SWAMPY TALES

This post is a continuation of where we ended in 2019, giving you highlights of life in the Bangweulu Swamps, and Lunga in particular. We started talking about fishing, the mainstay of the people in the area and we resume to continue discussing some of the methods employed to earn a living. Let’s talk about the seine net. A seine net is of historical importance in the business of commercial fishing. It is said to be the fishing method employed by the fishermen that later turned fishers of men during the time of Jesus Christ. It is one of the mass-catch methods of old that is also used in the Bangweulu Swamps today. “Seines hold a special honor in the Bible. Of all the nets mentioned in the Bible, the seine is mentioned more than any other, a total of nine times. In the Old Testament, written in Hebrew, the word for seine was "Herem" while in the New Testament, written in Greek, the word was "Sagene" from which we probably get the English word seine .” ...

Would you determine a man’s origins and character by the piece of cloth he hangs around his neck? Would you judge him by the way he polishes his boots?    Not until you engage him in conversation will you start to understand who he really is. Otherwise, you risk judging a book by its cover.   In this post, I veer away from the typical how-to of fishing to share a glimpse of my life story, growing up amidst the Bangweulu Swamps. My experiences reflect hardships similar to those of many Unga and Bisa children raised in a poor rural setting.   Ng’ungwa lies at the eastern edge of the Bangweulu Swamps and is renowned for its populations of black lechwes, sitatungas, and the famous shoebill stork. It serves as a boundary between the Bu-Bisa mainland of Chief Chiunda Ponde and the Ba-Unga swamps of Chief Bwalya Mponda. The area is home to Chikuni, a Ramsar Site recognised as a Wetland of International Importance and an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International. ...