Gatherings with music in Zambia: the local cults

Gatherings with music in Zambia: the local cults. The rise of the Mwami spirit possession cultus in the 1970s was a re-evaluation of the local cults: the ecological, ancestral, and chiefly cults. It also caused a re-evaluation of these cults, not (directly) connected to Mwami. The ecological cult provides a background philosophy to the two later cults: all activities are part of exchanges between the human and the spirit world. An ecological cult relic is that this spirit world is called mpanga, which actually means nature, things unaffected by the human world. This philosophy is also instrumental in the theory about music that we co-developed.

Local cult activities, including rituals, aim at a balanced and where possible controlled contact between the mpanga (nature, the spirit world) and the village (culture, the human world). The village’s part in this contact is called kupupa. It can be done with various intentions: kwilimuna, kulila, and kucitila. Each activity has one or more of these three intentions. The occurrence of more intentions in one activity was and is not without tensions. In the 1980s, rituals of rejoicing and especially of mourning could also serve the purpose of problem-solving. Or, they were in the process of being used for that purpose as well. For more information about the tensions caused by also using the Ipupo for healing, see the Fighting with songs series of articles.

Manifestations of the local cults

Small-scale manifestations of the local cults are mostly not very conspicuous. More conspicuous are the large-scale manifestations of the ancestral cult: the Bwalwa bwa nkombo, the Ipupo, the Kufuta makasa, and the Cililo (except for parts of the christian Cililo). For the ecological cult, these are mostly secretly held, hunting rituals like the Cilili. And for the chiefly cult, the Ipupo lya fikankomba and other, smaller rituals at the shrines of the deceased chiefs (mpata).

Small-scale manifestations of the local cults

Gatherings with music in Zambia: the local cults. Small-scale manifestations of the local cults can be part of a person’s or a family’s daily or seasonal routine. Kupupa can be performed on an occasion specifically dedicated to acknowledging the spirit world, in the village, in the field, or in the mpanga. Alternatively, it takes place in the early morning before large-scale gatherings like Ipupo and Cibombe,which begin in the evening.

More often, kupupa is done at small gatherings, such as paKwisha, muNsaka, and during work. A portion of the songs sung have the intention of kupupa. It is most often done in the form of kulila for, in descending order, the mother, grandmother, father, or grandfather. This can include a mourning song that was brought at their funeral, a song that was liked by the deceased, or one that the singer associates with them. The number of mourning songs tends to decrease as more people attend. When alone, most older men and women will sing mourning and commemorative songs.
The kupupa can be done more explicitly by placing some mealie meal on a plate or in a gourd shrine before singing begins.

Proverb 272¹See also the proverb book Amano mambulwa.

Uwapupa nyina wapupila bonse abafwa
To do kupupa for the mother is to do kupupa for all the dead

Kupupa is most often directed to the mother. The aphorism points to the broader scope of this kupupa. As emotions play a role in kupupa, it presumably is more effective to direct it to the person who evokes the deepest emotions.

Large-scale manifestations of the local cults

Gatherings with music in Zambia: the local cults. The large-scale manifestations of these cults are rituals of rejoicing, mourning, and problem-solving. Rejoicing (kwilimuna) and mourning (kulila) are central to the exchanges between the human and the spirit world. Small and large feasts and rituals of rejoicing and of mourning are part of the exchange ‘system’.
Problem-solving is also important in this ‘system’. In an ideal system, problem-solving would not be necessary. But in reality, certainly because the cults become more prominent in times of trouble, problem-solving is most important. People hope or expect the cults to solve their problems. And, they know, or are easily reminded, that these problems are caused by their own disregard for the exchange ‘system’ and for the timely showing of joy (for instance, gratitude), and especially grief (for instance, mourning or other attention to significant deceased). Note that even during the revival in the 1980s, this was not common knowledge or practice. In the years after, they have turned into a kind of niche knowledge and practice that becomes more prominent when times get hard.

People just wait until ishamo comes. They have forgotten how to do kwilimuna and kulila.
Salati Mukoti ∵ personal communication, 1985.

Gatherings with music in Zambia: the local cults. In the 1980s, joy was no longer felt to be spiritual, and, in the years after, mourning became somewhat more personal and could be felt to be too heavy when others were present. Still, when looked at in some detail, it turns out that both still play an important, albeit less conspicuous, role in daily and ritual life. See, for instance, the article about the emotions felt when hearing music. For this reason, we follow a division into rejoicing, mourning and problem-solving rituals.

More detailed descriptions of these manifestations

For a more detailed description of the rituals with these (original) purposes, click the links below.

Rituals of rejoicing

Rituals of mourning

And, Rituals of problem-solving

Central or marginal role of the local cults

See the article on the local cults for a sketch of possible developments of the local cults in the past.
The old local cults continue to play a role in the lives of the people in Chibale. In the present, they manifest less frequently, but when things start to go wrong, they still play an important role. In the 1980s, local cult manifestations were more present than today but less so than in the past.