Banji ni lumbu, kuilu ni ku mundi (This world is a cattle camp, the homestead is in heaven.)
This old Lozi proverb emphasises the transience of life and demonstrates that is a universal theme. The ephemeral nature of human life on Earth with our short entry into and exit from this world is a matter all cultures seem to try to come to terms with.
A cattle camp is a group of temporary wooden and grass shelters built on seasonal pastures. The herdsmen live there while they are looking after the cattle. The closest Scottish rural equivalent from yesteryear would be the ‘bothy’. At the moment there are many of these camps at the riverside around Mwandi as the cattle graze on the islands and floodplains. With the onset of the rains these ‘bothies’ will shortly be abandoned and the herds and herdmen will return to the village or homestead -the permanent settlement. It is this transhumance that is being compared to dying person leaving this world for an eternity in heaven.
On Wednesday evening we received news that Rev Manyando’s father had passed away in Mongu. Rev Manyando is one of our Livingstone Ministers. His father, Mr Green Sitali Manyando, was a former teacher, a former Council Chairman for the District and Village Headman. He was 80 years of age and had been ill for the last 8 months. So on Thursday lunch-time we set off for the Manyando homestead in rural Bulozi, at Litoya, about half-way between Mongu and Senanga. Rev Manda, Getrude Kambole, the Consistory Secretary, Ida, Keith and Mubita were the Mwandi Representatives. We picked up Rev and Mrs Nyambe in Sesheke and drove up the back road, reaching the pontoon in good time and then visiting the manse in Senanga. We finally arrived at Litoya at around 2200h.
We were welcomed into a dim and crowded lapa. (courtyard surrounded by reeds). As is the Zambian custom, a substantial marquee, made from a large tarpaulin, had been erected in the yard, and in front of it, the usual three-logged campfire was burning. The sofas and armchairs and any other extra seats from the home or borrowed from neighbours were placed outside for the use of visitors, mourners and those coming to pay condolences.
The lapa, at this time, is traditionally split into male and female areas. The men generally sit on the seats under the tent and the ladies in chitenges, legs straight and out-stretched on reed floor-mats. On arrival at the mourning-house (Zambian-English: the dead person’s home) you are expected to shake hands with all present, then enter the main house where the widow and her entourage of female relatives and neighbours are again sitting on mats. There you shake hands and express your sorrow and this is the time for tears. If the bereaved are Christian, you may be asked to offer a prayer of consolation here. You then return outside and sit with the other visitors who have also come to express solidarity with the family in their time of grief. You may now chat and discuss lighter matters with the people around you.
We were offered some of those ubiquitous white plastic garden chairs in front of the main house and a wooden coffee table was placed in our midst. A daughter of the house brought water, soap and a towel to wash our hands before eating. Then we were offered chunks of stewed beef and liver cooked in gravy and buhobe ( thick mealie-meal porridge). Eaten with your fingers, this was most welcome after our day’s journey. Cool drinking water is always served after eating. It is a breach of etiquette to drink with your meal as Europeans would tend to do.
It was exceptionally atmospheric after eating to sit and look up at a clear night sky with its tiny electric blue spangles of glittering stars in their constellations, smell the whiffs of woodsmoke and listen to singing of hymns and choruses accompanied too by the rhythmic cadences of the drumming of youngsters from the Church choir.
Most people wrapped themselves in blankets or chitenges and settled down to sleep after midnight, others kept watch and dozed on and off throughout the night. The night-time temperature at this time of year does not fall below the mid-20s Centigrade. We three were very kindly given the privacy of an igloo-tent pitched in the lapa; inside too was the luxury of a mattress. Our middle-aged bones are no longer as good as they once were for sleeping directly on the ground! Incidentally we used our bath-towels as bedding and were perfectly comfortable.
By 0530h next morning most people were up and about. And the choir had started to sing again. Hot water was being prepared and lugged to the ablutions for visitors to wash themselves. Again kind neighbours put their toilets and bathrooms at the disposal of visitors at the mourning-house. We bathed en famille at the neighbour’s bathing area, a reed-screened rectangle with a plank to keep your feet off the sand and an old maize sack served as the bathmat. Buckets of hot and cold water, an empty basin and jug were available to make a simple shower.
