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Tonga
The Tonga people reside along both sides of the
Zambezi River in Zambia and Zimbabwe and
were displaced in large numbers by the filling
of the Kariba dam reservoir. They are the native
inhabitants of what was the Gwembe valley
of the middle Zambezi River. The Tonga had
evolved an agricultural strategy that ensured
food security throughout the year by using
both seasonal rains and the flood patterns of
the Zambezi River (Magadza 2006). With the
construction of the Kariba dam in the 1950s,
they were relocated to semi-arid lands with a
high risk of crop failure.
Nyaminyami
In Tonga culture, the Zambezi River god or
snake spirit, known as Nyaminyami, is believed
to protect the Tonga people and give them
sustenance in difficult times. One of the most
popular beliefs is that the Nyaminyami is
associated with the rapids of the Zambezi
(Magadza 2006).
Nambya
In the Hwange area of Zimbabwe and lands
stretching to Namibia’s Caprivi Strip are the
Nambya people. The Nambya were traditional
hunters and trackers who tipped their arrows
with poison from a traditional bulb called
chenyami
. Their flourishing cotton cultivation,
textile industry, and iron foundries were
disrupted by the slave trade, but they were active
in buying back their people from slavers along
the river. As their landholdings diminished during
the colonial period, and they were pushed back
towards the Zambezi River, they grew bulrush
millet, sorghum and maize along the riverbanks
(Martin 1997). A Nambya Cultural Festival is still
held annually after the harvest to celebrate the
richness of Nambya culture through music, song,
dance, and traditional food displays (Nambya
Development Organisation Trust 2011).
The Lozi tradition of
kuomboka
Perhaps the most enduring and well-known
tradition related to the Zambezi River and its
floodplains is the
kuomboka
ceremony practiced
annually by the Lozi people in western Zambia.
Kuomboka
is a Luyana word meaning “to get
out of water”. It is applied today to a traditional
ceremony, which attracts more interest than
any other in Zambia as an annual celebration of
local culture.
Nambya Cultural Festival.
Carvings of wood or stone are a common form of art in
the Zambezi basin.
© P. Johnson, SARDC
© Nambya Development Organisation Trust