Maravi

Lunda Lubanza lives on

Lunda Lubanza lives on
Written by Mutuna Chanda and pictures by Abel Mambwe in Zambezi
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 3:27:05 PM

SEPARATED by borders across nations that identify which nation people belong to, the movement of the tongue in pronouncing words that are audible to the ear do nothing more than just shaming the attempts of division.

This was clear at last weekend's Lunda Lubanza Cultural Ceremony of the Lunda people of Zambezi district when Lundas across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Angola and Zambia converged on Mukandankunda, the royal capital village which houses senior chief Ishindi's palace.

And as the Lundas from DRC spoke, the message resonated well among their counterparts in Zambia, so clearly understandable despite slight differences that interpreters were only necessary for the benefit of those who were there fulfilling tourism as well as other exploits but certainly not as natives bred in the area and fully understand Lunda or its tradition.

From the day that Lunda Lubanza Cultural Ceremony was to be officially opened, it was little wonder that exceptional excitement filled the air as other than a packed arena and the displays that had been lined up, a symbolic father figure of the Lundas across Angola, DRC and Zambia in the name of MwantaYamvo had made an appearance more or less as a stamp of authority as if claiming a continuation of mission.

For according to history, it was MwantaYamvo who sent his son Ishindi (present day senior chief Ishindi) to conquer tribes in North Western Zambia to expand the Lunda empire before it came to an 'end' in the sense that it existed in the 19th century.

However Mwant Yamv's appearance was a little more than just claiming territory, which he sent his son to conquer. It was an affirmation that as political systems have evolved from empires such as his passing the baton of governance to initially colonialism then self African rule in whatever form to present day democratic dispensations irrespective of the occurrences in between, so have the traditional ties. But this has taken away the fact that Lundas will always be Lundas hence MwantaYamvo's message that struck a chord among ordinary descendants of his empire to the extent that it evoked emotions of connection within that many in the modern generation may not have realised they harboured.

The kind of emotions that neither Social Studies nor History text books in explaining how the Lundas found themselves spread out across nations may never manage to smoke out.

"Lunda is not the language, Lunda is the blood flowing inside your bodies; the blood flowing in your, you my children and the blood flowing in my body," Mwant Yamv told the packed main arena through a representative. "You'll remain Lundas until you die."

While traditional leaders from across Zambia trekked into the main arena, recognition was given to them by spectators as the announcements of who had arrived were being made.

For many of the traditional leaders, acknowledgement of their arrival was mainly done by people moving from their seats kneeling to the ground and clapping their hands.

At Lunda Lubanza, there were 28 Angolan traditional leaders, 15 from DRC together with their Zambian counterparts.

The two high points was initially the arrival of chief Ishindi and later that of Mwant Yamv, both of whom were carried on palanquins, into the main arena.

Chief Ishindi's arrival marked the joy that characterizes his official coming out of his Hayamenu palace to meet and greet his subjects.

In the main arena, chief Ishindi greets his subjects as he is carried on his palanquin around the main arena brandishing his flywhisk.

The Lunda Lubanza which was revived in 1983 after a long absence signifies the conquest of the Lunda people in successfully fulfilling a mission that Ishindi was sent on by his father to expand the Lunda dynasty.

Mwant Yamv's arrival also had historians penning cultural ties that could be traced upwards to the beginning of the human race.

In a performance that needed no study of anthropology for one to understand that Mwant Yamv and chief Ishindi were from the same cultural heritage, the father figure who resides at Musumba in Kapanga area of DRC was carried arms spread open taking a look at people on his sides with a flywhisk in his right arm.

A few metres before taking the seat reserved for him, MwantaYamvo descended from his palanquin and performed what in the Lunda empire is regarded as Kutomboka, causing a near commotion among people who wanted to catch a glimpse of him stepping out his act surrounded by traditional outfits among them carrying traditional weapons and drums.

The Lunda Lubanza was capped by different performances by Zambian and DRC groups.

The ceremony was also treated to a dance and song referred to as Muyawandalama by girl initiates known as Tunkang'a.

The 2009 Lunda Lubanza Cultural Ceremony was a symbolic return to the Lunda roots, finding lost relationships or near forgotten connections that lay the foundations to the present day generation's existence. The ceremony was an indication of how unifying tradition can be when all else remains subjective.

One of the highly held forerunners to the present day Lunda Lubanza Cultural Ceremony was the 1854 ceremony which was attended by Scottish missionary Dr David Livingstone at which he was honoured by the then Mwant shindi Kawumbu.

The Lunda Kingdom was established in Kola, Democratic Republic of Congo and existed between 1665 to 1887. Through the years, the empire spread mainly in to Angola and Zambia among other countries though the larger group remained in DRC.

Labels: CEREMONIES, LUNDA, LUNDA LUBANZA CULTURAL CEREMONY, MWANT YAMV

posted by MrK @ 2:29 PM