After washing and dressing, a breakfast of bread, marge and cocoa was served in the main house. In the corner stood a magnificent polished wood coffin with two pictures of Mr Manyando, one as a young man and the other just before he died. After breakfast we were presented with a printed burial programme, as other members of the family and dignitories kept arriving. There were representatives from the Government including the Lady Mayor of Mongu and the Barotse Royal Establishment. During this time the choir and the congregation gathered in the lapa and sang hymns and choruses.
The main Church Service started at 0930h after the arrival of the Presbytery Bishop, Rev Sipalo from Mongu. The Funeral Service followed the Lozi Liturgy with Hymns, Scripture Readings, a short Sermon, Prayers and a Blessing. I was asked to read Job 1:17-22 and Philippians 4:12-13 in Silozi. This is what brought me to ruminate about the transient nature of life and think about the Lozi perspective on this.
At the end of the service is the body-viewing. This is when all present take leave and say farewell to the deceased. It is the Lozi custom that one should be self-controlled in the Church during the funeral service with no noisy outbursts of emotion but it is permitted to grieve freely at the body-viewing. If you cannot contain yourself in Church, you go outside till you have composed yourself then return. Once everyone had filed passed the body the coffin was closed and the bearers carried it to the burial site. Normally this would be the local cemetery.
However, as the founder of the village Mr Manyando was buried next to the special tree in the middle of his village. The Headman’s house is usually about a dozen paces to the east of that tree. This tree symbolizes the existence of that particular village and its people. The area “under the tree” as it is called, serves as a meeting place to resolve disputes. Traditionally too the tree serves as the village shrine and the founder is buried in an unmarked grave at its foot. The dead body next to the living tree is a symbol of the continuing interaction between life and death and the area where the living commune with ancestral spirits when necessary. The village headman is the go-between. It was interesting to witness, to our eyes, this example of animism and syncretism.
Talking about graves I recently learned a new idiom. When Mr Kapui from Kandiana died a few months ago, I asked Julius if he could arrange for some young men ‘kuyepa libita’ literally ‘to dig the grave’. Now to the Lozi ear that sounds incredibly direct, harsh and callous, they use the euphemism ‘kulukisa ndu ya mutu’ literally ‘to prepare the person’s house’.
The congregation gathered round the grave and again the choir sang. The coffin was lowered into the grave and some sticks as tradition dictates were thrown in as well. Mourners may also come at this stage with a handful of earth and throw it in the grave.
If you are unable to go to the grave a young man will circulate with a shovelful of earth that you may touch instead. The young males of the family continue to shovel in the earth, often spelling each other and taking turns on the shovels, until there is a rather untidy heap on top. However, the four corners of the grave are marked with sticks.
The female relatives then come out and ‘pat the grave’. They use their hands to make a truncated rectangular pyramid. When that is done people present at the graveside; family, colleagues and visiting dignitories are called out in order of precedence to place flowers on the grave. These are provided by the family. You take the flower, go to the grave, kneel, stick in the flower and then say a prayer of thanksgiving. There appears little concern here regarding “Prayers for the Dead” that seemed to exercise many of the reformed persuasion in the past!
Then came the eulogies. There were speeches from the Local Authority and the Barotse Royal Establishment then a male family member gave a short biographical life-history of Mr Manyando and thanked all who attended for their care and support. The Minister closed the proceedings with The Grace and Benediction. Visitors then proceeded back to the home to say farewell to the family and set off on their way home.
Visiting a Lozi cemetery comes as a bit of a shock to Europeans who are used to carefully manicured and tended graves with lawns, flowers, shrubs and individual stone gravestones. These you will find in the urban areas of Zambia but not in the rural areas. Mwandi is a typical rural example. Wild, natural and unkempt rural cemeteries tend to be found to the west of the village roughly a mile away from the village centre. Traditionally the bush starts here and the graveyard is found right on the border between the village and the bush and so those who die are buried near to their living relatives. That is why so many bodies are brought home to Mwandi at great expense from all over Zambia to be buried here.
