You can't expect my cat, Tuneza, to get all the big mice that come in my hut. Just in case!Thursday, June 18, 2009
Tribal Cousinship
Tribal cousinship is a big part of life here. In America, I prefer "ethnic group" to "tribe" but tribe is the word they use here. So I will use it as well. "Tribe" brings images of cannibalism, living in the bush, and running around naked with spears but really all it means is the historical and language group. In Kashima, there are many groups: the Luvales (which I claim to be a part of), Luchazis, Mbundas, Chokwes, Kaondes and Lundas are the most prevalent. Between these groups they have tribal cousins, with whom they are allowed to tease and joke. These cousinships usually come from war or marriage, but I got the stories of some of the ones in this area.
The Luvale and the Luchazi
The Luvale used to live in the plain by a river and used to raise a lot of cattle. The Luchazis lived further from the river and collected mushrooms. When the Luchazis came to the river to draw water they saw the cattle and wanted to buy them. They asked the Luvales to sell them some and the Luvales took the money saying they would deliver the animals in a few days.
When those few days passed with no animals the Luchazis went to find the seller. When they got to his land they were told he had died and that they should buy animals from the neighbors instead. The Luchazis gave the neighbors money and were told they would deliver the animals in a few days. The story continued like that for awhile until they caught on to the trick and stopped buying cattle.
The Luvales were also fishermen, so when the Luchazis bought fish from the Luvales, the Luvales gave it to them in broken cauldrons with patched bottoms. These cauldrons are very important to the Luvales and they are symbolic of the Luvale village. When the Luchazis stirred nshima in the cauldron, the patch came off and the Luvales pretended to be horrified saying, "You have just killed our headman!" They then demanded payment for the broken cauldron. To this day the Luvales claim the Luchazis are fools and the Luchazis claim the Luvales are thieves.
The Mbunda and the Chokwe
One day, the Mbunda king, named Katawola, went to the Chokwe Kingdom where the chief was called Mushilingingi. Katawola came across a beautiful mwali (girl undergoing initiation) and fell in love with her. Katawola went to Mushilingingi and pleaded that he give him the girl to marry.
Mushilingingi refused as she was still undergoing initiation and offered Katawola another beautiful girl. Katawola refused and left with his followers.
That night he told his followers to sneak in and steal the mwali. They obeyed. The next morning the Chokwes followed and there was a battle. The Mbundas were defeated and Katawola was beheaded and his head was put on a stake.
The Mbundas were infuriated and went for revenge. They captured Mushilingingi and he fell to the same fate as Katawola. After this, the Mbundas and the Chokwes agreed that they were even and would never fight again.
The Lunda and the Kaonde
A Lunda hunter who was exceedingly handsome was named Kabinda Mutatata. One day he went hunting in the bush. The day went on, he was not having any luck and he was getting tired.
He came across a well deep in the bush. He stopped and asked the Kaonde women drawing water, for a drink. The women rushed off to tell their Chieftainess Luwezhi about the handsome hunter.
She beckoned him to her place and heard his life story. She invited him to stay and hunt for her kingdom. After awhile she became pregnant and asked him to marry her. They had many children and to this day both the Lundas and the Kaondes claim to be the parents of one another.
The Luvale and the Luchazi
The Luvale used to live in the plain by a river and used to raise a lot of cattle. The Luchazis lived further from the river and collected mushrooms. When the Luchazis came to the river to draw water they saw the cattle and wanted to buy them. They asked the Luvales to sell them some and the Luvales took the money saying they would deliver the animals in a few days.
When those few days passed with no animals the Luchazis went to find the seller. When they got to his land they were told he had died and that they should buy animals from the neighbors instead. The Luchazis gave the neighbors money and were told they would deliver the animals in a few days. The story continued like that for awhile until they caught on to the trick and stopped buying cattle.
The Luvales were also fishermen, so when the Luchazis bought fish from the Luvales, the Luvales gave it to them in broken cauldrons with patched bottoms. These cauldrons are very important to the Luvales and they are symbolic of the Luvale village. When the Luchazis stirred nshima in the cauldron, the patch came off and the Luvales pretended to be horrified saying, "You have just killed our headman!" They then demanded payment for the broken cauldron. To this day the Luvales claim the Luchazis are fools and the Luchazis claim the Luvales are thieves.
