CAN WE ISOLATE OUR LAND FROM OUR NATURE?

THE UNSUNG MYSTERIES OF SAMFYA TOWN

As we were about to approach Samfya, Richard gave me a push so I can wake up and see an “endless mass of water.” He was coming to Samfya in Luapula province of Zambia for the first time. I have been here on many occasions but not visited some interesting places. The white sugar sand dune on which the car perched before slopping down to the beautiful beach revealed an aura of warm fresh air and made the sky look bare as if the clouds were just evaporating from the water. We were about to have a panorama of a memorable picturesque of the lake from a vintage point. We were looking at Lake Bangweulu!

 As we approached the shore, we saw a wonderfully built, artistic, grass - thatched chalets on the upper boulder of the beach that complemented the beauty of the white sandy beach.

“Does this lake really end somewhere? I can only see clouds touching the lake?”  Richard asked amazingly.

“Yes, it does. The no-end view portrayed by the lake from afar is what prompted the first settlers here to call it Bangweulu, which simply means where water meets the sky.  Otherwise it obviously ends somewhere.” I explained.

“What about that smoke in the midst of the lake?” Richard asked as he pointed to a tiny looking object within the lake.

I gave him a pair of my Canon Binoculars so he can clearly see the “small object.”

“It’s a ship!” He exclaimed. “Only that it is very far away from here. It’s coming to dock.”

“There is the main harbour!” I pointed to the other side of the lake where other small vessels docked and several fish traders were selling and buying fish. It’s the Post Boat locally called Chombo, which transports passengers to and from Mbabala and Chilubi, the main islands around the lake.

We quickly went straight to the beach where some tourists were playing beach soccer. I let Richard indulge in the fascination of the white froth from the waves pushed ashore before we checked in the neat Chita Lodge. I arranged with a local fisherman for a boat cruise to take us to the oldest unsung monument on the west side of the lake shore.

The small harbour was covered by overgrown grass with a not-so-clear passage from the lake. Ng’andwe, our coxswain switched off the 50-horse power engine and paddled the boat to the shore. The huge brown rock was partially submerged in water but its entire surrounding was cleared to leave the main attraction of the rock unobscured. We disembarked from the boat and, voila! There were clear man’s knees prints solidly imprinted in the rock!

“This is suspected Jesus’ knees prints, locally called Lucheleng’anga. Government through the National Heritage Conservation Commission has intentions to declare the site a national monument soon.” Ng’andwe, hinted.

However, Washeni Mwansa, the young brother to Chief Kasoma Bangweulu in whose village and chiefdom the wonder is found, confirmed that the human knees prints are indeed for a mysterious person. According to Mwansa, these marks were stamped by the first person to have passed through Samfya as he knelt down to pray. Because no ordinary human being can impress his marks in a solid rock, they called him Lucheleng’anga, which means a miraculous person. No one knows exactly when the marks were etched on this rock.

 We then went by gravel road to yet another interesting place in a small rural village called Mano, just about 10km from Lucheleng’anga site. Here, we were led to what looked like an ordinary Muombo tree. From afar, the tree portrays a picture of any other old tree that just provides resting place and shade to humans and birds.

As we got closer, we noticed this was no ordinary tree. We saw different types of leaves on one single tree! There was lemon, mupundu, mutaba, mango, musuku, etc.! multiple species of leaves on a single tree! This is another wonder of Samfya!

“The tree is called Citi Baluba, meaning a confusing tree. No one can explain its ability to grow leaves of many other trees. It contains leaves of divergent trees as you saw.’’ Washeni explained.

“Citibaluba has a lot of traditional relevance to the culture and values of the people of Samfya. It performs a royal role, especially at the death of a chief. Before you take the chief for burial at Malaalamfumu (royal burial site), you must bring the regal coffin to rest under this tree. That is why it is sometimes called Citushisho (resting place).

“Villagers will then bring a variety of seeds of whatever is grown in the chiefdom to be strewn around the tree as the chief’s body lie in state under it. This is done in the belief that the late chief does not take away with him the spiritual blessings of agricultural throughput of various food crops.

“Just as the Citibaluba has a diversity of leaves which symbolizes profound blessings from ancestors to the people, so should we maintain a diversity of food crops.

“A chief’s body could then be taken to Malaalamfumu after performance of this important ritual under this tree.  Every chief that has died since the founding of this part of the country has had his body rest here before proceeding for burial,” concluded Mwansa.

After visiting these interesting sites, we proceeded to Katanshya and Chinsanka, Samfya’s main fish trading centres. Chinsanka connects Samfya to Lunga in the Bangweulu Wetlands swamps where most fish traded here comes from. In fact, Luapula river, on whose banks Chinsanka is built, is the boundary between the two districts. It really was an amazing adventure that taught us that there is actually more to see and learn on every visit.

This route is also ideal for those who would like to see the rich wildlife of the  Bangweulu Wetlands through the islands of Lunga, now with a local moniker Ungland.

FACT FILE:

• Lake Bangweulu is the biggest inland lake in Zambia measuring 50km long and 25km wide. It is just about 4 meters deep.
• Samfya Beach is only 60km from Mansa Airport. There are regular flights from Lusaka by Proflight
• You can find reasonably comfortable and cost- effective Chita and Water Front Lodges just by the beach who serve both local and international dishes.
• Remember to carry some mosquito repellent oils to avoid malaria