A Lozi village is a shelter for both the living and the dead and animistic belief says they should be able to communicate with each other. The graves are a clear demarcation of where the village begins and where it ends. To some extent you could say the living are placed between the dead at the shrine and the dead at the cemetery. The fact that you have the dead so close to the living perhaps makes death something less to be feared by the living and more recognizably a process on the journey to heaven as the Lozi have traditionally seen life as a metaphorical journey to a heavenly paradise called Litooma .
Monday, 31 October 2011
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
TEEZ
Last week we had a visit from a team from TEEZ (Theological Education by Extention in Zambia) who ran a three-day Tutor Course for 18 Church members from Mwandi Consistory, at the Church. This had been arranged by our Minister, Rev Wezi Manda.
TEEZ is an ecumenical project which came into existence in 1979 based at the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation Campus. Its main function is to equip Church members in socially relevant and biblically–based coursework to better serve the Church. “To prepare all God’s people for the work of Christian service….” Ephesians 4:12
Participating Churches are: African Methodist Episcopal Church, Anglican Church, Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, Community of Christ, Lutheran Evangelical Church, Reformed Church in Zambia, UCZ, Uniting Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa and United Methodist CChurch
Since it started, over 12 000 people have successfully completed courses and over 5000 tutors have been trained. The TEEZ courses are taught in a group by local tutors and this involves individual home-study, weekly group learning discussions and practical work.
The courses are available to anyone who needs them and subsidized so that they can be afforded by most people. Prisoners and rural women are provided with free courses as well.
TEEZ offers Basic Certificates in Church Ministry in the areas of Preaching, Counselling, Teaching, Worship and Leading Church Meetings in six different languages. For those with a stronger background in Bible and with Basic Certificates Advanced Certificates in Church Ministry are offered. Each course has 24 weekly lessons and covers the areas of the Gospels & Acts, Old Testament, the Epistles of Paul, Biblical Doctrine, Psalms and Bible Study and Church Administration.
A good time of learning and fellowship was enjoyed by those taking part in this useful and challenging course. It was well organised by capable and committed staff who willingly bring these courses to the rural areas as well. TEEZ is a Zambian organization belonging to Zambian Churches and is doing a commendable job. It is worthy of material and prayer support in order to help it carry out and expand its ministry.
The three members of staff, Rev Kangwa Mabuluki, Rev Banda and Rev Rebecca Jones who came are testimony again to how interconnected the Christian family is. The Director of TEEZ is Rev Kangwa Mabuluki. His son, Kapamba, was a student of ours and a classmate of our children at Chengelo. He is also a friend of Rev Alex Slorach, another family friend and former Zambian Missionary. Rev Rebecca Jones is from PC(USA) and is on a year’s secondment with TEEZ. There is a Mwandi posting on her blog at http://www.mapc.com/outreach/blogs/a-year-in-zambia/
TEEZ is an ecumenical project which came into existence in 1979 based at the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation Campus. Its main function is to equip Church members in socially relevant and biblically–based coursework to better serve the Church. “To prepare all God’s people for the work of Christian service….” Ephesians 4:12
Participating Churches are: African Methodist Episcopal Church, Anglican Church, Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, Community of Christ, Lutheran Evangelical Church, Reformed Church in Zambia, UCZ, Uniting Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa and United Methodist CChurch
Since it started, over 12 000 people have successfully completed courses and over 5000 tutors have been trained. The TEEZ courses are taught in a group by local tutors and this involves individual home-study, weekly group learning discussions and practical work.
The courses are available to anyone who needs them and subsidized so that they can be afforded by most people. Prisoners and rural women are provided with free courses as well.
TEEZ offers Basic Certificates in Church Ministry in the areas of Preaching, Counselling, Teaching, Worship and Leading Church Meetings in six different languages. For those with a stronger background in Bible and with Basic Certificates Advanced Certificates in Church Ministry are offered. Each course has 24 weekly lessons and covers the areas of the Gospels & Acts, Old Testament, the Epistles of Paul, Biblical Doctrine, Psalms and Bible Study and Church Administration.
