Eastern Bee

Kajima Lwendo (right) with North-Western PS Nathaniel Mubukwanu By Innocent Daka Kajima Lwendo was ecstatic when he joined, for another moment in his life time, celebrations to mark the eleventh Lubinda Ntongo traditional ceremony of the Kaonde people in chief Mumena’s area of Solwezi. He stood at the entrance of the annual ceremony ground next to the 17 th century copper smelting traditional furnace of soil brickwork. “The furnace is a symbol of long history of the Kaonde people having lived with the art of working with copper since time immemorial before modern mining arrived here,” he said. Kajima Lwendo is a member of the Mutembuzi, the Lion Clan of the Kaonde people, who celebrate the Lubinda Ntongo ceremony—a mix of both old and new symbols of tradition. It is this day of the ceremony that the Kaonde eulogise their chief, as they retrace their tradition of hunting wild game and cultivating field crops to sustain their livelihood. “The whole ceremony is centr...

Babra's uncle, John Katandula By Innocent Daka It is only 09.00 hours in the morning but the people of Totoka village in Zambezi district have braved the bone-biting-cold, gathering at a house to drink a local brew beer and dance to rhumba music blasting from a solar powered Hi-fi machine. They are at this particular house to celebrate 15-year-old Barbara Ndonga for becoming a mother. Normally children would be in school at this hour, but they have also joined the party. “The celebration will go on for three days,” says John Katandula, the uncle to Barbara.   “I am very happy...she gave birth at 08.00 hours...she has given us a baby boy. From here we are going to take the celebration to the house of Alex Kabaza,” Katandula adds, pointing at the 30-year-old man who made her niece pregnant. While Kabaza joins the celebration, Barbara is isolated in a bulwark of grass-thatch and sticks. “She has to stay there to protect herself and the baby from the ‘bad thi...