Solis celebrate chibwelakumushi
By Betniko Kayaya
CHIEF Mpanshya Kalubangwe II is one of the three Soli chiefs in Chongwe district in Lusaka Province.
Chibwelakumushi preparatory committee chairperson Mathew Nyakalale dismisses the widely held view that the Solis, like the generality of other Bantu tribes, came from the Luba-Lunda empire, the present day Congo, saying the Solis hailed from somewhere in North Africa and passed through Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa before settling in present- day Chongwe, approximately 500 years ago.
“To prove this, you can just look at our commonality in many words and names such as ‘Ntitima,’ ‘mkonda (meaning love), and ‘Lutundwa’, which means green vegetation.
When I was in Tanzania at one time, I found that these names and words are very common and they mean the same things as in Soli. This is why I believe there is a strong historical connection between the Solis and our brothers in Kenya and Tanzania,” says Mr Nyakalale.
He says the Solis have existed in three groups namely ‘Soli-Manyika’, who are oriented to the Lenje tradition, Soli-Futwe (food growers and fighters) and Soli-Shamifwi (hunters with bow and arrow).
“When we settled here, we co-existed peacefully with the Bushmen whom we called ‘Mwambonena kuli pi? meaning where did you see me? They were good hunters and they used to share their meat with us, but other hostile tribes who came disturbed our co-existence, resulting in the Bushmen trekking south with some of them probably settling in Kalahari desert in present-day Botswana,” Mr Nyakalale says.
Mr Nyakalale explains that the Soli people under chief Mpanshya’s chiefdom have been celebrating Chibwelakumushi for years immemorial save for some years when due to certain factors, the ceremony could not be held. But it was later revived in 2003 and has been held every year ever since.
“Chibwelakumushi used to be celebrated by our ancestors many years ago. It did not start recently. It is an important occasion at which the Soli people in our chiefdom come together to celebrate the new harvest at the end of August. The ceremony brings all the people together as a symbol of unity and, above all, to thank God Almighty for the harvest and protection,” Mr Nyakalale says.
He adds: In olden days, we used to shift to the fields until harvest time in order to protect the crops from destruction by wild animals. We could be away for many months sometimes in perilous circumstances at the hands of marauding wild animals.
It was, therefore, befitting that after the harvest, and as we brought the harvest home, we celebrate and thank God for giving us protection. Chibwelakumushi therefore simply means ‘home-coming.”
This year’s ceremony on Saturday, September 20, like others before, was characterised by song and dance by ecstatic subjects some of whom had broken the previous night performing and watching mobile video shows on HIV and AIDS and other civic awareness messages conducted by Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS).
The day’s proceedings began with the assembly of village head persons and their subjects in the main arena followed by the arrival of the guest of honour and Rufunsa member of Parliament, Kenneth Chipungu, who is also North-Western Province Minister.
As soon as the guest of honour and his entourage which included Lusaka Provincial Deputy Permanent Secretary and other senior Government officials had sat down, a procession of visiting chiefs who included Chiefs Bunda Bunda of the Soli, Mburuma of the Nsenga people and Chieftainess Shikabeta’s representative strolled into the main arena and took their seats.
Then came the moment everyone had been waiting for: the arrival of his Royal Highness Chief Mpanshya Kalubangwe II accompanied by traditional dancers (Kushikaisha Baami).
Waving to the crowd, Chief Mpanshya, who has been on the throne since 2002, slowly walked to a grass-thatched shelter perched on an ant-hill in the main arena and sat on a home-made stool as women escortees fell to the ground to pay homage to the chief.
Traditional groups that performed local dances such as Mbeni, Chinsengwe and Mooye, then took to the floor much to the joy of people who thronged the arena from different parts of the chiefdom and beyond.
In his speech read for him by Soli Cultural Association, (SOCA), vice-president, Levy Shamulenge, Chief Mpanshya conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the former first lady, Maureen Mwanawasa, Government and the people of Zambia on the death of president Levy Mwanawasa, who died on August, 19th at Percy Military Hospital in Paris, France and was buried on September 3rd, 2008 at Embassy Park in Lusaka.
“May the Almighty God give comfort and strength to Mrs Mwanawasa, and family and the nation, Chief Mpanshya said.
