Kairara: Goba people’s traditional ceremony
By Katayi Makondo
“It is about five in the morning, a soft breeze is blowing from the mighty Zambezi River and the birds are singing sweet melodies, but not long, their sweet music is drowned by traditional drums and ululations.
This is Chiawa in the valleys of the mighty Zambezi River inhabited by the Gova people.
The Gova people, pronounced as Goba, trace their roots from the Kore Kore tribe of Zimbabwe from where they crossed into Zambia during the 17th century and settled in the Guvi (valley) of Chiawa, south east of Lusaka.
The newcomers were fascinated by the beauty of the valley, its fertile land, teeming with wild animals and decided to settle there and called themselves Gova, meaning people of the valley.
The Gova now started farming, fishing and hunting wild animals which at that time were not in a protected area (game management or any such) and life was simple and good with plenty of food to live on.
Those were the Gova of yesteryears. But life has not changed much for the modern day Gova. They are still farmers and hunters of wild animals in addition to rearing some domestic animals such as goats, cattle and chickens.
The rich traditional music that has swallowed the music of the birds symbolises the Kairara traditional ceremony of the Gova people.
Kairara, which means ‘sleeping’, is a ceremony that is celebrated every year to pay homage to their ancestral spirits for the good harvest or to petition them about a poor harvest.
According to Charles Chigure, who has been taking part in the Kairara ceremony, preparations start two weeks before the actual event with the brewing of the local beer known as seven days which takes the whole week to ferment.
“We prepare ourselves by brewing beer and as for the elders who go to communicate with the ancestors directly on behalf of the people and the chief, we distance ourselves from intimate contact with our spouses until the ceremony is over because we have to be pure before our ancestors”, Mr Chigure explained.
Mr Chigure, 45, performs the main Kairara ceremony and to him this is not just being an elder but a custodian of the ancestral spirits of the Gova and this makes him very proud.
“Very early in the morning, we take the beer in an earthen pot to Malenda the place of our ancestral spirits where we pour the beer while calling the names of the chiefs who are gone before us as you know in African tradition, spirits do not die and these bring us fortune and if we offend them misfortune will occur,” he explained.
The chieftainess and other people by tradition are not allowed to witness or go with the elders to Malenda while homage is being paid to the ancestral spirits.
And Luke Nzenga who also takes part in the communication with the ancestors explains that only four elders one female and three males talk to the ancestors while four elderly women who have reached menopause who prepare the beer also accompany them to Malenda.
“We wear black clothes and only the eight of us go to Malenda and if tradition is not followed by taking women who are still bearing children, bees will attack us on our way or just any calamity will befall us,” Mr Nzenga said.
It is now 07:00 hours and Her Royal Highness Chieftainess Chiawa arrives at WildTracks in the Lower Zambezi for breakfast accompanied by her son and a woman.
Though not clad in traditional regalia, she looks splendid with royalty surrounding her as she is waving the traditional whisk, the sign of her ultimate superiority.
The women and men dance to the music to welcome Her Royal Highness and other guests notably the French ambassador Francis Saudubray with his wife and her subjects.
It is a privilege and honour to see the chieftainess eating as 14-year-old Maxwell Mululu who has seen five Kairara celebrations so far explains.
“I cannot even explain how I am feeling to see her here because she is the most respectable person and my parents including my grandparents respect and praise her. No matter how rich or famous one is they cannot command the respect that Chieftainess Chiawa commands, ” says Maxwell.
After breakfast, Chieftainess Chiawa with her entourage get on a boat enroute to her palace where invited chiefs and other guests will call on her.
It is five minutes before 09:00 hours and the chieftainess has just docked and women in yellow and black tops are singing and clapping as they escort her to the palace.
The palace is filled with the aroma of food and there are women singing and dancing while headmen and elders sit in the shelter just outside the palace.
Her Royal Highness sits in the shelter nearest to the palace while waiting to go to the main arena where pomp and splendour awaits her and all the invited guests.
The heat is gaining momentum and the birds’ soft music is fading away as singing and drumming takes centre stage.
Chieftainess Chiawa is the fifth. The first chief of the Gova was Mutunuka followed by Lyempe while the third one was Moses Shamurakwa and January Mulinganiza was the fourth.
Chieftainess Shikabeta is the first to arrive at the ceremony followed by chiefs Bunda Bunda , Mumpanshya and Senior Chieftainess Nkomeshya Mukamambo II.
Drumming and singing greet their Royal Highnesses as they enter the main arena for entertainment and presentation of gifts.
All kneel to greet Her Royal Highness Chieftainess Chiawa and the four other chiefs in attendance by clapping.
The women and men display some spectacular form of dance that is only performed by the Gova people and Chieftainess Chiawa rises to dance to the amusement of the people.
The dance is simple, a bit like the Mutomboko e performed by the Mwata Kazembe of the Lunda people of Kawambwa.
But the climax of the dance is the Mafuwe - a dance performed to thank the ancestors for a good harvest.
To show how much importance Government attaches to traditional ceremonies, former Republican vice-president Lupando Mwape is in attendance to grace the occasion.
“Some traditions were disrupted during war and colonisation and lucky are those who have maintained their traditions and culture,” says Mr Mwape in his speech.
The people of Chiawa are indeed lucky as Government through Lusaka Province Permanent Secretary Susan Sikaneta, said before this month ends a new and bigger pontoon will be commissioned to replace the current pontoon.
“Chiawa has potential in tourism and both local and foreign investors can take advantage of this and this area needs a three or four star hotel,” Ms Sikaneta said.
And chairman of Kairara traditional cultural ceremony Isaiah Museto said the Kairara has become part of the lives of the Gova people from which they cannot be separated.
“Traditional ceremonies are not just part of us they are testimonies by us, of who we are and we should ensure that we keep it,” said Mr Museto
And Mr Saudubray in an interview encouraged the people of Chiawa to continue preserving their culture for themselves and for posterity.
He said what the people of Chiawa are portraying is not just a social gathering, but a mark of their identity which only a proud person can show.
To this effect, the French embassy donated K5 million towards the ceremony.
“You are blessed by a rich culture and good dancers in this country. This shows how confident the people are because a person without culture is not confident and has nothing to display to the public” Ambassador Saudubray said.
Though the occasion was a traditional ceremony, one could not help but admire the tourist attractions in Chiawa among them the beautiful lodges and camps situated along the Zambezi River.
If you are thinking of an unspoiled holiday destination, Chiawa could just be the right place.- ZANIS feature service
