The book “Satisfying Zambian Hunger for Culture” by Prof Mwizenge S. Tembo is finally published.The 3 other contributors in the book are Ms. Ruth Mugala in Zambia, Ms. Claire Miti in the United Kingdom, and Mr. James Mwape in the United States. His Excellency the First President of Zambia, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, was gracious enough to give his blessings to the book by writing the foreword.
What is the book about? We Zambians are experiencing tremendous social change, cultural tensions, and sometimes confusion during the last 48 years since our political independence in 1964. Many people migrated into the cities and professionals immigrated and scattered abroad in a growing Diaspora.
Many non-Zambians have visited and have fallen in love with Zambia. Many Zambians have intermarried among the 72 tribes and have married partners from abroad from different races and ethnic groups. The diversity of the Zambian culture has created a cultural crisis, a void or vacuum, tension, ambivalence, and turmoil among most Zambians and especially their younger children. The disorientation and cultural confusion that started during British colonialism in the late 1890s has been worsened due to the demands of globalization and rapid social change.
What are Zambian culture and technology in our society of 13 million? How did we as a nation come to identify ourselves as Zambians from the 72 separate tribes?
The book has 17 Chapters which include how girls and women, boys and men were brought up in traditional Zambia and the influence of urbanization. How Zambians identify themselves and naming customs, parenting, kinship, nshima and other traditional foods and meals including various relishes, and eating customs. There are discussions of Zambian traditional dances, traditional medicine, causes of disease, illness and healing, the role of religion, Christianity, witchcraft and spirituality. How did multiparty democracy develop? Some traditional philosophical ideas are discussed in relation to contemporary life.
All of these and other topics are explored with discussions on how Zambians can lead better lives today using some of the traditional culture and technology and combining them with what is positive from modern influences. There are some very clear recommendations on how we can strengthen our lives today. These are the issues that the author and the contributors hope Zambians and others will adopt in their lives.
The book: “Satisfying Zambian Hunger for Culture” is not intended to simply sit on the shelf after reading it but to be both educational and provide broad everyday guidelines to all readers in improving the lives of adults, children, and families of Zambians and all the people who have a deep interest in Zambian culture and life. The book is meant to encourage Zambians inside and outside the country to hold family and community contemplative conversations about Zambian culture and technology.
For example raising Zambians from girls to women might involve the ChiNamwali or Chisungu puberty rite of passage ceremony. The raising of boys to men which might include the Zambian mukanda rite of passage ritual of puberty for boys in rural, urban areas in Zambia as well as among Zambian communities in the diaspora. Many older Zambian men might be asked to get involved and volunteer to be bashibukombe or mentors for boys in men’s groups all over Zambia and abroad. The book also encourages Zambians to get involved in traditional dances and to try eating some of the neglected but quiet delicious and nutritious traditional Zambian relishes with nshima. There are many other recommendations that will interest most Zambians and millions of other people that might have an interest in Zambian culture. You can buy this historic book now or ask your nearest bookstore to order it from.
sounds good
Encourage your family, friends, and other people to read the book. This is how we can preserve our own culture. For along time we did not do this i.e writing books. Our friends the British, Chinese, Arabs they have libraries full describing their culture. We Zambians have nothing. This book is a good start. Once you read a chapter begin discussing the topic on the internet.
How much is the the cost of the book?
Mwizenge S. Tembo, Satisfying Zambian Hunger for Culture: Social Change in the Global World, Bloomington, IN: Xlibris Corporation, 2012, pp. 385, $19.99. K102,000.00, Soft Cover, $29.99 K153,000.00 Hard Cover
Sorry that the book is very expensive.
The book is very expensive. But if you get a group of people to buy one copy for, that would be a temporary solution. Fight to get a copy.
i think we are about 73 languages in zambia,so putting your dialect in the book which everyone is going to read is so un acceptable coz some of us we dont knw your dialect.write the whole book in english ba suntwe nyebo.very useless,do u expect your dialect to be understood by everyone??poor marketing.il never read it
The authors of the book couldnot have written one book using 73 languages. We used English and then used many words from some of the Zambian languages. But we could not include all languages. What you can encourage is for Zambians to begin writing books in our own languages. Don’t just complain. Do something.
Thats good. Its not easy to research and write a book. many people hav interest in same things and others are just there to criticise.
Ba Mwizenge Tembo, leave it for us to read and you will see how good we are at analyzing. Your second edition or next book will be even better.
I was at Amazon, I can’t find it. I think that’s the best place to sell/Buy.
This book has been a long time coming. Zambia needs books like this. Go to a traditional ceremony today,there will be nothing to write home about. All you will get is flu due to dust and nothing really to be proud of. Something has seriously gone wrong. We see nyaus putting on a Ronaldo jersey or a Tupac T-shirt with a few shredded Maize meal bags for costume.This shows that we lost it somewhere.Zambian culture is in disarray.We hope many proud Zambians will wake up to this reality through this book. Its definitely for intellectuals and all stakkeholders in the preservation of our culture.
Professor, you are doing a wonderful work by writing on the Zambian culture. every long journey starts with a step. I happen to have read your novel The Bridge and gave an armature literature review. I have since studied Literature at an undergraduate level and now feel better placed to write a critical literature review. Because I made many people read your work, I was unfortunate to have lost the gift you gave me. If possible, am asking if you can email me a soft copy of the same novel so much that I do as the critique at least in August as I have exams up to July end.
I will be grateful prof if my plea can be honored.
Kabinda lengani.
when was it published nd who is the publisher?