The traditional ruler noted that despite the heavy rains which destroyed most of the crops in his chiefdom, a number of development projects had been accomplished aimed at improving the living standards of the people.
Rufunsa is now connected to Celtel, now called ZAIN, while MTN is also in the process of introducing its mobile telephone services to the area.
The Chief added: “Very soon we will have a nursing school which is currently under construction at Mpanshya Mission Hospital run by the Catholic Church while some teachers houses are being built at Rufunsa Basic School and a 1 X 2 classroom block at the same school. The MP’s office is also in place at Rufunsa,”he said.
Chief Mpanshya also thanked the Government for facilitating the purchase of chiefs’ motor vehicles to enhance their mobility in monitoring various developmental projects in their chiefdoms.
Chipako bridge on Rufunsa river is up and running while people living around Luangwa Bridge have a new clinic. Shimungubo school has been constructed while Lukwipa and Kamilulu schools have been renovated.
On the flip side however, the chief informed the guest of honour that people in his area had been crying for a high school for a long time and suggested that for a start, Government should consider upgrading Mpanshya Basic School into a high school so that children in the area could have good chance of proceeding to secondary education.
“I have been appealing to the Government for sometime now for my chiefdom to have a high school. For a start, why not upgrade Mpanshya Basic into a high school?” he asked.
The chief further noted that his chiefdom had a weak radio signal from the national broadcaster while the television signal was virtually nonexistent, a situation which deprived his subjects access to news and information on various issues of national importance.
He added: “ My chiefdom needs more trained teachers, more health facilities including mobile clinics, where possible, and last but not least, more feeder roads need to be worked on.”
On Government’s part, Mr Kenneth Chipungu who represented Acting President Mr Rupiah Banda, thanked the people of Chongwe for supporting the former first lady and her family during the illness, death and mourning period for the late president.
“This clearly demonstrates the love and unity among the people of Zambia not only in times of happiness but also during sadness as well.
“It is Government’s desire that this love and unity should continue even as we go into the presidential by-election on October 30th to choose a new president,” he said.
Mr Chipungu stressed the importance of traditional ceremonies in the preservation of the country’s rich cultural heritage for future generations. If well marketed, traditional ceremonies could also contribute immensely to employment, wealth creation as well as tourism development.
Mr Chipungu also took time to outline some of the developmental programmes Government continues to carry out in Chief Mpanshya’s chiefdom in particular, and Chongwe district in general in health, water supply and sanitation, education and agriculture, among others.
The Government has finished the construction of a new health post at Luangwa bridge at a total cost of K280 million in order to take quality health care services as close to the people as possible.
The Government is also in the process of building VIP latrines and ablution blocks through the Constituency Development Fund, to improve sanitation in the area.
Mr Chipungu said a number of boreholes have also been rehabilitated including approval of many more to be drilled in various parts of the Mpanshya chiefdom.
In the education sector, Government through the Ministry of Education has commenced the construction of an additional teacher’s house at Chipekete Basic School and a 1 X 3 classroom block at Rufunsa Basic School while construction of a 1 X 3 classroom block at Lukwipa Basic School has been completed.
With regard to food security, Mr Chipungu said the Government was aware of the hunger situation prevailing in the chiefdom as a result of last season’s poor harvest. It is for this reason that 920 X 50 kg bags of maize have been distributed in Rufunsa constituency under the District Disaster Management and Mitigation Programme.
“We will also ensure that fertiliser and other inputs are distributed in time for the coming farming season so that people grow more food for domestic consumption and for sale,” Mr Chipungu said.
On HIV/AIDS, Mr Chipungu discouraged discriminating against those infected by the virus but instead rally together and support home based care and other programmes aimed at addressing the disease.
“Last but not the least, I wish to remind ourselves gathered here that the Government launched the ‘Keep Zambia Clean and Healthy’ campaign. We are all called upon to do our part in keeping our villages clean and green so that we live clean and healthy lives,” he said .
The Chibwelakumushi traditional ceremony, andothers held in different parts of the country, need to be preserved because of the important role they play in fostering peace and unity in the nation.
The ceremonies are not only a preservative of our rich cultural heritage, but they are also becoming conducive for explaining Government policies and developmental projects aimed at improving the quality of life of the people.—ZANIS
