CEREMONIES - Northern Circuit

VISITS TO KABWE KATENDA AND NG’ANSA SALT PAN

Builile Traditional ceremony is an annual event of the Bwile speaking People of Senior Chief Puta of Chiengi District, Luapula Province. The ceremony is held in celebrating the identity and behavioral traits of the Bwile people such as self-reliance, freedom, liberty and strategic leadership in times of adversity.

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CHABUKA TRADITIONAL CEREMONY

The ceremony was held on the banks of Luapula River in Matanda Chiefdom of Mansa District. It is an annual event which is held in remembrance of the crossing of the Luapula River from Kola in present day Democratic Republic of Congo to Zambia by seven tribal groups. Among the groups were the Bemba people of Northern Province and the Lunda people of Mwata Kazembe.

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MUTOMBOKO CEREMONY

Mutomboko ceremony is the traditional ceremony which is held annually in mwansabombwe District, mwata kazembes headquarters on the last Saturday of July.

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MABILA TRADITIONAL CEREMONY

Mabila Traditional Ceremony of His Royal Highness Senior Chief Mununga XIV, Chula I, Mutampuka II, of the Shila People of Mununga, Chienge, and the traditional ceremony is basically the depicting of the Shila People’s fishing techniques, methods and practices.

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KWANGA CEREMONY

The kwanga traditional ceremony is celebrated by five chiefs of benaNgu’mbo clan together with the mwansakombe.its take place at the arena on the shores of the lake chifunabuli in chief chitembo’s in lubwe on the first Saturday of October. It is cerebrated as a symbol of unity among the chief and his people who joined solidarity and remember their origin.

The kwanga ceremony is a cerebration of victory in songs and dances, cerebrating the victory of benang’umbo over the tribes they have vanquished on their way to occupy their land. The kwanga ceremony also cerebrates recent event, the overcoming of evil brotherhood and collaboration. It cerebrate the victory of benangunbo over kabaya, a cannibal who had settled in the area around masanta. This man terrorized the benaNgumbo by ambushing their woman and taking away their children and their babies whom he killed, cooked and eat. All attempt to Conner and capture kabaya failed. The benangumbo stared in fear and failed to go out in their field or to fish in the lake; famine was imminent. Some brave clever benangumbo men finally approached kabaya and lured him from his home enticing him to come to the cerebration of his life on Lake Kamimbi. They took many boats with lots of men as well as women sing song of praise for kabaya and offered him the largest boat to ride and a number of strong man to row him. What kabaya did not know was that the men had drilled holes in the bottom of the boat and temporarily plugged them. When they got to the middle of the lake the men in kabaya’s boat unplugged the hole and jumped out, leaving kabaya who could not swim in the boat. Though kabaya drowned, the men all swan into nearby boats and paddled back to the village where everyone joined in song and dance. From that day the lake was renamed from kamimbi to chifunabuli, meaning “that which has fixed the enemy.”

The two to three day kwanga ceremony is also a thanks giving ceremony. On the first day the chiefs gather to involve their ancestral spirits at various shrines at masanta and imange to give thanks and asking for blessing. They begins by visiting the muchimbili tree which is the largest tree inside which kabaya was believed to hide whenever warriors attempt to kill him. A close examination of the tree shows many arrow heads still embedded in its truck while other have been completely covered within truck. On the second the ceremony continues with the colourful journey by the chief and their people in boats from kasanta to chifunabuli to the arena at lubwe. All five chiefs ride in one boat surrounded by hundreds of boat filled with their warriors and subjects who display fearless and artistic maneuvers on the lake while they sing and dance. The arena is the hive of activities characterized by songs and dance, including the favorite kalela dance of benangu’mbo and oratory. The ceremony ends with the performance of a victory dance by the senior chief and the warrior.

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