Acknowledgements
Nanomba ncili uwalufya abayashi ba Mika Mwape Chungwa (ba Mwela) ukwambili. Bambi abo ningafwaya ukwibukishiwa ni banaSibilu (Ailini Chibale Musonda, bamukaKunda Mfwanti) abanondolweleko ifyo ukwilwa kwaba mwa Chibale, ba Kambele abaishibishe ukupanga ifyakulishalisha, ba Kansenkele (ba Shemu Mambwe), ing’omba, ba Sitifini Nunda abaishibe ukwimba, ukulisha no kushana naba banaNshimbi abatali kulemapo ukumbulako amano yabo.
Insansa no mucinshi uwo nakwatila ba shing’anga bakalamba ba Chalebaila (ba Salati Mukoti) na bayashi bamukaNdubeni (banaNshimbi) mukososhanya nabo ukwingi elyo ne fibombe no kubuka. Bambi abaipeleshe mukusopola amano nokucenjela mu fintu ifya mano ni ba Sheki Mambwe(ba Mbomba), ba Munteta Chalebaila (ba Kamimbya), banaNjenjema, banaNkunka (ba Sonika) Alube Mika na ba Musonda Chunga elyo na bayashi ba mfumu ba Teneshi ba Chibale ne mpyani yabo uwaishiba ati mupini umo tawipaya mbwa.
Nkototela ba Katmelu Kasubika pabwafwilisho bampele elyo na Mashel van Dijk uwo twali nankwe ilyo twaishile mukufwailikisha mu 1981. Ukutotela kumbi kwaya kuli ba George Chibale, ba Danyelu Gondwe, ba Tresford Chomba elyo na ba Byuti Male mukwipushanya ilyo kwali ukufwailikisha. Pali ifyo ba Maiko Mika Chungwa, ba Munsele Lupoti, abayashi ba Fishito Mayense, ba Chibuye Mika, ba Dyekisoni Sikaswe, elyo na ba Benadi Mika na ba Lafenda Mpyakula balingile batotelwa elyo napa milimo imbi babombele. Ukutotela nakambi kuye kuli abayashi ba Meli Blantoni Chibuye na ba Chisenga Blantoni pakutwafwako.
Nsansa ishingi ilyo twalekumana no lupwa lwaba Chisonta, ulupwa lwaba Blantoni, ulupwa lwaba Chungwa, ulupwa lwaba Chikola elyo no lupwa lwaba Chilwa. Ba Siame Mwiba bamashina wanji abali abanseko nabucibusa. Pa mutima wakutupokelela namashiwi ya kutwafwafwilishako, tukototela ba Piet Verkleij, ba Fritz Pehle naba Maurice Cunningham.
Pa milimo yabo babombele ku Butala, nkofwaya kutotela ba Alube Mika, Benadi Mika, abayashi ba Byuti Male, ba mfumu ba Chibale Joshua Musonda Chipolo, ba Chisenga Blantoni, ba Dauti Kalunga, ba Jop Erken, ba Kim Brand nabayashi ba Lafenda Mpyakula, ba Mark IJzermans, bayashi ba Prishila Mumba, ba Rosa Koene, ba Kees nabambipo. Ku milimo iyaibela nokuba pamo mu milimo yaba Butala ne milimo imbi iyo yabombekwe ku cisaka ca Africa nkofwaya ukutotela ba Marjanne Paardekooper. Walya iwe, ba Malyanga.
Ningatotela shani ba Basil Chisonta abo nabombele nabo pa myaka yonse nji? Nafilwa nomba nangu cibe ifyo ndinoku. Pa milimo iyalondoloka namukunwa ukwendauka elyo nokuba pamo twatotela nkambo.
Ukulosha mu mafya ayansansa pa kashita akakulu ako nakwete naba Roxanne (bana Bobo) tekuti ndabile ukucila ifyo ndu lwimbo ulwa kale lukolabila Akashinga kamumunda – Naililwa nine Anga nensensela mu malimba.
