ABOUT THE KULAMBA TRADITIONAL CEREMONY OF THE CHEWA PEOPLE: THE HIGHS AND LOWS- Sean Tembo

ABOUT THE KULAMBA TRADITIONAL CEREMONY OF THE CHEWA PEOPLE: THE HIGHS AND LOWS

By Sean Tembo – PeP President

1. The Kulamba Traditional Ceremony has been celebrated by the Chewa people of Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique since before the 15th century. The Chewa people, like most tribes in Southern Africa, migrated from Congo. The essence of the ceremony is for Chewa chiefs to come and pay homage to their King, Chilombo Kalonga Gawa Undi and report on the state of their respective chiefdoms as well as deliver gifts of food and other valuables to the King. The King would then redistribute this food and wealth from the chiefdoms that were doing well economically, to chiefdoms that were struggling. Apparently there are 38 Chewa chiefdoms in Zambia, 40 in Mozambique and more than 150 chiefdoms in Malawi. Previously, each Chewa chief would make the trip to the King on their own, but over the years, it was decided to do it all at once on a single day, and that is how Kulamba was born. This ceremony takes place on the last Saturday of August each year. If you asked me, this ceremony is the deepest expression of love for one another by the Chewa people, where the King is cognizant of the fact that not all his chiefdoms will experience the same economic fortunes, but those doing well must redistribute their wealth and assist those not doing so well. That is how humanity must function.

2. Anyway, so we arrived at Mkaika, which is the main arena for Kulamba, in Katete District of Eastern Province, at about 08hrs. My delegation was made up of five people, myself, my Chairman for Mobilization, Chairman for Cultural & Religious Affairs, my ADC and the Media guy. We did not have invitation cards, largely because l resent the idea that my attendance to a traditional ceremony in my own country, should be by invitation. Anyway, after parking our vehicle, l led my entourage to the entrance of the main arena. When the Police Officers manning the entrance saw us, they at least had the presence of mind to let us through without demanding for invitation cards. We were then ushered to the VIP sitting area, in the same makeshift shelter that the Guest of Honor was designated to sit. I must say l felt welcome, and the entire series of events up to that point, contrasted sharply with other traditional ceremonies that l had previously attended where Opposition Leaders were treated like leprosy patients, with no designated sitting space for them at all.

3. When an Usher served us with copies of the program for the day, l quickly perused it, and noticed that President Hakainde Hichilema would be our Guest of Honor, and that he would be accompanied by his counterparts, President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera of Malawi, and President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique. We also noticed that l, as an Opposition Leader, was on the program and that l needed to present my gifts to King Chilombo Kalonga Gawa Undi immediately after President Hakainde Hichilema had done so. Given how badly treated l had been at previous traditional ceremonies, l was taken aback as l had not even bothered to prepare any gifts. So l decided that l would just donate some cash, l mean, anyone can do with some cash, even the King himself. But then l had the dilemma of not having an envelope to put the cash in. My ADC immediately went on a driving around the shops in Katete town but was unable to find a shop selling envelopes. I then advised him to just buy a rim of plain papers and a stapler and we would put the cash between a folded plain paper and staple around it. Then at that very moment, l met the Katete Council Chairperson, Hon. Fanuel Chama and l expressed my dilemma to him. He quickly sent his army of staff on a search for an envelope and with a few minutes, a white A6 size envelope, appropriately branded “KULAMBA TRADITIONAL CEREMONY” appeared, and l had a deep sigh of relief.

4. Then President Hakainde Hichilema appeared, with his entourage of about 7 Cabinet Ministers, and seated approximately 10 meters from where we were seated. All this time, the Director of Ceremonies; Former Sinda MP, Hon. Lucas Phiri, kept us very entertained with various groups of performers being ushered on stage. The Chewa people really have a very rich tradition. However, at this point l couldn’t help to notice that both the Malawian and Mozambican Presidents had absconded the event. I found this particularly strange because both had confirmed attendance. In fact the event had to be moved forward to 24th August 2024 instead of the initially planned 31st August 2024 (which is the last Saturday of August, as per traditional requirements) because the Mozambican President had made the request, as he said he would be in Europe on 31st August 2024. Therefore, l found it very strange that after causing a change in dates, he then decided not to attend. I could not resist wondering whether President Hakainde Hichilema’s snubbing of the 44th Ordinary SADC Heads of States Summit in Harare last week, provoked the ire of his colleagues in Malawi and Mozambique, such that they also decided to snub his invitation for Kulamba? I mean, there was no other sound explanation for the sudden change of heart for both Chakwera and Nyusi. Perhaps a lesson for HH right there.

5. Then time came for our Guest of Honor to deliver his speech. He talked about how he went to University of Zambia at the same time as Chilombo Kalonga Gawa Undi, how he is a reasonably successful farmer, how he is emotionally attached to the Chipata – Chadiza road, to the extent that he had decided to rename it as the HH road, and that funds would soon be allocated for it’s reconstruction. The President then went on to talk about how he wanted all farmers to succeed so that one day they can all have tractors like him, who is a reasonable farmer. The President then implored the audience to work hard and produce enough food despite the drought, and that the drought should not be seen as an obstacle but that they should consider irrigation to produce food. The President then ended his speech with a joke about being methodical, which no one laughed to. At the end of his speech, no one clapped, except his Cabinet Ministers that he had come with. The 7 Ministers clapped so hard that the entire audience turned to stare at them in awe.