A good time of learning and fellowship was enjoyed by those taking part in this useful and challenging course. It was well organised by capable and committed staff who willingly bring these courses to the rural areas as well. TEEZ is a Zambian organization belonging to Zambian Churches and is doing a commendable job. It is worthy of material and prayer support in order to help it carry out and expand its ministry.
The three members of staff, Rev Kangwa Mabuluki, Rev Banda and Rev Rebecca Jones who came are testimony again to how interconnected the Christian family is. The Director of TEEZ is Rev Kangwa Mabuluki. His son, Kapamba, was a student of ours and a classmate of our children at Chengelo. He is also a friend of Rev Alex Slorach, another family friend and former Zambian Missionary. Rev Rebecca Jones is from PC(USA) and is on a year’s secondment with TEEZ. There is a Mwandi posting on her blog at http://www.mapc.com/outreach/blogs/a-year-in-zambia/
 |
| The Mwandi tutor group (photo by Rebecca Jones) |
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Elections 2011
We are delighted that the will of the electorate was eventually permitted to prevail and Zambia has continued in her democratic tradition of a peaceful handover of power from the ruling party to the opposition. It is good that political leaders were able to put the national interest before party advantage. "Now the Lord is Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is present, there is freedom." (2 Cor 3:17) - an appropriate verse for Zambia at this time we think. This blog is compiled from notes made over election day and the count afterwards.
Election Day dawned on Tuesday 20 September and there were three long and orderly queues at Mwandi. Pastor Percy and the Reverend Mwanda were there as Church Monitors for the Mwandi Constituency. The
Returning Officer for our Constituency is another old friend, the former and now-retired District Director of Health, another Church Member and Anamoyo. Before 0700h we were visited by a brother from the Mens Christisan Fellowship (MCF) who had been queuing since 0430h with many others to vote as soon as the polls opened at 0600h. He showed us the indelible purple ink on his thumbnail. He reckoned that if voting continued like it was doing then most of Mwandi would have voted by lunch-time. There were no results that night but Electoral Commission promised the final results in 48 hours from the close of polls.
Next morning on 21st we hear that Sata is doing well in Northern, Luapula, Copperbelt and Lusaka. This is by Parallel Tabulation of Votes (PTV - counting of votes by observers before official declaration, used as a check) not official results. One of the strengths of the Zambian system is that the votes are counted locally with locals verifying the count at each polling place and the results posted outside for all to see. These results are then texted to all the Parties’ Constituency and National HQs. The Zambian National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC - state broadcaster and mouthpiece of the governing party) is playing solemn music and vainly advising people to listen to it and not to social networks or the private media as only the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) can officially declare results. Zambian Watchdog, Lusaka Times, Tumfweko and the Zambian Economist are the best sites for us living in the bush with dongles. They cover a wide spectrum of political opinion. Bantu Watch is being jammed at the moment as is the Post. Muvi TV and QFM Radio in Lusaka and the towns are apparently doing a commendable job in keeping the nation informed on what is actually going on.
The Patriotic Front (PF) are likely to pick up Mongu Central in Western. With us, United Party for National Development (UPND) (Hakainde Hichilem) won Mulobezi and Sesheke. It is suggested Banda will hold on
in Central and North West Province but with a reduced majority. There may be a few PF gains in Eastern but (the ruling) Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) should hold on there too. It is still too close to call.
There have still been no results from the Electoral Commission so it is suspected that there may be some rigging going on. There has been some rioting in Solwezi, Kanyama and John Laing in Lusaka. The rest of the country seems quiet. There have been a number of electoral malpractices exposed so that is good. At Lusaka Civic Centre there were reports of electoral officers altering results. Zambian Watchdog is the best site. Bantu Watch is being jammed at the moment as was the Post yesterday. The ECZ finally announces that the results for president in 33 seats out of 150 which gives Sata 140 000 lead over Banda.
After this the ECZ website is hacked into, PTV Presidential results for over 100 seats were posted. This was closed down and so the ECZ website became inaccessible.
