N'cwala Ceremony - And the day I shook hands with a Zambian President
on A Zambian Experience (Zambia), 04/Mar/2010 12:59, 34 days ago
A year ago I had never even heard of the town of Chipata, but last weekend (this normally quiet and unassuming place) had proven that it is no ordinary rural town nestled between Zambia and Malawi. In fact the presence of a Royal Paramount Chief, a few African Presidents and thousands of Ngoni warriors (proudly dressed in animal skins and carrying sprears) made me realise that Chipata is a very prominent place, laced with such an interesting history, namely the history of the Ngoni tribe.Since being in Chipata I’ve come to learn many things about the Ngoni tribe, at first the most interesting thing I learnt was that Ngonis are partial to eating mice. I have since been made aware that the Ngonis are direct descendants from my own heritage – the Zulus from South Africa.Many years ago, hundreds of Zulus escaped the violence of the notorious Shaka Zulu and settled as far away as Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia often using violence, intimidation and destruction in order to claim their new lands. When the Zulus came to what is now known as Zambia they fought ferociously with the local tribes often burning villages, raping women and killing anyone and anything that got in their way. They forcely married local Chewa and Senga women (inter-marriage was taboo at the time) and they formed their own tribe - the Ngoni tribe and many settled in the Eastern Province of Zambia, predominately in the area that is now known as Chipata.In the late 19th Century under colonial rule, the British Colonial Army killed the Ngoni Paramount Chief in an attempt to prevent what they felt would be a surgence of more Ngoni uprisings. After Independance in 1964, the first President of Zambia, Dr Kenneth Kaunda coined the phrase“One Zambia, One Nation” and was revoluntionary in allowing tribes in Zambia to intermarry in order to prevent a rise in tribalism. During the 1980s it was felt that the people of Zambia should be encouraged to celebrate their tribal heritage and there soon became a rise in the number of tribalceremonies, which proudly received government support. The Nc’wala ceremony is the most famous celebration of the Ngoni tribe in Africa and is held at the heart of the home to HRH Paramount Chief Mpezeni IV in Chipata, Zambia. The ceremony is attended by dignitories from as far as South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. As part of the event, people celebrate the arrival of the harvest which is depicted through a ritual where a bull is killed and the Paramount Chief has to drink the blood of the bull as a sacrifice. Only once the Paramount Chief has tasted the blood, can people enjoy the fruits of the harvest.Fortunately my chairperson was on the organising commitee of the event and was able to get me a VIP ticket to the main arena where I was extremely fortunate to meet The First President of Zambia, Dr Kenneth Kaunda himself. We shook hands in Zambian style twice (the photo didn’t take the first time round!) and he told me he was pleased to see so many young people at the ceremony. I was in awe and smiled and was slightly starstruck at meeting one of the most famous African freedom fighters in history, who arguably is on a par with Nelson Mandela. When I left the ceremony in the afternoon, I thought how strange it was that I had witnessed the coming together of such amazing rituals steeped in a history that is remarkably close to my own heritage. I will never look at Chipata in the same way again! Photos to follow!