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ZAMBIA - ATLAS OF OUR CHANGING ENVIRONMENT
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The Kuomboka ceremony takes place in Mongu
district,Western Province, usually in April during
the flooding of the Barotse Floodplains. The name
‘Kuomboka’ means “to get out of the water onto
dry ground.” Every year towards the end of the
rainy season, as the water in the flood plain of the
upper Zambezi valley rises, the Lozi people make
a ceremonial move to higher ground.When the
Litunga, the Lozi Paramount Chief, decides that it’s
time to leave, heavy drumming signals his departure
and the Lozi people follow.
The Kuomboka ceremony may occur any time
between February and May and it takes the chief
about six hours to cover the distance between the
dry season capital Lealui, and the wet season capital
Limulunga. At Limulunga, the successful move is
celebrated with traditional singing and dancing.
This ceremony dates back more than 300 years
when the Lozi people broke away from the great
Lunda Empire to come and settle in the upper
regions of the Zambezi River Basin (ZTB, 2012).
The Likumbi Lya Mize ceremony takes place
annually in August at Mize, the official palace of
Senior Chief Ndungu, in Zambezi district, North-
Western Province.
People of the Luvale tribe gather to celebrate their
cultural heritage, bringing displays of all types of
Kuomboka Ceremony
Likumbi Lya Mize CEREMONY
Drummers during the Kuomboka Ceremony
ZTB, 2008
Makishi dancer during the Likumbi Lya Mize Ceremony
Eco-livelihoods, 2010
Kuomboka Ceremony, the Litunga in his barge and a troop of traditionally
dressed paddlers, in the lead
ZTB, 2008
A mask displayed at the Likumbi Lya Mize
Ceremony
Viotieno, 2008
handicrafts and joining in traditional singing and
dancing. The dancers wear elaborate and colorful
costumes popularly known as the ‘Likishi’. Masked
dancers, known as ‘Makishi’, carry out theatrical
performances and share the meanings of the masks
with onlookers (ZTB, 2012).