CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS History on the Luapula Retold: Landscape, Memory and Identity in the Ksaembe Kingda Author(s): David M. Gordon Source: The Journal of Af+ican History’, 2006, Vol. 47. No. 1 (2006), pp. 21-42 Published by: Cambridge University Press Stible URL: httpe//wwve jstor-org/stable/4100563 ‘REFERENCES Linked references are available on JSTOR for this erticle: espa Fre ptr org/stabletlodbeateg-lacidrpat= Feferenced references teh_contents ‘You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references. LE TST ZIOU I ntti mrp ee Tr Cons Uns seat STR tomlin wh ZoTON wg, preted etn ee JSTOR:ty 4 oe) pe atng. ©2005 Canis U rfourtssepcaty Pediat Und King HISTORY ON THE LUAPULA RETOLD: LANDSCAPE, MEMORY AND IDENTITY IN THE KAZEMBE KINGDOM Bowdoin College AnsTmAct: ‘This article examines memorial traditions and saci identities inthe Luspula Valley during the nineteenth century. In History on the Lugplay Iam CCunnison argued that most histories inthe Lupa Valley were “persoal ren tions except fo che impersonal” and general hiory ofthe Kezembe Kingdom. “This article deals how the impersonal history of the Kazembe Kingdon arse ‘Through the association of shrines and naturel phenomena with the ancestral heroes that featured in the historical drama of the KKevembe conquest, @ more general, univer and hegemonic history was rendered. ‘The formulation and ‘ommemoration of this history susained two Luapulan identities, « "Lunds ‘migrane identity snd a *Shia’ autochthonous identity, both of which proved (0 [esol foundations fr the eration of “tribes in the colonial period ey somos: Central Africe,prcolonia, religion, memory, identity, Kingdoms fd ste, ‘THe many studies that detail the ‘invention of tradition’ and the ‘creation of | tribalism® during the colonial period have left scholars with an unclear idea ofthe corporate units and ideological structures that preceded colonialism: Networks of chiefs, “big men’, lineages or tibute-based kingdoms sre all posted as possible forms of polities! organization. Scholars have been reluctant to consider corporate identities beyond the lineage and tributary ‘modes of socal and politcal organization, We have litte idea of precedents for the ethnic units~ the teibes'~ s0 evident ae a form af identity in colonial and postcolonial times. Once a standard practice among historians of fre, | generation of scholars who believe in the colonial ‘corruption’ of African discourses and identities has avoided the analysis of precolonial Kenttes, ‘with their rich and ditinctve forme of reprerentation ‘Yer several leading scholars have begun to revisit the question of elon impact in the construction of African identities. In one recent review ofthe literature in this jourral, Thomas Spear argues that colonial agency in the creation of tribalism and invention of tradition has been overstated. + Paul Landau, Giacomo Mala and ‘Thoms Spear have rea, commente on or lacusted specs of his pape wth me. 1 thank them for thir salable adie edie seve. P Eric Hobsbavn and Terence Ranger (od), The Incenton of Train (Cambie, 1983); Leroy Val (ed), The Cresson of Triaton (Lo Angee od Behe, se) "Thomas Spe, "Neo-ratoralim andthe mits af een Bah eli ie’ Journal of Aca Hira 200). 327. Ceci Hamilton ft ices the mits sf invention of train” in Tere Maety The Per of Shaha ala he ini of Herel Ieentin(Cambrge MA, 1998) Ticcon dna oe, sana ot ora SMS PS ure "ies bet est apo2 DAVID sLoonnox Jonathan Glassman has argued that ethnic and racial categories on Zanzibar ‘were developed by loca, African intelligentsia rather than impored bby European conceptions of identity.” Scholars have yet to explore the implieations ofthis revisionism for our understanding of precolonial Africa. ‘The challenge isto be aware of the limits ofthe invention of tradition during and after colonialism and to re-evaluate prior identities. Africans were not ‘only aetive in the construction of ethnic or racial identities in the colonial Setting; such identities had precolonial precedents, African identity was not fn.empty si, waiting to be invested with coloniai-ers meaning. ‘Since identities emerge out of colleeive memories, she puss that people represent can ‘ell us much about their identities” Thi article employs interview testimony, oral tradition and documentary sources to provide & history ofthe rise of historical narratives, traditions, eux de mémeire (sites of memory) and hence identities astciated swith the eastern Lunda kingdom of Mwata Kazembe during the nineteenth century There were seemingly ‘ostfied traditions and “tribal’ identities that emerged in the colonial oF postcolonial periods, most notably the annual Muromboko Ceremony and an extended Lunda tribe’? The traditions discussed in this article, however, ‘were not colonial or pestcolonial inventions; if they were celebrated during colonial times, it was in secret, out ofthe view of most colonial ofcals and ‘missionaries, with the exception ofa few colonal-era anthropologists and their asistants. The usual colonial sources are silent with respect to these traditions, remnants ofan earlier period of ideological invention and social "The Luapula River, a southern tributary of the vast Congo River, flows northwards through the lower Luapula Valley and empties into Lake * Jonathan Giesman, “Slower than a maseucre": the mulls sources of race thug enlist Ais, Americas Mion evi, 10933004), 720-38 “fo one recent scoun’ of precoonal etinogness in southcenal Ain, se Allen tnd Barbara Isancna, Slory ond Beyond: The Babin of fen ond Chikunda Ethic ete inthe Usstahie World of South Cenral Africa, 150-1920 (Portsmeath NH, 204) Whe this proces occured inthe lt ghee and wineeenth centuries, the ‘icf the prascirer sytem in promoting Chanda ints, makes thei “pecolonial| John ill, "Memory and ident: the history ofa relaonhi' in J. Gillis), Commemoration: Te Palit of National Identity (rinestan, 194) 324. Fee ‘oary of Pire Nor's extensive work on sites of memory” a glopcl erect and ‘Dei felatonahp tothe lnveton of wad, eee Pere Norm, “Between history sd ‘memory let iar de momar, Repeentaion 26, Specal leue ‘Merry and Courter emery (Spring 1989), hs methodology par ini by