27 / 126
Chapter 1- Over view
27
Ngoni dancers during the Nc’wala Ceremony
ZTB, 2009
The Nc’wala is a thanksgiving ceremony observed
each February by the Ngoni people at Mutenguleni
Village, in Chipata district, Eastern Province. The
celebration, marked by tribal dances and feasting
celebrates the first fresh produce of the year. The
Paramount Chief of the Ngoni, Chief Mpezeni, is the
first to taste the produce. Throughout the ceremony,
Chief Mpezeni is dressed in leopard skin re-enacting
an old tradition which has roots in early Zulu culture
(ZTB, 2012).
Nc’wala Ceremony
A young dancer at the Nc’wala Ceremony
Professional Media, 2012