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Barotseland – the Lozi Kingdom – the Kuomboka
According to legends it was a queenmother and her daughter immigrating from the Lunda-empire in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) who in the mid 1600 century established the Lozi kingdom. The capital was established in Lelui. The tribes in the area were subdued and reigned first by the queenmother and then by her daughter. The daughter had a son who became the first Litunga, the Lozi name for their king. Due to the fertile floodplain and the good transportation options offered by the Zambezi River combined with a well-functioning system of administration the kingdom prospered. One of the first Litungas introduced a system of governance with a woman ruling the southern part of the kingdom. Her title was the Litunga La Mboela. This system exists even today. It was not because of modern times gender considerations that the system was introduced; rather it was assumed that a female ruler would be less rebellious against the Litunga and remain more loyal so that a civil war would become less likely. In addition the Litunga exercised his governance in co-operation with a council of ministers, the so called Indunas.
The kingdom grew from 1780 to 1830 during the wise rule of Litunga Mulambwa, the tenth Litunga. Among other things he forbid the Portugese and other slavetraders access to his kingdom. Peace was maintained and the labour force was cheap and abundant. An example of his ‘modern’ and - among his subjects - popular style of ruling was that a thief was supported materially in stead of being punished. The assumption was that a person would only steal if in need. Mulambwa also implemented a very open immigration policy and many skilled craftsmen settled in his kingdom.
Unfortunately his modern rule only lasted his lifetime. When Litunga Mulambwa died two of his sons started a devastating civil war in their quest to succeed him.
Shortly after the Kololos arrived from South Africa. The Kololos had fled from the Zulu king Shaka and the wars he had started. The Kololos travelled via todays Botswana before reaching Lozi-country in 1831.
The Lozi kingdom was weak and fragmented due to civil wars and the Kololos gradually took over until they achieved absolute control in 1845. The Kololo king Sebitwane brought peace to the country and introduced a series of reforms that made him very popular even among the Lozi people. Sebitwane awarded the Lozis important positions and married Lozi women. He also redistributed taxes to his subjects, free people as well as slaves. There was a peaceful co-existence between the Lozis and the Kololos for 20 years. At that time the kingdom covered the Western Province in Zambia as well as parts of modern days Angola, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
David Livingstone visited Sebitwane in 1851. Sebitwane died the same year when falling from one of David Livingstone’s horses. Sebitwane was succeeded by his son who introduced new laws that were discriminatory against the Lozis and almost reduced them to slaves. The Lozis rebelled and won back the throne in 1864. However the Lozi kingdom never fully regained its strenght because of continous infighting between the Indunas and the Litunga (in many ways similiar to the conflict between nobility and kings in Europe). In 1885 Litunga Lewanika killed a number of ministers - as well as their families - considered illoyal to the king. In the neighbouring countries Lewanika was considered a cruel ruler mainly because of raids by his army for cattle and women. The spoils of war was distributed to his own subjects which in turn made him a popular ruler among the Lozis themselves.
Lewanika had many contacts with missionaries and people from the British South Africa Company (BSAC), including Cecil Rhodes. In 1890 an agreement was signed between Lewanika and BSAC (the so called Lochner-Concession) which gave BSAC the right to carry out mineral extraction in Western Province. This agreement represented the start of the colonisation of the western part of Zambia. So Western Province became an English protectorate – the Barotseland Protectorate - under English protection. It was only in 1923 that BSAC handed over the control of the protectorate to the English authorities and North Rhodesia - as Zambia was called at that time - became an English colony.
Even today the Lozi kingdom remains rich in traditions as reflected in one of the most spectacular ceremonies in Zambia – the Kuomboka (meaning ‘to move to dry ground’). The Kuomboka usually takes place around March-April – towards the end of the rains – when the water level of the Zambezi river rises. The plains in western Zambia then become flood plains and the settlements become islands. People have to move to higher ground and so must the king. The king leaves his dry season residence at Lelui – 15 kilometres west of Mongu - and moves to higher grounds at Limulunga towards the east of the floodplain. The king is transported in a large wodden canoe called the ‘Nalikwanda’. The canoe or barge was built around 1900. The Nalikwanda is painted in white and black stripes and paddled by around 100 men in traditional dressing, including a scarlet beret with a piece of a lion’s mane. The royal barge is guided by white painted scouts finding the right channels through the floodplains. The royal barge is followed by the barge belonging to the Litungas wife ‘the moyo’. The journey takes a day and is accompanied by music from a local orchestra. Three drums play a vital role in the ceremony providing background continous drumming. The drums are named Kanaona, Munanga and Mundili. They are said to be more than 170 years old.
Although the exact timing of the festival is somewhat difficult to predict as it depends on the water level of the river as well as the lunar phases (normally the ceremony will take place just before the full moon) has become quite an attraction with many boats on the river accompanying the royal barge and many tourists on the shores of the river observing the proceedings. In some years however the festival can not take place (when the water level is too low).
When the king finally arrives at Limulunga the ceremony turns into an evening of feasting, celebrations and traditional dancing.
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