JM. Scholes dy ofthe Mon ule igus of Blo The Genes ofa Marty Cult n Souther Mala (Maio, 02) For he annual Motomboto Ceremony see David M. Gordon, The clr! plies ‘of wadtonl crema Mutomboko and the performance of fisary onthe Latpaa (Comparatioe Staae in Saiyan History, 4 2008) 69-8) Edouard Labrocque, » White Fukcr‘eisnonaty, Rad extensive Inowtedes of LLuapulan sts and tation, He was lnaramentl ie publishing tite Fyod [Bont Bond dicated low, ae wring 3 mansion Shs casts, Ars he Isenge yb lial abi maruseript writen with Shi Bier 1047-9, White Fathers Archives Lahn M-OT-3 Shin Ihave ried extensively th Laapus tae in the National Archies of Zambia, hich revel very Title on the ado They were clerly not manufactured for exons ppreciin, Se ip St rageHISTORY ON THE LUAPULA REFoLD 3 Meru. Today, it falls on the border of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and is one ofthe most densely populated regions in rural south-central Africa. ‘The area is renowned for its Inrative ehing grounds, fertile farmlands and historical importance as a canter of the "Kazembe Kingdom’. From around the middle of the eighteenth century and until colonial conquest in the #8905, the most distinguithed politcal fGliaton in the Luapula Valley was with Mata Kazembe, described by historians as an "easter Lunda’ king. According tothe orl traditions of the founding ofthe Kazembe Kingdom, the first Mwvata Kezembe, Ng'anga Bilonds, and an, entourage of aristocrats migrated eastwards from the central Lunds court of Miwaant Yaav towards the Luapula Valley inthe erly eighteenth century. ‘They wanted to avenge the murder of Ng'anga Bilenda's father, Chinyanta, bby Mutands, a ebelious "son" of Movaant Yav. After eubduing Mutanda, “Mata Kazembe Ng’ange Bilonda and an entourageof Lubs-related lineages set about establishing their dominance over autochthonous lineages through 4 combination of conquest and marriage. “The oral tradition of the Kazembe conquests in or near the Luapula Valley bears some resemblance to orl traditions asociated with peoples who settled in fertile valleys, rivers and lakes found across scuth central Africa.The southern tributaries ofthe Congo River, including the upper reaches of the Kasai, Kwango and Lualaba Rivers, and the northern portions of Zambesi's teibutiries, ineluding the flood plains of the upper Zambezi and Kafue Rivers, provided superior agricultural snd fahing opportunities and excel- lent hunting grounds, especially for large game, hippos and elephants?” They steracted many migrants and beceme cultural center composed of elites who ction between an elite group of “evilized' conquerors tnd “uncultured” commoners. Most famously, the classic Lube epic of | ‘Nhongolo and the migrant hunter, Mbidi Kuo, tells of clash that inthe words of Lue de Heusch contrasts, the primitive rule of Nkongolo, a cruel, drunken and incestuous king and 2 wieked uncle, withthe civilized kingship represented by Mbidi" A variation of the savage/civilized opposition & found in the central Lunda orl tradition of the “seduction of Ruwe)" by the hunter Chibinda Iunga." Indeed, polities of varying degrees of centaliza tion across the central African savanna display remarkably similar sets of oppositions in their oral traditions.” In most parts of the southern * "Thomas Q. Reefs, The acct ofthe ester stan’ in isi Biminghar snd Pyle M. Marin (eis). Htery af Cental Afra, (Londen and New York, 1983), * Lede Hew, The Drnton King Or The Origin ofthe Sty, rans and an, Roy Wiis (Btoemington, 982), 21. For historical inerpretton of the Lbs eral taiton, see Thomas Q, ele, The Reto and the Kine & Histo he aba Bmpr 189) (Gerhaey, to). ‘etry J. Hoover, “The seduction of ume): reconsacing Rind history he Angola: Zambia) (Ph.D. ther, Yas University 97 ern Mind poise Jzeph . Mle, King nd Kamen: Earl ‘Mb Stare Angle (Oxford, 1999) ad forthe Karongsia Lada, se Raber Eishee frontier af Lunds expansion the ons end (PRD: thes, Univers af Wisconsin Mdinon, 71 oS 19 Sp 0D AT UTC "Aussie ohe! sutsoar ms4 bavio seonnos Congo River basin, especially in the case of the Lubs and Lunds confederations, ‘conquerors’ and “autochthones’, “civilized” and ‘savage’, ‘used narrations to construct identities that formed the basis of united polities. Political elites tought out the insignia of the Landa and. Lube enters and assimilated aspects of Lunda and Lubs oral traditions into their own lineage histories.® In the Luapula Valley, the conquering ‘Lunda’, which included the Kazembe royal family and Lobe-afliated aristocratic lineages, ruled over locals whom they labeled“ Abashla, literally fishers ‘On the Luspula River, coxporste identities wore based on historical nar- tations thar Backed up clsims of ownership over the land, rivers and lakes" ‘Travellers, missionaries and ethnographers have all noted the vibrant and vivid interest in history and its relevance to struggles over land and fthing resources in the Luapula Valley. In his important work, History on the Luapula, which provides a backdrop and inspiration for this article, anthro- pologist lan Cunnison claimed: "History and interest in the past are here so pervading that they merit a somewhat wider treatment than they nor imally receive in studies of primitive peoples’. Cunnison described " tory’, understood in the Luspula Valley by the Bemba term iach, a the "affairs and cases of the past which make present afeirs what they are’ ‘According to Cunnison, the history known to people ofthe valley was per~ ‘onal memory | history is known well only to the groups hich pertaok in the events ‘enumerated Histories onthe Lupe then are particule. "There ix no desled History ofthe present land of Kezembe, orf the conspicuns geographical uit of the Lapua Valley, krown oll or evento some” 1078), Fo lineage sradions west of the Luapule River, sce Leon Vecbeek, loin et ruption’ ste vcopaiique de argon ete Laapae Cappers (Tervuren, 18). Compare to cues farther south, on te mide Zemes, where he Lato the trth and Noble wo the touth maintnned dct and soem tenes in he aa trains fom acepeloe societies lite the Gwebe Tong, acted near the river. Se Toante MeGregor, Living with he rier landscape and emry inte Zambess River {tNortiwest Zimbabwe a Wim