Zambia Cultural Heritage – Chewa People – Their History and Culture

The Chewa people of Zambia live in the Eastern Province of the country. The language of the Chewa is Chichewa and the Chichewa speakers are Malawi and Mozambique. The reason for this is that historically before the white colonial masters came to Africa, the Chewa people of Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique had a ruler: His Royal Highness Kalonga Gawa Undi. But when the colonialists arrived and created national borders, the Chewas split up and found themselves living in three countries with different colonial masters. Zambia and Malawi fell under British colonial rule while Mozambique belonged to Portugal.

However, the Chewa continued to recognize themselves as one despite colonial rule and the country’s new borders. The traditional headquarters of the Zambian Chewa is in Mkaika, Katete and today ceremonies (particularly the Kulamba Ceremony) are held every year bringing together the leaders of the three countries.

The Chewa people are known for their love of agriculture and, in particular, their crafts: the women for their skills in pottery and the men for their skills in making bamboo basketry, hoes, axes, arrows, reed mats and mats of palm fronds. Men are also good hunters and fishermen and these skills are believed to honor manhood. The Chewa are a hard-working people known to despise any form of laziness, believing that it leads to the degrading practice of begging.

The sacred places of the Chewa

• The royal burial ground at Mano’s headquarters in Malawi
• The shrines of Msinja and Mankhamba
• The grave of Undi Chisakamzondi who died while traveling in Mozambique
• Kaphirintiwa in Malawi where rock markings resemble human and animal footprints is believed to be the site of creation.
• The ancestral graves in the traditional seat of Mkaika

Chewa clans

The two original main clans were the Banda, who were historically healers and mystics, and the Phiri, who were said to belong to the aristocracy. Other clans are:

• The Mbewe are known to enjoy the delicacy of eating mice (although the Phiri and Banda will also enjoy this delicacy)
• The Kwenda clan which comes from the word ‘mkwenda’ which means ‘the stripper’. The tail suggests that a Phiri clansman inappropriately stripped his sisters’ clothes while he was traveling, the rest is history!
• The Mphandwe clan, which is a branch of the Banda clan. The story goes that a man eloped with a woman from his clan (somewhat shameful) and as a result wanted to be known as Mphandwe and not Banda.
• The Mwale clan from the word ‘kumwalira’ which means ‘to die’. The story suggests that there was a bloody fight between two groups of people because they shot an animal and couldn’t agree on how to split the head.
• The Linde clan from the word ‘kulinda’ which means ‘to see’. This was the group that did not join the earlier fight, but instead watched over the carcass of the animal that was being fought over.

Leadership and political organization.

Interestingly, the traditional Chewa social structure is matrilineal: property and land rights are inherited from mothers and it is the female lineage that keeps the lineage alive. The traditional Chewa leader is usually a male, but descent is carried through the female side who derives their identity from the female and the villages are made up of matrilineal relatives by marriage.

The overall Chewa leader is known as the Kalonga Gawa Undi, who is in charge of all the Chewa chiefs who, in turn, supervise the village chiefs. Kalonga Gawa Undi has the following meaning:

• Kalonga: ‘one who identifies and installs trade in others’
• Gawa: ‘he who allocates land and shares wealth with others’
• Undi: ‘the one who protects the citizens, keeping them under his wings as a bird protects its young’

Those in line for leadership are vying for their claim to leadership, but contrary to popular belief, this does not necessarily mean conflict. Wise chiefs will select a nephew as his successor and send his other nephews to establish subordinate headquarters. In fact, this system has prevented major disputes for centuries.

taboos

The Chewa people will resent being confused with the Nyanja because this propagates the colonial misunderstanding of their origin. Although the Nyanja and Chichewa languages ​​are similar, they are different and to say that they are the same denies the validity of the Chichewa language.

Another taboo is to mention, call or write the birth name of the successor of the Kalonga Gawa Undi. Kalonga Gawa Undi office must be seen never to die. Before Kalonga Gawa Undi’s burial, his successor is chosen by the royal family and his successor’s birth name is ceremonially buried along with his ancestor. Therefore, the name of the current Gawa is simply Kalonga Gawa Undi XI.

This article is inspired by the book ‘Ceremony! Celebrating Zambia’s Cultural Heritage’. It’s a fabulous, eye-pleasing book that I encourage you to get. I got mine from ZAIN in Lusaka, Zambia. It is published by Celtel Zambia PLC and Seka. Original photograph, Francois d’Elbee. Coordinating author, Tamara Guhrs. Editor, Mulunga Kapwepwe. Contributing authors, Akashambatwa Mbikusita-Lewanika, Prof. Mapopa Mtonga, Mulenga Kapwepwe, Isaac Smogy Kapinga, Miranda Guhrs, Msatero Tembo, Matiya Ngalande, and Joseph Chikuta.

Zambia encourages tourists to witness traditional ceremonies and you will find local tour service providers particularly helpful.