Zambia - Atlas of our Changing Environment

Nc’wala Ceremony

The Nc’wala is a thanksgiving ceremony observed each February by the Ngoni people at Mutenguleni Village, in Chipata district, Eastern Province. The celebration, marked by tribal dances and feasting celebrates the first fresh produce of the year. The Paramount Chief of the Ngoni, Chief Mpezeni, is the first to taste the produce. Throughout the ceremony, Chief Mpezeni is dressed in leopard skin re-enacting an old tradition which has roots in early Zulu culture (ZTB, 2012).

A young dancer at the Nc’wala Ceremony Professional Media, 2012

Ngoni dancers during the Nc’wala Ceremony ZTB, 2009

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Chapter 1- Over view