BeinrtandJosnn MeGrepa (eds), Sail Hy ‘and African Eminent (Oxford, 203). Wn M.. van Binsberge argues that the tendency fo the Tong and relted groupe o malta sutanemy hd lt doth he scphclos polite rgaiation, which e guctons, tod more lal elated tether ieping of ene a an utononoat are of ala Wi ic] von Bergen, Relig Change in Zambia: Eeloratary Sate (Landon and Bort, vob), 126-32. Coan, bn the lower Zambest, Chikands polices eflectvly inept the ides of coh {uerrs and conquered, For example, se he absorption of Chipenda and Nes a lstora by Chinkonca's Chine in Tecan ad Toscan Stave amd Bon, "Flin F. Roberts "Priph vison’ in Mary NocterHobersand Allen F. Roberts (cds), Memory: Lata Ar andthe Mating of Hasty (New Yor, 198) 31% David M. Gorden, Nahi Git: Economy, Sosy, nd Emerton ts Central “Angad ae af Sather Aric (a vols) (Lisbon, v9), 90: ** Cunnsan, Hinton on he Luapla nea eeu 8p a1 UTC “aes ine koa esHISTORY ON THE LUAPLLA RETOLD as So, according t0 Cunnison, history on the Luspiula was 2 form of social ‘memory found within a particular lineage (cikot, pl iota) of breader| clan (umukowe, pl. imikora), only recited by the lineage elder (iikoer, pl {fkole). Cunnison opposed “personal history’ to an impersonal history" & history ofthe land or place accepted by all Impersonal" or “universal” his- {ory was underdeveloped inthe Luapsia Valley, with the exception of neo herent and vague pre-lineage histories (the histories of olden times: Kale sana). Cunnison’s clear and largely convincing. model of the interplay between memory and society on the Laapula has influenced our urder- standing of oral traditions in Africe and non-literate forme of history and memorialization.” CCunnison’s’ argument that general and impersonal histories on the Luapula were vague and incoherent was somewhat misleading, however. In 3 later article, which elaborated on his research, Cunnison makes clear that the history of the Kazembe Kingdom as told in the lower Luspula Valley belonged co more then one person and had a general and coherent character, ‘The royal ineage hss genealogy of abou ine generations, and this might wll be 1 true record. Caefalnocount kepr of sucessive kings and the eventa ofeach reign s0 that chronicle exist from the seceasion from the wesers kingship tthe present time This chronicle not vested in any one person but is the constant abject of conversation a court ‘Yet we remsin unsure of how the Kazembe history became a general and {impersonal history, in contrast to the particular personal lineage histories on the Luapula, Part of the problem is that the differences between “personal” and impersonal" history = which in many ways resembles the distinctions tht Pierre Nora makes between “memory” and ‘history’ ~are ideal-ypes and {do not correspond ro the wide range of ways of remembering All kinship groups, which according to Cunnison's research were to evidert on the Luspula, rest on a fietion=a constructed history that Joined. people within a Bctive network ™ Hiwories an the Luspula wore not pariler to biological lineages but generalized, creating broader ctive networks. Fetive kinship gave histories on the Luapul an impersonal character, especially ‘when such histories justified or explained land tenure arrangements between, ® er example, it informed the classic dy, Jn Venting ral Tradition: A Stayin Higarial Metal (Landen, 96), Tan’ Cunnison, “History and gntsloges in» conquest st’, American Ambropaloi $9.1 (0957) 20-3829, 1s This maybe felted to the nen of scologt Maurie Helbwachs on bath Nora an Cunnisn, Nor, "Between history and memery"; Halbwschsworkon the socogy ‘of memory tas been collected in Maurice Halbwachs, On Collie Memary (Chae toga in addition o Hisory onthe Luaula, Connon developed hie argument regnding five kinship constructs 8 Cuneion,Perpeea shi plicit ft pale Peoples Rhode Licigsin Tal, 20 (ie a-4h. Imm vie. bet summed up by the ebservation in his matogtaph: “Tine and gra T var srk th eo ichave among themselves i certain way and therefore reread in» er ‘ray: ot that people te elated ins certaa ray td therfore beh ins cra Yay Cnsison, The Lrapala Pept, 75. 13933749 1S.or ae 1 Sop 3000 RL UTC Ve ee hie oars6 Davi sLaonoox diferent corporate groups.® ‘The argument here is that itive groups lke the Lunds of Luapula genersted history that was assimilated by 4 wide range of local elites who became Lunda tite-holders, further extending Lunda identity and history. The Kazembe lineage history became the most universal of Luapule's histories in a span of ways of remembering that ranged from the personal tothe impersonal. ‘When the ideas of History on the Luapula are viewed in the light of LLuapula’s own history, it becomes clear that histories and forms of remem- bance on the Luapula were an agent and an outcome of evolving polities] relationships. On the Luapula, they were expressed through a core central [African politcal idiom, a story of conquest andthe establishment of Kin ties bbetween ‘conquerors’ and ‘autochthones'. This paper is concerned with the processes that allowed the Kizembe oral tradition to be lberated from the Possession by one particular lineage, become the impersonal and universal history of che lower Luspula Valley wd form the bass for the identiles of Lunda conquerors and Shila conquered “The Kazembe lineage drama bectme impersonal history partly through writing. From 1798, Portuguese traders, the fret literate observers of the Kazembe Kingdom, began to. write down versions of the history of the Kazembe conquests. The literate obrervation and textualization of Kazembe's history would eulminate inthe r9yos and t9sos, when Cunnison ‘wrote History on the Luapula and, more signifeandy, Mwata Kazembe XIV wrote down the first authoritative version of the Kazemnbe oral tadivion 28 Ifkolce Fyandi na Bantu Bandi (My Ancestors and My People), a convine- ing eross-clan history that would bind Luapula's paso that ofthe Kazembe lineage. ‘The ossifation of the oral tradition through waiting was an important agent in establishing a Lunda history as the dominant and universal history ofthe valley." ‘An exclusive emphasis on literate agents, however, underestimates the gency of non-literate Lunda tile-holders in establishing