The BaTonga Impande

The origins of the beautiful impande beads are lost in history, but they are still worn today by the BaTonga and are rich in cultural and mystical significance.

The BaTonga people of Zimbabwe and Zambia are part of the Bantu ethnic group, related to the Tokaleya, and call themselves the Bantu Botatwe or ‘three-tribe people,’ with BaTonga also found in Mozambique and Malawi. They are thought to have lived in the region since at least 1100 AD and possibly even since Stone Age times. The word Tonga is derived from a Shona word meaning independent.

David Livingstone first met the BaTonga over 140 years ago on his travels to the region and found them to be a culture steeped in ancestral worship and other occult practices. Up until the 1950s they continued to live very separate from the outside world, retaining their traditional values and lifestyle. The construction of the Kariba Dam wall led to more than 57 000 people being relocated, resulting in a severe disruption to their way of life.

The BaTonga have a rich oral history and many unique customs and beliefs. They traded extensively with Portuguese explorers based in Mozambique, with high value placed upon beads as a form of ethnographic money, exchanged for gold, ivory and other goods. To the local people, the Portuguese traders were known as ‘those who scattered beads among the people in front of palaces.’

This demand for beads led the Portuguese to create a bead especially for trade in this region and as a result, the local BaTonga people have a unique and rare ‘trade bead’ as an integral part of their culture. The half cosmos or impande bead is a three-corned triangular bead, embossed with half circle markings, thought to date back to the early 1600s in origin and produced and traded up to the 1900s.

Very little is known about the impande beads, as they are found in such a limited area, and there is speculation as to whether they were made in Venice or possibly in India, Holland or Czechoslovakia. The design is thought to be taken from that of the conus shell ndoro, which was also highly valued in trade.

Over time, the impande came to be associated with status and supernatural powers. The BaTonga did not have a formalised chieftain position, but rather lived as family groups, led by spiritual leaders. These leaders were believed to be rainmakers, with a spirituality associated with the moon. It is thought by some scholars that the markings on the impande are linked to the pattern of the TabwaBalamwezi (the rising of the new moon).

A traditional rainmaker, Joseph Chooka, said that he wore the impande “so that people know I am the one who asks for rain in this place, for I have rain spirits.” Traditional healers soaked impande in milk to make eye medications, and historically Tonga women have worn the impande behind their necks in order to protect their babies.

An excellent collection of these rare ndoros and impande is on display at The Jafuta Heritage Centre, part of the Elephant's Walk Village. The origins of these beautiful beads are lost in history, but they are still worn today by the BaTonga and used locally by The Ndau Collection in creating one of a kind jewellery – a piece of Africa’s past brought to life.

Read more articles from this issue:
Zambezi Traveller (Issue 10, Sept 2012)

Zambezi Traveller Directory:
The Ndau Collection
Elephant's Walk Shopping Village

Zambia’s national anthem: a history

A national anthem is a patriotic song adopted by a country as an expression of national identity. It is usually in the form of a song or hymn of praise that evokes and acclaims the history, traditions or struggles of a nation or its people. Most countries in the world have a national anthem, as does Zambia, used during official state functions and to express solidarity and patriotism.

The English version of Zambia’s national anthem begins “Stand and sing of Zambia, proud and free.” It has also been translated into various Zambian languages. The tune is taken from the hymn ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika’ (God Bless Africa), composed by a South African, Enoch Sontonga, in 1897.

Enoch Mankayi Sontonga, a Xhosa, was born in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, in 1873. He was a teacher, as well as a choirmaster and photographer. He composed the first verse and chorus of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika in 1897, using the tune ‘Aberystwyth’ originally composed by Joseph Parry in 1879. (‘Aberystwyth’ is probably better known as ‘Jesus, lover of my soul,’ a hymn written by Charles Wesley to Joseph Parry’s music. It does not sound much like Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika.)  Xhosa poet Samuel Mqhavi later wrote a further seven verses.

Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika was first sung in public in 1899 at the ordination of a Methodist minister. Solomon Plaatje, a writer and founding member of the ANC, was the first to have the song recorded in London in 1923. Rev. John Dube’s Ohlange Zulu Choir popularised the hymn at concerts, and it became a popular church hymn. It started being used at political meetings and was adopted by the African National Congress as its official closing anthem in 1925, becoming a symbol of the anti-apartheid movement.

