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Lundas never depended on handouts but were the ones giving others-Chief Mwata Kazembe

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Chief Mwata Kazembe
Chief Mwata Kazembe

SENIOR Chief Mwata Kazembe of the Lunda people in Luapula Province has warned that he will not tolerate laziness among his subjects.

Speaking after conducting traditional rituals in Mpembwe area, Chief Mwata Kazembe said Lundas in the past were renowned to be hard working people who helped others and not it being the other way round.

“Here and other areas I will be checking on you from time-to-time, whoever will not be engaging in agricultural activities will not be in good terms with me.

“Lundas, even in the past, did not used to depend on handouts but were the ones giving others,” Chief Mwata Kazembe said.

The traditional ruler also urged his subjects to live in peace and harmony as well as take good care of themselves.

The traditional leader said he was at Mpembwe area to pay homage to ancestral spirits as a way of maintaining tradition, saying a tribe which did not uphold its cultural norms was as good as dead.

As Mwata Kazembe XIX (Mpemba Kaniembo Chanshi) was heading to Mpembwe, there was a convoy of cars and trucks down the highway to Kazembe while on the sides of the road line hundreds of people, all screaming, cheering and waving as the convoy passed.

In the afternoon, a mini Mutomboko called Mutentamo Ceremony at the Miyombo tree shrine where investures of non Lunda for gallantry, installation of a member of family or an important councilor to hereditary office are conducted.

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editorhttp://www.lusakatimes.com

73 COMMENTS

    • LT this paramount chief same level with chitimukulu, he is not a senior chief like nkomeshya

      Very good paramount chief kazembe!!! not like shamelss ARV mpezeni who is an everyday begger!!!!!

    • He is a Senior Chief and not Paramount Chief. His salary is that of a Senior Chief, Like Mwansakombe of the Ng’umbo, Mushota of the Chishinga etc. His tuma subchiefs are causing trouble in Chishinga land, like Chisha, Mutondolo and Muyembe. Why don’t they stick to the valley? Since when did they became chiefs of the Chishinga in the Plateau?

    • luapula is for lundas,,,,other smaller tribes like ungas,, i think ushi also…. luapula is not for bembas…

    • Lundas in Luapula? How can you claim to be something you don’t speak? The real Lundas are in North Western Province. Luapula Province is a Bemba province. Mwata Kazembe is a sub chief. He is not a paramount chief for he is not paramount to real Lunda chiefs Ishinde and Kanongesha in North Western Province

    • iwe … go back to your history… mwata kazembe and mwata yamvo are brothers who were sent to conquer and expend (among other reasons) the lunda kingdom from kola,,
      mwata yamvo settled in north west of zambia and mwata kazembe settle in luapula thats why you have umutomboko ceremony for the lunda of luapula,,,, NOT umutomboko for the bemba…
      Bembas are northern province paramount chief chitimukulu,,, and their ceremony is NOT umutomboko.
      But i understand you,, lunda in luapula and lunda in north western are different for obvious reasons different geographical locations… in north west that lunda has luvale, chokwe..etc effects… and lunda in luapula has bemba, unga, ushi,,effects,,,

  3. His Royal Highness Must be Addressed as KING MWATA KAZEMBE. Not chief Please. He reigns over THE LUBA LUNDA K I N G DOM of. Mwati Yamvu. Our is not a Chiefdom. Please please please

  4. Twatotela ba Mwata. Ebufumu ubu, not ukuyakutantika pa Rally kwati niba Mpezeni.

    Am Proud to be Lunda, and have a Senior Chief like yourself. Hope you have learned not to engage yourself in politics after the 2011 debacle.

  7. This Lunda thing need to be clarified. Does he cover NW province as well. There are Lundas (Kalunda) there too who speak a very different language and have their own chief/king whatever you may call him.

    • No he doesn’t. He only covers an area called Mwansabombwe. They speak Bemba. The real Lundas in North Western Province speak Lunda.

    • Mwata ba Muzungu wa Kajo: The Lundas in Luapula are different from those in North-Western for geographical and colonial reasons. In Luapula, the language is bemba-like because the tribes they found and conquered spoke different languages from those spoken by the tribes around North-West Lundas. The kingdoms were separated by the creation of countries by europeans

      The reality is that they are all Lundas (just look at the crowns that Mwata Kanongesha and Mwata Ishindi wears compared to that worn by Mwata Kazembe, identical). Their father was Mwata Yamvo of Congo who is the Paramount Chief (explaining why Kazembe, Ishindi and Kanongesha are not Paramount chiefs!)

  8. Lundas of northwestern prov, Luvales Chokwes and the lundas of luapula are all came from the musumba from mwata yamvu just ingonis came from south africa they are zulus. Find time to know a bit of your history folks.