On Thursday at 1800h after 116/150 constituencies have been verified the Electoral Commission announced Michael Sata had 44.4%, Rupiah Banda MMD 36.1% Hakainde Hichilema UNPD 15.5% Of the 34 left 19 were being 'verified' at HQ and the other 16 results were being awaited. As usual Godfrey Miyanda, Edith Nawakwi & Kenneth Kaunda's son are also-rans.
Last night the MMD went to court and got an injunction to prevent the private media from publishing results until they are announced by the ECZ.
There has been unrest today (Thursday) in the Copperbelt (mainly Kitwe & Ndola) Kasama and Nakonde and some compounds in Lusaka but things have quietened down again this evening. The main fear from the opposition is that there will be rigging to ensure the MMD stays in office. The MMD are refusing to concede till the fat lady sings. There are also complaints that the ECZ is being too slow and allowing the ruling party to massage and manipulate the results. On the whole the elections have been free but not really fair as the ruling party has mobilised many of the resources of the State in their party campaign.
In Western Province many of the former MMD seats are now in the hands of the UNPD. An exception is Mwandi where the former Social Welfare Minister Michael Kaingu was surprisingly returned with a 2000 majority.
The next ECZ Intimation is to be at 2200h. In the meantime more solemn music and finally a cheesy film from our national broadcaster. However, there was great activity behind the scenes. The Chairwoman of the Electoral Commission was put under great pressure by the ruling party not to announce the result. She threatened to resign. The other Presidential candidates stormed the Mulungushi National Counting Centre and insisted that the final result be declared as their results showed that Michael Sata had won.Also from the social networks we learned that at 2030h President Banda had left the Presidential Palace for State Lodge and that State Security had passed to Michael Sata.
This appeared to be the case as there were reports of a PF Victory Cavalcade headed by Silvia Musebo and company winding their way through the streets of Lusaka. Again from these sources we heard at 2130h President Banda had formally conceded defeat. We read a post that at 2255h the Chief Justice as Returning Officer for the Presidential Elections was called to Mulungushi Centre. Two hours late the Electoral Commission announced the final results for the Presidency. 143/150 seats Michael Sata received 1 150 045 votes (43%) Rupiah Banda 961 796 (36%) Hakainde Hichilem 489 944 18.5% There are 7 seats remaining but their numbers will not affect the final outcome. Sata wins the presidency but a hung parliament seems likely from the National Assembly results.
The success of this election depended on hundreds of professional and reliable hard-working people who were committed to the democratic process, who diligently checked through, sorted and counted all the ballot papers and with others ensured that an honest job was done despite attempts by a few to spoil this. We are grateful too for patriotic Zambians of integrity who kept the people informed of what was going on behind closed doors. And our thanks as well to the millions of Zambians and friends of Zambia worldwide who prayed for this nation and for the Lord’s peace and presence to felt and to be close to all especially at this time.
Election Day dawned on Tuesday 20 September and there were three long and orderly queues at Mwandi. Pastor Percy and the Reverend Mwanda were there as Church Monitors for the Mwandi Constituency. The
Returning Officer for our Constituency is another old friend, the former and now-retired District Director of Health, another Church Member and Anamoyo. Before 0700h we were visited by a brother from the Mens Christisan Fellowship (MCF) who had been queuing since 0430h with many others to vote as soon as the polls opened at 0600h. He showed us the indelible purple ink on his thumbnail. He reckoned that if voting continued like it was doing then most of Mwandi would have voted by lunch-time. There were no results that night but Electoral Commission promised the final results in 48 hours from the close of polls.
Next morning on 21st we hear that Sata is doing well in Northern, Luapula, Copperbelt and Lusaka. This is by Parallel Tabulation of Votes (PTV - counting of votes by observers before official declaration, used as a check) not official results. One of the strengths of the Zambian system is that the votes are counted locally with locals verifying the count at each polling place and the results posted outside for all to see. These results are then texted to all the Parties’ Constituency and National HQs. The Zambian National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC - state broadcaster and mouthpiece of the governing party) is playing solemn music and vainly advising people to listen to it and not to social networks or the private media as only the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) can officially declare results. Zambian Watchdog, Lusaka Times, Tumfweko and the Zambian Economist are the best sites for us living in the bush with dongles. They cover a wide spectrum of political opinion. Bantu Watch is being jammed at the moment as is the Post. Muvi TV and QFM Radio in Lusaka and the towns are apparently doing a commendable job in keeping the nation informed on what is actually going on.
