Harmony provided through the Kulamba traditional ceremony
By Andrew Lungu
ALL the roads in Eastern Province this weekend lead to Mkaika in Katete district, the headquarters of the Chewa people, which is also the venue of the annual Kulamba traditional ceremony.
Chief Mpezeni of the Ngoni and Kalonga Gawa Undi of the Chewe people are the two paramount chiefs of the vast province that is also set with so many traditional cultural ceremonies that give a true picture of the dynamic traditional cultural values of the people of Kum’mawa, the land where the sun sets first, as many easterners would boast.
Out of all the ethnic tribes found in the province, the Nc’wala traditional ceremony and Kulamba have emerged as the two biggest and distinctive ethnic ceremonies synonymous with the entire people of Eastern Province.
Judging by the magnitude of people who attend these two ceremonies, there is no doubt that the two ceremonies have overshadowed other smaller cultural ceremonies such as the Twimba of the Nsenga people of Petauke, Kwenje of the Senga found in Chama, Malaila of the Kunda and Kailala of the Gowa people, all of Eastern Province.
It is also good to note that the Ngoni people of Zambia fall under Paramount Chief Mpezeni whereas the Ngoni of Malawi are under Paramount Chief Mbwerwa.
But despite the Ngoni being one of the biggest tribal groupings in the area, not only in Zambia but the entire region, they do not have a common royal establishment under one Ngoni traditional leader.
The Ngoni people trace their roots from the Zulu kingdom of South Africa.
Through Kalonga Gawa Undi, the colonial government facilitated a tacit pact for the Ngoni people and other tribes in the province to live in harmony.
Today, the Ngoni people are only confined to Chipata district in Zambia and to the Nyika plateau in Malawi and probably none in Mozambique whereas the Chewa are today in Chipata, Lundazi, Mambwe, Nyimba, Katete, Chadiza, Chama and in Malawi and north-western Mozambique.
The sharing of these common cultural values has clearly shown that the people of Africa, and southern Africa in particular, are one and the same.
This is seen in their historical origins, traditions and cultural practices such as the Gule wa Mkulu or Chilombo dance also commonly known as Nyau which, again despite the artificial colonial boundaries, its name and the rhythm of the drums has remained the same for centuries now.
Kulamba master of ceremony Alexander Mitti said this year’s event expects to host more than 10 chiefs from the Chewa people of Malawi.
Mr Mitti, a former broadcaster and member of Parliament for Vubwi, said Chief Mbwerwa of the Ngoni people of Malawi will be the special guest at this year’s ceremony.
Paramount Chief Mbwerwa was a good friend of the late Kalonga who died in 2004.
He paid him several visits and usually stood by his bedside during his illness. He also attended his funeral.
“To continue that good friendship which signifies an ancient bondage between the two kingdoms, we have invited His Royal Highness Paramount Chief Mbwerwa of the Ngoni people of Malawi as our special guest at this year’s Kulamba ceremony,” Mr Mitti said.
He explained that the Kulamba is a traditional practice of paying tribute to Paramount Chief Kalonga Gawa Undi by his subordinate chiefs and subjects of the Chewa kingdom.
Kalonga is a Chewa word meaning ‘the one who enthrones or installs subordinate chiefs’ while Gawa means ‘the one who gives out land. Undi means the one who protects his subjects.
It is for this reason that Kalonga Gawa Undi not only presides over all the installations and funerals of senior chiefs in the Chewa kingdom in Zambia but also of Malawi and Mozambique.
Initially, the Kulamba ceremony was only performed by individual chiefs and subjects at different occasions, especially after the harvest time, before it was banned by the colonial authorities in 1934.
But 50 years down the line, in 1984, the ceremony was revived by the late Paramount Chief Kalonga Gawa Undi Chivunga who assumed the royal throne in 1953 and reigned until his death in 2004.
The late Kalonga Gawa Undi Chivunga was not only a paramount chief but also one of Zambia’s freedom fighters and a good friend of first republican president Kenneth Kaunda.
The late Kalonga has gone down in the history of the Chewa people as the only chief who rose to the throne at a tender age of 21 and was the longest Kalonga to reign in the Kingdom.
The history, spread and influence of the Chewa people is traced back to the 14th century when the journey from Kola took place.
Today, the history of the Undi Chewa kingdom and its spread has also been included in the Zambian secondary school history curriculum, which is now being taught in all the schools.
According to a book entitled The Chewa kingdom written by Chambuli Banda, it is agreed by many oral and other historic sources that the present-day Chewa people are Bantu who lived and migrated from the Luba (Kola) land that is today part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
It is also said that the practice and the leadership of this Bantu group wanted to acquire more land and give it out to their people being left behind as they were conquering other territories.
During this period of migration a number of Kalonga reigned, from Kalonga Chidzonzi, Chisaka Undi, Msenya Ndodo and many more others.
But it was under Kalonga Undi Chivunga that it was unanimously agreed by the Royal Chewa Traditional Council in the entire eastern and southern Africa that the Kulamba ceremony should be held annually in Zambia at the Mkaika Palace in Katete district during the last Saturday of August.
On this particular day, all Chewa chiefs from Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique throng Mkaika to pay their annual tributes to His Royal Highness Kalonga Gawa Undi.
The paying of tributes involves giving gifts to Kalonga and all subordinate chiefs present a social economic report of all the activities that took place since the previous ceremony.
From 1984 to date, the ceremony has proved to be a successful core of the cultural values associated with the Eastern Province.
President Levy Mwanawasa, who is expected to officiate at this year’s ceremony, was the first head of State in 2004 to attend the ceremony.
Dr Kaunda has also attended the ceremony on several occasions but it was after he left power.
Former Agriculture and Co-operatives minister Mundia Sikatana was the guest of honour at last year’s Kulamba which turned out to be the first ceremony for the current Kalonga who inherited the throne two years ago.
It is a well-known fact that Zambia has diverse traditional ceremonies that have attracted the attention of the international community.
Among such ceremonies that depict the true African national identities are the Nc’wala ceremony of the Ngoni people, Umutomboko of the Lunda in Luapula, Kuomboka of the Lozi, Lwindi of the Tonga and numerous others that have greatly helped in marketing the rich Zambian cultural diversity to the international tourism sector.
But what differentiates the Kulamba ceremony from these other traditional ceremonies in the country is that it does not only unite the people of Eastern Province, but the entire nation.
It brings together all the Chewa people from the three countries that form the modren Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique Growth Triangle (ZMM-GT) under Paramount Chief Kalonga Gawa Undi.
At the ceremony, the biggest and most famous dance among the Chewa people, the Nyau highly cerebrated among the Chewa people as Gule Wamukulu, takes the centre stage alongside female dances such as Chimtali and Chinamwali for young girls coming of age.
Other dances such as Chitelele, Mganda and Chigwiti are also performed to entertain the crowd that travels from all over the country and the neighbouring countries.
The ceremony exhibits a variety of more than 30 different types of Nyau dances with different masks.
The Nyau dances are referred to as Vilombo among the Chewa people, which means animals, and each Nyau is only performed at a certain occasion.
There are general Nyau dances performed for general entertainment, others at funeral ceremonies and yet others at special tasks such as Kulamba.
Mr Mitti explained that the newly-constructed art gallery will add more colour to this year’s ceremony as many artists will be exhibiting their works such as sculptures and paintings.
Among the many traditional ceremonies the country has been blessed with, the Kulamba stands out as unique as it does not only cut across the province but it does not recognised any international precincts established by our colonial masters.
It is one ceremony that one cannot afford to miss.
