WHO ARE WE? BANGWEULU OR CHAMBESHI SWAMPERS

  

If you can answer this question honestly, then you will not be afraid to answer others who may want to know more about you by posing the question, “Who are you?”

Everyone has a story. In truthfully telling that story is embedded the exact characteristics that define them. If you do not tell your story, others will; and usually, you will not completely be happy with stories told about you by strangers. 

 This is true about an individual, family, race, or tribe. 

For a long time, many people have told stories of the Unga people of Bangweulu swamps. Some of them it is because they have stayed with us for some time, some have visited for a short time, some have inquired, or formally, did some research about the tribe. Others have been in the area because duty called and wrote what they heard and saw. The fact that they are not Baunga, some of their stories are biased, based on opinion, events of the moment, and skewed judgment.

Of course, some agree that little is known about the Baunga as a tribe.

In the early 1900s, some ex-employees of the British South Africa Company (BSA Co.) and some District commissioners who were usually based in Fort Rosebery (Mansa) have attempted to write the Unga story. Please note the word, attempted. For obvious reasons, language being one of them I guess, they could not delve deep enough into the life, customs, and traditions of the Unga “natives,” as is. Some of them only made mention of the tribe because their main interest was hunting as a sport or something else. 

Here is what Cullen Gouldsbury and Hubert Sheane in their book titled, The Great Plateau of Northern Rhodesia, published in 1911, had to say about the Waunga (Baunga); while writing a whole long chapter about the Awemba (Ababemba)):

“Probably less is known of these people than of any other tribe in N.E Rhodesia. For a long time, they resisted any form of government; (Maybe true of the Batwa, not Baunga) indeed, as is a common trait among lake tribes, they are very independent, (Credit) and their tribal organization appears to be loose. (Really?) The young men are constantly moving about and building hovels (imisakuta) by fresh fishing grounds, or are engaged in hunting lechwe and otters; and consequently, are very impatient even of the control of their own chiefs (I don’t really know about this) … The Waunga are skilled hunters, they organize large tribal battues (ukusowa ibanda) for lechwe” (Oh, Okay! How is this when their tribal organization is loose?) 

And Mr. Hughes, former District Commissioner, in his book, 18 Years on Lake Bangweulu, probably hints at a significant reason why other people couldn’t write our story with complete finesse:

“A swamp hunter or fisherman is absolutely essential as a guide when traveling through the swamps by canoe, and where the channels fork amongst the tall papyrus, reeds, or other aquatic vegetation, the local native alone knows which to take. At first, when opening up the routes, it was advisable to have two or three of these hunters as hostages, as they were very unwilling that their hitherto inaccessible country should be the subject of investigation by outsiders.” (Can an unwilling hostage tell you the truth about his people? Sorry, just some loud ruminations!)

Yeah! From the foregoing, one can see why outsiders couldn’t answer the question of who we are. 

Who, then, must tell us? Who shall write our story which others have said is little known? Maybe our chiefs, the custodians of our story, can. 

Mulunda Caalo, Chief Nsamba, one of the four chiefs of the Baunga people has decided to start telling our story. To show that others may not fully understand the area and our way of life better, in his book, Ifikolwe, Intuntuko na Ulupwa lwa Muunga, he simply gives an example of why the name 'Bangweulu Swamps' is not suitable for the area where Lunga is domiciled. He argues that the water that forms the swamps is not from Bangweulu, but mainly from Chambeshi among other rivers: 

“These waters then flow into Bangweulu from Chambeshi. How, then should the swamps watered by Chambeshi be called Bangweulu Swamps?” He concludes that it would be much more logical to call the area Chambeshi Swamps.

Back Cover of Chief Nsamba's book

 He goes on to tell in detail the origins of the Baunga, their political organization, and their way of life. It is a book, though dwelling much on the Nsamba chiefdom story, that gives you hope that soon we will have our entire, authentic story told by fwebene! Look out for this book which will soon hit the bookshelves. 

All we can say is bravo Kanabesa for taking a step on this journey of hundreds of miles, to get more known about the tribe called Waunga by ba Ndishi, correctly pronounced as Abaunga.

NOTE: Let me express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Ian P. A. Manning for giving me many books (some quoted in this article) written about Baunga and his appreciation of the area. Also, note that sentences/words in () parentheses are my opinion/ interpretation.