Chibale, Zambia: introduction

Chibale, Zambia: introduction. This site is about music and related dance, text, and ritual in Chibale, Zambia. To understand the articles on this site, a basic understanding of Chibale daily life, social themes, history, and religion is necessary. Follow the links below to explore these topics, preferably in the order provided.

Contents

The area

The Lala region

Local economy

Social themes in Chibale

History of Chibale

Religion in Chibale

The area

Chibale is an area of approximately 3000 square kilometres in the southwest of Serenje district. This district lies in the northeast of Central Province, Zambia. Chibale ‘traditionally’ falls under chief Chibale. The name Chibale has been in use for more than 120 years. Many in Chibale, however, believe that a longer line of chiefs, dating back to the 18th century, led a chiefdom, albeit larger, in the same area. Chibale chiefdom is one of eight chiefdoms in Serenje district. It has existed in its present form since the 1920s, when the British (re)shaped the chiefdoms in the area.
For the people in Serenje district, the name of a chiefdom refers to its characteristics and to the, for an outsider small, style differences within the district.
Chibale is hilly and crisscrossed with small perennial streams. The soil is fertile, and a sufficient crop yield can be achieved with average rainfall. Approximately 24,000 people live in Chibale, an increase from 12,000 in the 1980s.
In the 1980s, only three settlements -Chibale village, Nchimishi, and Mukopa- were comparatively large in the 1980s, each possessing a primary school, a small shop, and facilities for storing maize and fertiliser. Today, these settlements are considerably larger. Chibale village serves as the area’s service centre with a chiefly court, a local court, a rural health centre, a secondary school, a social worker, agricultural advisors, and similar amenities.

Maps of Serenje District and Chibale

Map A: Zambia. The rectangle encloses Serenje district for which see Map B.

Map B: Chibale is situated in the southwest of Serenje District. The black lines are the major sand roads. The three major villages are small.

The Lala region

By far the largest number of the people living in Serenje district refer to themselves as baLala, the Lala people. Approximately 350,000 people, including those living in Mkushi district, in town, and across the border in the southeast of the Congo pedicle, speak Lala as their first language. In the last 60 years, Lala has moved towards the Bemba language, the nearest major language. This is partly a political issue. Zambia has a handful of languages that represent several sublanguages or dialects. To gain more national influence, this group of languages should be as large as possible. Despite their similar languages, Lala and Bemba cultures are quite different. This is a situation to ponder, especially for those who hold that language is the primary marker of culture.

Local economy

Chibale, Zambia: introduction. Practically all people in Chibale are farmers. Two- and three-generation extended families live on more or less isolated farms.
Starting in the 1950s, hybrid maize cultivation using fertilisers slowly increased while shifting cultivation gradually decreased. The government attempted to encourage farmers to switch to cash crop cultivation. People were compelled to live near the few passable roads in an effort to make swidden cultivation almost impossible. In the 1980s, some practised only cash crop cultivation, some only swidden cultivation, while most people practised both³Cultivation for most involves a mix of crops and cultivation techniques, involving traditional and introduced crop rotations and inter-cropping practices. (Long 1995:100), having houses near the passable roads and temporary shelters in the bush. This yielded no or a small surplus for many, a larger surplus for some (approximately one third), and a large surplus for only a few.
In the 2000s, most people spent more hours farming. The combination of swidden cultivation at a location far from the passable roads and hybrid maize cultivation near the passable roads had become the norm. Moreover, starting in the 1990s, semiprecious stones were mined in the area, the proceeds of which partly benefited the Chibale population. A local market and economy emerged. In the 1980s, there were only six small shops in the chiefdom. Today there are many, including markets. Money earned in Chibale is now less frequently taken to the district capital and the towns in the Copperbelt.⁴Drinkwater (2006) provides an overview of developments and changes in the period 1993-2005.

An own farm in Chibale or migrant labour?

Chibale, Zambia: introduction. A growing number of young men went to Copperbelt towns as migrant labourers during the last century. Women began accompanying their husbands in the 1930s, and many returned to Chibale after extended stays in the city. In the 1970s, following a period of relative prosperity, life in Chibale and in town became increasingly difficult. The importance of cash crop farming grew during the 1980s, while simultaneously, a movement emerged seeking greater independence from external economic influences. Migrant labour gradually lost its importance as a viable alternative to settling on one’s own farm. In a survey conducted in Nchimishi around 1990, 88% of the respondents considered life in Nchimishi preferable to life in town.⁵Seur (1992: 113). An even larger percentage considered establishing a farm in the Nchimishi area a better strategy for earning cash than migrant labour. During this period, the groundwork was laid for an increased interest in one’s own culture as a marker of identity.

The 1970s saw living conditions deteriorate, coupled with economic decline. This led to a resurgence of possession cults in the towns and later in Chibale and other rural areas. See the article on spirit possession.

Themes, history and religion in Chibale

Chibale, Zambia: introduction. Read the short introductions into the social themes pervading daily life in Chibale, its history, and its religion, which is so closely linked with music, dance, text, and ritual.

For references about Chibale and the Lala region, see a list of historical sources. This list also includes references for the larger culturally and historically similar region (the Kaonde-Lamba-Lenje-Lala area), of which many in Chibale feel that Chibale is a part.
The research underlying this site is presented here.