The Patriotic Front (PF) are likely to pick up Mongu Central in Western. With us, United Party for National Development (UPND) (Hakainde Hichilem) won Mulobezi and Sesheke. It is suggested Banda will hold on
in Central and North West Province but with a reduced majority. There may be a few PF gains in Eastern but (the ruling) Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) should hold on there too. It is still too close to call.
There have still been no results from the Electoral Commission so it is suspected that there may be some rigging going on. There has been some rioting in Solwezi, Kanyama and John Laing in Lusaka. The rest of the country seems quiet. There have been a number of electoral malpractices exposed so that is good. At Lusaka Civic Centre there were reports of electoral officers altering results. Zambian Watchdog is the best site. Bantu Watch is being jammed at the moment as was the Post yesterday. The ECZ finally announces that the results for president in 33 seats out of 150 which gives Sata 140 000 lead over Banda.
After this the ECZ website is hacked into, PTV Presidential results for over 100 seats were posted. This was closed down and so the ECZ website became inaccessible.
On Thursday at 1800h after 116/150 constituencies have been verified the Electoral Commission announced Michael Sata had 44.4%, Rupiah Banda MMD 36.1% Hakainde Hichilema UNPD 15.5% Of the 34 left 19 were being 'verified' at HQ and the other 16 results were being awaited. As usual Godfrey Miyanda, Edith Nawakwi & Kenneth Kaunda's son are also-rans.
Last night the MMD went to court and got an injunction to prevent the private media from publishing results until they are announced by the ECZ.
There has been unrest today (Thursday) in the Copperbelt (mainly Kitwe & Ndola) Kasama and Nakonde and some compounds in Lusaka but things have quietened down again this evening. The main fear from the opposition is that there will be rigging to ensure the MMD stays in office. The MMD are refusing to concede till the fat lady sings. There are also complaints that the ECZ is being too slow and allowing the ruling party to massage and manipulate the results. On the whole the elections have been free but not really fair as the ruling party has mobilised many of the resources of the State in their party campaign.
In Western Province many of the former MMD seats are now in the hands of the UNPD. An exception is Mwandi where the former Social Welfare Minister Michael Kaingu was surprisingly returned with a 2000 majority.
The next ECZ Intimation is to be at 2200h. In the meantime more solemn music and finally a cheesy film from our national broadcaster. However, there was great activity behind the scenes. The Chairwoman of the Electoral Commission was put under great pressure by the ruling party not to announce the result. She threatened to resign. The other Presidential candidates stormed the Mulungushi National Counting Centre and insisted that the final result be declared as their results showed that Michael Sata had won.Also from the social networks we learned that at 2030h President Banda had left the Presidential Palace for State Lodge and that State Security had passed to Michael Sata.
This appeared to be the case as there were reports of a PF Victory Cavalcade headed by Silvia Musebo and company winding their way through the streets of Lusaka. Again from these sources we heard at 2130h President Banda had formally conceded defeat. We read a post that at 2255h the Chief Justice as Returning Officer for the Presidential Elections was called to Mulungushi Centre. Two hours late the Electoral Commission announced the final results for the Presidency. 143/150 seats Michael Sata received 1 150 045 votes (43%) Rupiah Banda 961 796 (36%) Hakainde Hichilem 489 944 18.5% There are 7 seats remaining but their numbers will not affect the final outcome. Sata wins the presidency but a hung parliament seems likely from the National Assembly results.
The success of this election depended on hundreds of professional and reliable hard-working people who were committed to the democratic process, who diligently checked through, sorted and counted all the ballot papers and with others ensured that an honest job was done despite attempts by a few to spoil this. We are grateful too for patriotic Zambians of integrity who kept the people informed of what was going on behind closed doors. And our thanks as well to the millions of Zambians and friends of Zambia worldwide who prayed for this nation and for the Lord’s peace and presence to felt and to be close to all especially at this time.
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