this version of the pastas the general history of the Luspula Valley. Eastern Lunda history took on the form of a convincing universal history of the valley through other ‘mechanisms as well. The personal lineage history of the Kazembes became the impersonal history ofthe valley by aatigning nacural phenomena ard local shrines to eastern Lunda cultural heroes and by absorbing several clichés ‘common to clan histories ito the eastern Lunda orl tradition. Adopting and incorporating loal shrines and local narrative clichés made eastern Lunda tory into a convincing and aceepted version of the past. Thereby, the eastern Lunda oral tradition became the universal history of the valley, in ‘contrast to personal lineage histories. ® Gordon, Nach’ Gifts Cannison, “Hino and geese" 30. ® Mwatn'Kazembe Chinyanta XIV, Zot Pani ng Bants Band, rans, lan CCunnison as Hire! Traditons of the Eaten Landa (La, 161) Gacora Mace othe ereationUtler ond 4 {he entra Lunds orl eration n Giacomo Mace, “Litcraeethchitry in elo ‘ambi: the ease af Yee Pend we Barts Band Haters te Af, 38 (201), ‘8yor, Ihave argued that nthe oo his verian a th pat came tbe plored ed ‘Mutomboko Ceremony, Gordon, "The eure pole of Teigcouo doula tom vanayr ast ota We Fa ure ii ject in St rareHISTORY OX THE LUAPULA RETOLD Eo “This paper proposes a genealogy of the construction ofthe eastern Lunda version of the past. It considers how eastern Lunds ttle-holders imbued natural features and shrines with the ancestral identities of the Kazembe lineage. They invented tradition and constructed sites of memory that helped togenerates widely accepted and impersonal orl tradition, which was based fon the compilation of several lineage histories, Out ofthis process emerged 4 history of the Lugpula Valley that told of the conquering Lunda and the vanguished Shila In his study of religion in Zambia, Wim van Binsbergen contends ‘religion feems to be a means for people to expose themesiver to their collective history ina coded, de-historieized (fossilized?) form’, Ye religion need not «codify history; is dificult and unnecessary to distinguish between religious and historical forms of representation in much of precolonial Africa, * The people of the Luapula Valley linked the present tothe past through com. memoration or veneration of ancestors and nature spirits. In most pars of Bemba-speaking northern Zambia, common and widely used cognates indi- cate that at last ewo types of spirits were venerated inthe precolonal period, both of which seemed to fulfil tutelary functions. Zngudu ean be imperfectly translated as nature deities, while imipash (sing, umypashi) were ancestal spirits or, simply, ancestors Ingulu spirits were believed to be independent of people and history although these spirits often had common names like “Milenga’ and could justify and legitimize religious and political authority. Ing were sid to be found in or near natural sits like waterfalls, springs orather unusual natural features and were linked to forees of nature that helped or harmed people For example in the Luspula Valley fshers claimed that an ing led a school ‘of fish to their spawning sites or that a wind dangerous for fishing was on ingulu3® They could possess people, which may have resulted in illness ot ‘other forms of suflering ~ possession by an ingulu usually had very physical ‘manifestations that include the emission of rhythmic whimpers (ukizemuha) * Van Binsbergen, Religious Change in Zambia, 74, The metaphors in Van Binbergn' formulation ( coded” and Ysized' bray Ns ew feline aye of fs consciousness’ beyond Which the vel staf fst esl ad the for to ll par beau iinteduces the passe olapang religion hi ‘orc rms of represenatin, instead of ory denarcating them For the miso, tnd schol invention of eligion’ in precio Af, see Pal Landa Religion * tnd Chrision conversion in African bisorya new model Jal of Rel tery. 33,1 om. B36. ¥* Douglas Werner has analyzed the rot and spread fen ad pa in Ber nd surrounding languages and lcs in Douglas Werner, “Some developments in Bemba Feligous Nistor, Jon of Religion i Afice, 1 (igre, t=24 My amps ae informed by Lous One, Spr pone song the Bra’ paper pesado cone ference on contal Ato eligon, Lunia, 30 Aug Sept. igye Accompanying the piper ate Opes handwritten oter on the sme subject, White Paer Archive, Eats tch-Gs9 Ngolu I conducted several nevis esting ing nd ps inthe Lupule Valley 2000-1, hich cnfemed the nied tot of i present day Luss Vals, 3249115 on Sm 19 Sep ald UTC ‘Mtoe sb ei! Sas28 PaviD sLeonvox {Ingulu often took the form of animals; pythons snd feral chickens were oftcited examples of incarnated inpuls spirits, The word indicates some- thing fom the sky or perhaps a typeof wind, with the rot -ulu refering to above (for example, mul the sky, in Bemba and cosly related languages). {In contrast to ingulu were imipashi, ancestral spirits. While ingulu were typically associated with the non-human and natural world, iposhi were linked to particular lineages and were not necessity pact of the natural world. Jmipashi had human, ancestral names whereas ingulu, i they had names, were unrelated to human lineages. Imipash spirits were named after characters in the particular historical lineage dramas that belonged to & lineage head. Although they were not the same a ancestors, which were: termed iftoie (sing. iikolue), the inipachi sprite dat were part of a clan or lineage traveled with their people, used prominent lineage names and were. venerated wherever the group settled. In this sense they became part of the round; the root -pasht indicates something below, in contrest 10 = ‘The interplay of these otherworldly or supernatural forces, above and below the world of the living, was a core par of south central African religious cosmology. ‘A third concept thar seems to have been more particular to the Luspula Valiey is lutambi (pl. ntomb), loosely translated as custom, ites or act that are done simply because of precedent; the questicn as to srhy intambi are performed is usually ‘we have always done things inthis way". Performances of intambi were located at specibe sites; many of these sites were not remembered for any particular historical evento invested with any spiritual importance; they vere simply places where intambi were eartied out, and perhaps where ingulu could be found. Intambi were not carried out to obey {ngulu or imipashi but rather because of precedent. The memorial landscape of the Laapaula Valley was defined by this interplay of igule and imipetht spirits, and the sntomb that surrounded them.” Louis Oger and Douglas Werner have noted that ingulu were generally linked to the cults of autochthones or commoners while nipath were 9530- ted with « migrant Luba royalty.