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Legends From
The Royal Graves Of Barotseland
By Yuyi Libakeni
In one of her
earliest papers Mutumba Mainga (Dr Mutumba Bull) observed that "a
close examination and study of the (Lozi) royal graves alone, for
example, would yield rich history data". More recently Clive Kawana
has taken this up in his article " The Royal Graves of Barotseland "
( Lowdown January 2003) on which I commented "painstakingly selected
will be the names of the village itself, headman and grave keeper.
In these three there is usually the description of the man and his
times” ( Lowdown, March, 2003).
Though without
appropriate training and resource, I thought I should make an
attempt even in a preliminary way to test this assertion. The result
is this series of articles, the first of which, Namanda, appears in
this Lowdown.
In the course
of preparing this article, I have come across two interesting
questions. History, one read, is something that never happened
written by someone who wasn't there. True, I was not there but is
what I'm writing about something that never happened? In the case of
the some of the Imwambo cited in this article there are
eyewitnesses. Historians, another said, are like deaf people going
about asking questions that nobody asked! I have found some truth in
this. All too often I have been reminded that the questions I was
asking have not been considered before, meaning it has not appeared
necessary to ask such details as, for example, why is this place
named so-and-so etc. But I found great willingness to brainstorm. It
seems received history didn’t cover such details.
It is custom
for a new Lozi chief to select his burial ground, known as sitino
or sikun'onda, as soon as he can do so. He will decide on who
will populate the village, the name for the village, names of the
grave keeper, n'omboti or nameto, and headman, who is
generally referred to as the deceased's ngambela because every
sitino is considered a royal capital. If however a chief dies
intestate, the Kuta will decide for him. Residents of sitinos are
normally commoner relatives, close associates or faithful servants
of the expired chief. They are never slaves, as some people say.
This misunderstanding might be due to the fact that the Lozi word
for slave is mutanga, which is the same word for
commoner or indeed a house servant. But the greatest problem has
been the disappearance of that age of men who were the custodians of
tribal histories.
The tragedy
with history is that it is written in arrears after the principal
dramatis personae are gone and eye witnesses have gone stale.
This is particularly so in Africa where written records are for the
most part non existent, especially for a subject so sensitive as
Lozi royal graves on which information is given only on the
need-to-know basis. To establish this need you have to break a
thick cordon of who-is-who before you can hope to see the outer
layer of secrecy removed. There are, thus, only a few who can
genuinely claim to have penetrated this barrier, and I'm not one of
them. I can however claim I have made efforts to talk to as many
people, young and old, as I was able to identify. Unfortunately
there appears to be signs that as hereditary custodians die, the
histories are not necessarily reposited in their
descendant-successors but seem to find new homes among the
descendants of former tributaries! This has its own problems for
sourcing materials, as these tributaries are not easily identified.
Prof Evans
Pritchard has reminded us "valid history ends a century ago and
tradition, generously measured, takes us back ten or twelve
generations in lineage structure". Unfortunately, for us even this
lineage structure is breaking down.
In spite of
whatever efforts I have made I must regret that for those who might
be looking for finality in this article will find none for the whole
article “is
but a draught - nay, but the draught of a draught. Oh, Time,
Strength, Cash and Patience”..
I
am most grateful to many Lozi men and women who have assisted me, in
particular for the guidance and support I received from the
following: Mr Mubiana Mubita, lately Induna Mukulwakashiko, Lialuyi,
acknowledged expert on traditional history; Induna Ikaambwa
Kalaluka, Headman, Sikuli village, Mwanamulena (Prince) Sakwiba
Mataa, formerly Induna Natamoyo, Mr M M Mututwa, former Ngambela
etc. My younger brothers, Sitwala and Liywa for their knowledge of
Lozi tradition and their encouragement.
Read
here about the first of the legends.
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October 2004