Zambezi River Basin

Tonga The Tonga people reside along both sides of the Zambezi River in Zambia and Zimbabwe and were displaced in large numbers by the filling of the Kariba dam reservoir. They are the native inhabitants of what was the Gwembe valley of the middle Zambezi River. The Tonga had evolved an agricultural strategy that ensured food security throughout the year by using both seasonal rains and the flood patterns of the Zambezi River (Magadza 2006). With the construction of the Kariba dam in the 1950s, they were relocated to semi-arid lands with a high risk of crop failure. Carvings of wood or stone are a common form of art in the Zambezi basin. © P. Johnson, SARDC © Nambya Development Organisation Trust Nambya Cultural Festival.

Nyaminyami In Tonga culture, the Zambezi River god or snake spirit, known as Nyaminyami, is believed to protect the Tonga people and give them sustenance in difficult times. One of the most popular beliefs is that the Nyaminyami is associated with the rapids of the Zambezi (Magadza 2006). Nambya In the Hwange area of Zimbabwe and lands stretching to Namibia’s Caprivi Strip are the Nambya people. The Nambya were traditional hunters and trackers who tipped their arrows with poison from a traditional bulb called chenyami . Their flourishing cotton cultivation, textile industry, and iron foundries were disrupted by the slave trade, but they were active in buying back their people from slavers along the river. As their landholdings diminished during the colonial period, and they were pushed back towards the Zambezi River, they grew bulrush millet, sorghum and maize along the riverbanks (Martin 1997). A Nambya Cultural Festival is still held annually after the harvest to celebrate the richness of Nambya culture through music, song, dance, and traditional food displays (Nambya Development Organisation Trust 2011). The Lozi tradition of kuomboka Perhaps the most enduring and well-known tradition related to the Zambezi River and its floodplains is the kuomboka ceremony practiced annually by the Lozi people in western Zambia. Kuomboka is a Luyana word meaning “to get out of water”. It is applied today to a traditional ceremony, which attracts more interest than any other in Zambia as an annual celebration of local culture.

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