™ Due to the absence of contemporary sources, iis very dificue to provide a historical chronology ofthe adoption sf these terms, of link them closely with conquering or migrant lineages Based on historical linguistics, Werner contends that the 00% -pasht is probably older than -ngulz, but thatthe particular «ssociation of pack with ‘chiefly ancestors is of more recent vintage, and might be linked to the ‘migration of the royal Bemba bena ngandu (erocodie clan). Van Binsbergen has pointed out that Werner's chronology and description of the proces by which Bena ngond ancestral cul eclipsed inguly veneration ie speculative and lacking in evidence ™ ‘The commoners’ cults in the Luapula Valley that revolved around ingulu veneration remain largely unknown, Descriptions are general and 1% Oper, “Spr possession among the Bem Weene, ‘Some developments. # Ian Gumison, "A note om the Lunda cocapt of stor RhadeLivngtone earn 9 95 20-9 Werner, ‘Some development; Oper, Handwriten nie, White Fathers Archives, Lugihat M1 Cap Nose. "Ferner, Some deelopeene'; Van Bintergen Rligous Chong in Zambia, 12, anc aecr a RT Pe Pc 3456 Ure As eet hp SatoHISTORY ON THE LUAPULA RETOLD 29 speculative, based on oral testimony collected in the twentieth century ater aggressive campaigns by colonial ocere and missionaries to abolish local religious practices. Ie seems that bin the eate ofthe plateau Bemba, input spirits were linked to the commoners, ‘The most important. precolonal ‘ovement concerned with the control over ingule was the ubuta associ- ation. In fet, Leon Verbeek suspects thatthe widespread use ofthe term ing only earne about through the ubuttasseociation,pethaps a ate as the nineteenth century, rather than being ofthe antiquity proposed by Werner." ‘The uburtoa association was a set of loosely afliated secret societies with similar dances, sets of rituals, tenets and practice, the most important being ubsofioano, mutual help. Appointed elders, termed Shingulu (father of the fngulu) oF Nangulu (mother ofthe inguly), headed each society ™ Thereby, the ubutwa association could travel and deine a landscape of local authority based on widely accepted religious formulations. Ubutoa adherents supported certain politica elites or at least evoked widely known historical charecers of names. In the Luspula Valley, ubuttr was clorely linked to the resurrection ofthe political authority of chiefsincies that had adopted the ttle ‘Nkuba’, the supposed founder ofthe Shia" polity, who had fallen, like ‘lightening’ (whuba), after an. altercation with his family due to the misdeeds of his sister, “Nachiuti Ubuttea also seemed to be linked '0 the fishery and to the spirits that ensured a prosperous atch and a good harvest. Ingulu spirits essocated with ubulva didnot necessarily have specific shrines fof veneration that linked them to ancestors. Jngulu were often located in 2 For example, one ofthe Set ditct oficial, HLT. Harvington, would shoot a sgonea laces of traveling cults and prohibited them from the Luapula Hieringon;"The taming of North: Eantern Rhode’, Novthrn Rode Jars, 3 (gine, apeciy tarts leon Verbeck, Le monde der epi ou suet du Shabe ota ord dele Zombie ame, 1990), 3044. "Sheva C. Masombachime argues that Ubuva vginated smong the Abate and sea fo the Bw habitants of Lupa called Mba Pao I rorbee) ewe ter ‘oped ua apeed bythe Sl wade Nk, Mucins Monroe, Fe Des ‘oly tn Eartrn Shab and Northeast Zambia rons’ Intrwatonl Jura of Afcon “utara Stu, 27,1 (2994) 7999. Te few informants sho wer repre t 0 ‘mehout Ubutws inated that te organtation a lito do wid Abate me cle UUbunwn becuse of the verb ubutea (Wo pound) since members sould dence whe sounding u mortar ot tep of thi fellow member. It war anid to come fom the eat ‘members prophesied (taaemena), hed powell magic and wee abet nd with, ‘They were esecly well kao for digging up the ead an cing the pars ofthe dead ‘ody tha had pot aed and were repansibe or Bwthing ving relates. terse Dyuls Kabeya, Manson, 12D. 2e00; lungs Joh, Chise’s Vilage, 1s Jan oot; Lakweas Alem Musands #6 Jan, 2001, The best eotemporry detipton of UUnuiwa was by Plymouth Bretven misionsry, Dugeld Campbell "A few notes on Barwa: an Afram secret sore)”, Man, 1.28 (114), 96-8. For the reatonsip ‘tween wbutea ad inulin Lospul, see Mussa, “interview with Aroon enya, Mbereshi, 27 March. 1978", UNZA Speci Collecsone According 1 Cunnison, age were reo the Luspula this observation wa proba de to Lunde Ihgemony atthe tne of his research andthe Landa-focuted harre of i research Cumin, The Luopla Peps, 2023. Tabrecuc,Abuhenemisango yabo y wpa i’. In oe ofthe fw abut sentenced by Ninna Nanbachinesnormans hpricot pote Nuubs: MonmbacRines-Ubaswar 85, Vien tipsbo peersPo avin weondox definite naturl features ofthe land, lagoons and rivers of Lumpule =i was ot necessary to build a shrine to ingulu because the spirit was already embodied in s natural force." But ie seems that inguu veneration in the ‘gion was alm linked to constructed shrines, The only nineteenthecentury evidence that ubutta was practiced in the Luspula region i an indirect reference by David Livingstone, who reports on many shrines in the form of little huts tha: contained figurines called lub (sing. kali. ‘These might refer to the mulumés houses eesociated with wburwe.