majority village dwellers and is often practiced during the day or at night when there is a full moon after the harvesting period. Women, men and children sit around fire and dance to the musical rhythm while men and women taste and drink the traditional brewed beer and life goes on.

Adulthood comes at an early age especially for the girls and boys in the rural parts of the country as compared to the urban. When girls or boys reach puberty stage, they undergo some special practical skills of adulthood in a special house called “Nsaka“. The most elderly members of the village také charge of this. The girls are often taught how to take care of their husbands and relatives while the boys how to fend for their wives and children .

However, the above scenario translates into high illiteracy, high birth and death rate and other social problems among the people especially in the rural setup. Currently illiteracy levels stand at 27% despite the much debated introduction and implimentation of the so called “Free Basic Education (FBE) policy 7 years ago.

Despite the availability of western medicine in private and government hospitals, traditional healers still play a pivotal role in the provision of traditional medicine to the sick. The majority people from the rural areas have more trust for the traditional medicine than the western and almost each village has some elderly person who has extensive traditional medicine knowledge.

Although life may be thought to be tough for the majority poor in the villages, they are content with the little things they have and problems are shared and solved, and this is what makes life in Africa and Zambia in particular interesting.