Bemba (ethnicity)
Bemba , also BaBemba , is one of the largest and dominant ethnic groups in Zambia in its north , east and north-west provinces . The Bemba trace their origins back to the historical kingdoms of the Luba and Lunda in the upper Congo Basin, the Katanga region . The history of the Bemba is a historical uniqueness in the development of chief rule in the vast and culturally homogeneous region of Central Africa.
Details
“Bemba” are all those Bantu who consider themselves subject to the chief, Chitimukulu . They lived in villages of 100 to 200 people and in 1963 numbered a total of 250,000. There are over 30 Bemba clans named after animals or plants such as Bena Ng'andu (crocodile clan) or Bena Nona (mushroom clan). Under their chief Chitapankwa at the beginning of the 19th century they set a border for the march of the Nguni and the Sotho to the north
In today's Zambia, the word Bemba has multiple meanings. It denotes those whose origins are the Bemba people, regardless of their place of residence, but also the much more numerous group comprising around 18 ethnic subgroups, and the ethnolinguistic cluster of matrilineal - matrifocal farmers known as the Bemba-speaking people in Zambia .
The Bemba language is closely related to the Bantu languages Kaonde and Luba , Senga and Tonga , Nyanja / Chichewa . In Zambia, CiBemba is mainly spoken in the Copperbelt and in the provinces of North and Luapula . The radio broadcasts on Bemba most of the time.
Legend of origin
In a country called Luba or Kola lived a king called Mukulumpe. He had several sons from different women. One day he heard from a woman with ears the size of an elephant and said of herself that she came from heaven and was part of the crocodile clan. Her name was Mumbi Mukasa and the chief married her. She gave birth to three sons, Katongo, Chiti and Nkole, and a daughter, Chilufya Mulenga. The three impetuous young men built a tower, which however collapsed and buried many people under it, so that they died. Mukulumpe got angry. He tore Katongo's eyes out and banished Chiti and Nkole. Mukulumpe soon pretended to regret this and called his sons back from exile. In fact, he built a pitfall on their way in which he intended to kill all three. But Katongo, though now blind, warned his brothers by beating his drum. When the three arrived at the palace alive, the king humiliated them by letting them do work for servants. Chiti and Nkole left the kingdom, but took their three maternal half-brothers Kapasa, Chimba and Kazembe with them and some entourage.
They fled eastwards until they came to the middle reaches of the Luapula River . Chief Matanda from Bena Mukulo shipped them over. In their hurry, they left their blind brother Katongo and sister Chilufya Mulenga, who was watching over the Mukulump in a house without doors. They sent their brother Kapasa to free Chilufya Mulenga, which he did imaginatively. But on the way to Luapula, Kapasa fell in love with Chilufya. When it was discovered that she had become pregnant, Kapasa was denied by Chiti. The group had meanwhile met a “white magician”, Luchele Nganga. When they reached the Luapula, Kazembe decided to settle there, but Nkole and Chiti were unsure. When Luchele Nganga conjured a fish out of a mortar, they took it as an omen to move further east to the plateau of the Chambeshi River , which lay near Lake Bangweul .
They crossed the Sawa Rapids and the Luchindashi River, where two women quarreled and part of the group stood apart, forming the Bena Nona (mushroom clan) and the royal clan of the Bisa.
The others turned south, where they met the Lala asking for a chief. They gave them a man named Kankomba. Then they turned east to the Luangwa Valley . With the Senga they met Chief Mwase. His wife Chilimbulu was very beautiful and her belly was decorated with elegant scars. Chiti fell in love with Chilimbulu and seduced her while her husband was out hunting. When he returned, he found both of them making love and the two chiefs were fighting with each other. Chiti was scratched by a poison arrow, from which he died.
Nkole and his entourage took Chiti's body with them and looked for a suitable grave for him. They met the magician Luchele Nganga again, who led them to a majestic tomb called Mwalule or Milemba. In Mwalule they came across a woman named Chimbala and a guest, the Bisa chief Kabotwe, who wanted to trade with Chimbala and pay homage to her.
After Chimbala gave them permission to bury Chiti, they arranged for Chimbala to marry Kabotwe after assuring Chimbala's ritual ability to purify those who buried Chiti. Kabotwe became the guardian of the tomb and was given the title of Shimwalule, which his matrilineal treaties inherited. Nkole had sent a group to steal cattle from Viphya chief Pilua to get an ox skin for Chiti. He then dispatched a group to avenge Chiti's death by killing Mwasa and Chilibulu. Their bodies were cremated in Mwalule, but the smoke settled on Nkole, so that he died and was also buried in Mwalule.
The Kola took over the matrilineal line of succession and Chiti and Nkole were inherited by their sister Chilufya Mulenge's son. He was also called Chilufya and was too young to rule as a chief. So Chiti's half-brother, Chimba, became regent. The Kola left Mulambalala, where they lived near Mwalule, and crossed the Chambeshi northwards. They brought shame to Kapasa, settled his property in Bulombwa, from where they drove away the Iwa chief Kafwimbi and his cattle.
The others hiked further west up the Kalongwa River, where two men, Kawba and Chikunga, found a dead crocodile. Since they were the chiefs of the crocodile clan, they took this as a good sign. Here the Kola established their capital Ngwena (crocodile) on the Kalungu River and settled in the surrounding country. The groups that lived in this area were called Sukuma, Musukwa, Kalelelya, and Ngalagansa. She was expelled and killed by the Kola who were now called Bemba.
When King Chilufya grew up, Chimba presented him with the royal bows that had belonged to his uncles Nkole and Chiti. Chilufya received the honorary name ca mata yabili (from the two arcs). But Chilufya insisted that Chimba keep the Arch of Nkole and allowed him to found his own village at Chatindubwi, a few kilometers north of the Kalungu River.
After that, the Bemba became many. New villages were established and found their chiefs who followed Chilufya. All these chief chiefs bore the name of the founder, Chiti Mukulu (Chiti, the great).
(Source: A History Of The Bemba by Andrew D. Roberts, chapter The Origins Of Bemba Chieftainship )
The Bemba today
Many Bemba are active politicians. They played an important role in striving for independence. Their Cibemba language has become the most widely spoken language in Zambia, even if it is not the dominant language everywhere.
literature
- Audrey Richards : Land, Labor, and Diet Among the Bemba
- Andrew D. Roberts : A History Of the Bemba
- Thomas Q. Reefe: The Rainbow And The Kings - A history of the Luba Empire to 1891.