Every society has some formal events that have a strong symbolic meaning for the people. These events are done in the same way as they were since time immemorial. In particular, Zambia has over 20 traditional ceremonies. In this article, we are going to talk about a selected few and these are; the Nyau, the Chinamwali and the Mukanda ceremonies.

The Nyau ceremony

This ceremony is practiced by a secret society of the Chewa people from the eastern province, an ethnic group of the Bantu people from central and southern Africa. The word ‘Nyau’ means Mask. The ceremony is aimed at initiating boys from childhood to adulthood. These boys are between the ages of 15. Every year, there is a process of enrolment for the boys. This enrollment is done by a close relative who introduces them to the training camp. Others do it on a voluntary basis while some are captured when they pass near the training camp. They are taught for 7 days by instructors called ‘alumbwe’ meaning be praised. Because the training is done in secret, every boy is expected not to tell anyone about anything that took place there. If at all one is found guilty, he will face severe punishment.

While at the training camp, the boys are imparted with survival skills, taught traditions that are passed on from generation to generation, and how to handle a woman in bed. It is believed that the ceremony marks the legal, spiritual, and psychological significance to the boys. Whereas, those that have not undergone the process are not known by the ancestors and are treated as outsiders. The introduction to witchcraft and charms for protection is one of the trainings the boys undergo while at the camp.

The Mukanda ceremony

The Mukanda Ceremony of the Luvale people involves the circumcision of the initiates who are young boys aged 8 to 12 and so on. The ceremony acts as a test of their courage and lesson on their future role in society as men and husbands.

The Luvale people perform different kinds of ceremonies and the famous one is the Mukanda ceremony. The Mukanda ceremony is performed annually during the dry season (October) in order to initiate boys into men. When the boys of the village are of the age needed, the elders will meet and decide on holding a muknda which is known as the rite of passage into manhood. The masked men called “the Makishi” represent the dead ancestral spirits and during that period they go from village to village to announce that mukanda (circumcision) is near. The whole village will hold a feast the night before the ceremony and the boys have their last meal. Before the ceremony, the Nganga mukanda who is the medicine man prepares the boys by giving them a medication called “lisako” and then they are escorted to the place of death called “kateteveje” by the makishi. Drums beat loudly so that the screams of the boys can be drowned out. The man called chikenzi (penis doctor) then performs the circumcision by removing the foreskin of the penis. The skins are then thrown into a forbidden area called “kabulu” and the blood is collected in the grounds and no one is permitted to touch the grounds. The penis is then treated with special medicine and wrapped in bandages. The boys are then taken to a special place outside the village already chosen by the Nganga Mukanda (medicine man) as the site of the Mukanda encampment which acts as a home to the boys for a few months.  The boys must sleep in special penis mode positions with sticks pegged and elders teach them on survival skills such as weaving, masking, basketry, and also how to handle their wives in bed and they make sure that discipline is upheld during that period.  Lastly, after they are all healed and all is done, the graduation ceremony takes place, and food and beer is prepared and the boys are taken to the river for purification while dressed in grass skirt kits and hats when coming back from being purified.

While in the camp, boys are taught how to take care of their wives and to satisfy their wives sexual needs. Those who find it hard to find a girl are told to have sex with a banana plant and imagine it is a girl’s sexual organ. 

The Chinamwali ceremony

This is a ceremony which is performed by the Chewa and Nsenga people of eastern province in Zambia. Unlike the nyau and the mukanda ceremonies, this one is centered on a girl child.

A girl undergoes a ritual known as chinamwali meaning puberty, a traditional initiation ceremony for girls. Soon after the girl hits puberty, she is taken into confinement for 7 days where she is counseled by elder women known as Anankungwi on a number of things believed to prepare her into adulthood. Thereafter, they take her into the forest.

At this point, the girl is taught good morals such as self-respect, how to take care of a home and her husband. She is instructed to respect her parents and the elderly people, especially the chief. Also, she is told not to be eating eggs for fear of being barren.

Concerning menstrual hygiene, she is taught in such a way that no one should see her menstrual blood, not even her husband.

After the ceremony, the girl becomes not only a member of her family but also the community. She takes on adult responsibility and respects other people as well as community responsibilities. Moreover, she shall be able to pass the traditions and customs to the next generation.

Traditional ceremonies are important in the history of a society. They play an important role in the remembrance of our ways of life.