    • If you go deeper into history even the ngoni are from the lundaluba kingdom. The Zulus also came from Congo before settling in kwazulu. That’s why their language is similar to Luapula languages.

    • Mr Bean, IsiZulu is and has never been similar to Luapula languages. The so called Luapula languages are variants of Bemba . And Bemba has no relationship with IsiZulu. In Zambia only Ngonis speak a dialect which has a degree of association with IsiZulu. Lozis also share or use a number of IsiZulu words or terms.

    • Aongola my brother just study isizulu and you will be amazed at at the similarities. Let me give you a few examples: PEULU meaning on top. Isizulu Pezulu: same meaning. Luapula languages say shinkwa for bread. The Zulus call it sinkwa. The zulus say intambo for rope. Bembas and luapulans say the same. The word ukuti means the same among luapulans and Zulus. There are many more examples

    • @Mr Bean, Indeed Lozi is more of Sotho. But Aongola is correct that Lozi’s also use Zulu terms and words.

      For example. Iwe or You in both Lozi and Zulu is Wena. School is Sikolo. To be ill or sick is Ku Kula/Khula! Other terms that are similar are words such as thug, to be alive , early morning etc. Note that Ngonis themselves don’t use these terms instead they use Nyanja or Chewa terms!

      With languages its better to argue with examples rather than just make uninformed generalisations!

    • @Professor yes thats what makes me curious the fact that Ngonis have a completely different word for one which luapulans and Zulus share. To get out in ngoni is to choka but in Zulu it’s to puma and fuma in Bemba. Come is iza in Zulu and bisa: isa in lala but in Ngoni its bwela. Amatanta is thighs in Zulu and luapulan languages. At times they even share names like Pule Kabaso although with a variation in spellings. I suspect radebe and Katebe were one in the distant past All this suggests a common origin

      1

    • @African languages Professor to be sick in Zulu is spelt Gula not Kula though its pronounced with a soft K.

      Can all of you chaps above write the following simple Zulu sentences in your mother tongues be it Lozi, Lunda or ngoni etc.

      1. Isinkwa siphelile (the bread is finished).
      2. Wenzani? (What are you doing?)
      3. Inyama imnandi (The meat is tasty)
      4.Kulungile (It’s okay)
      5. Kuyashisa kakhulu namhlanje (It’s very hot today)

    • In SiLozi :
      1. Isinkwa siphelile is Sinkwa sifelile.
      2. Wenzani is Wezang’i?
      3. Inyama imnandi is Nama imunati.
      4. Kulungile is Kulukile.
      5.Kuyashisa kakhulu namhlanje is Kwachisa ahulu kacenu.

    • More examples:

      1. House is Indlu in IsiZulu and Ndu in SiLozi
      2. School is Isikolo in IsiZulu and Sikolo in SiLozi
      3. Dog is Inja in IsiZulu and Nja in Lozi. ( Lozis don’t put an article i.e the ‘I’ in front of a noun).
      4. Start is Qala in IsiZulu and Kala in SiLozi. (Start the car, Qala Imota, Kala mota)
      5. To See is Bona in IsiZulu and Bona in Silozi.
      6. Dry is Komile in IsiZulu and Komile in Silozi.
      7. To do is Enza in IsiZulu and Eza in Silozi
      8. To wee (urinate) is Chama in IsiZulu and Shama or Luta in SiLozi.
      9. To be hot is Shisa in IsiZulu and Chisa in Silozi.
      10. A thug or violent criminal is Isikebenga in IsiZulu and sikebenga in SiLozi.

    • @Ndobo, how will we know that Lozi is ‘much closer’ unless we compare and contrast with Lunda aka Luapula languages and Ngoni?
      I am glad that Aongola has given us the Lozi translations. Is Aongola correct? It will be nice also if Mr Bean were to translate the same simple IsiZulu sentences into his Lunda or ‘Luapula languages’. And how about some help from our Ngoni brothers?

    • Goncalves unfortunately Im not from Luapula so I can’t go deeper into their languages. However for me the point I had was that we are all originating from a common grouping. That’s why I brought out the point that Zulus Bembas and Ngonis are also from Kola thus the similarity of their languages. My point was not to show which languages are closer to Zulu like some are now doing. But then the re s no harm in comparing the similarities

    • Cant Aongola be man enough to acknowledge that his misconceptions about Luapulans
      Bembas and Zulus not sharing languages have been corrected by Mr Bean?

  9. History is there but the unfortunate thing is that this well respected Musumba in history is not as we know it in Zambia.Ask anyone coming from the DRC they will tell you that Mwant Yav that people think stays at Musumba actually resides in Kinshansa and runs his own law firm. With time and space history and culture changes

  11. Ba chenda bwamba dont bring unnecessary conflicts between the lundas of north western and us from mwansabombwe. we respect our traditions. im speaking as a prince from Mwata Kazembe kingdom. indeed Kapale is a king of th luba lunda kingdom. We shall always believe in hardworking and self reliance. Take time to visit our villages. we have the cleanest villages in zambia.

