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Home And Dry
by Chris Jayakaran
The
Kuomboka ceremony is one of the most colourful ceremonies I
have seen in my twenty-five year sojourn in Africa. Kuomboka
which literally means ‘getting out of water’ is an annual event that
takes place at the end of the rainy season in the Western Province.
This marks the transfer of the Lozi King, His Royal Highness Litunga
Lubosi Imwiko II, from his palace in the lush green Barotse plains
to his winter capital Limalunga, about 13 km west of Mongu, as the
water rises and inundates the plains. I was privileged to witness
this event.
Legend has it that during the time of the first chief Mboo
there was a great flood that covered everything in the plains, when
people were overwhelmed by the floods, farms inundated with water
and cattle died. God Nyambe ordered a great boat called
Nalikwanda (which means ‘for the people’ ) to be built, to
escape the deluge. The boat was built and people escaped filling it
with seeds and animals. There is no need to point to the parallelism
that can be drawn between this and Noah’s flood story. The present
event is a repeat or in memory of the above event.
 Setting
out at the crack of dawn, it was a gruelling seven hour drive from
Lusaka to Mongu, passing through the Kafue National Park, one of my
favourite game parks. I stopped by the Hook Bridge on the Kafue,
which was in spate and saw a couple of frolicking hippos and
numerous Lechwe on the banks. Speaking to the paramilitary men
guarding the bridge about the Kuomboka ceremony, I was told
that most tourists had already gone to Mongu the previous day, but
that if I were to hurry, I could still be in time for the King’s
arrival in Mongu. As I approached Mongu around midday I found that
the arrival of Royal Barge was still another three hours’ away. I
then decided to go to Lealui, in the Barotse plains from where the
King sets out. I went to the harbour in Mongu to explore this
possibility and saw banana boats with outboard motors overflowing
their sides with people. The overwhelming crowds and the information
that the Litunga had already left the island palace made me decide
against making that trip. Not taking this boat was a great decision,
as I later heard that one such boat capsized. There were also
speedboats taking the visitors for about $10 a person to the island,
which might have been a better alternative.
My
next stop was to be at the Limalunga harbour where the King would
arrive. After driving for about fifteen minutes I reached the
entrance and wandered around the small museum which houses
ceremonial paraphernalia associated with the King. I also saw the
traditional councillors called Indunas, wearing what looked
like Scottish kilts called Siziba, made out of Kitenge
material, and loose red berets, which were on sale. Tickets were
sold at the entrance to the area where visitors could await the
arrival of the Litunga, but I was prevented from taking my water
bottle in as I was told that these bottles could be used as
missiles! No amount of assurance that I would not do this, helped!
I
entered the Limalunga harbour and bought a souvenir for the Kuomboka
ceremony issued by the Barotse Royal Establishment. It carried a
welcome note from his Royal Highness, a brief summary about the
event and rules and regulations to be observed by the paddlers and
the general public. There is one rule which states that everybody
should kneel when the Litunga arrives. With due respect to the
tradition and traditional rulers of this country, and while this
could be demanded of the citizens of the Litunga, to expect the
general tourist to kneel is rather naïve considering that the whole
event is commercialised and fees are collected in an attempt to
market this ceremony a Zambian showpiece.
I
found a tent under which I took refuge from the beating rain. It was
quite a long wait and I remained standing. Those with foresight had
bought stools to sit on. The three hour long wait was well worth
it. I got a glimpse of the ceremonial procession led by the Royal
Barge, followed by small boats and dug-out canoes. First two pilot
boats arrived and the paddlers paddled in a frenzy for the audience
and returned to where the Royal Barge was . After three such
sorties, the Litunga’s Royal barge ,Nalikwanda painted in
black and white, arrived, gliding through the waters. There was
enough room in the barge for the sixty odd paddlers that I could
count, the chief and his attendants and musicians. There was the
figure of an elephant flapping its ears over a tent like structure,
where the King was. The paddlers were rowing on either side to the
rhythm of huge drums called Maoma. A smaller boat followed
this, for the Queen. The paddlers were dressed in skins of animals
and I wondered how many had been slaughtered for this regalia? I saw
a water soaked paddler climbing onto the shore and I was told that
he was probably thrown overboard for not paddling well enough. This
was a punishment that the erring paddlers met. A continuation of
this practice for the fun of it or as a disciplinary measure is
rather humiliating to the person, I thought.
Finally the boats docked in and the dignitaries and the crowd waited
in anticipation of the King stepping out the barge. At this point
the villagers overran the visitors’ enclosure and the crowd surged
to get a good view. It is believed by some that the exact moment the
King steps outside the barge cannot be seen because of his magical
powers! But I could see the King stepping out of the white tent-like
structure and then out of the barge. He was dressed, not in
traditional African regalia, but in Naval attire with plumes and
brocaded suit. I understand that this is the uniform of an Admiral
of Nineteenth century British Royal Navy, worn by the chief with the
permission of the Crown, which does not rule this part of the world
anymore! He was received by the Vice President who was also wearing
the Siziba and the King said a few lines about his arrival and that
was the end of ceremony.
 As
I headed back that evening, winding through the multitudes, I had
the satisfaction of seeing one the most colourful events in Zambia.
I thought of the colourful costumes of the King and Induanas. It
seemed rather anachronous to wear the fancy costumes of our colonial
masters rather than wearing traditionally African attire.
Tips for visitors:
Book
well ahead in the few hotels in Mongu. The other alternative is to
stay in Senenga or Kaoma and travel back and forth.
Take
adequate water and if need be some snacks since it is generally a
long wait for the barge to arrive.
Take
raincoats or umbrellas and mosquito repellents.
If
you are taking the banana boats or speed boats to the island, make
sure you have a life jacket or you are insured!
Tips for the organisers:
As
the number of visitors are increasing every year and it invariably
rains, make more tents available.
Though there were quite number of police and paramilitary the crowd
control was not effective enough, since the crowd was overwhelming.
Villagers were demanding money for the cars being parked near their
homes on the roadside. There is a need to monitor this and make
provision for parking vehicles.
Ticket denominations clearly displayed and sold and corresponding
enclosures obviously demarcated.
The
arrival time of the King is not exact. Visitors expecting the
Litunga’s arrival find themselves waiting for up to four to five
hours sometimes. Expecting the visitors not to take water bottles,
is not a practical decision.
Prohibit instead, the sale of beer and alcohol at or near the venue
to prevent possible hooliganism which invariably happens after
drinking. It may be wise to prevent the ones in an inebriated state
from entering the area at all. |
March
2006