I still miss ba Mika Mwape Chungwa (ba Mwela) maningi shiteliki. Others who I wish to be remembered are banaSibilu (Ailini Chibale Musonda, bamukaKunda Mfwanti), who introduced me to the possession scene of Chibale; Kambele, the great instrument maker; Shemu Mambwe (Kansenkele), the ing’omba; Sitifini Nunda, who knew how to sing, play and dance; and banaNshimbi, who never got tired of sharing her knowledge.
Gratitude and respect I feel for the great shing’anga Salati Mukoti (Chalebaila) and banaNshimbi (bamukaNdubeni) for the many conversations and the Cibombe and kubuka. Others who were generous with their hospitality, skill, and knowledge were Sheki Mambwe (Mbomba), Munteta Chalebaila (Kamimbya), banaNjenjema, banaNkunka (Sonika), Alube Mika and Musonda Chunga, as well as chief Chibale Teneshi Njipika and his successor Joshua Musonda Chipolo, who knows that one axe-handle doesn’t kill a dog.
I wish to thank Katmelu Kasubika for his help and Marcel van Dijk for his partnership during the 1981 research. Thanks also go to George Chibale, Danyelu Gondwe, Tresford Chomba, Byuti Male, Benadi Mika, and Lafenda Mpyakula for the interviewing done for the surveys. For that Maiko Mika, Munsele Lupoti, Fishito Mayense, Chibuye Mika, and Dyekisoni Sikaswe should be thanked, as well as for the other good work they did. Many thanks also go to Meli Blantoni Chibuye and to Chisenga Blantoni for their help.
Happy were the contacts with the Chisonta family, the Blantoni family, the Chungwa family, the Chikola family, and the Chilwa family. A good friend was Siame Mwiba, ba Nseko, my namesake. For their hospitality and conversations and for helping us out, we thank Piet Verkley, Fritz Pehle, and Maurice Cunningham.
For their work on the Butala project I wish to thank chief Chibale Joshua Musonda Chipolo, Chisenga Blantoni, Kim Brand, Dominique van Buul, Anne van Campenhout, Basil Chisonta, Malcolm Duregger, Jop Erken, Susanne Grunewald, Sarah Harkink, Anke Hellebrand, Rob Hermans, Kees-Jan Husselman, Mark IJzerman, Dauti Kalunga, Collin Kasper, Rosa Koenen, Gerben Kruijswijk, Martin Kuipers, Byuti Male, Kees van der Meer, Bart Mijnster, Alube Mika, Benadi Mika, Jeroen Mol, Lafenda Mpyakula, Prishila Mumba, Harrold Roeland, Jelle Roosen, Eva Rossen, Judith Schouten, and Elies van Willenswaard. For her leading work and companionship in the Butala project and in many other projects we did in Zambia and other countries in Africa I wish to thank Marjanne Paardekooper: Walya iwe, Malyanga!
For their hospitality, I am very grateful to Mwesa Mapoma and his wife. Dr Mapoma not only introduced me to Zambia and Chibale; he was also a great support throughout the research. I want to thank Wim van Binsbergen and Ernst Heins for their support for the research in the 1980s. Thanks go to Dr Chris Creed (Portsmouth University) for proof-reading the manuscript.
Thanks also go to my colleagues at the Faculty of Art, Media & Technology for giving me the room to work on the 2000s part of the research. I want to thank my mother Vera van Ginneken, for all the work she did and the support she gave, and my children Rogier, Joris, Lukas, and Maria for their support.
I want to extend my thanks to the University of Zambia, to which I was affiliated during the periods of research in Zambia, and to the Netherlands Organisation for the Advancement of Pure Research (NWO, research number W26-285), the University of Amsterdam, and HKU University of the Arts Utrecht for providing the funding for the research.
How can I thank Basil Chisonta for all these years of working together? I cannot but still, I will. For the excellent work, and for drinking, travelling, and just being together: twalumba nkambo!
The same sweet problem, for a larger scope and period, I have with Roxanne. I cannot say it better than this old song does: Akashinga kamumunda – Naililwa nine Anga nensensela mu malimba.