  12. The two tribes origantes from the same place but their language came to differ because of where they have settled. The Lundas of luapula are pronounced Luunda and those of NW as Kalunda but there are both lundas.

  13. Lunda people

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Jump to: navigation, search

    The members of the Lunda delimitation commission; also Mme. Sarmento and Mrs. Grenfell
    The Lunda (Balunda, Luunda, Ruund) originated in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo along the Kalanyi River and formed the Kingdom of Lunda in the 17th century under their ruler, Mwata Yamvo or Mwaant Yav, with their capital at Musumba.[1] From there they spread widely through Katanga and into Eastern Angola, north-western Zambia (the Kanongesha-Lunda and the Ishindi-Lunda)[2] and the Luapula valley of Zambia (the Eastern Lunda or Kazembe-Lunda).

    The Lunda were allied to the Luba, and their migrations and conquests spawned a number of tribes such as the Lovale of the upper Zambezi…

    • Very wise Ndobo. Chendabwamba litole just like his name. Mwata Yamvwa who is at Musumba in what is now Congo DR is the father of the Lundas in the Luapula valley n the NW provinces of Zambia. And please my dear Zambians there is no tribe called “Bemba”, just like there is no tribe called “Nyanja”. Both are languages used by many different tribes in the Northern and luapula and Eastern and part of Muchinga provinces respectively. Th tribes in the Northern and Muchinga whom u call Bembas are the same Lubas who once lived in Congo (KOLA) as well n have historical connections with the Lundas while there. At one time a Luba Prince married a Lunda Princess n ruled over the Lunda Kingdom because the Princess was reighning after the death of her father. We r one. Let it be so. Kalombo Mwane.

    • The two Lunda Kings are not seniour chiefs by tradition or by inheritance because the Mwata Yamvwa (Lord of Death) who is their father is the paramount. They are titled seniour chiefs because the colonial masters decided like that. The two kings are above the title paramount chief. They do not even envy that title. Instead they only desire to be adressed as “MWATA” thats all. When u say “Mwata Kazembe” (kasembe) u have said it all because u have said “LORD OF THE AXE”. What more can u say? Indeed what more can I say? KALOMBO MWANE, MWATA KASEMBE!

    • Wizo you ve got things wrong. There is a Bemba tribe and they are easily established. Chitimukulu presides over the Bemba. Just go and read imilandu yaba bemba which chronicles bemba history. Nyanja on the other hand ia just a language spoken by various tribes like the chewa, ngoni, nsenga, kunda etc. Thats why there are no nyanja tribespeople

  15. Those who are doubting the connection between the Lundas of North Western Province and those of Luapula, should go to the Umutomboko ceremony and hear for themselves in which language the Mwata is praised before he embarks on the dance. They are the same Lundas of Angola,Zambia(Luapula & NW Provinces) and DRC (Katanga). Though in the DRC they often refer to them as Ruund(which I suppose should have been a corruption of Lunda by colonial explorers). And indeed the Luba- Lunda linkage is all there,check the some names of Lubas of DRC (popularly,though wrongly known as Ba Kasai) and compare with names you find in Luapula, Northern and North Western Provinces. You see some connections!

  16. There ar only 4 gazetted paramount chiefs in zambia namely Chitimukulu, Litunga, Undi & Mpezen. Unfortunately Mwata is nt one of them.

    • Taumfwa iwe cikala ayi? The Mwata does not need gazzetting to be what he has always been n that is- MWATA KASEMBE. He is already above the paramount title because he is “MWATA” which means “KING” or “LORD” if u like.

  17. Some bloggers above prove that A little knowledge is even more dangerous than ignorance. Chinyanja is a lingua Franca. meaning its spoken by people of different nations that is why there are no Nyanja people. Its like Swahili. Bemba is spoken by Bemba people (People of the lakes) who are headquartered in Kasama and whose chief or King is Chitimukulu. Many other languages are similar to it but these aren’t Bemba e.g. Lala, Lamba, Bisa, Aushi, N’gumbo, Kaonde etc.

