SWAMPY TALES

IT’S TASTY! IT’S CALLED BOCHOO! Imagine you are travelling for about eight hours. If you are travelling by private car or public bus, you make stops at takeaway outlets and buy your refreshments. If you are travelling by air, an air hostess will wake you to some warm munchies that may include fresh juices. This is because your body demands to be nourished for renewed energy and keep healthy. So it is with us travelling to Ungland . When we have been paddling a laden boat or canoe over a distance of more than 30 kilometers, we stop to fill the tanks.  We fix some original and real fast food! The difference is that our fastest meal will be complemented with delicious stuff known as Bochoo . It is indeed some quick delicacy that should not take a lot of time. The meal is better taken while it is hot.   The other difference with what you pals consume on the plane, your car or bus is that we cook our own while you get it ready-made. Here is how accomplished Ung...

Watching school pupils   on our national television learning under a mango tree at Matipa Primary School in Lunga and seeing them being taught by a volunteer school leaver left me with a huge lump in the throat. May be this is better left to competent administrators to contemplate.   I remembered an argument I had with one foreign   researcher last year. The young researcher based in Lunga once doubted that there would be little or no meaningful development that could take place on these islands. He argued that the geographical location, seasonal flooding and remoteness made it difficult for any meaningful investment. As we say in my language,” uwikwite atila ubwali ubo kateule, ” meaning when you are full, you discount the urgency of serving a meal. The world is focusing on the tourism industry today. Zambia’s marketing language is all about attracting tourists. It’s the hot topic in many circles considering economic improvement. Question is; wha...

LUNGA’S BURIAL SITE FOR THE BLAMELESS! "The secret behind the respect accorded to sacred areas and their environs lie in the taboos that are associated with them," so they say. In Lunga, Njelele is one such place!  It is a tiny Island that looks desolate but with a strong cultural attachment to the beliefs of the Unga people. In 1974 when my mother died at Mukanga village in Chief Bwalya Mponda of Ncheta Island, one of my uncles firmly suggested that she be buried at Njelele, 40 kilometers away in Nsamba chiefdom. Uncle Chalwe was convinced that if his sister’s death was caused by someone within the village, she would come to haunt the killer’s family until they were identified.  Secondly, if the killer tried to stop her by going to her grave and frustrate her vengeance strategies, s/he will be harmed by all the innocent souls buried at Njelele. It was undoubtedly believed that only guiltless people who never practiced witchcraft and other vic...

THE UNGA TRIBE AND LAND TENURE It is interesting to note how “land” is methodically demarcated on and around Lunga islands. Every bit of the canal, lagoon, river or land of each island belong to some clan with one person in charge. A well-defined territory either belongs to Bena Mumba, Bena Mfula, Bena Ng’oma, Bena Mbushi or so clan. The ultimate familial landlord is called a Chipupila with full authority and tenure rights. S/he is sometimes referred to as Kapepa.   Chipupila is typically the intercessor between the chief and ancestral spirits of the land. He is the de facto sub-chief believed to possess spiritual powers to bless or curse his “land.” S/he performs rituals that maintain the people's relationship with nature.. S/he inherits this office at the death of the family appointed representative. He or she must be as conversant as the past Chipupila about the history and borders of the region. They also assume the role of custodians of totems known as inshipa, ...

HOW   CULTURE CONTRIBUTED TO KABINDA’S CHILD MARRIAGE. Have you ever wondered why the girl child is married off very early in my village? Does it perplex you when you see a child trying hard to be a responsible mother? Here are some reasons that forced Kabinda (Not her real name) to get married before the legal age of 18.   Kabinda was married off at the age of 14. Her sad case highlights challenges girl-children in rural areas face ranging from cultural to socio-economic factors. Image by 123RF She was born in a fishing community of Chikonde’s village in Lunga. She had a confined upbringing that revolved around fishing camps and the village. Her father, Mbatata, had never been to school. In his heydays, he was a skilled fisherman, an occupation that brought the family some income to sustain a meaningful village standard of life. With a small family, Mbatata led a semi-nomadic life between Kapandamana fishing camp and the village. All his family nee...

DIRGES FROM BANGWEULU In any society, losing a loved one brings about a sense of hopelessness. More so if the departed was the only dependable bread winner of the family. The anguish and humiliation resulting from such a loss is indescribable. Consequently, people in different parts of the world express sadness in a variety of ways.   Although most of the people of the Bangweulu wetlands game reserves catchment area use English surnames, they call their children by the father’s first name, their way of expressing sorrow at the loss of their beloved ones is interestingly inimitable and far different from that of England. From the Bisa tribe living in the Chiunda Ponde and Kopa chiefdoms to the Unga of the Bwalya Mponda and Nsamba chiefdoms in the wildlife-rich wetlands, every funeral is a phenomenon completely different from the other. A closer look at one will give the reader an in-depth knowledge of why the people who host hundreds of tourists every year are dubbed contr...

MUSUBILWA  MPEMBA CEREMONY  OF THE UNGA PEOPLE OF ZAMBIA Picture courtesy of Lusaka Times The newly-delimitated Lunga district of Zambia  recently hosted the seventh edition of Musubilwa Mpemba ceremony on Saturday 30 th June 2018.  This is an annual event that is held in commemoration of tribal war victories of the Unga people, otherwise known as Aba-Unga, against the Bisa and Bemba tribes. It takes place at Matongo in Nsamba chiefdom with a cultural display of pomp and pride. Located in Luapula province of Zambia, Lunga is surrounded by four neighbouring districts, i.e. Samfya in Luapula, Mpika in Muchinga, Lavushi Manda in Central and Chilubi in Northern Province.  Lunga is a natural recipient of fresh water and other aquatic life from big rivers Chambeshi, Lumbatwa and Lukulu which water also outflows into Luapula river. It is also surrounded by Lakes Bangweulu and Chale which supplies a lot of fish to the area.  It is ...