The Mbunda and the Chokwe
One day, the Mbunda king, named Katawola, went to the Chokwe Kingdom where the chief was called Mushilingingi. Katawola came across a beautiful mwali (girl undergoing initiation) and fell in love with her. Katawola went to Mushilingingi and pleaded that he give him the girl to marry.
Mushilingingi refused as she was still undergoing initiation and offered Katawola another beautiful girl. Katawola refused and left with his followers.
That night he told his followers to sneak in and steal the mwali. They obeyed. The next morning the Chokwes followed and there was a battle. The Mbundas were defeated and Katawola was beheaded and his head was put on a stake.
The Mbundas were infuriated and went for revenge. They captured Mushilingingi and he fell to the same fate as Katawola. After this, the Mbundas and the Chokwes agreed that they were even and would never fight again.
The Lunda and the Kaonde
A Lunda hunter who was exceedingly handsome was named Kabinda Mutatata. One day he went hunting in the bush. The day went on, he was not having any luck and he was getting tired.
He came across a well deep in the bush. He stopped and asked the Kaonde women drawing water, for a drink. The women rushed off to tell their Chieftainess Luwezhi about the handsome hunter.
She beckoned him to her place and heard his life story. She invited him to stay and hunt for her kingdom. After awhile she became pregnant and asked him to marry her. They had many children and to this day both the Lundas and the Kaondes claim to be the parents of one another.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
My neighborhood women and the North Western Crew of April 09!
Geoff, Stevie, me, Brittany, Beth, Mike
Blacksmith Brown
Wicked Awesome Blacksmith Brown, dressed as a wizard (not really, it is his pastor's outfit)
Zambia Shoes and Belt Buckles
A shout out needs to go out to the glory that is men's shoes and belt buckles here in Zambia. I feel like about half of my pictures will be of these two objects. Shoes are usually long and pointy, and often made out of an amazing material like, suede, plether, or crocodile skins. Sparkles are definitely not out of the question, nor are zebra stripes, studs, pictures, writing, or anything else completely hysterical that you can think of.
Belt buckles are very often holographic. Which on its own is amazing, but the pictures are often of rappers or professional wrestlers. They are massive, and so they draw the eye, which can become quite uncomfortable as you stare at the halographic 50 cent on your head teacher's belt buckle. Mike, a PCV in NW province found a halographic Obama belt buckle, which is pretty sweet.
Belt buckles are very often holographic. Which on its own is amazing, but the pictures are often of rappers or professional wrestlers. They are massive, and so they draw the eye, which can become quite uncomfortable as you stare at the halographic 50 cent on your head teacher's belt buckle. Mike, a PCV in NW province found a halographic Obama belt buckle, which is pretty sweet.
Finally an update from the bush!
Hello all! I miss you all so much and am so glad I FINALLY get a chance to use the internet (and hopefully send home pictures, be patient!
So I have spent my first month in the village and I really couldn't ask for a more perfect situation. I absolutely LOVE my village, my community, and most of all my host family. I am living about 3km from a national park (hippos and crocodiles live about 7km away), I have 8 schools in my catchment area: 5 are government run and 3 (including a high school) are community schools. My host father is a beekeeper, farmer, bricklayer, former blacksmith, former diamond miner, fisherman, pastor, librarian, nursery school teacher, and a member of the neighborhood watch, so he is a really active and amazing resource for me to get to know people in all walks of life in my area.
I have a new local name, so I will be known in the village as Sombo. Sombo is the name of a bush fruit, which I have yet to see, but I am told it is small and blue. It is a Luvale name, and in Luvale the connotation is "girl who is always laughing and cheerful" so I think it fits. My area is not really heavily populated with Kaondes, the language they taught me during training, so that is a big issue I have been working on. My area is Chokwes, Luvales, Lundas, Kaondes, Luchazis, and Mbundas. So instead of attempting to learn all of those languages, I will be trying to learn Luvale and then maybe Chokwe eventuall. I can greet in all of them already, which is a start, but it is difficult to hear so many languages all the time.
Oh, my new mailing address is:
Carrie Navin/PCV
Peace Corps Zambia
PO Box 130050
Mufumbwe, North Western Province
Zambia
AFRICA
So I am in a part of my service called community entry. It is the first three months, where I am not supposed to leave my district (right now is the exception because I had provincial meetings) and I am not supposed to be doing any "work". What I AM supposed to be doing is meeting everyone I can in my area, sitting in on classrooms, going to meetings about school things and community events, learning the language, and getting to know the needs of the community. The idea is that you can imagine a Japanese person that knows how to say "how are you" in English, coming to your hometown and trying to "develop" it. Chances are they don't know how you do things and what your community needs or wants, so this is my time to learn about the desires and needs and priorities of my community, and not just doing things for my own agenda.
