From a crisis to a ceremony: A history of the Kuomboka to 2010

Abstract

This study discusses the history of the Kuomboka. It focuses on the changes the event has undergone from the seventeenth century to 2010. Initially, no Litunga had a permanent capital. It was Lubosi Lewanika I in the colonial period who introduced permanent capitals at Lealui and Lubaci. In the 1930s, Litia Yeta III surveyed the present site of Limulunga and established it as a permanent summer capital of the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) in 1933. The study also discusses changes in the construction of ‘state barges’ in Bulozi and demonstrates how the Litungas gave praise names to them which later became their real names. This tradition is lost. Today, the ‘state barge’ is just referred to by its generic name, Nalikwanda. After independence, the Government of the Republic of Zambia under the leadership of President Kenneth Kaunda abrogated the Barotseland Agreement of 1964 in 1969. By this development, Barotseland was made part of Zambia and much politics were exerted on it. The Zambian government passed a number of laws such as the wild life Act which restricted the killing of wild animals. The Litunga, Sir Mwanawina III lost his powers over wildlife in Barotseland and this resulted to changes in the Kuomboka attire. The dissertation concludes with a discussion on the economic transformation of Kuomboka and observes that today; the event sells Zambia to the world at large and offers an advertisement opportunity for various companies.