Maravi

(MnG) Ancient ways in deep water

COMMENT - Despite the 'NGO angle' of 'climate change', this is a reasonably respectful description of the Kuomboka Ceremony from South Africa.

Ancient ways in deep water
NICOLE JOHNSTON - May 10 2010 12:47

As the temperature dips and we slip into winter, most of us adapt by putting on an extra jersey, stocking up on soup and carrying on as usual. For the Lozi people of western Zambia, the end of summer traditionally means packing their household belongings, livestock and farming implements on to a boat and leaving their houses and fields to the encroaching waters of the Zambezi flood plain.

This annual migration is an ancient tradition, heralded by the ceremonial relocation of the Lozi king, the Litunga, from his summer palace in the flood plain -- where the Lozi farm in a soil rich with nutrients once the waters have receded -- to his winter palace in the arid uplands.

The ceremony, called the Kuomboka ("to come out of the water"), is the cultural highlight of the year in the Western Province. But climate change is affecting all that.

"This changing of the climate is really impacting on the Kuomboka ceremony," says Fine Nasilele, who works for a local NGO, People's Participation Services. "It is becoming difficult to predict the time when we should move."

The Lozi rely on knowledge handed down over generations to predict when the floods will come and when they should prepare their move. But the increasing unpredictability of the seasons means that many of the omens traditionally used cannot necessarily be relied on any more.

"In the olden days the ceremony would be held in March, but for the past few years it has been in April," says Nasilele. "We would look at signs like the colour of the sand beaches -- when it turns brown we know the flood is coming. We would look at the position of the moon and at the water levels to predict when to move."

For days preceding the ceremony the town of Mongu, which lies in the heart of the flood plain, is abuzz with activity. Most accommodation is booked up months in advance, and hotel rooms are being let for five to 10 times their usual price as dignitaries arrive from Lusaka and chiefs come from other provinces. Mikolo (canoes) filled with entire families pole their way into Mongu harbour from distant villages and women sell red-and-black patterned chitenge (wraps) emblazoned with "Kuomboka 2010", while vuvuzelas blare from all over the town.

At Lealui village the royal barge, Nalikwanda, is moored. But the unusually high water levels this year means that guests who would normally stroll from the mooring to the palace have to wade knee-deep through water. At the palace the water has risen to within metres of the royal pavilion and has flooded the traditional courthouse.

At last the Litunga emerges, to great ululation and whistling, and is escorted to the Nalikwanda. The barge glides out of the village and into the waterways of the flood plain, followed by hundreds of boats and canoes.

"Sometimes it takes eight hours to paddle to the winter palace at Limulunga," says Nasilele. "But this year the water is very high, so it only took five hours."

The change in weather patterns also means that it's becoming difficult for people to plan their move because the flood waters come late -- and fast. "Their fields get flooded before they can harvest and people have to be evacuated," Nasilele says. "Boreholes and latrines get flooded and diseases can spread."

When people are evacuated they often have to leave behind their harvests and seed for replanting and lose their belongings, such as clothes and cooking utensils, which is devastating for poor subsistence farmers.

So, as the seasons grow ever more changeable, the Lozi will have to face difficult choices -- move permanently to the arid high ground, or try to adapt and live their migratory lives on a rich but increasingly unpredictable flood plain.

Nicole Johnston is regional media and communications coordinator for Oxfam

Labels: CEREMONIES, NGOs

posted by MrK @ 2:46 PM