As I mentioned before, my host father is a beekeeper. He owns 386 hives all around the area I live, and I actually got to go collect honey with him and two other men. His hives are big barrel drums that he sets up in trees. I got to see him make a smoker out of local brush, and then smoke out the bees and collect the honey. I now have more honey than I know what to do with, but it is amazing!
Some other things I have been doing in the village include: Going to the Agricultural show to see many people competing for the best produce in the zone, Helping to paint the resource center in Kashima West to prepare it for opening, Attending my host brothers' mukanda (circumscision) ceremony, attending a mwali (girls' initiation) ceremony, attending the wedding of my nearest Peace Corps neighbor, Ryan, attending a different church each week to introduce myself to members of those congragations, meeting with the library committee, going to opening staff meetings at two of the schools, attending teachers' union meetings, attending a witchcraft trial, visiting schools in my zone, visiting and watching a blacksmith work, sitting and talking with people, asking questions, visiting the Kabompo River, hanging out at the clinic, and teaching my neighbor Lister, how to read in English. So I have been really busy and really happy. I have gotten to see my area a lot and have a long way to go.
So I have spent my first month in the village and I really couldn't ask for a more perfect situation. I absolutely LOVE my village, my community, and most of all my host family. I am living about 3km from a national park (hippos and crocodiles live about 7km away), I have 8 schools in my catchment area: 5 are government run and 3 (including a high school) are community schools. My host father is a beekeeper, farmer, bricklayer, former blacksmith, former diamond miner, fisherman, pastor, librarian, nursery school teacher, and a member of the neighborhood watch, so he is a really active and amazing resource for me to get to know people in all walks of life in my area.
I have a new local name, so I will be known in the village as Sombo. Sombo is the name of a bush fruit, which I have yet to see, but I am told it is small and blue. It is a Luvale name, and in Luvale the connotation is "girl who is always laughing and cheerful" so I think it fits. My area is not really heavily populated with Kaondes, the language they taught me during training, so that is a big issue I have been working on. My area is Chokwes, Luvales, Lundas, Kaondes, Luchazis, and Mbundas. So instead of attempting to learn all of those languages, I will be trying to learn Luvale and then maybe Chokwe eventuall. I can greet in all of them already, which is a start, but it is difficult to hear so many languages all the time.
Oh, my new mailing address is:
Carrie Navin/PCV
Peace Corps Zambia
PO Box 130050
Mufumbwe, North Western Province
Zambia
AFRICA
So I am in a part of my service called community entry. It is the first three months, where I am not supposed to leave my district (right now is the exception because I had provincial meetings) and I am not supposed to be doing any "work". What I AM supposed to be doing is meeting everyone I can in my area, sitting in on classrooms, going to meetings about school things and community events, learning the language, and getting to know the needs of the community. The idea is that you can imagine a Japanese person that knows how to say "how are you" in English, coming to your hometown and trying to "develop" it. Chances are they don't know how you do things and what your community needs or wants, so this is my time to learn about the desires and needs and priorities of my community, and not just doing things for my own agenda.
As I mentioned before, my host father is a beekeeper. He owns 386 hives all around the area I live, and I actually got to go collect honey with him and two other men. His hives are big barrel drums that he sets up in trees. I got to see him make a smoker out of local brush, and then smoke out the bees and collect the honey. I now have more honey than I know what to do with, but it is amazing!
Some other things I have been doing in the village include: Going to the Agricultural show to see many people competing for the best produce in the zone, Helping to paint the resource center in Kashima West to prepare it for opening, Attending my host brothers' mukanda (circumscision) ceremony, attending a mwali (girls' initiation) ceremony, attending the wedding of my nearest Peace Corps neighbor, Ryan, attending a different church each week to introduce myself to members of those congragations, meeting with the library committee, going to opening staff meetings at two of the schools, attending teachers' union meetings, attending a witchcraft trial, visiting schools in my zone, visiting and watching a blacksmith work, sitting and talking with people, asking questions, visiting the Kabompo River, hanging out at the clinic, and teaching my neighbor Lister, how to read in English. So I have been really busy and really happy. I have gotten to see my area a lot and have a long way to go.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