6. Then a representative of all the 38 Chewa Chiefs in Zambia took to the podium and addressed the President. She explained that the Chewa are a very hardworking people, but that the severe drought of the past season had left them hopeless and helpless, and that they had looked up to Government for some relief food but that none had come so far. She emphasized that none of the 38 Chiefdoms in 11 districts of Eastern Province had received a single bag of relief food so far, and that without Government’s quick intervention in this regard, her people will soon start dying from hunger as the next expected harvest was more than 6 months away. The entire audience then stood up in a frenzied standing ovation. The Representative of the 38 Chewa Chiefs then proceeded and addressed the President on the issue of the Katete Fruit Processing Plant which had been constructed by the previous Government at a cost of more than K160 million, but which the current Government had failed to operationalize for more than 3 years now, and that it was now being vandalized as it is abandoned with no one there. She further reminded the President that during the previous Kulamba Traditional Ceremony, he had promised that the Fruit Processing Plant would be operationalized within 3 months, and that the people in her chiefdoms had embarked on a massive production of various fruits in anticipation of the commissioning of the Fruit Processing Plant as promised by the President, and that their fruits are all going to waste now as the Fruit Processing Plant remains un-operational. Again, the audience gave her a standing ovation. She then spoke about the lack of drinking water for people and animals, due to the drought. She implored Government to deliver some relief water to her people before they die from thirst, even before hunger kills them. The Chief ended her speech with a plea to President Hakainde Hichilema that if Government is unable to provide them with relief food, it should at least provide them with seeds to plant in the next farming season, which was just around the corner. And that if Government also fails to provide her people with seeds and fertilizer in the coming farming season, then it would have condemned them to perpetual poverty for a very long time to come.

7. At this point, l was almost tearly. It occured to me in real time, that this is the disconnect that the President has from his people. For whatever reason that remains inexplicable to me, the President is very disconnected from the plight of the Zambian people. While the President was imploring the audience to ignore the drought and grow food using irrigation, the people were telling the President that they don’t even have water to drink, let alone use for irrigation. While the President was telling the people to double their entrepreneurial activities, the people were telling the President that their efforts to grow fruits to deliver to the Fruit Processing Plant in Katete, have been dampened because the plant remains un-operational more than 2 years since he promised that he would commission it in 3 months. It is evident that the President’s speech was very hollow, as it did not address the needs of the people. No wonder the people failed to clap for him, with the exception of his 7 Ministers. It kind of occurred to me that perhaps that’s the reason the President carries a large entourage of Cabinet Ministers wherever he goes. So that they can clap for him, in case the audience doesn’t.

8. Anyway, l must mention that the 2024 Kulamba Traditional Ceremony was very insightful to me as an aspiring leader of this great nation called Zambia. I greatly enjoyed myself and really appreciated the warm hospitality extended to me and my entourage by the Organizers of the event. However, that is not to say that the event was perfect. There are a number of areas that the Organizers could consider improving on next time.

9. Firstly, there were more speeches that traditional activities at the ceremony. This is a traditional ceremony, meaning that more than 90 percent of the time should be dedicated to undertaking traditional activities such as song and dance. The people who are given a slot to speak should be given a time limit and not an open cheque. I saw that the Director of Ceremonies literally had to chase some of the dancers out of the stage after only a few minutes, because he had to accommodate other groups to perform. And yet some politicians bored us for 40 minutes with speeches of how the people should use irrigation to grow food, when the people don’t even have water to drink. Yet, those hollow politicians we’re not chased out of the stage. So why chase exciting dancers who are entertaining us, and yet tolerate hollow politicians who are boring us? I actually noticed that most tourists of Caucasian origin actually walked out when the speeches became protracted. Also, the Organizers should consider compressing the program so that by 13hrs, people can break off for lunch, as opposed to 16hrs. It’s very difficult to be seated without food or water from 08hrs to 16hrs.

10. At about 12hrs, I literally had to send my ADC to the car to collect some leftover roasted beef pieces which my wife had prepared for us to nible on during our drive from Lusaka the previous day, but which we had no opportunity to consume. But as l started to munch on them, the aroma whiffed through the crowd and most people turned in my direction and started monitoring the up and down movement of my jaw as l chewed. Ultimately, l had no option but to offer a piece to everyone around me, so that they too can have a taste of my wife’s outstanding culinary works. At the end of the day, l only had three pieces to myself, which exemplifies how hungry the audience really was, due to the protracted nature of the program. Lastly, among the many sponsors for the Kulamba Traditional Ceremony, it would be good if one offered to bring a water Bowser and sprinkle enough water around the arena the day before, because the dust was unbearable. When l looked at the dusty eyebrows of the President when l went to greet him, l could only imagine how dusty my own looked. I dared not look in the mirror. Anyway, the Future is SET ✌🏼 ✌🏼 ✌🏼

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SET 25.08.2024