™ Fortunately contemporary documentary evidence is more detailed forthe Kazembe Kingdom, which allows us to gain greater insight into atleast one side ofthe story. Portuguese traders documented the Kazembe Kingdom in substantial deail, especially inthe eatlier part ofthe nineteenth century. ‘Their long stays in oF near the kingdom combined with the lack oft com- prehensive racial discourse and moral or religious mission in their accounts ‘make them more valuable historical sources (a lest regerding, Aican : ‘who described similar polities of the nineteenth century.” All of the traders confirm that inthe early nizeteenth century the Kazembe lineage venerated an established set of ancestors at periodic times and at important events. Fr. Pinto of LLacerda's expedition in 1798-9 tell us that they have no established religion, bbut believe in a “sovereign creator, called "Resa" (presumably, the Lesa common to Bemba-spesking areas), and “have grest veneration for theit Azimos (murimos), or dead, whom they consult on all occasions of wat oF food fortune’ According to Gamitto, who visited the kingdom in 1842, "They believe that the deed Mvatas communicate with the living and thet they experience the same passions and necessities and that they walk about ae night, and spend their time in debauchery"2 Both Gamitto and Pinto claim thatthe Kazembe rulers referred tothe royal ancestors as‘ murimo" ot ‘mushimo’, probably related tothe root -simo, a word which in the nearby LLingu and’ Mamie languages referred to ancestral spirits more generally, but forthe eastern Lunda seemed to have been particular to chiefly ancestral spirits (zimo was replaced in the early twentieth century by the more % Mussmbachime, “Interview with Aron Miwenys, Mbereshi, 27 March, 1675 LUNZA Special Colestions, ‘hey might als refer wo the mae (sing. af) vlage shrines common onthe Bemba Potent. H: Walle (ed), The Lea Jounal of Dav Licnaone Conon, 1, "E hese inclu the journal of Almwide de Lace (8610) and Gani (1831-2). The journal of De Lateran the Angolan pombe Inve been ete andtranasted in RF. Barton, The Lands of Cason (amon, 1873) sd Gums, ras. Cunt, King Kase, Ananotted teatslean of he poe ‘S.J. Bupa, rasated and sonoted by A. Verbcten and BM. Walst,L ‘moved Raton 1808 Voyage des Patio Agta Be eS 9p Allen and Babar Isaacman ete the valve of these eer recor, patculaly Gamivo, which thes employ extensively. compared Wo the tore reed eco of the late ninetenihcemury. Isseman snd Tntcean, Slory and aon, pera 22. For the mis on employing monary scvunts ef African weligon’ so Lande, teligon" and Chetan conversion Fe Pino in Burton, Laut of Cason 7. * Gait, King Reson, 40, 80-17 (4708), the Anglen pomier oaay ES aS I re i jettison startersHusTORY ON THE LUARULA RETOLD 3 common Bema cognate -pash.)* The uburhika royal cult about which we unfortunately know very litle but was probably similar to the better= documented Luba mbudye associetion celebrated the imizimo or imipach ancestors of Kazembe lineage" Chinyanta and Kasombola were key characters in the eastern Landa history of migration tothe Luspula Valiey. The Kazembe oral tradition tells of the arrival and conquest of the Laspula Valley by Muata Kazembe Ne'anga Bilonda after’ Mutands drowned Bilonda's father and uncle, a snd Kesombola, in the Mukelweji River. This epitode established CChinyanta and Kasombola as the most important ancestors to be celebrated and revered by the eastern Lunda. The story as recorded inthe official oral tradition, [fkolce Fyandi,is too long to cite in fll. Tt is vich in mgthie content and is probably the resue of the compilation of several clan histories and clichés. It els of how Chinyanca revealed the salt pans thtt belonged to ‘Mutanda to Mvatnt Yav and, in retaliation, Mutands jailed Chinyants, CChinyanta escaped, but was recaptured after his wife berayed him. Firally, “Mutanda tried to kil him. According to Ifolee Fyand CChinyanta was made to suffer in many ways, and they tied to drown hin but led; and then the wives were all reized. It was Madi (Queen) Kenda who showed them the way to killhim, for she was very afraid. She su. "Take a basket land putin ta perleand mortar, and put him in and te him up inside Andthey id this and threw him into the river called Mukulwen, or Ket ka Masonan ‘where he ded, And they caught his brother Kasomnbola and killed hin in the tame Giacomo Macola argues thatthe story in its most basic form isa plawible historical event, which occurred soon after 1700. The Portuguese pombrires ravelling merchants, Frequently slaves or of slave descent), Baptats, wh visited at Kazembe's court for two to four years between 1806 and Bie, recorded 4 similar story but without some of the more obvious mythic elements: ‘The pombeiros give no indiation that either Chinyants oF “Werner, ‘Some developments’ 1 Thermo oo i ao comman rong Sahil sn Nev speakers and wa wed thong the Zambes."The pababy represen “mtg, burt might Have bean migh spread by cal tht eromed te ean, There ae no ethnographic desripins ofthe lui tcc and while pepe teleted wo obligucy by ears twavler ir os deterbed capt. The ony Seap ‘ion of whut of which Lam avare ae Mssbucime,“Interiew with Ching Inland Elders, 14 May 1975 nd Inerview with Kaumfa China, ro Match 95 UNZA Special Colleton. The mbudye scion bess Getoed in Mary Naot Roberts, ‘Lube memor theater, n ober tnd Robert), Memory tgs. There fs no cvience of smiar material culture tie th aka bos, ib ae om, but reference by mbudye to ansaid oa raion an st fear Reach ‘raga othe eastern Lar uu sce “S'Mwata Keaembe XIV. toe Pond, 20 “ Giacoma Macols, The Kingdom of Kazemi: History end Plt in Nrth-Eatern Zambia and Katngo fo 1950 (Harbrg, 203), 40. Bap's version oly fetes te ‘rowning of Chinyuns by Mutanda and makes no mento of Kosembole, Burton, Lod of Cazembe, 31-2" Abo ate Verbeten and Ware, Le promis tent Vancin algo teats the droweing of Chingatn by Matande wo hora fc Vana, Kingdom ofthe Savanna (Mason, 1968, 16, The dating a the event ery tentative, Based on projected timeline belre teeta of Katee in Lust hich ‘is thought o have occured around #742: This date ited on tentmony ellie by naam oda, Sey aa UTC “Alles bj es abt por rls2 DAvtD sLGoRDow ‘Kasombola were venerated as spirits of the water, a8 they would come‘a be in later years. ‘The frst contemporary evidence that shrines to and veneration of the ‘Kazembe's ancestors were located on or near rivers in the Lvapula region is found in the journals of Gamitto, written in 1832 ‘They hold the Luslaba river in great veneration and respect it as a Mashamo- (gene) Tn former dye every yur the hereon veamon