The hymn’s popularity spread to other countries and throughout southern Africa it became associated with nationalist movements, a pan-African liberation anthem which was later adopted as the national anthem of five countries – South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania, Namibia and Zimbabwe, after their independence from colonialism.

‘Ishe Komborera Africa’ is the Shona version of God Bless Africa and was Zimbabwe's first national anthem, adopted after gaining independence in 1980. Zimbabwe and Namibia have since adopted new national anthems. The tune is still used for Tanzania’s national anthem, ‘Mungu ibariki Afrika.’

In 1997 South Africa adopted a joint national anthem combining parts of N'kosi Sikelel' iAfrica and ‘Die Stem van Suid Afrika’, (The Call of South Africa), which were respectively the anthems of the non-white and white communities under apartheid. The official lyrics contain a mixture of Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans and English.

When Zambia decided to adopt the liberation song as its national anthem in 1964 there was a decision to have new, appropriate words put to the music. A competition was held to compose words for the new anthem. No one entry was considered acceptable in its entirety, but the sentiments and themes of several entries were used in the final composite version. The six authors whose entries were of particular value and who were awarded prizes were: Mr G Ellis of Lusaka, Mr E S Musonda of Kasama, Mr J M S Lichilana of Lusaka, Mrs I Lowe of Luanshya, Mr J Sajiwandani of Luanshya and Mrs R J Seal of Lusaka.

So our anthem has evolved from the work of several different musical and lyrics composers, but its message is clear – we are proud of the country  and we stand together in unity, strong and free.

Read more from the latest issue online, including the full words to Zambia's national anthem:
Zambia’s national anthem: a history (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)

Did you know you can download a pdf version of the current, and past issues, of the Zambezi Traveller online:
Zambezi Traveller Downloads

That versatile chitenge

From the latest issue of the Zambezi Traveller - available in print and online.

That versatile chitenge

By Clare Mateke

The chitenge is a traditional Zambian garment worn like a skirt wrapped around the waist by women. It is used in many parts of Africa and is known as kitenge in some countries. It plays a major role in African dress but it also has many other uses.

The chitenge is colourful, soft and lightweight and is such a useful item that every Zambian woman owns one and rarely goes anywhere without one. The last time I travelled by bus I carried one of my chitenges and during the six hour journey I used it as a pillow, protection from cold, sunscreen and footrest. I do not know what I would have done without it!

For most purposes the chitenge is a plain, untailored, two metre piece of cloth printed in a bold, bright design. It probably has its origins in the first pieces of cloth that were brought to Africa through inter-continental trade. Prior to this, women’s skirts were made with grass or animal skins. In rural Zambia when a woman comes of age she must start wearing a chitenge as a sign that she is now a woman and must dress respectably. Covering of the legs is considered vital to modest female dress. It is particularly important that a married woman wears a chitenge when visiting her in-laws to show respect. It would be unusual in any Zambian rural village to find a woman not wearing a chitenge, and even in towns it is uncommon. Nowadays they may also be worn over a skirt, trousers or dress.

A chitenge may be used like an apron, protecting one’s clothes when cooking or sweeping. Rolled up on top of the head it is used as cushioning when carrying containers of water or firewood. It is used as a sling to carry babies on the backs of mothers or older female siblings. The chitenge is even used as a purse, by tying up money in a corner of it and then tucking it into the waist. In areas where clean drinking water is scarce villagers may even use their chitenges to filter water. Often a new-born baby is wrapped in a chitenge upon delivery, and when someone dies they may be wrapped in their favourite chitenge to take to the grave.

Print designs include traditional and tribal patterns, as well as a variety of religious and political motifs. Large quantities of political party chitenges are distributed during election times as campaign materials. While the untailored cloth is often used as an inexpensive piece of clothing, it can also be used to make tailored outfits for office-use, conferences and weddings. These are usually two-piece outfits, comprising a top and skirt. They are a post-colonial modification of the traditional wrap, influenced by West African clothing trends.

The tradition of carrying babies in chitenges varies from one country to another. In Zambia the baby is put on the back and the chitenge is brought over the right shoulder and under the left arm then tied across the chest. This tradition is similar in East Africa. However, in other parts of southern and western Africa, the cloth is brought under both arms and tucked under itself above and below the chest.

Read more:
Rich symbolism in Zambia’s heraldry (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)
Zambia’s national anthem: a history (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)
That versatile chitenge (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)
The first newspaper in Zambia (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)

Did you know you can download a pdf version of the current, and past issues, of the Zambezi Traveller online:
Zambezi Traveller Downloads