  18. Mwata yavwa is the father to ishindi kazanda, kanongesha and kazembe. The 3 chiefs mentioned in zambia are brothers buit settled in different areas of zambia. They conquered luapula and kazembe decided to remain there. Ishindi and kanogesha soldiered on to conquer the kaondes and lozi in NW. Kanongesha remained in mwinilunga and Ishindi with his subjects fought on and settled in the now Zambezi, a town in NW surrounded by chavuma on the north and kabompo on the south. When the royal highness of England sent its people to explore Africa the did find chief ISHINDI well established in the now Zambezi district in 1879. Ishindi is the only chief in zambia who is annually invited to England to attend ceremony there to comemorate the discovery of Zambia, ask the state house. The invitation letter

    • When were “Lozis” conquered by Lundas in ‘North Western’? Besides Chavuma and Zambezi used to be part of Barotseland until 1946 when they were ceded to Northern Rhodesia. And in the 1911 border dispute when Portugal was claiming almost a half of what is today North Western province, the only parties to the dispute were the British, Portuguese and the Barotse. The dispute was mediated by King Emmanuel II. The borders were drawn where they are today. So big Panda , I do respect your tribe but please stop rewriting history.

  19. The invitation letter is always sent to state house and previously kaunda and chiluba during their reign did not forward the invite letter to chief ishindi till when mwanawasa become the president thats when chief ishindi made the maiden trip to England to attend the ceremony. Mwanawasa was surprised why his predessors were sitting on such historical event. Chief Ishindi is currently at UNZA doing his masters is public administration and plans to do PhD upon completion.
    Lundas- they are a tribe to reckon with, ask England and the Queen.

    • why would i ask the queen of england, when she does not stay with lunda people?? i will ask the luvales and lozis, and check if they agree with what you are saying

  22. Panda you are full of inferiority complex. You refer to white rulers as the royal highness and you call your royalty only by their names. You take pride in chief Ishindi being invited to some condescending ceremony by white people. What self degradation! When was Zambia ” discovered”? By whom? Its very stoopid to say a people were discovered. Unless you are reducing the “discovered” people to lesser beings than the so called discoverers. If people live in a place you dont know you can’t go there and claim you have discovered them unless you are stinkingly arrogant. Does Chief Oshindi want to go to this degrading ceremony or is it you his subject wanting to satisfy an enslaved ego?

  23. true hurts…
    Am kaonde just putting history in order. H. taller if it hurts you go kill yourself. aba ito/le.

  24. I just wish Lundas took a more pro active role in our nation’s affairs. And I mean Lundas from all the 3 dimensions mentioned. I’ve had a chance to mix & mingle with North West & Luapula Lundas both at close proximity. Personal friends. The fellas are for real. May be if they ditched the seemingly passive stance on national affairs, they would help to bridge this ever growing tension among Tongas, Bembas & Lozis. Everyone of these antagonist is comfortable & claims some form of relations with the Lundas. Listen to the royal salutation when Bembas next come on radio 1. They praise mwata Yamvo ku Lunda. Lozi is a fusion of Luyana(Lunda dialect) & Kololo(South African/Sotho group)
    At the end of the day – WE ARE ONE! Sound familiar? Yes. ONE ZAMBIA one Nation. When did things go wrong for…

    • Actually, the Lundas of Luapula are in effect Bemba. Except may be in historical perspectives. They can’t speak a word in Lunda except for their Mwane, the equivalent of Mukwai. It is only in times, moments, occasions like this that they want to distinguish themselves as Lunda. But Senior Chief, your people have always been traders and fishermen, farming has not been tradition to them. Now that fish is really “finished”, it is good for you to talk about farming as in crop production and animal rearing, goats I suppose.

  25. Ba Mwata … kalombo mwane, tuli kunkwile kwi Sano, mwane. I am proud to be a member of the Great Kingdom of Kesembe with royal blood. And Ba LT just for the record, we prefer to be called Luunda in Luapula not Lunda.

    Umu chinshi ku Chipuna, mwane.

  27. Pls note that there are no Kalundas in NW province BUT Lundas. Kalunda is one lunda speaking person.A Lunda(ba Lunda) is when they are more than one Lunda speaking person, The language is LUNDA and not Kalunda,kALUNDA IS ONE LUNDA SPEAKING PERSON.When you say one is SPeaking kalunda its like you are saying one is speaking “mubemba”IN STEAD OF CHIBEMBA OR JUST BEMBA.

  28. He is a Senior Chief and not Paramount Chief. His salary is that of a Senior Chief, Like Mwansakombe of the Ng’umbo, Mushota of the Chishinga etc. His tuma subchiefs are causing trouble in Chishinga land, like Chisha, Mutondolo and Muyembe. Why don’t they stick to the valley? Since when did they became chiefs of the Chishinga in the Plateau?

  29. Why is LT making me so happy today?
    First I got acquainted with a fine upstanding lady, Ms Mambilima, and now this chief!
    Godspeed to all good leaders in Zambia.

  30. I am also impressed by the knowledge exhibited by you guys re: Zambian history.

  31. Lundas are a big tribe and the are in more than five countries. I am in Namibia and I have heard some people speaking some kind of Lunda language.

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