te Msn ene In Gem ‘Pomp with his Chios (error aristocrats) nd a age flowing of people ont Bilgsimage to-do the proper ceremonies in honor ofthe Ite Miwata Kanyenbo. Some years ag the reigning sovereign lft of going and inetend sends ome of his ‘fiers without any pomp or formality. ‘To thei atributed hardships of famine and small-pox which the people have suffered Gamitto refers to the veneration of ‘Mwata Kanyembo", ot Chinyants and Kasombols. However, the main contours of the story of the drowning of | ‘Kanyembo' by a ‘son’ of Mwaant Yauv as detailed by Gamitto indicate thet Kanyembo and Chinyanta probably were the same person. Gemitto’s ver- sion of the veneration of Kanyembo is still very site-specific and does not seem to have become 4 widespread practice in fact it seems to have Deen sisregarded by the then Muata Kazembe, There are already some indica- ‘ions that the story had been altered oF the sites of veneration changed for politieal convenience. Gamitto reports that Kanyembo's (or Chinyantas) veneration took plice atthe Lualaba River, instead of the Muktlwej River where Chinyanta was probably drowned. This is likely; by the 183or the Lualaba River wes the farthest border of Mvata Kazembe’s realm of nfl ence and it would thus be an appropriate place to venerate the founder othe Kazembe lineage. ‘There are no contemporary reports of the veneration of Chinyante and Kasombola che spirits ofthe water, until the end af the nineteenth century, some sixty years after Gamitto's visit. Livingstone, who traveled through Kazembe’s lands in 1868, repores that Kazembe venerated many "dead chiefs” Far more interesting and specific testimony, however, comes from the Plymouth Brethren missionary, Dan Crawford, who attempted to crost ‘the Luapula River at Kalumbu, close to Kazembe’s capital in 1893: ‘The Kalumbu Ferry is very old, the chet having 2 good satus in Lunda On srriving here, « polite message came fiom him stating that ar the body of CChinyanta, the second chef of the Kazembe dynasty es Dred in the river, wat ‘ot awful forme to epproach the water until had paid smal tribute to propiate ‘he spirits haunting the spot Crawford reused to pay tribute, since t went against his religious principles. Nevertheless, his account doce attest to the fact that by the end of the nineteenth century, Chinyanta, who had perhaps been drowned in the ‘Mukelweji River more than 200 mils o the west ofthe Luapula River, had Pinwoin 1799 which records the arrival ofthe Kasembe inthe Laspu Valle somes ‘earn eure, Baron, Lend of Coven 231-2 ‘S'Gamito, King Kazemi 127. Tid 128-9. Thi. ryt © Livingstone, Lat Jour 383 G.E Tiley, Don Crawford: Misonry and Pinerin Cental Africa (London, 929) 276 si Sree ses i rc Alle sje hinyelibovt surangasNISTORY O8 THE LUAPULA RETOLD 3 traveled with the Kazembes and became a significant if not the most significant spirit of the water. By then, Lunds sitlesholders had established shrines to Chinyanta and Kesombola nest to the non Perennial rivers and streams where they had settled, With the conquest and settlement of Lunda lords came spirits ofthe Lunds heroes, Chinyants and Kasombola, who were now tied to the waters of Luspul and rooted in the Luspula Valley az imipash ‘Wherever Lunda tilesholders moved, they established shrines to these spirit of the water. According to [ile Fyandi, written in the 1940s: ‘The pirt hus of hese two [Chinyanta and Kasomnbola are builtby the water and tha is where prayer is made t them. And Chinjuntaf mentioned in prac ¢ follows: “Chinyanta Kasongo mkishi wapa mema” [Chinyas the spirit of water, fort was in water that he died and where his grave is: In many Lunde centres ‘may be seen a pair of shrines by the water a+ memorials to Chinyant and Kesombola, where prayer i tid ro therm. And there are slogens by which they are remembered on the talking drum for, boginning with these chief all he ches have had drum slogans. When, for example, the Lunds re-built their capital at the present site of Mvansabombwe in 1899, they laid out two shrines to Chinganta and Kasombola on the banks of the Ngona River, The exact times when CChinyanta and Kasombola were venerated are unclear, but the style ems to have remsined relatively unchanged. Prayers, or more precisely praises, were recited and then offerings of white powder, millet beer and food thrown into the river. ‘The entire process was undertaken twice and at seperate places so ‘that both Chinyanta and Kasombola would be satisfied. A series of intambt rites emerged around the veneration of the ancestral heroes who were liled ‘As Crawford's description and Jfkatoe Fyandi makes clear, shrines to Chinyanta and Kasombola were found well beyond the Kazemibe's capital. Lunda ttlesholders, many of whom belonged to autochthonous clans and ineages, proclaimed their attachment to the Kazembe's oral tradition by erecting’ shrines to the two most important imipashi. For example. the Ichilslo titleholder of the Gost Clan, who was sent to take charge of the harbor on the Luapula River in the early nineteenth century, constructed ‘wo shrines to Chinyanta and Kasombola." About once every month, Ichilalo would make offerings of white clay and beer to the spirits of Chinyanta and Kasombole ‘These are ntambi (ites) for the Lunda chietsip, to remember the past and old chiefs and dead jihfce ya bakale ancestors of olden times]. We offer white tslupemba and praise the old people. We ell his pupa, remember the dead. we do it about once a month sometimes people bres bee, drink sme sn take i “ vata Karerbe XIV, [folie Ryan, 2, Signifcmly, the phrase hee used for irc kis which in saroanding languages ual fers to pire which wa nt ‘Thyme Beng, bat ether «mystery ike mga CF tt"The age of thee shrines is urknown My informant, te pene Chia uncle, who waste prior Chl spd ra orn oud iene ck ‘cour. Interview: Geka Mala Chores lange John, Chil Vlg 5 Jan-——~ sot Biscla, The Kingdom of Rasen 8 acka“ aviD aLoonpos {0 the ingada yo imipash house of spits] and we dance. We go tthe river othe {raves of e ancestore and throw whit ley om tem ™ Although Ichilalo and other itlesholders. described Chinyenta ard Kasomboia as imipash,ehete spirits did not belong to theie direct lineage or ancestry hey were, a they putt, file ya bake’ he ancestors of olden times. They were not linked to their particular lineage history, but were ancestors that belonged to the general history of the valley. By erecting shrines and describing them es their spirit, all th rivers hed become graves ofthese Lunda heroes ‘The Lunda's primary landscape of memory revalved around the acest shrines of cultural heroes such ax Chinyanta and Kasombola. Yet ances Spirits could also appropriate other natural phenomena, For example, the shrine to Chinawesi, another Lunda hero, appropriated a natural feature that _might have been at onetime considered an ingul, ‘The story of Chinawea ‘common cliché in Lubs-Lunda oral traditions and those of local clans ~ the ‘galous uncle or brother who slays his closest lineage successor. According to Ifkolwe Fyandi, Mwata Kazembe It Kanyembo Mpemba sent his younger brother ‘Chinawesi to fight the neighboring “Chishingn’ people of Nokaburuis and Katele~ but at the same time Mate Kazembe Il, who feared that Chinawezi had desigas on the kingdom, instructed his own troors to kill Chinawezi. After killing his, they buried his body under the Kapweshi stream, towards the plateau® Chinsweai’s spirit became oF t least controled the sharp southeasterly wind (atypical inguln) that blows from the platenu to the valley and endangers those out fishing on the river and lake. Whenever this wind blew incessantly, preventing fishing, Mowat, Kazembe had to send the Chinawes itlecholde to the shrine on the platens to placate Chinawezi's spire, This was done over several days; Chinawesi hha to match fortwo days tothe plateau with a procession of drummers and singers. Here he gave offerings and sacrificed chickens ata termite hill bythe stream reputed t0 be the resting place of Chinaweai. After the procession returned, the winds supposedly died down and peaceful weather retornee Unfortunately, unlike the case of Chinyanta and Karombola, we do not havt detailed evidence about the veneration of Chinaweti in the nineteenth cers tury. Still, given the age ofthe interviewees, the consistency ofthe story and the name for the wind (Cunnison recorded the same story and rites in the 9400), it seems likely tha the association of this ancestral hero with the wind «ame about inthe nineteenth century. Just as the rivers became the graves of Chinyarta and Kasombola, the wind was the incarnation of Chinawer! ‘The evicence that eastern Lunda took over alder shrines and allotted them to eastern Lunda cultural heroes is limited, There is only one clear este furside of the Luapula Valley proper=the Makumba. shrine of the Baushi~where Kazembe gave teibute t0 an autochthonous shrine Tt is 5 Interview: Gersham Mulanda Chama, Cio Vig, 15 Jn, 201 f Mista Kasembe XIV, Jeter Pond © Gunnison, The Lagpule People, réby 242, Ineriews: Naweti_ Mend Myarsatonbe, 25 July 2003: Dy Kabeys (Godin Mews, 30 De 2000 Sy "Philpes, ‘Makumbe-the Baushy tris) pod, Jour of the Rope! Arsivpolpcal Insitute of Greet Brian ond Pilon, (roy), Bose, epee 197, Aerie: Cheeni Mews, Chim Vile 39 Des ove sSeaye! whip boa jasisToRY ox THE LUAPULA RETOLD 3 clear, however, that by the early twentieth century many natural features, probably associated with snguly spirits, had been assigned to eastctn Lindl ancestors. When these ancestors became partof the land, they beearme known 1s ‘chiefs of spirits” (shemfum sha mipashi, or simply general mihi spirte that extended beyond any single lineage” This transition a process of rooting ancestors tothe land and liberating them frorm the “owmtesship" of any particular Tineage=was an essential part of constructing # universal history and a corporate identity that extended beyond the lineage, "THE MEMORABILIA OF CoNaUEST ‘The most sacred and revered item for the Kazembe Kingdom is a stone called Nokabutola. According to the present-day Keeper of Nakabutul, the ‘name simply rears ‘to bear children" and it does in some ays resemble fertility object. The shrine has to be kept clear of people who are considered ‘impure’; women who are menstruating or men who have recently had sek should not approach Nakaburula. While possibly atone time related directly to the fertility ofthe royal lineage or the fecundity ofthe kingdom, this no longer seems tobe the case. Instead, the stones ensure that intambi customs ‘ssocated with kingship are maintained, In times of trouble, especially with matters of intanbi customs, the king has to consult the stones, If they have disappeared, then somebody had disobeyed intambi. "The Keeper. of Nakabutula is then dismissed and the person who found the Nakabutala stones floating in the Ng‘ona River becomes the Keeper of the shrine The aristoerats, Keeper and royal family differ on thir deseription of Nakabutul some aay itis an umupashi, thers inpulu, and others neither = it simply is intambi itsll, or a form Of magic (ubwanga). The keeper of the shrine described Nakabutule as an ingulu that belonged to. Mata Kazembe; according to this description, Nekaburula combined the impersonal spirits of ‘ature with the personal and particular reign of the Kazembes and thei conquests in the Luspula Valley" Although I. found no one able to remember the origin of Nakabutula informants claimed that Kazembe brought the stones rom “Kola'~the stones share a name with an opponent co the eastern Lunda [Nakabutula was the sister of Katele, who was in turn a close relative ‘of Nkuba~all conquered by Mwats) Kazembe 1 Kanyembo Mpembe (Gceording to Macola, Mywata Kazerbe ITT LukwessIlunga), or petheps bY the betrayed Chinaweri." The stones could also refer tos more remote story, besides the above-mentioned account of Chinsana and Kasontole smi, Livingstone, in 85, decriber many“ Nato which Kase Bee the nanesof dnd hits Livingwone, Last Journal 383 8 leterves Shits (Simon Klumbs), a July aoa. ‘Shinya isthe le of the cil eponsble forte Narula shee Interview: Stings (Simon Kalua) 24 July 2002 % Macla “he Kingdom of Kazombe, 79-48. The paces of conquest end the r= ioshipa betwen Niubs: Katie and” Nakabutu are et cetr= for exempe with Nacht th sic besoine who ceded sight over the land snd her to Miwa Kssemte: Such confatons re comenn tnd the stores thr ccompany the ie.